Tips for Planning a Successful Franchise Conference for Emerging Franchisors
Recently, I had a very fun and animated conversation with a passionate franchisor who was about to put on their first conference. She had a long list of well-thought-out questions which really demonstrated her commitment to providing her small group of franchisees a valuable experience. Some of her questions included:
- What does a typical franchise conference itinerary look like?
- What are some group activities that we can include to make the event more interactive?
- What specific sessions should be standard?
- Should we hold it for one day or two days?
- Should it be held over the weekend or during the week?
- What’s the best type of location for an event?
- We can’t afford any outside speakers yet. What creative ways can we provide valuable learning opportunities for our franchisees?
We spent 30 minutes on the phone, and through the conversation, we were able to come up with a tight plan and some fun, no-cost solutions for her. The culture of her system and her objectives for the event shaped many of the answers, but by simply asking her the right questions, she was able to formulate a solid plan for her first event.
The most important bit of advice I had to share was…
“Start with the End in Mind!
Ask yourself what do you want your franchisees to think, feel, say and do
when they leave the event.”
We ask every client we work with this same question as it easily applies to the overall event as well as to an individual keynote or breakout session.
With all the thoughtful care this franchisor is putting into her first event, I have no doubt it will be a great success!
ever industry wide Franchise Conference & Event Survey!
So many franchisors have reached out to SPEAK! in the last four years for more than just help finding the perfect franchise speakers. We regularly field questions relating to best practices covering many aspects of what it takes to create a successful franchise convention. In fact, we have been developing the idea of running a survey with our valued partner Franchise Business Review for quite some time now.
We’ll be formally announcing the survey next week but for those of you who follow us, here’s early access:
http://fbr.conferences.questionpro.com
We’d really appreciate your participation, and in fact, will be giving away some fun prizes to random participants! We’ll also be providing the results, for free, to anyone who completes the survey.
Jump on in! It will take less than five minutes and you’ll be helping us create a benchmark for best practices in Franchise Conferences and Events.
http://fbr.conferences.questionpro.com
Hope you’ll play!
Katrina
PS. If you have any questions at all regarding your upcoming franchise event, please reach out to us. As you have heard me say, “We know that franchise world. It’s all we do.” And it’s our pleasure to be of service to you – 720-304-3710!
Franchise Speakers