Systems and Processes
Running a U.S. Lawns franchise is far simpler than running an independently-owned landscaping business. Why? Because our decades of experience in the business have taught us a thing or two about the problems that lead business owners to lose time and money. We’ve developed numerous systems to streamline the process of running one of our franchises, helping to maximize efficiency at every turn. The result is franchises that run like well-oiled machines, and strong support for franchisees who are new to the industry or experienced professionals in landscaping. Here, we’ll review a few of the systems that we’re especially proud of.
Franchise Roadmap
Running a business on your own can be a lonely venture, and chances are you’ll need to make important decisions on your own. This can be especially challenging as your business grows – it can be difficult to know when to take steps to accommodate that growth, and to determine what those steps should be.
At U.S. Lawns franchises, important milestones like when to hire your first employee, when to purchase new equipment, and when to add another crew member are clearly detailed on our franchise road map. From day one, we remove the guesswork by providing a clear path to follow. You’ll benefit by optimizing your growth without unnecessarily jeopardizing your cash flow.
Comprehensive Syllabus
With more than 750 tools and resources available to help you run your U.S. Lawns franchise, determining when and how to implement these best practices into your business can be overwhelming. That is where our initial training program comes in. Our syllabus is an important part of your initial training, but it’s also a valuable resource to guide you as you grow your business.
- First, we’ve broken key U.S. Lawns franchise best practices into six basic business disciplines, or systems, that are required for a successful operation (see the list below).
- Next, we have prioritized which of those practices you should be focused on implementing at any given time depending on the revenue level of your business.
- Finally, as your business grows and you begin to focus on implementing new practices, we’ve identified when you should be handing responsibilities off to members of your team so you can focus on your next stage of growth.
- All of this is organized in an easy-to-understand course syllabus that makes managing your growth simple and efficient.
The six systems detailed in the syllabus include:
Sales
processes
Service
execution
Customer experience
People development
Business management
Owner development
Estimating and Proposal Software
Your ability to properly price and quickly deliver proposals to your potential customers is critical to your success in sales. Many independent landscaping business owners find that they do a lot of “guesstimating” which often results in quotes that are too low (leading them to lose money) or too high (making them uncompetitive with other businesses). Traditional methods of generating estimates like “eyeballing” often prove ineffective for these reasons. That’s why we’ve developed proprietary technology to generate estimates and proposals that are highly accurate. Highlights of this technology include:
- It’s built on a responsive site to work on handheld devices
- Its ability to record measurements directly in the field
- It can create custom templates and add core/select services to fit your business
- It will generate a professional proposal in a matter of seconds once your measurements are entered
Employee Recruiting & Training
Successful companies are always selling – not just to prospective clients, but prospective employees. We built our Employee Recruiting Program to help grow your business by attracting the best talent, right in your local community. A few of the ways we help U.S. Lawns franchise owners find highly-qualified employees include:
- Grassroots promotional materials like brochures and flyers
- Ads for digital listings and publications
- Postcards
- Radio spots
Further, behind every great owner is a well-trained crew. For this reason, we’ve developed an online training system for Gardeners, Crew Leaders, and Account Managers: the “Five Star Service Program for Crews.” The online modules found there can be run in English or Spanish and utilize multiple instructional and reporting techniques – helping keep your employees on the cutting-edge of best practices in the industry while also allowing you to review their progress and productivity.
These are just a few of the systems we regularly implement to keep our U.S. Lawns franchises running smoothly.
