The International Franchise Association (IFA) conference is the world’s largest gathering of franchise professionals, bringing collectively enterprise homeowners, executives and trade leaders to share insights and form the way forward for franchising.
This 12 months, the convention was held February 10-13 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. As a first-time attendee, I wasn’t certain what to anticipate, however I shortly realized that success at IFA depends upon preparation, participation and a willingness to have interaction past the scheduled classes.
Listed below are 5 key takeaways from my first IFA expertise:
That is completely different than IFE
IFA could be overwhelming, particularly for first-time attendees. I’ve attended the IFE Present in New York twice, however it is a completely different animal. IFA emphasizes suppliers, management and networking. Luckily, Trevor Rappleye from Franchise Filming printed a helpful primer earlier than the occasion, and I discovered that recommendation invaluable. Mapping out which classes to attend prematurely, figuring out key audio system and exhibitors, and setting clear goals made navigating the conference way more manageable.
Those that arrived with a sport plan bought essentially the most out of their time in Las Vegas. Those that did not spent their time propped up in entrance of slot machines or nursing sore toes within the lounge space, overwhelmed by the sheer dimension and scope of the occasion.
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Attend as a lot as you may
It is tempting to stay to only a few classes or spend an excessive amount of time at your sales space, however the actual worth of IFA is within the breadth of content material out there. The agenda included informative panels, keynote speeches and breakout classes overlaying all the pieces from coverage updates to franchise development methods, all that includes prime trade leaders.
Starting with the first-time attendee reception, I used to be shocked at simply how a lot perception and experience was being shared. Our roundtable — which included reps from Circle K to Citrin Cooperman — was led by Steve Beagelman, CEO of SMB Franchise Advisors and Elyse Lupin, president and founding father of Elysium Marketing Group. They answered all our questions, supplied useful recommendation and bought everybody speaking and mixing. It set the tone for the remainder of the conference for me, and I used to be grateful to have been included.
The accompanying app additionally allowed for straightforward, user-friendly scheduling and helped maintain me organized all through the occasion.
AI was the buzzword
Synthetic intelligence dominated the dialog at IFA, and one of many nice issues about such a world-class group is that you just get to listen to from true trade leaders, resembling Google‘s Nadia Carta and Goldfish Swim School CTO Dennis Leskowski.
Tremendous classes had been devoted to AI’s function in advertising and marketing, buyer engagement and operational effectivity, proving that franchisors and franchisees alike are desirous to combine AI instruments into their companies. Whether or not it was chatbots, predictive analytics or AI-driven coaching platforms, the consensus was clear: Those that embrace AI will achieve a aggressive edge within the trade, whereas those that do not will discover success few and much between.
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To drink or to not drink?
There was an abundance of alcohol out there at IFA — it was Vegas, in spite of everything — however there was additionally a noticeable variety of folks selecting to not drink, even in social settings. I noticed many from the conference early within the morning within the gymnasium.
Certainly, as Entrepreneur recently reported, many enterprise leaders are selecting to eradicate alcohol from their lives completely, citing higher focus, decision-making and an elevated sense of management. This was actually evident at IFA. Though there was loads of consuming, these of us who selected to not weren’t omitted of any alternatives.
Networking occurs in every single place
A few of my most efficient conversations did not occur at scheduled networking occasions — they occurred in sudden locations. From chatting with franchisors in line at Subway after a protracted day to impromptu discussions in hallways and lodge lobbies, I shortly realized that alternatives to attach are in every single place.
Being open to assembly folks outdoors of formal settings made my IFA expertise much more helpful.
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