Lawn Care Franchise Ownership Tips - Spring-Green

Spring-Green Lawn Care's Support Center Leads To Franchisee Success

As I celebrate my eighth anniversary, it is natural to reflect on the time spent and the evolution of the Spring-Green support team. This special group has really developed into a group of compassionate professionals who take their responsibilities seriously but not themselves too seriously…and it did not happen overnight. 

When I arrived Spring-Green was a first generation led, 28 year old company. The notion of getting the right people into the right seats on the bus was very appealing but it was not something that was going to happen overnight. (Yes, my vision of that bus was slightly enhanced). After all, I had accepted the responsibility of not only preserving the CEO’s long established culture but also of moving the organization forward. In some cases, as you can imagine, that provided a direct conflict of interest. Fortunately for me, like with many things, growth can help foster change.

This will be the first in a 3 part blog series about the areas that have resulted from our success:

1)  The structure that allows team members the opportunity to become specialized.  

2)  Having the first hand experience in growing an organization through a recession.  

3)  Having a strong culture.

Creating a Specialized Franchise Support Team

I had read a few books on organizational development and respectfully took a few naps while trying to get through these often lengthy and complicated scribes. Many of these books were not written for small businesses but they were helpful to me in crafting my own vision for what our organizational structure needed to become. I knew that I wanted to create an environment where we could continue to invest in our people driving a positive work environment but also creating ROI for the organization. We broke our support focus into six main areas. These are the same six I referenced in an earlier post referencing our Wheel of Support and National Advisory Committees on going involvement. For this discussion I will only focus on Franchise Relations, Training & Support and Environmental. Interestingly we had one specialist already on staff that helped influence my thinking. 

Gary Yunker - now a 30 year veteran to Spring-Green, is our equipment specialist. Gary handles all of our equipment testing and outfits all new franchise owners’ first vehicles. Because of his experience he actively is solicited by vendors to help shape improvements that will benefit not just our organization but the lawn care industry. Gary spends the majority of his day fielding questions from franchise owners in the field who are trouble shooting equipment or considering purchasing new or replacement equipment.

Brian Kish - now a 30 year veteran, was the stereotypical generalist. Everyone could count on Brian as he had seen and done it all. He was reliable, well liked and stretched way too thin to be effective in any one area. What an asset - but where could his greatest long term return come from? In Brian’s case it was an easy decision. We knew we were going to make a sizable investment to centralize our data and that technology was going to be a big part of our road to providing franchise owners with industry leading business and marketing intelligence. 

Ted Hofer - Before Ted Hofer took over as CEO in 2010, he spent 5 years preparing for his leadership role. Ted spent time in the field working on lawns and interacting with customers. He worked to help build our national call center and has served in various positions over the years. Ted also owned and operated a successful full-service shipping franchise. Ted’s experience has made him a great CEO since he took over for his father, who remains company chairman.

This specialized staff is able to advise Spring-Green franchise owners on a variety of aspects of the business including operations, marketing and more. Several franchise owners have taken advantage of the corporate staff’s expertise during business planning sessions. We hope to see more franchise owners for business planning next year!

New Spring-Green Lawn Care Franchise Owners Off to a Positive Start

What’s it like being a Spring-Green franchise owner? The best way to find out is to ask one. Many of our franchise owners have been in the franchise system for 10, 15 or even more years, but we also have a great crop of newer owners who are experiencing their first or second seasons this year. We recently talked with two of our newest lawn care franchise owners: Alex Abbott in Richmond, Virginia and Tony Schmidt, owner of Spring-Green lawn care business in Madison, Indiana.

A Successful Season for Madison, IN Lawn Care Franchise

Spring is the most important season in the lawn care business. As the weather warms and weeds begin to germinate, people look for a professional lawn care service to care for their lawn and landscape. Tony Schmidt is going through his first lawn care season this spring and staying very busy.

“I’m learning a lot and excited about all the new business that’s coming in.” said Schmidt. “One customer has already told me that her yard looked better after just one application than it had in three years.”

The first season is critical to success for a Spring-Green franchise owner. Our initial franchise support is dedicated to keeping a new franchise owner’s priorities in order and prepared. Our industry leading business and marketing intelligence helps us to create a relevant marketing campaign for the local market to maximize sales opportunities.

Tony went on to say, “I’m learning a lot and working on being more organized, but overall it’s been a very positive first season.”

A Profitable Second Year for a VA Spring-Green Franchise

Alex Abbott is also dealing with a rush of new leads and sales in his second year providing lawn care in Richmond, VA.

“I’m still learning, but I feel much more in control and know what to expect now that I’m in my second year”, said Abbott. “An early spring in Virginia created an early sales rush and weed pressure, which I now have under control. Yards are turning around quicker because of the nice weather and looking awesome.” As a second year franchise owner, Alex has been able to take advantage of Spring-Green’s marketing reinvestment program where up to $10,000 is applied to the 2^nd year marketing programs.

All of our franchise owners are working hard this spring and accommodating the unexpected early spring across most of the country. 2012 is off to a very positive start at Spring-Green Lawn Care and we expect to build on that early momentum with a record breaking sales season.

March Madness at Spring-Green Lawn Care

March Madness is in full swing here at Spring-Green. No, not THAT March Madness, but our own organized madness and excitement in our lawn care business. It’s spring time, the most important time of the year for Spring-Green as the weather warms and lawns turn green. But are there any parallels between lawn care and basketball? Plenty!

Team – In basketball, it’s very important to put the right team together. Team members must have chemistry, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and have a coaching staff that can teach and bring out the best in everyone. Spring-Green is a strategic partnership of franchise owners and the support team members working together to achieve a common goal. Our marketing programs drive customer introductions but the franchise owner has to receive the lead or sale and build the relationship locally.

Preparation – Before the basketball season even starts, there are grueling practices and workouts to ensure the team is ready for the season and in top shape for the post-season. Similarly, before the lawn care season starts, time is dedicated to important tasks such as lawn measurement collection, marketing planning, equipment refurbishing and more.

Planning – NCAA tournament teams take time to plan for their game through their own version of practice, planning and goal setting. Spring-Green has a thorough two-day business planning process that many franchise owners take advantage of. It involves marketing, business planning, strategic planning, goal setting and much more.

Execution – During March Madness, teams have to execute the plan from practice in front of millions of people in order to win and continue playing. At Spring-Green, the spring creates a sense of urgency to follow up on thousands of leads and sales. The Spring-Green call center answers phones for franchise owners, follows up on web leads and calls existing customers to maximize revenue as much as humanly possible.

Whoever wins March Madness will have done the best job of team, preparation, planning and execution. This allows smaller schools to take out a #1 seed by being on their game. Similarly, our local franchise owners have the ability to take out a #1 seed (larger company) and win our “bracket” by following the same philosophy.

Spring-Green Lawn Care Franchisees Give Back to Local Communities

Our franchise owners make it a priority to get involved in their local communities and provide the best lawn and tree care service possible to the residents. Being locally owned and operated gives our franchisees a chance to really get to know the neighborhoods in their territory.

Our Award-Winning Lawn Care Franchise Owners

Todd Harcourt, who provides lawn care in Columbia, Irmo and Lexington, S.C., recently won the Best of Landscapers award in Lake Murray Life Magazine. Todd has been servicing the area since 2005 and strives to treat his customers’ lawns like they would if they had the time.

Rick Locke in Indianapolis won the Angie’s List Super Service Award in 2010 and 2011. The award recognizes excellence in overall performance by service providers. To be eligible, businesses must achieve and maintain a superior service record on Angie’s List. Rick opened in 2010 and his franchise provides lawn care in Indianapolis proper and the northern third of Marion County.

Charlie Marshall, who owns a lawn care franchise in Alexandria, Fairfax and North Stafford, Va., also won the Angie’s List Super Service Award in 2010 and 2011. Charlie has been in business since 1997 and previously worked for a major supplier that sold lawn care products to professional landscapers.

Franchises Giving Back to Local Communities

As part of the Spring-Green National Conference in August 2011, a silent auction was held to benefit the Aflac Children’s Center in Atlanta, Georgia and raised $20,000. Franchise owner Lenny Giebel’s (in Lawrenceville, Georgia) son Jack was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2010. He has been treated at Aflac and is doing very well and has a great prognosis for the future. In 2011, The Aflac Children’s Center cared for over 6,500 children and young adults with cancer and offered 250 clinical trials to patients. It is ranked among the leading pediatric cancer centers by US News.

Spring-Green has also teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation, and for every new Spring-Green customer in 2012, the company will make a donation to plant a tree in a forest that has been damaged by wildfire, insects or disease with a goal of planting a minimum of 10,000 trees this year. Spring-Green also participates in the Legislative Day on the Hill sponsored by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) every year.

Many other Spring-Green franchise owners have also gotten involved in their community and won awards. We encourage all of our franchisees to continue to engage their local community and give back whenever possible.

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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.

International Franchise Association Convention Highlights Key Concerns of Industry

 The International Franchise Association (IFA) held its 52nd annual convention last week in Orlando. The convention always covers a variety of topics that each of the hundreds of franchisors are facing. It is always nice to have Spring-Green lawn care team members in attendance, listening, learning and establishing a peer network. This year our CEO, Ted Hofer, attended and brought back information to share with the team. 

 

The franchise community is a very close group and while it represents hundreds of thousands of franchisees, it is not uncommon for franchisors to share best practices and ask each other for input on problems we may be facing. Some of my closest relationships have been formed at IFA functions or educational events while earning my CFE (Certified Franchise Executive). The accessibility to industry veterans who lead many of the largest franchise systems in the country is well worth the attendance. I am not sure any other trade association can offer such an intimate setting with such a wide variety of leaders. 

Using Local Digital Marketing to Promote Franchises

One topic that was discussed at the convention that really hits home with Spring-Green was local digital marketing. Spring-Green utilizes local marketing through the Internet in a number of ways. Spring-Green helps its franchise owners with their web presence by setting up, maintaining and providing ongoing optimization of their web pages; tracking web analytics like site traffic, click through rates, conversion data and more; sponsorship and management of localized paid advertising campaigns driving leads back to the local market; and management of an online shopping cart where customers who receive an offer in the mail can personalize their programs, sign up and pay online. Oh…and of course social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+ and blogs. Who would have thought having and online presence was so important for a lawn care service provider? It is!

Fostering the Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship

Relationships with existing and potential franchisees was also discussed at the convention with a focus on franchisee success, workable franchisee-franchisor relationships, trust in recruiting and the use of an Item 19—or earnings claim—in Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Spring-Green makes customer satisfaction a priority, which leads to successful franchise owners. The franchise support center offers business planning and intelligence to help each owner, forming a great relationship between the owner and the franchisor. By focusing on profitability at the franchise level, or unit economics which is a term often used to establish a common goal for the business,it helps prioritize the areas of focus and allows for the dismissal of the distractions. Easily said, right? We believe it and live it. With a financial road map and franchise owner buy-in, great things can happen for all parties involved and that includes the customer. 

A Focus on Franchise Development

As with every convention, franchise development is a big part of the focus. The current economy and financial lending environment has not made growth though franchising easy. It does not sound like there were any silver bullets but the theme of getting back to basics was echoed and understood. For potential franchisees, Spring-Green has a comprehensive and award winning franchise opportunities website. Here you will find information about the company’s history, investment opportunities, support and more. Spring-Green also provides an Item 19. This transparency leads to greater respect and trust between potential franchisees and the corporate office.

The IFA convention is a great time to benchmark your franchise system against your peers. Are you experiencing similar or different challenges? Are they the appropriate challenges for an organization of your size? What are the trends in franchising telling us? When do we see improvement in the lending environment?  According to our CEO, Ted Hofer, this year’s convention reaffirmed that Spring-Green’s efforts to drive unit level performance while increasing profitability are on target.

Spring-Green Franchise Owners Prepare for a Green 2012 Season

Winter is over in many of the 26 states that Spring-Green Lawn Care does business in and it is hard to believe that I am looking at production reports (work being done) while gazing out the window at snow covered frozen turf here in Plainfield, Illinois.  It has been eight years now and you think I would have adapted.  Maybe we should just move our corporate offices south. 

The Spring-Green support center is at its busiest fall through spring.  This year, over 50% of our franchise system visited the support center for a day and a half of business and marketing planning. This level of activity in a few short months may seem unmanageable to most and at times does to us but I cannot emphasis the significance of the opportunity to have our strategic partners connect with our entire staff.  It is impossible to replicate that level of communication in the field and much of our field work done by our business consultants in season has to do with more short term day to day issues.  The day and a half at the support center is all about the future, setting a road map for this year and for the next three years.  Here is typical agenda. 

Business Planning Day 1

Team breakfast – with franchise owners

Marketing Discussion – A-Z   Acquisition, Additional Services, marketing tool review, campaign setup, direct mail, call center review, renewals, web site review, web leads, SEO, PPC, Groupon, Living Social, home shows other non-traditional marketing, loyalty & retention, customer surveys, net promoter scores and database maintenance and integrity

One on One lunch - with executive team member

Business Planning- operations analysis, revenue, sales & cancels, expenses, materials and labor, production breakdown, weekly performance comparison, review marketing playbook, past years performance, price chart, competitive shopping, online learning center course completion

Dinner - with business consultant and other team members

Business Planning Day 2

Business Planning – 2012 business plan review, 3 year business plan review, executive business review, long term strategic planning, long term goal setting, exit planning, acquisition, resale discussions as appropriate, equipment review, shop discussions as appropriate

Lunch - Support Center Staff, Equipment

Spring-Green Lawn Care Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Today we are celebrating Spring-Green’s 35^th birthday and I have never been more proud to lead this organization. Spring-Green has always taken great pride in its history, the contributions made by its long line of successful franchise owners and tenured staff.  Early this year we lost a senior staff member, Kent Sutton and it reminded me of how special it is to work with good people sharing in their lives as we work toward common goals.   Over the last eight years I have been fortunate to lead an organization of good people and one that that had already built a strong foundation of moral code and who put our franchise owners success first. I have worked to follow that road map as we extend our journey for what I expect will be another 35 years.  Happy Birthday Spring-Green!

Company remains committed to future, poised for further growth and innovation

When Spring-Green Lawn Care was founded in 1977, the lawn care industry was in its infancy. Today, Spring-Green is a leading company in a $45 billion industry. Over the last 35 years, Spring-Green has seen growth of all kinds, which is a testament to the franchise model and the high level of customer service provided by each locally owned and operated franchise. Spring-Green is committed to continuing this growth for the next 35 years and beyond and their strategic partners (franchise owners) are a big reason for their success.  Maybe that attitude is the secret formula to their success and why in a recent independent survey 90% of franchise owners said “My Franchisor and I are committed to positive, long term relationship.” FranSurvey, Dec 2011

  

The company has thrived throughout three recessions, proving it a recession-proof business. Revenue has grown every decade for the last 35 years, and Spring-Green’s revenue was over $36 million in 2011. Spring-Green saw 30 percent growth in revenue from 1990 to 2000, and 90 percent from 2000 to 2010. Spring-Green has also experienced consistent customer growth, with a 19 percent increase from 1990 to 2000, and 43 percent increase from 2000 to 2010. Average revenue per customer has increased by 72 percent from 1990 until today.

As a founding member of the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA), known today as the Professional Land Care Network (PLANET), Spring-Green has been a leader in the green industry since the association’s origin in 1982, promoting education, certification programs and industry standards. Spring-Green has been listed on the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 for nearly two decades.

Spring-Green Lawn Care focuses on innovation and reinvesting in its franchisees. One way the company does this is by providing industry-leading business and marketing intelligence. They have a centralized database with relevant and timely data, which allows their lawn care franchise owners to monitor their business intelligence in areas like production and sales. Spring-Green also offers proprietary tools for marketing selection and analysis so franchise owners can view and analyze all of their current and prospective customer demographics, select their mailing lists and promotional offers and send this information directly to the printer for timed- or event-driven distribution. A national call center supports both inbound and outbound calling services during peak times of the year. This gives franchisees the opportunity to focus on their team and customer experiences. James Young, President of Spring-Green said, “It’s important for us to drive sales for our franchise owners so they can be focused on servicing the customer. Our national marketing programs influence over 70% of the total sales for our franchise owners.”

Spring-Green’s corporate employees have an average tenure of 13 years. Led by Chairman Tom Hofer, CEO Ted Hofer and President James Young, the team provides a strategic blend of experience including lawn and tree care knowledge. The staff also has specialists who can provide assistance to franchisees in specific areas ranging from marketing to equipment and more.

“We are thrilled to celebrate 35 years in business and are excited to continue our growth and innovation for the next 35. Recently a succession plan was implemented when Ted Hofer took over for his father, Tom, as CEO. Tom remains as chairman and Ted’s youthful leadership will take the company into the future,” said Young. “Each franchise has a local owner who is the face of the business in his or her community. We also operate 26 company-owned franchises that are very successful. Franchise owned, single-territory franchises average over $261,000 in revenue, while multi-territory franchises are averaging over $787,000 annually. At the Spring-Green franchise support center, we are maintaining focus on providing the best service to our customers, which generates customer retention and greater profitability for owners. We remain steadfast on our vision of helping our franchise owners to build large scale, highly profitable businesses.”

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Spring-Green Franchise Owner Renews Franchise Agreement

It is always nice when the entire Spring-Green Support Center staff has the opportunity to meet with franchise owners who are renewing their franchise agreement.  A few years ago we developed a renewal process that invites our strategic partners to come back for a two day “re-acclimation and celebration”.  In the case of Jim and Christine Pijan who reside in Poulsbo, WA, they do regularly participate and attend national and regional meetings but they had not been to the corporate offices in almost 10 years! 

Congratulations to Jim and Christine Pijan on renewing their Spring-Green franchise for another 10 year term. Jim and Christine visited the Support Center on January 19 & 20 for their renewal day. Jim serves the area west of Seattle, Washington including Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Silverdale and Poulsbo. Jim has established the Spring-Green brand as a leader in the lawn care market in the Pacific Northwest, serving both residential and commercial customers.

            Jim purchased his Spring-Green franchise in 1992 and has grown it steadily over the last 20 years. Congratulations Jim and Christine.  Thank you for being a special part of the history and future of Spring-Green. 

 

Veterans Day Is Special To Spring-Green Lawn Care

With military veterans in many different roles at Spring-Green Lawn Care, the company recognizes Veterans Day every year. Spring-Green Chairman Tom Hofer is a Navy veteran, and the company has many franchisees and employees with military backgrounds. Spring-Green has 10 franchisees who are military veterans: Bruce Mohns, Jeff Anderson, Jim Hoelsworth, Kevin Holker, Lenny Geibel, Matt Denney, Mike Bell, Pat Mahoney, Roger Grose and Scott Humphrey. At the corporate office, business consultant Aaron Gieser is a veteran.

Hofer’s military background played an integral role in Spring-Green’s participation in VetFran, a subsidy program offered through the International Franchise Association that aids veterans in buying a franchise. Through VetFran, the company will apply up to $5,000 of the initial lawn franchise fee toward start-up expenses designated or approved by the company. Spring-Green also reinvests another $10,000 back into new owner’s second year local marketing efforts.

Additionally, Spring-Green participates in GreenCare for Troops, a nationwide outreach program coordinated by New Prague, Minnesota-based Project EverGreen that connects local lawn and landscape firms with men and women serving our country in the armed forces away from home. To date, GreenCare has helped over 1,900 volunteers provide free lawn and landscape services for over 7,000 military families nationwide.