Event Set for Jan. 23-24 at Titus Center for Franchising in Florida
The Selling Franchises Summit, scheduled for Jan. 23-24 in West Palm Beach, Fla., aims to help any and all franchisors grow. Held by the Titus Center for Franchising at Palm Beach Atlantic University, the event has opened registration and will offer early bird pricing through Nov. 24.
Dr. John Hayes (above), director of the Titus Center for Franchising, says the Selling Franchises Summit is all about helping brands award franchises to well-qualified candidates. Such transactions occur thousands of times annually. For instance, the International Franchise Association’s 2024 Economic Outlook report projected that franchising will add 15,000-plus units this year.
“People have one reason to attend – to sell franchises,” Hayes says. “Whether they’re looking for the opportunity to award their first franchise territory or their 300th, franchise people attend to learn how to sell more franchises. Attendees will include founders and presidents of franchise companies, development executives and their teams, consultants, marketers, lead generators, and others who support franchise development. The networking, the content, the speakers – everything we do is designed to facilitate franchise development.”
Topics of Selling Franchises Summit
Past summit attendees praise the gathering for addressing the challenges of financing, responsible franchising, lead generation, rising costs in franchising, part-time franchising, proper disclosure and more. Keynote speakers, panel discussions and roundtable presentations will cover these subjects.
Hayes says the Selling Franchises Summit content will reflect up-to-the-minute developments within franchising. “At every level, trends change in franchising. It used to be the trend was food and beverage franchises. In my seminars at franchise expos – I’ve taught the A to Zs of buying a franchise since the late 1980s – 70% of people attended expos to buy a fast-food opportunity. In the past 10 years, less than 25% of people in my seminars say they’re at the expo to buy a fast-food opportunity.
“Now the trend is service business opportunities, which invites more people to invest in franchises at lower costs. … There’s always some change that needs to be addressed.”
Summit Fits with Titus Center Mission
The Selling Franchises Summit aligns with the Titus Center’s mission, which is to teach people about franchising, Hayes says. “We focus our academic program on undergraduate and graduate students, and they can earn a Concentration in Franchising, which I believe is unique to Titus Center.” He adds that the Titus Center also educates business executives who want to transition into franchising as well as franchisees and staff members of franchise companies wishing to expand their knowledge.
And the Titus Center always looks ahead, he says. “Our mission is all about the future of franchising. Where will franchisors, franchisees and suppliers find talent in the future – especially talent that’s educated about franchising? In the past, it was very difficult to find a college graduate in marketing or finance or international business and expect them to know anything about franchising. … To date, we have graduated 61 undergraduates with a Concentration in Franchising. Ten of those graduates have become franchisees. Twenty of those graduates work for franchise companies and often know more about franchising than many first-year franchisees.
“People who attend this January’s summit will meet these students and graduates. At a recent Selling Franchises Summit, one of my graduates got three offers from franchisors, all for franchise development,” Hayes continues. “Aside from providing talent for the future, the summit helps train up-and-coming franchise development team members, and it provides an overall strategy for development for emerging and established franchisors.”
Speakers, Details and Registration
The veteran franchising presenters at the summit will share their most successful strategies for franchise development. Keynote speakers will be:
- John T. Hewitt, who started two publicly traded tax preparation franchise organizations, Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax Service. He sold each of them for nearly $500 million. He has awarded more than 5,200 franchises.
- Mary Kennedy Thompson, CEO of Business Network International, which has more than 11,000 networking chapters in 76 countries. Previously Thompson served as chief operating officer of Neighborly, an umbrella franchisor with more than two dozen home services brands.
- Scott Abbott, who built Five Star Painting into one of the largest painting companies in franchising. It was sold to Dwyer Group, which is now called Neighborly, in 2015. Today Abbott is a venture capitalist.
Summit sponsors currently are Accurate Franchising Inc., Big O Tires, BizCom Associates, Boulder Designs, Border Magic, Brand J, FranFund, MFV Expositions, Midas and Transworld Business Advisors. Additional sponsorships are still available. To learn more about the summit and to register for it, click here.
