STAR Makers: Recognizing franchising's Recruitment Elite

STAR Makers: Recognizing franchising's Recruitment Elite

STAR Makers: Recognizing franchising's Recruitment Elite

The lingering effects of the pandemic may still be in play, but if anything remains consistent in franchising, it’s the value of listening and a commitment to doing better. This year’s STAR Award winners all strike those notes—and more—as the elements behind their success and the awards.

The annual STAR Awards demonstrate the resilience and strength of the franchise business model and have long been a benchmark for measuring franchise recruitment efforts. The winning franchise brands all face unique circumstances and challenges as they grow their brands. They also share a determination to create and implement a recruiting process that gets results. Those results are successful franchisees and successful brands. Here are this year’s winners and runners-up.

Best Overall Performance: DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen

“We are always working on making improvements, on how we can get better,” says President and Chief Stewarding Officer Doug Dwyer.

To do that, the franchise asks for constructive feedback, poses a “make one recommendation to senior management” question, and pays attention to the categories in franchise surveys that point to areas where the brand could do better, he says. DreamMaker also has revamped its advisory council, adding a business coach to the group. It also has updated its technology and made sure that quality of life, in addition to strong margins, is at the core of its brand positioning.

“Our values are the foundation of our success,” says Dwyer. DreamMaker is now in 24 states with 40 locations and has set a goal of reaching 100 by 2030. Dwyer also is proud of the average growth franchisees have seen: 192% between 2011 and 2019.

Best Overall Performance Runner-Up: Wild Birds Unlimited

To see Wild Birds Unlimited among the top performers is no surprise: the brand has been on the STAR Awards list in recent years several times over. The franchise also is a runner-up for this year’s award for Best Online Sales Follow-Up.

Director of Franchise Development Seth Holan is quick to point out that the brand’s website was recently revamped for the first time in a while, giving its messaging a boost and amping up its visibility in the forest of franchise options. For a franchise with a large percentage of prospects who arrive already knowing the brand, such a revamp might not have seemed necessary, he says, “but there are those who are interested in franchising who come to use because they see our satisfaction ratings, and then they learn more about Wild Birds.”

Best Telephone Mystery Shopping: Handyman Connection

CEO Jeff Wall echoes the continuous improvement theme. “Handyman Connection has been participating in the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference for almost 10 years, and we have continued to rely on the conference, the material presented, and the opportunity to interact with the subject matter experts in franchise development to ask ourselves the question, ‘What do we need to do better?’”

For Wall, “It’s been important to learn about the holes in our process, what information we may be lacking on our website, and how we can provide candidates a transparent and positive experience.” Wall says he knew that Handyman had been close to an award in the past few years, so the brand continued to work with vendor partners to identify areas to improve.

“We’ve gone about specifically making those changes recommended and are very proud of the work our full-time development team has done in implementing them, especially to share the Handyman Connection story and opportunity with candidates exploring franchise opportunities,” says Wall. “We are honored to have been recognized as a winner of a STAR Award.”

Best Telephone Mystery Shopping Runner-Up: Buddy’s Home Furnishings

Director of Development Mitchell Lee calls himself a one-man band. “I am the direct point of contact,” he says. When a prospect calls, the franchise lives and dies by his ability to answer the phone—which clearly has paid off in the Telephone Mystery Shopping category. Lee attributes his accessibility to his Central Time Zone location that allow him to be available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Best Website: U.S. Lawns

Vice President David Wells says the brand is proud of the way its website demonstrates that candidates from a variety of backgrounds can find success with U.S. Lawns. “Whether they are looking for an owner-operated business, a semi-absentee opportunity, or even converting their existing landscape business to a U.S. Lawns, we have a solution for them,” he says.

To make it both easier and more appealing for each kind of prospect, the website features a drop-down menu for four different types of ideal candidates: owner operators, veterans, current landscape business owners (conversions), and owner investors. Each has a link to a different web page, providing a vision of how U.S. Lawns can help them achieve their personal and financial goals.

Best Website Runner-Up: The Little Gym

The Little Gym brand is part of Unleashed Brands, which offers six brands focused on youth enrichment. CEO Michael O. Browning, Jr., says the franchise prides itself on transparency and accessibility.

“Our website clearly outlines the franchise opportunity and what to expect, while making it easy for potential franchisees to get in contact with us,” he says. “From the different areas of support to the investment information, we offer a way for candidates to learn more about us and our steps to franchise ownership.”

Best Online Sales Follow-Up: Assisting Hands Home Care

Visit the brand’s website and you’ll be greeted by a chatbot that offers three choices: I’m seeking home care, Looking for employment, and Buy a franchise. Answer the last one and Dan Durney, director of franchise development, will get a text or an email. The appropriate geographic Assisting Hands location for franchise inquiries also will respond, but keeping Durney in the loop keeps him apprised in a way that matches the brand’s focus on family. And he likes its utility.

“The chatbot is clear and precise,” he says of a mechanism that is more and more a part of the online world.

Best Online Sales Follow-Up Runner-Up: Wild Birds Unlimited

Director of Franchise Development Seth Holan, who’s been with the franchise since 2018, has seen the brand’s growth accelerate in the past 2 years with the addition of lead prospect qualifier Audrey Kleine. Both learned quickly that Wild Birds Unlimited has a tradition of quickly responding to prospects. “Speed the lead,” says Holan.

Kleine has added her welcoming energy to the first impression prospects receive, and Holan say her role qualifying prospects allows him to focus on nurturing them through the rest of their journey.

Best Social Media: MassageLuXe

Chief Growth Officer Kristen Pechacek credits “an awesome team” that supports the brand’s social media presence and spurs development and interest from prospects.

“We are using social media to tell the success stories of our franchisees, to put them in the forefront, to celebrate their anniversaries and the goals they meet,” she says. “When we can show prospects the lifestyle our opportunities can bring, they are interested.”

Some of the brand’s social media presence is organic and some is paid. The paid is particularly useful in retargeting potential prospects to share more information with them and educate them about the brand, especially through the perspectives of other franchisees.

Best Social Media Runner-Up: Green Home Solutions

Glen Snyder, the brand’s chief development officer, says Duone Byars, the brand’s vice president of marketing, is its “marketing magician” for all consumer and franchisee marketing. Byars, who joined the company about a year ago, says its social media goal must be to break through all the clutter the average person sees online en route to finding Green Home Solutions.

“In today’s world, you don’t want to interrupt people, you want to intercept them,” says Snyder.

And, as Green Home Solutions continues to evolve beyond its status as an emerging brand, the variety of its target candidates is expanding, says Snyder. So has the need for additional resources: they’ve has added a third-party provider to create copy and graphics to further engage prospective franchisees. Byars’ role also has expanded. He now chairs an in-house branding committee that includes input from franchisee councils to focus on marketing needs.

Best Franchisee Satisfaction: Christian Brothers Automotive

“I am proudest that the home office and our owners have built a beautiful relationship based on trust, transparency, joy, and excellence,” says Brandon Thomas, director of franchise development. “And that our main goal has always been, still is, and always will be, to love your neighbor as yourself and further God’s kingdom through automotive.”

Best Franchisee Satisfaction Runner-Up: Two Men and a Truck

“At Two Men and a Truck, franchisee satisfaction is top of mind in everything that we do,” says Franchise Development Manager Jeremy Wallace. “As a part of the ServiceMaster Brands portfolio, we are serious about our commitment to doing the right thing, every time.

“Focusing on this value allows us to help franchisees realize the potential of their investment, while earning their trust in the partnership as we face the future together. We believe that franchise satisfaction is rooted not merely in making franchisees happy, but in showing them each day that we take seriously the responsibility of our partnership.”

 

Published: March 6th, 2022

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