Shopping at Franchise Expositions

Researching the various franchisors and interviewing past and present franchisees takes a lot of time and effort. Franchisors realize this, and that's one reason most of them participate in franchise

expositions. Because you can learn about and evaluate many franchise opportunities in one place, franchise expositions can be a great way to find a great franchise fast. While expositions offer many advantages, there are drawbacks, too.

At a typical franchise exposition, there will be dozens — if not hundreds — of franchises represented. A prospective franchisee could easily spend an entire day wandering around the floor, sampling the sales pitches of the various franchisors. That is fine if you are looking for an overview on the franchise market and just want to know what it is all about. But if you are serious about purchasing a franchise, that would be a waste of your valuable time.

Form a Plan of Attack
Before you even arrive at the convention hall, you should have done at least some preliminary research. Consult the exposition's program to find out which franchisors will be attending. Of the complete list of attendees, carve out the franchisors who you are seriously interested in. Spend the majority of your time at the show investigating these franchisors, listening to their pitches, and looking over their marketing materials. Of course you can still investigate other franchisors at the exposition, but spend the bulk of your time researching the companies on your "shopping list."