Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 64

spouse’s plan, that cost could come down
to $136,000. Barr said that in any scenario
that came in at less than $200,000, it was
worth it for him to play, instead of pay the
penalties. He did express concern about
the effects of employee cutbacks on the
quality of service at his restaurants, and
how that must be balanced against the
purely monetary aspects of any decision.
“Reducing FTEs has to be completed with
one eye toward customer service,” he said.
After that session, filled with dense,
detailed charts and diagrams explaining
the rules, current options for franchisees,
and seemingly endless ways to work the
numbers in an uncertain environment
(implementation is still in the works), the
morning’s general session broke into two
separate luncheons, one for franchisees and
one for franchisors and suppliers.
Franchisees gathered to continue networking with peers and enjoy a fast-paced,
humorous magic show by motivational
speaker, magician, and former NFL player
Jon Dorenbos, who was a long snapper for
the Philadelphia Eagles and a 2010 Pro
Bowl selection. After that, panelists from
the healthcare session fielded questions.
In a separate room, the franchisor luncheon focused on lead generation, recruitment, and qualification. Facilitated by
Lane Fisher, partner at franchise law firm
FisherZucker, the panel consisted of Steve
Dunn, vice president of global development
at Denny’s; Pete Lindsey, vice president of
franchising at Sport Clips; Dan Collins, senior vice president of brand development
at East Coast Wings & Grill; Greg Tan-

62

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue III, 2013

“Success is the
ability to go from
failure to failure
without losing
your enthusiasm.”
— Peter Guber
ner, national director of franchise sales at
Aaron’s; and Scott Mellon, vice president
of franchise sales at Papa Murphy’s.
The discussion included topics such
as the ideal franchise candidate, profiling
tools, the award process, recruitment budgets, conversion rates, cost per sale, and the
importance of adapting all of those into a
strategic development plan—and sticking
to it. Tanner won the panel’s “best quip”
honors with his response to a question on
how to create a recruitment budget. “Setting a budget is like carving Jell-O,” he said.
Day 1, Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday afternoon saw the launch of
educational breakout sessions. A unique twist
this year featured a group of heavy-hitting
multi-unit franchisees on stage discussing hot topics as the audience listened in.
Multi-unit operator Aziz Hashim (Popeyes,
Domino’s, Checkers/Rally’s, and PetValu)
facilitated the session, which delved into
topics as diverse as employee retention,
upselling customers, and maintaining brand
culture during growth, to closing units and

working more closely with franchisors.
The “Growing to 10 Units” breakout
session, facilitated by Sean Falk, featured
Randy Allen, CFO at the Morelock-Ross
Group of Companies; Dan Burrell, an area
director for Jersey Mike’s; Gary Avants,
a Zaxby’s franchisee; and Karim Khoja,
a Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins
franchisee. In this wide-ranging, fast-paced
75-minute panel, they discussed the pros
and cons of outsourcing, maintenance
and repair, insurance, the value of constantly interviewing for new talent, real
estate and leases, lending relationships,
and how to manage the complexity that
comes with growth.
Other afternoon sessions included “Creating Infrastructure To Support 20–30
Units,” “Building Customer Loyalty and
Profits,” “Franchisee Exit Strategies and
Succession Planning,” and “Show Me the
Money: Franchise Finance Pitch Session,”
featuring a panel of franchise lenders.
The Expo Hall officially opened on
Wednesday afternoon, providing a venue
for attendees to gather several times during the conference, attracted by suppliers
offering solutions for both franchisors and
franchisees—as well as by ample food and
drink. Suppliers and franchise brands in the
200 booths rubbed elbows with franchisees,
pitching their wares and answering questions. The Expo Hall was a sold-out success,
the largest ever for the annual conference.
Thursday, Day 2

The day began with a continental breakfast, followed by a general session and more