Film Stars Crestcom franchisees use video and live presentation to bring management training to life.

The Mind like the body, can grow soft if not put through itspaces, and idle brains diminish productivity. Businesses thatrealize this know management training can provide a competitiveedge and propel stagnant executives to greater success. CrestcomInternational Ltd. offers a franchise that serves thisbusiness-to-business need.

Primarily, Crestcom franchisees sell and facilitate trainingprograms supported by proprietary videotaped lectures featuringwell-known talent such as Zig Ziglar. The bestselling program byfar is "THE BULLET PROOF Manager" series, a yearlongcourse that meets monthly for half-day sessions. Thefranchise's primary audience comprises middle managers fromcompanies large enough to afford the suggested retail tuition of$3,000 but too small to have in-house training personnel. One ofthe great benefits of this training is that it's offered on acontinuing basis, voiding one-day motivational-seminar syndrome inwhich enthusiasm is pumped up but quickly wanes. "Trainingisn't an event-it's a process," says Crestcompresident Hal Krause. "In order to be effective, training mustbe ongoing."

Crestcom offers franchises in two flavors: standard orexecutive. Interestingly, everyone who's joined the U.S. systemsince 1995 has purchased the executive franchise, with an initialfranchise fee of $52,500 compared to $35,000 for the standard one.If anything, this is a testament to the fact that the people atCrestcom know how to sell . . . or perhaps to the long-termper-spectives of franchisees. (Executive franchisees pay"distribution fees" of 34 percent of gross revenue;whereas 44 percent is charged for standard franchises.)