Happinest Brands, the parent franchisor to Lawn Doctor, Pest Hunters-Mosquito Hunters-Humbug Holiday Lighting, ecomaids, Sparkle Squad and Elite Window Cleaning, has grown to nearly 1,000 locations across North America. While highly successful, many franchisees experienced “off-seasons” or slow-downs in months where the weather was not conducive to providing the same volume of services as can be provided in warmer months. In many markets, these off-seasons also coincide with the winter holidays.
To offer franchisees an opportunity for diversification and support year-round business operations, Happinest Brands developed holiday lighting service lines to its brands, supporting franchisees not only in capturing additional revenue, but creating a model that allowed for better employee retention and stronger margins, which position owners to reinvest in their franchises and accelerate growth on all fronts.
“The joy that holiday lighting brings to our teams and clients is a great benefit, but there are plenty of objective business perks, too,” said Eric Martin, senior vice president of franchise development at Happinest Brands. “The opportunity to offer multiple services under one ‘roof,’ without paying another franchise fee, is a great benefit to our franchisees. It supports their profit margins, empowers them to build stronger, growth-focused teams and positions them to reinvest in their businesses throughout the year.”
Happinest’s holiday lighting brands stand out among clients due to a white-glove approach that is not found elsewhere. Franchisees and their teams design each lighting display to fit the specific home they’re servicing, install the lights at the start of the season, maintain them throughout the season and take them down to store until next year at the end of the season.
“By offering an elevated service, franchisees can cater to a higher-caliber client who is willing to spend more on their lighting services for the holiday season,” Martin said. “The following year, the service will have the same price point, but with lights already purchased, ordered, installed and fit, the franchisee’s profit margin is even higher.”
Happinest is growing its holiday lighting operations with a training program and ongoing support designed to help franchisees find early success and sustain long-term growth.
“As we discussed expanding to new service lines, we knew we would need to develop a robust education system,” Martin said. “For franchisees who joined us with a pest control or lawn care concept, for example, holiday lighting is a brand new world. Setting them up for success as they rolled out this new service in their local markets was a top priority.”
As such, Happinest built a training program that addressed key skills and practices in varied, engaging ways.
While the different brands under the Happinest umbrella have their own versions of a holiday lighting “arm,” the owners all come together for training, allowing for a shared experience and the opportunity to learn from both the franchisor and fellow franchisees.
“From the classroom aspect of knowing where our mind needs to be and giving us the tools we need to be successful, to the conversations and discussions, which come about as a natural part of the training, the entire experience was so beneficial,” said Shawntè Bell, a Sparkle Squad owner in Georgia. “I love my team members and meeting folks and being able to brainstorm and make those connections, which is really important as well.”
This type of connection and collaboration allows for even more knowledge sharing and further professional development for everyone involved.
“It’s like one big family,” said Tyson Ang, a Hunters-Humbug franchisee in Texas. “We know each other and can rely on each other for different information. It’s been great, and I feel like this type of sharing only happens when you’re part of a franchise like Happinest. This is one of the big positives of being a part of this franchise.”
Happinest’s holiday lighting training program includes both classroom and hands-on training opportunities to ensure owners are equipped to complete the day-to-day tasks associated with the business, if needed, and follow through on higher-level management, leadership and sales needs.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable, not just being able to do it myself but in being able to coach my team to be successful in doing the same thing,” said Brian Rojik, owner of Humbug Holiday Lighting South Shore in Boston. “I’m feeling really good. I’ve filled in a lot of gaps with the training program.”
As owners return to their markets and begin launching their holiday lighting operations, understanding where to start with making connections and closing deals is key. Using technology to create an interactive platform, and pairing this with in-person practice and feedback, Happinest’s training model ensures even franchisees with zero previous sales experience are able to grow their skills and return to their markets confident in their ability to close the deal.
“My favorite points were the sales — I’ve never been a sales guy,” said Kyle Wagner, owner of Hunters-Humbug of Greater Madison-Janesville in Wisconsin. “I need that motivation and drive … the breakdown of what you tell a customer, how you get a commercial customer to buy lights, what do you say? They give you all the tools to do that.”
As a part of the sales training process, Happinest developed its Sales Sleigher roleplay bot, an AI chatbot that supports franchisees and their teams in developing their sales skills. Available to owners both during their training session and beyond, the bot serves as a safe space for anyone to practice sales techniques without the pressure of a real deal on the line.
“That’s what you want, right? You want to be able to do that work in training when you don’t actually have anything on the line other than your pride,” said Cameron Van Kammen, general manager of Hunters-Humbug of Chicago. “You get the opportunity to get smacked down by someone and really have to drive and overcome. After that, it’s going to be a lot easier for you to do that live when you actually have a $10,000 deal on the line than it would be if you have a prospect asking you a hard question that you’ve never practiced overcoming before.”
This forward-thinking approach to training and ongoing support is one of the key differentiators for Happinest Brands. While the franchisor offers a playbook, it also provides dynamic, interactive learning opportunities with members of the leadership team, their fellow franchisees, and a chatbot available at any time and place.
The success of hands-on training and tools like the Sales Sleigher has set the stage for Happinest franchisees, positioning them for long-term growth and continued innovation and success across the brands.
“We’re just scratching the surface here,” Martin said. “The holiday lighting space is still relatively young; there is plenty of room to grow. And the success of our hands-on and classroom training models has us thinking about other ways we will be able to continue developing the education aspect and streamlining operations for our owners. Our goal is to make this the most turnkey, profitable service line while supporting our owners as they focus on what they do best: delighting their customers and growing their local businesses.”
For more information on Happinest Brands, please visit https://happinest.com/.
Mosquito Hunters
SPONSORED
Through its holiday lighting service line, supported with full training, marketing and sales programs, Happinest Brands helps franchisees create stable and predictable year-round growth.
Happinest Brands, the parent franchisor to Lawn Doctor, Pest Hunters-Mosquito Hunters-Humbug Holiday Lighting, ecomaids, Sparkle Squad and Elite Window Cleaning, has grown to nearly 1,000 locations across North America. While highly successful, many franchisees experienced “off-seasons” or slow-downs in months where the weather was not conducive to providing the same volume of services as can be provided in warmer months. In many markets, these off-seasons also coincide with the winter holidays.
To offer franchisees an opportunity for diversification and support year-round business operations, Happinest Brands developed holiday lighting service lines to its brands, supporting franchisees not only in capturing additional revenue, but creating a model that allowed for better employee retention and stronger margins, which position owners to reinvest in their franchises and accelerate growth on all fronts.
“The joy that holiday lighting brings to our teams and clients is a great benefit, but there are plenty of objective business perks, too,” said Eric Martin, senior vice president of franchise development at Happinest Brands. “The opportunity to offer multiple services under one ‘roof,’ without paying another franchise fee, is a great benefit to our franchisees. It supports their profit margins, empowers them to build stronger, growth-focused teams and positions them to reinvest in their businesses throughout the year.”
Happinest’s holiday lighting brands stand out among clients due to a white-glove approach that is not found elsewhere. Franchisees and their teams design each lighting display to fit the specific home they’re servicing, install the lights at the start of the season, maintain them throughout the season and take them down to store until next year at the end of the season.
“By offering an elevated service, franchisees can cater to a higher-caliber client who is willing to spend more on their lighting services for the holiday season,” Martin said. “The following year, the service will have the same price point, but with lights already purchased, ordered, installed and fit, the franchisee’s profit margin is even higher.”
Happinest is growing its holiday lighting operations with a training program and ongoing support designed to help franchisees find early success and sustain long-term growth.
“As we discussed expanding to new service lines, we knew we would need to develop a robust education system,” Martin said. “For franchisees who joined us with a pest control or lawn care concept, for example, holiday lighting is a brand new world. Setting them up for success as they rolled out this new service in their local markets was a top priority.”
As such, Happinest built a training program that addressed key skills and practices in varied, engaging ways.
While the different brands under the Happinest umbrella have their own versions of a holiday lighting “arm,” the owners all come together for training, allowing for a shared experience and the opportunity to learn from both the franchisor and fellow franchisees.
“From the classroom aspect of knowing where our mind needs to be and giving us the tools we need to be successful, to the conversations and discussions, which come about as a natural part of the training, the entire experience was so beneficial,” said Shawntè Bell, a Sparkle Squad owner in Georgia. “I love my team members and meeting folks and being able to brainstorm and make those connections, which is really important as well.”
This type of connection and collaboration allows for even more knowledge sharing and further professional development for everyone involved.
“It’s like one big family,” said Tyson Ang, a Hunters-Humbug franchisee in Texas. “We know each other and can rely on each other for different information. It’s been great, and I feel like this type of sharing only happens when you’re part of a franchise like Happinest. This is one of the big positives of being a part of this franchise.”
Happinest’s holiday lighting training program includes both classroom and hands-on training opportunities to ensure owners are equipped to complete the day-to-day tasks associated with the business, if needed, and follow through on higher-level management, leadership and sales needs.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable, not just being able to do it myself but in being able to coach my team to be successful in doing the same thing,” said Brian Rojik, owner of Humbug Holiday Lighting South Shore in Boston. “I’m feeling really good. I’ve filled in a lot of gaps with the training program.”
As owners return to their markets and begin launching their holiday lighting operations, understanding where to start with making connections and closing deals is key. Using technology to create an interactive platform, and pairing this with in-person practice and feedback, Happinest’s training model ensures even franchisees with zero previous sales experience are able to grow their skills and return to their markets confident in their ability to close the deal.
“My favorite points were the sales — I’ve never been a sales guy,” said Kyle Wagner, owner of Hunters-Humbug of Greater Madison-Janesville in Wisconsin. “I need that motivation and drive … the breakdown of what you tell a customer, how you get a commercial customer to buy lights, what do you say? They give you all the tools to do that.”
As a part of the sales training process, Happinest developed its Sales Sleigher roleplay bot, an AI chatbot that supports franchisees and their teams in developing their sales skills. Available to owners both during their training session and beyond, the bot serves as a safe space for anyone to practice sales techniques without the pressure of a real deal on the line.
“That’s what you want, right? You want to be able to do that work in training when you don’t actually have anything on the line other than your pride,” said Cameron Van Kammen, general manager of Hunters-Humbug of Chicago. “You get the opportunity to get smacked down by someone and really have to drive and overcome. After that, it’s going to be a lot easier for you to do that live when you actually have a $10,000 deal on the line than it would be if you have a prospect asking you a hard question that you’ve never practiced overcoming before.”
This forward-thinking approach to training and ongoing support is one of the key differentiators for Happinest Brands. While the franchisor offers a playbook, it also provides dynamic, interactive learning opportunities with members of the leadership team, their fellow franchisees, and a chatbot available at any time and place.
The success of hands-on training and tools like the Sales Sleigher has set the stage for Happinest franchisees, positioning them for long-term growth and continued innovation and success across the brands.
“We’re just scratching the surface here,” Martin said. “The holiday lighting space is still relatively young; there is plenty of room to grow. And the success of our hands-on and classroom training models has us thinking about other ways we will be able to continue developing the education aspect and streamlining operations for our owners. Our goal is to make this the most turnkey, profitable service line while supporting our owners as they focus on what they do best: delighting their customers and growing their local businesses.”
For more information on Happinest Brands, please visit https://happinest.com/.
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