← Unemployable with Jeff Dudan
Unemployable with Jeff Dudan
Why Showing Up at Franchise Conferences Can 10x Your Business Franchise Fridays with Jeff Dudan #223
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Hello and welcome back to Unemployable with Jeff Duden. And it's Franchise Friday. Today we're talking about something that can supercharge your franchise success. The importance of showing up at conferences, showing up at events, showing up where people that you need to meet and you need to learn from and you need to network with are whether it's your brand's annual convention, which we call homecoming, at home front brands, whether it's a peer meet up locally with other business owners or something. Maybe at the IFA convention, which is our industry trade association, they have a big annual event and they got lots of events during the year or those big franchising expos. I remember walking in my very first franchise convention years ago, nervous, excited, not really sure what to expect. But by the end of it, I had a phone full of new contacts and a head full of ideas. And I said to myself, where would I be if I had not attended this conference? And I'm not alone. Studies show that 75% of conference attendees say networking is their primary reason for attending. Think about that. Three out of four people are there mainly to meet you or someone just like you. And those hallway handshakes and coffee break chats, those aren't just small talk. They're the big talk that can spark a new partnership, a new meeting, a new vendor relationship, or even a mentor. And all our growth opportunities. Now proximity matters. Franchise businesses tend to outperform independent businesses about 1.8 times higher in sales than comparable non franchise businesses. It's not magic, it's the power of the network. When you join a franchise, you plug into collective knowledge and systems. Attending conferences is how you tap into that power in person. It's where best practices spread and innovations catch fire. And you can see the next big thing before everybody else sees it. And in other words, franchisees win by proximity, by being there, getting in the same room, sharing the same air with high performers who are are big thinkers, up to something, going somewhere and figuring it out before everybody else does. And as I like to say, don't skip the bar after the ballroom. There's often nuggets that come out over cocktails and you don't have to drink. It could be a mocktail. I'm not saying that you've got a drink, but I'm saying you need to be there where the drinks are flowing. And that's where so much of the relationships are born. Now, your network is always your net worth, but it's especially so in franchising. These conferences put you in the room with people who've solved all of the problems you're facing. Franchising's a business model back is over 100 years old from Singer sewing machines. And some of the great brands that we see every single day as we drive around our town have been in business for 40, 50 or 60 years and the model has not changed significantly. There's a perfect balance between the fees that are paid and who does what and what a brand is supposed to provide to make a franchisee successful. So it's not just social, it's strategic. How are you going to learn these things if you don't share the same oxygen with these people? And one connection, just one, can change the trajectory of your business. So talk to everybody, have a method, meet peers. Don't be afraid to talk to franchisor executives, suppliers and especially, and I listen to what I'm saying here, especially your direct competitors. If your competitors don't want to speak to you, then they're missing out on some of the greatest relationship that you could possibly have. My personal mentors were all from the restoration industry. Even though they had companies that are much older and much larger than mine, they were always willing to lend a hand and share their insights with me. Don't overlook your competitors now. You never know who has the insights you're going to need. So you got to make it a goal to leave each event with a handful of new contacts and follow up actions. And don't forget, get into those performance circles. Find a group of three to five people that want to have a conversation once in a while. People that are similar to you, maybe in their development or maybe they're a little bit ahead of you. That's where some big breakthroughs can happen. But whatever it is, don't go it alone. So if you're not at the table, you might be on the menu. Or at least you're missing the dinner where the deals and the ideas are being served up. Now, conferences aren't just about who you meet. Even though listening to this franchise Friday you would think that was the most important thing. And it probably is. But it also about what you can learn. They're a crash course in sharpening your saw into gaining knowledge that you hadn't had. And you'll hear strategies that can directly impact your business from vendors, from panels, from speakers that come from outside the industry focused on sales. It's not, and remember, it's just not theory. It's coming from people who've done it. But make sure that they have the experience. If you're going to listen to them. And it's not just advice. So one great idea can pay for you and your team's trip 10 or 100 times over. So when you get home, make sure you debrief with your team, share your top takeaways, and implement at least one within the first 30 days. All right, so if I was going to give you some specifics about how to prepare for an event, this would be it. Number one, when you go to an event, especially if you're paying the money to bring your team, you should treat this event like a military operation. Before you ever go to the event, And I mean 30 days out, look at the agenda, look at the attendee list, see who the speakers are going to be, see who the panelists are going to be. And set meetings on your calendar with people. You get to this conference, you say, oh, I want to talk to this person or I want to talk to her. But if there's four or five hundred people there or thousands of people there, you never run into them. You think you will, but you don't, or you get busy and you forget about it. Set 15 minute meetings. Make sure you, your breakfasts and your lunches and your dinners are scheduled with people that you want to spend time with. You might not get to see them again until the same event next year, so you got to make it count. 15 minute coffees, a hallway chat, but nothing will happen unless you plan it and you will not get a return on your intention unless you're intentional about it. So no excuses. Make sure you have a calendar full of meetings and people that have agreed to see with you. Number two, make sure that you engage when you're there and you're curious about it. Look, you're not there just to take. You might be there to share. So have a plan for the interactions that you have when you're at a conference and get some specific things that you're curious about. So you have some questions loaded. Hey, we're struggling with this. Have you ever struggled with that? And how did you approach it? Look, if people don't want to tell you their trade secrets or their confidential information, which typically isn't the case in franchising, but if they don't want to tell it to you, they won't. But it doesn't hurt to ask the questions. So. And number three, it's about the follow up. You should document your follow up or make the follow up in the moment. Meaning if you just had a conversation with somebody at the buffet line and you talk to them for five minutes and you decided to go your separate ways. Get back to your table, sit down, send out a follow up text or email, or put a note to yourself and whatever you use to keep notes to yourself in your phone to follow up with this person. If you go and meet eight people at that lunch table, you will have forgotten what you talked to the person about five minutes before. It's just the way it works. We can't keep everything in our head. So when you follow up, follow up in the moment. Make sure you reach out to all new contacts, tell them it was nice to meet them, thank you, and try to create some future action that has value for them and also value for you. So that's how leaders are made. Now I'd love to hear from you in the Show Notes. What's the best conference in franchising that you've been to? What's one that's made a difference for you? Share your story in the comments or messages directly and if you found value in this episode, share it with a fellow franchise owner. Reach out to us, Let us know what's going on, but be the reason somebody else decides to show up and grow themselves and by virtue of that, grow their business. And remember, if being unemployable means taking ownership of your future, and that starts with investing in yourself through education, events and community. So get out there, attend that conference. Spark that conversation. It's going to cost you a few bucks. It's going to take your time, so make sure that you make it count. Now before you go, if you've liked what you've heard, or you like some of our other content that we put out on the channel, please like and subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don't miss the next franchise Friday. And if you want to learn more about how to make better, faster decisions in business and in life, click the link below. Get a free copy of my book Discernment the Business Athlete's Regimen for a Great Life Through Better Decision. It's right there in the Show Notes. And if you're looking to build your own business and you're not doing it right now, visit homefrontbrands.com where Mission Driven people find the right franchise opportunities to build wealth and impact their communities. And until next time, keep making moves, keep learning, and keep building your unemployable life. I'm Jeff Duden, thanks for listening.