At Threshold Brands, we help people turn ambition into business ownership.
Our home services franchise portfolio company includes ten home-service franchise brands – from plumbing, HVAC, insulation, and mold remediation to house cleaning, pest control, surface refinishing, epoxy flooring, stone restoration and window cleaning. These are essential, community-rooted service businesses that improve and protect our customers’ greatest asset – their home.
I’m Kelli Schroder, Vice President of Franchise Development at Threshold Brands, and my passion lies in helping people take that leap into business ownership. What I love most about our work is that we give people a life raft – an opportunity to build something of their own with the support of a proven, tested system behind them.
Starting a business is a huge deal, and we want to build that trust from the very first encounter – the very first hello.
My day-to-day role focuses on expanding our brands’ footprint by scaling through new franchisees. I’m proud to share that we’re almost 1,000 territories and 400+ franchisees strong – and those numbers continue to grow.
Watch the full Threshold Brands customer story
Living our mission: “We answer the call.”
One of the most exciting things about partnering with AnswerConnect is how perfectly they align with our brand mission. We recently rebranded Threshold Brands with the tagline: “We answer the call.”
It’s more than a slogan – it’s who we are.
Our partnership with AnswerConnect allows us to live up to that promise. Their service gives us the ability to interact with each customer who calls, 24 hours a day!
The power of answering the call
When I first joined Threshold Brands, one of the biggest surprises was realizing that most of our franchise development websites didn’t have a phone number listed. If someone wanted to learn about owning one of our franchises, there was literally nowhere for them to call.
In business development, that’s a non-negotiable. Having someone available to answer a call is table stakes. Not everyone will text or fill out a form. Some people want to pick up the phone and talk to a real person. And when they do, that first impression can make or break an opportunity.
Since implementing the AnswerConnect service, we’ve captured a couple of qualified franchise leads – people who picked up the phone because they were genuinely interested in buying a franchise. In fact, we currently have two leads actively in our pipeline that came directly through AnswerConnect. Before, those calls would have gone unanswered, and those opportunities potentially lost. Now, every interested caller is connected to our team instantly.
Responsive = ROI
In franchise sales, speed matters. Every hour that a lead sits without a response, the chance of conversion drops. With AnswerConnect, every call is answered quickly and professionally, no matter what time it comes in.
I don’t expect my team to be available at 2:00 a.m., but if someone is excited enough to inquire about a franchise opportunity in the middle of the night, we should be there to meet that interest. That responsiveness has a direct impact on our ROI. The cost of the service is a small investment that delivers a strong return. It’s not just about the leads we capture; it’s about how we show up as a brand.
Seamless Subaccounts and outstanding support
With 10 different brands under the Threshold Brands umbrella, organization and responsiveness are critical. The subaccount structure with AnswerConnect has been seamless – it allows each brand to have its own dedicated line, while still giving our team a central place to manage everything.
Their customer support has also been exceptional. Whenever we’ve run into a technical hiccup, their response time has been same-day. The team is proactive too, there was even a situation where one of our brand numbers was repeatedly hit by a fax line. AnswerConnect noticed it before we did and helped us resolve it immediately.
That kind of partnership and attention to detail means a lot.
Another aspect of the service I love is the ability to receive voicemails and call details in real time. If I’m in a meeting, I can quickly skim the call information to see if it’s an inquiry I need to act on right away. And if I need to look back, the online app keeps a complete call history. That transparency and access are invaluable in sales.
Results that matter
Since bringing on AnswerConnect, we’ve seen a measurable improvement in responsiveness and a reduction in missed opportunities. We’ve captured leads that never would have made it into our CRM otherwise.
Beyond sales, it’s also improved communication across our business. Calls that used to fall into a black hole are now being routed to the correct department, whether it’s HR, customer service, or franchise development. That alone has made us a more efficient, connected organization.
My advice to other franchisors
If you’re on the fence about whether an answering service is worth it, take the call. Try it with one brand, and you’ll quickly see the difference. I bet you will be surprised by how many calls you were missing before.
At the end of the day, you can’t measure what you don’t track. And if you don’t have a live person answering the phone for your business, you’re missing out on opportunities to connect, grow, and deliver on your brand promise.
For us at Threshold Brands, partnering with AnswerConnect has meant more than just answering the call – it’s meant capturing opportunities and connecting with customers.
Discover more
Visit Threshold Brands to explore their work. Contact AnswerConnect to see how a 24/7 answering service can help your franchise save time, reduce costs, and focus on growth.
