Jason Jennings - Authority on Business Leadership and Productivity

Jason Jennings' keynote is based on the most important findings from the research for his latest book, Hit the Ground Running: A Manual for New Leaders. Filled with rich stories, vivid examples, and anecdotes that make the powerful information come alive, he will present the discoveries that allow companies and their leaders and workers to achieve the results fast.

USA Today called Jason Jennings one of the top three business speakers in the nation alongside Jim Collins (Good to Great) and Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence). Jason Jennings started his career as a broadcast journalist and quickly became the nation's youngest radio station group owner and the founder of Jennings-McGlothlin & Company, the nation's largest media consulting firm. His unique and legendary programming, sales and management strategies are credited with revolutionizing many parts of the broadcasting industry, and hundreds of thousands of companies around the world use his audio and video programs on sales, customer satisfaction, and leadership.

Jason Jennings is the author of three books, It's Not the Big That Eat the Small - It's the Fast That Eat the Slow, Less Is More, and Think BIG - Act Small. His next book, Hit the Ground Running: How Great NewLeaders Drive Extraordinary Growth,will bereleased in March 2009and will reveal the steps taken by the world's best-performing CEOs when they take over a company.

The gold standard surveys for franchise development! Get the latest industry intelligence on sales and marketing costs, budgets, close ratios, effectiveness and performance results. Franchise Update has been surveying franchise lead generation and recruitment strategies for over a decade.

Program Leader: Steve Olson, Publisher, Franchise Update Media Group

2009 Mystery Shopping Results: SEO, Website Design, Content, Navigation,Online

& Phone Follow-up

Find out how franchisors rank with their website development and stack up with their sales follow-up to qualified inquiries. Posing as qualified franchise prospects, Franchise UPDATE shops all registered franchise systems by phone and internet. How well do your recruitment efforts measure up? Every attendee registered by July 30, 2009 will receive confidential reports at the end of the Conference.

Program Leader: Steve Olson, Publisher, Franchise Update Media Group

What does the digital lifestyle mean for what companies must do to reach their customers and how products must change to meet new needs? For franchisors and their franchisees, online marketing delivers exponential growth opportunities. Franchise websites will be evaluated to determine how well they are using online marketing to benefit from search engine results positions and paid search marketing to social media marketing and more.

Program Leader: Duncan White, Director of Client Services, Oneupweb

Get ready for the performance results of over 100 franchise recruitment websites in this new, revealing study that will establish industry benchmarks for website development. Discover what rates the average and top-producing sites are experiencing with their conversions of site visitors to leads; and the conversions of visitors who view your request forms that actually submit them. Learn what critical elements of site development have the greatest impact on triggering prospect responses, or can cause abandonment. Further details will be provided in an afternoon workshop.

Program Leader: Boris Bugarski, President, mUrgent

Franchise success starts with leadership. Executing growth solutions in a depressed economy can be most challenging. Frustration, second guessing, and lack of direction can spiral an organization into confusion. This panel of development champions knows how to steer their franchises above the turbulence griping so many others. It's their "total management commitment" to do what it takes to execute successful franchise growth strategies.

These leaders will share solutions and obstacles to their ongoing journeys in overcoming economic downturns, competitive challenges and franchisee discontent through the years.

Program Leader: Linda Burzynski, President, VL Service Corp.

Panel:

Gordon Logan, CEO, Sport Clips

Ray Titus, President, United Franchise Group

Martin O'Dowd, CEO, Hurricane Grill & Wings

2:15 -- 3:15 pm Concurrent Sessions

1. Sales Track -- Driving Sales on All Cylinders: Selling Solutions to Outsource Options

This session is for franchise executives seeking answers for increasing sales results in a challenged recruitment environment. How do we adapt our presentations to be more successful with today's cautious buyers? Or is it better to strictly "stay the course" with the process you have. More franchisors are offering "stimulus package incentives" to fuel growth, but are these motivators helping closing more deals? What techniques, tips and techniques are working? What about franchise brokers? How is this sales resource weathering the times as an ongoing recruiting "partner" for many franchisors? 

Also, is outsourcing your development to franchise sales companies a viable option for some companies?

Session leaders will address key topics such as: understanding and capitalizing on buyer motivations and behaviors; selling your opportunity rather than what your business is; qualifying and pre-closing candidates during each step; employing winning "power probes" that reveal what candidates really think; how to maintain strong validation; and keys to closing deals faster.

Program Leader: Tom Wood, President, Floor Coverings International

Panel:

Peter Baldine, Senior Vice President, Moran Industries, Inc.

Steve Hearon, Vice President of Franchise Development, CertaPro

Your recruitment website is the most important marketing tool ever developed in franchising. All roads lead to your site, and it must be number one or two in your competitive category or you will lose prospects to other concepts. How well you design, build and script your recruitment website will determine the performance of your online lead generation. You may excel in driving visitors to your website, but if you can't convince them to respond, you'll lose the prospecting game to your competitors. This workshop explores how communication, design and direct response techniques help franchisors generate more visitors into qualified candidates. You'll learn how content, navigation and monitoring site performance can impact your recruiting success. New drill-down research will be discussed that reveals how you can design a step-by-step roadmap that can increase prospect leads and reduce site abandonment. 

Program Leader: Rob Goggins, Vice President of Franchise Development, Great Clips

Panel:

Boris Bugarski, President, mUrgent

Shelly Sun, CEO, BrightStar Franchising

3. Lead Generation Track -- Where Can I Find More Qualified Prospects in this Economy?

Developing a smart marketing plan in today's unstable market is tough. How do you determine your best lead sources to attract the right candidates to buy your franchise? Your workshop presenters will initially address essential drivers to successful lead generation: (1) defining your market of qualified prospects, (2) creating your message that motivates their responses, (3) determining the lead sources that get you in front of them and (4) measuring your results to improve performance. 
How about franchise shows, seminars and webinars? Are they really making a comeback? What should you consider in contracting brokers as an additional lead source? Is print still an important part of multi-media advertising, and if so how do you track its effectiveness? What about recruitment PR? In addition to website ad portals and traditional media, is now the time to invest more recruiting resources into blogs, Craigslist, YouTube, Facebook and other social networks? Topics for discussion include:

• Building a realistic marketing budget using performance metrics 
• Implementing the power and protection of multi-media lead generation
• Developing the right media plan for your concept
• Improving lead generation with tracking intelligence and follow-up tools

Savvy franchisors have programs for exiting as well as entering their franchise systems.  Creating an effective process for resales is as critical as developing an effective process for new development.  This panel of pros will provide franchisors with positive resale solutions and encourage additional recommendations from the experiences of the group. More franchisors are actively working with their selling franchisees to help ensure a smoother transition, and better protect the brand and growth of the franchise system. Should you openly promote these resales within your system, and help advertise and market their businesses to new buyers?

This session will also address a not often discussed topic: what does a franchisor do when all avenues have been exhausted in assisting failing and/or uncooperative franchisees?  What is the practice of your leadership? Embrace the situation, or avoid phone calls and wait for certain implosion? Perhaps de-brand the business? Consider staffing the location with corporate personnel until the unit sells? What are pragmatic and practical ways to deal with defaults under existing franchise and development agreements?

Program Leader: John Dring, President, Instant Imprints Franchising Inc.

Panel:

Theresa Huszka, Director of Franchise Sales Development, TSS Photography

Greg Vojnovic, Vice President of Development, Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits

3:15 -- 4:15 pm Break with Exhibitors

It doesn't matter how impressive, informative and compelling your website is, unless the buyers you desire know how to find you! Qualified traffic is everything. This workshop examines the "how to's" of search engine optimization; building traffic through cross-links with complementary websites; the pros and cons of buying key words on search engines and directories; evaluating and choosing the right franchise advertising sites; and testing ad banners and marketing copy to generate higher responses. With today's online invasion of marketing options which includes 75+ franchise advertising portals, franchisors must employ marketing intelligence that effectively guides them through the internet jungle of prospecting for buyers. What about optimization by driving traffic through business and social networks, and other online alternatives? This informative session presents more tools to make better lead-generation decisions in your internet recruitment.

This interactive workshop is ideal for young franchisors, area developers and mature franchisors targeting unsold territories requiring local marketing efforts. The Annual Franchise Development Survey continues to reveal that franchisee referrals produce the highest percentage of closes at the lowest expense. However, developing referral sources often requires more planning, personal involvement and time commitment. What referral and prospect introduction programs are most successful? How can I develop an engaging program my franchisees and employees will support, and prompt them to provide us with quality prospect referrals? Can I generate referrals outside of my own company network?

What low or no budget media should I consider? Can I successfully generate PR to bring me prospects until I can afford a Public Relations firm? What about business and franchise brokers? Ad portals can produce low-cost leads, but can I also recruit prospects through business, social networking and additional sites? Do all of my customers seeking a business know that we offer a franchise opportunity? Do speaking engagements and radio interviews sell franchises? Do franchise seminars produce buyers? How about local print/digital newspapers; military trunk shows; special e-lists, newsletters or direct mail that target my prospect profiles?

Program Leaders: 

Geoff Hill, President, Cinnabon

Jim Squire, Director of Franchise Development, Honeybaked Ham

6:15 pm Franchise STAR Awards Banquet featuring Franchise All Star Band

8:30 -- 9:30 am Breakfast and Business Solutions Roundtables

Sales Roundtables -- Table topics including recruiting sales talent, compensation, earnings claims, closing deals faster, measuring sales performance, selling prospects in today's economy, mystery shopping, attracting multi-unit franchisees, candidate profiling, Discovery Day, resales, outsourced sales teams, using brokers, sales metrics that matter. 

Lead Generation Roundtables -- Table topics including working trade shows, capturing internet sales, response-driven websites, key technology tools, search engine optimization, high impact promotional materials and ads, successful multi-media plans, targeting local markets, creative marketing ideas, franchisee referral programs, marketing metrics that matter. 

Area Representation/International Development Roundtables -- Area representation topics including types of representation models, how they are typically executed, development roles of franchisor and area representative, initial opening fees and royalty splits, creating the development agreement. International table topics include launching an international program, selecting target markets, how to market your concept, supporting international franchisees, dealing with laws and customs.

Program Leader: Michael Seid, Managing Partner, Michael H. Seid & Associates, LLC

Panel:

Joyce Mazero, Parther, Haynes and Boone

Amy Cheng, Partner, Cheng and Cohen

Back by popular demand, it's money talk with the franchise funding experts! During this turbulent credit market, what are today's sources for financing franchisees? This past year new and expanding franchisees have been challenged by less funding availability, property equity erosion, and tightening qualifications for loan approvals and prime retail locations. What's the latest scoop on SBA loans, private equity groups, 401K financing, conventional and non-conventional sources, leasing options, special minority lending and inner city programs? What new programs and opportunities are available that may not be on a franchisor's radar screen? What types of financial incentives and direct funding are franchisors now offering to attract and close more deals? Franchise lending professionals will share up-to-date news on money programs and solutions, and field your questions during this financing forum.

Program Leader: Darrell Johnson, President, FRANdata

Our ever popular mindshare finale that harnesses development expertise in a team-building format. Experienced development leaders will challenge the group for solutions, as franchise executives collectively pool their sales and marketing intelligence in responding to today's recruitment market. How are the leaders of growing franchise companies leveraging their people, budgets, brands and resources to meet their development goals in 2008 and beyond? We will conclude this high-energy session with at least 10 takeaways in a stimulating environment of interactive networking and information sharing. Don't miss this profitable event!

Session I: Investment levels up to $125,000

Leader: Linda Burzynski, President, VL Service Corp.

Session II: Investment levels from $126,000 to $500,000

Leader: Steve Greenbaum, CEO / Director, PostNet International Franchise Corporation

Session III: Investment levels greater than $500,000

Leader: Steve Dunn, Vice President of Franchise Development, Denny's