Lawn Care Franchise Ownership Tips - Spring-Green

A Mother’s Day Salute from Spring-Green

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the joy that mothers bring to our lives – and here at Spring-Green, we want to acknowledge the mothers on our team who add tremendous value not only to the work we do, but also to our daily lives.

Gillian Hrycyk, Consumer Marketing Manager – print for Spring-Green, has been with the company since 2005. She came on board as a marketing coordinator and was promoted to her current role in 2008. Gillian was drawn to Spring-Green by the marketing initiatives and goals the company has in place to drive revenue for its franchisees.

“I love helping to create marketing programs that use amazing technology for these family owned businesses,” she says.

Gillian also enjoys the family atmosphere cultivated at Spring-Green, as well as spending quality time with her own family – her husband, Richard; eight year-old daughter, Ragan; and five year-old son, Owen. Family time includes outdoor activities and trips to Disney World.

Gillian is looking forward to spending Mother’s Day with her husband and children, along with her own mother.

We want to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to Gillian and the other equally fantastic moms on our team: Lisa Fillers, Nancy Babyar, Gwen Pothier-Ward and Mychelle Prichard, thank you for all that you do and happy Mother’s Day!

Meet Our Team: Gwen Pothier-Ward

This week, we are excited to spotlight a member of our team whose drive and dedication fueled her rise to head of our national call center operations. Gwen Pothier-Ward, Marketing Support and Call Center Supervisor, first joined Spring-Green in 2009 as a seasonal employee, but due to her work ethic, professional background and the sales success she achieved for the company, Gwen was made a permanent part of the team. In July 2011, Gwen was promoted to her Marketing Support and Call Center Supervisor role.

At one time, Gwen considered opening her own life coaching business, as people tend to seek her out for advice and guidance. Happily, however, the position with Spring-Green has proven a good fit for Gwen, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in information technology, enjoys helping people and has an enduring love for computers. “I feel that I can access the world from my computer wherever I am,” she says.

In her free time, Gwen enjoys family life with her husband, Isaiah, as well as Isaiah’s children and grandchildren. Calling herself a low key person, Gwen prefers quiet activities like reading motivational books and business development books, as well as spending time outdoors. Gwen also relishes opportunities to learn, and says that she has learned a great deal about the lawn care business during her time at Spring-Green.

Franchise Owner Marketing Committee Meets at Corporate Support Center

The Spring-Green Lawn Care marketing committee gathered at our corporate support center last week to discuss strategies to help grow our businesses. The conversation focused heavily on customer service, customer retention and (obviously) marketing.

These meetings are a great way to foster collaboration between our franchise owners and the corporate support center. We get input and feedback from the operators who are out in the field across the country on a daily basis so we can establish strategies that will help them grow their businesses.

Marketing support is one of the biggest benefits of becoming a Spring-Green franchise owner so we want to make sure we are effectively supporting every franchisee. These collaborative committee meetings are one of the best ways to offer support, and this week's meeting was very positive. Access to the expertise of a 36-year-old company is a huge benefit for our franchise owners that we are happy to provide.

We want to thank the franchise owners from Minnesota, Illinois and North Carolina who attended the meeting and who continue to represent their fellow franchisee owners' best interests. 

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring

When the groundhog emerged from its burrow on Febuary 2, there was no shadow, indicating an early spring. If Punxsutawney Phil is right, homeowners need to start thinking about their lawn care plans for this year (if they haven't already!).

Our existing customers know they are set. They can count on their local Spring-Green Lawn Care franchise owner to be ready whenever spring hits. Spring-Green Lawn Care has cultivated great customer loyalty by offering excellent customer service. Retaining customers by keeping them happy is one of our key philosophies. This leads to return business, which is far less expensive than finding new customers, and makes recurring revenue easy for our franchise owners to find.

By putting the customer first, we are providing customers with the great service they expect from Spring-Green and creating high customer renewal that helps our franchise owners grow their business. This is a great business plan no matter when spring really starts. There may be snow on the ground in parts of the country, but we are always thinking about getting our customers’ lawns back to tip-top shape.

Happy New Year from Spring-Green Lawn Care

Happy New Year from Spring-Green Lawn Care!

On behalf of the entire Spring-Green Lawn Care corporate support center, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We hope you all enjoyed the holidays and time with family and friends as much as we did.

With the New Year comes resolutions, and many people resolve to take better care of their homes for the next year. Your lawn is a big part of this, especially since it is one of the first things people see. It’s never too early to start thinking about lawn care for the spring. In fact, many people work out their lawn care plans even before the holidays. Call a lawn care professional like Spring-Green Lawn Care or submit a request via our website to find out what your lawn will need this year. Any one of our team members can get you set with a plan so that by the time the flowers start blooming, your lawn will be beautiful as well!

Professional Development Seminars Sharpen Skills of Franchise Owners

Note: This is a guest post from Spring-Green's Harold Enger. Harold is Spring-Green's Director of Education and has been in the green industry for over 30 years. He blogs regularly for Spring-Green's Ask The Lawn Care Expert blog.

Spring-Green’s Professional Development Seminars are well under way in 2012 with 7 of the 13 regional seminars completed.  This is the 10^th year that Spring-Green has sponsored these educational days for franchise owners and field staff.  Seminars have been held in Charlotte and Clayton, NC, Seattle, WA, Tulsa, OK, Baltimore, MD and Columbus, OH.  So far, over 25 franchise owners have sent over 60 attendees and Team Members to the seminars.

The topics covered during the seminar include sales, cancels, lawn disease development, handling spills, reducing drift and integrated pest management.  There is also a section where the attendees break into small groups and have to write down how they describe four additional services to current customers, such as Core Aeration, Perimeter Pest Control, etc.  They all know what services we offer, but it is not always easy to explain the services to customers.  This activity allows them the opportunity to hear how their fellow Team Members explain the services and come up with good descriptions.  The descriptions are read out loud and suggestions for improvement are provided.

Each seminar includes a team building game that finishes up the day.  This is usually the highlight of the day’s activities and everyone enjoys working together as a team.  The attendees divide into small groups and have to complete a challenging task.  We have used two different games this year – Junkyard Games and the Rain Forest game.  To learn more about the games, you will have to attend the seminar.

Those who have attended the seminars have also learned about the 2012 Sales Challenge.  This challenge is an opportunity for attendees to win some great Spring-Green apparel.  Certain sales goals have to be achieved to win, but the response has been positive with one Field Service Professional telling me that he has already sold 10 new customers.

The Professional Development Seminars are a great opportunity for Spring-Green franchise owners and Team Members to network with other people and sharpen their skills to provide the best possible service to all Spring-Green customers.

Customer Service Gurus in Franchising

 

Customer service.

Those two words have an important place in the hearts and minds of today's small business owners. When you take the exciting step of becoming a Spring-Green Lawn Care franchise owner, you’ll quickly discover that you (and your family, if you’re lucky enough to have them working with you) have just become entrenched in several things, including customer service.