12 Tips For A Productive Franchise Conference

Every year, our goal is to ensure that our franchise conference and expo offers you the most value for your time and money. With this mission as our number one priority, our members are continually impacted by a high-quality franchise conference with all the resources and tools you are looking for in a networking event (and then some), that will contribute to your overall success.

So as we continue to get ready, it's time for you to start preparing to make sure you walk into Day One of the conference ready and able to get the most out of your time in Orlando, Florida.
We've put together the Top 12 Tips to think about before you step onto the conference floor and to help you plan for a successful franchise conference event:
1. Target Your Meetings in Advance
Plan your meetings in advance. Do some homework and see who's attending this year's conference. Socialize on our Member Dashboard and start posting/inquiring about who will be attending and see if you can set up your meetings ahead of time. Make sure you add the conference events on your calendar and plan short meetings before and after each scheduled conference event. Click here to see a list of our exhibitors.
2. Make Every Event Minute Count
While it's always smart and tempting to save on business costs, you need to stay at the hotel where our conference is being held. If that's not possible for some reason, do your absolute best to make sure you stay somewhere very close by the hotel, so you don’t waste any additional time traveling. Also, when booking your business trip leave a little time to decompress before you go to the first meeting or after the conference, to celebrate your successes.
3. Control the Room
Always arrive early to the events you’re going to attend. As the crowd builds, you will find more comfort in observing attendees as they arrive, and this can be especially useful if you're the type to be shy with new people.
Although social settings can be intimidating to some, you need to avoid becoming a wallflower during the conference events. Not only are you not meeting anyone new by staying in your comfort or safe zone, but by putting out passive energy, others might assume you're not worth getting to know because you're not putting out the positive effort.
4. It's About Them, Not You
Make it a goal to build high-potential relationships rather than just exchange your card with everyone you see or meet.
The best way to do this is by showing real interest in the people you meet instead of focusing on selling yourself at every opportunity. Offer to provide information that's useful to them later at your next scheduled interaction, either during the conference or by connecting with them down the road. In the meantime, tailor your conversations to focus on them, not you. Don't offer your business card until you've established a real relationship and a mutual need to share information.
A little personal sincerity goes a long way towards relationship-building and giving them a good taste of your character.
5. Avoid Turning on Auto-Pilot
The conference and the networking events that are planned around it aren't the places for a canned speech. The door isn't suddenly going to open, leaving you with the opportunity to engage in a winning situation. You’re beginning a dialogue and starting a relationship, not making a presentation. Fine tune what you have to say about yourself so it's appropriate to the discussion you're currently having. There's only so much time you can spend with each person, which leaves very little time for worthless conversations. Don't waste it trying to find the right words to say.
6. Always Give Your Full Attention
Stay in the moment. The person who you're speaking with is always worthy of your full attention. While this should be a no-brainer, being caught glancing sideways to see who else is around is very unprofessional and rude. If you decide you're done with your conversation, you can simply say you enjoyed the conversation, wish the person success, or you can catch up later, and then move on. But all it takes is turning the right person off just once to lose a potentially crucial networking connection.
7. It's All About Attitude, Eye Contact & Body Language
Your posture, your glance, and movement should always be confident, sincere, and relaxed. If you smile and look friendly you'll be easy to approach, and you’ll be welcomed when you approach others.
If the person you want to meet is engaged with someone else, don't be rude and interrupt them. Wait for the conversation to end naturally before you decide to introduce yourself. And when you shake hands, do so firmly without being soft or crushing the other's bones.
8. Showcase Your Savvy Business Knowledge
Ask thoughtful and well thought out questions during any of the open-forum events like the CFB Courses, Round Table sessions, and the Panel of Experts event. Speak loudly and accurately, and if you disagree that's fine as long as you do so with respect for the other person's opinions. Do this right and you can impress the entire room. Be creative, original, and surprising. Let them see you as an idea person or even a team player -- but not a know-it-all.
If you want to approach any of the experts, instructors, and speakers at the conference after their specific event, plan your approach prior to the commencement of each event. If the speaker is busy with others before your turn, email your thoughts to them directly after the conference.
9. Get a Wing "Broker"
You might find it useful to go to each franchise conference event with someone else. A wing man (of either gender) can tag-team you into each new conversations he or she is having and introduce you to others who the person knows. You should learn that person’s goals for the conference and tell them yours as well. Two people can cover a lot more conference ground than just one.
10. Use Memory Notes
To help yourself remember a conversation, make some quick notes on a note card or a business card that the other person gave you. There are many phone apps that can assist you with doing this. Do you have trouble remembering faces? It's not a bad idea to make notes about that person's appearance too so you're able to differentiate between the dozens of people whom you'll meet over the course of the Orlando franchise conference.
Don't put yourself in an embarrassing situation by having someone address you by name but you have no idea who they are or what they do.
11. ALWAYS Follow Up
As you exchange business cards and information with people during the franchise event, offer a way to get together again and a specific topic about which to connect. Send a "friendly message" follow-up when you get back to the office. Make a strong effort on building your relationships via email and social media. Always invite your new contacts to share their thoughts and concerns with you. Find ways and opportunities to help them in ways you want to be helped -- with useful links and introductions, for example. Give the other person as much as you expect to get -- "The Golden Rule!"
Overall, always be consistent and approach everything with sincerity. You don’t want to have a overwhelming amount of activity followed by a silent period, and then try to jumpstart the relationship only when you need the other person -- most people can detect this.
12. Photos Go a Long Way
As unique as it may sound, take photos with your new relationships. This is a good way to start an engagement offline, by sharing your group photos with them after the event via email. You can also engage with them on social media sites by posting the photos and sharing them with each other through your mutual social media involvement. By doing this, you can also benefit by attracting others who may not have been able to attend the conference or are curious about getting to know more about the industry.
In Conclusion
Preparation goes a long way. Focus on building a sincere relationship and leveraging your time to make it the most beneficial for your visit at this year's franchise conference in Orlando, Florida. We look forward to sharing another celebration of your success with you!