ALEXANDRIA, VA, — Last Valentine’s Day, something special happened at Lorrie Anderson’s Country Florist in Waldorf, Md.: A designer took a holiday order from $85 to $300. And she did it by listening carefully to the customer, offering expert advice and making sure that the gift-giver understood the full capabilities of the shop. In other words, she put strong training into real, profit-boosting practice.
“I’m really big on staff education because it motivates people,” said Anderson, who brought along three employees to the Society of American Florists' (SAF's) 1-Day Profit Blast in Baltimore in 2014. “It tells them we care about their development, and they share what they learn with everybody.”
In 2015, florists can follow Anderson’s lead and catch four top educational sessions at the 1-Day Profit Blast on Sunday, Jan. 25 in Seattle. “We pack a lot of valuable information into one eight-hour program,” said SAF President Shirley Lyons, AAF, PFCI, of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts LLC in Eugene, Ore. “It’s fast, convenient and affordably priced, so bring your team along.”
With an average order hovering around $70, Anderson had no complaints about her team’s ability to bring in sizeable sales.
“They’re generally well trained and know to suggest add-ons and talk about items in the middle of the price range first,” she said.
Since the Profit Blast, however, she’s noticed everyone in the shop began employing those techniques more — and not just around the major holidays.
“My staff immediately started implementing ideas from (sales pro Tim Huckabee’s) program,” Anderson said.
As energy and excitement spread, those best practices became the baseline approach to everyday sales. Today, said Anderson, “it’s just their routine.”
“The 1-Day Profit Blast was just that, a blast of very valuable information in a short time,” said Kathie Murphy, general manager of Blossom Flower Shops in Yonkers and White Plains, N.Y. Murphy and shop owner Kevin Kegan didn’t mind the four-hour drive to Baltimore.
“It’s always helpful to hear what other people are doing; we enjoy mingling and learning,” she said. Although she’s been in the business for 35 years, they took home “a lot of new ideas as well as positive confirmation” that they’re on the right track. “It definitely gave us a boost.”
Larry Malone manages the business side of Colonial Flowers in Millville, N.J., while his wife Debbie hones in on the creative. One of his big takeaways was the realization that he had to invest in online marketing. “[SAF CIO] Renato [Sogueco] was awesome … he’s just brilliant,” said Malone.
Sogueco’s Profit Blast presentation prompted Malone to bump up his online advertising with paid posts on Facebook, and he’s seen clear results. The company has nearly 800 Facebook friends, but a plain (unpaid) post only reaches about 120 today, Malone said.
“When we pay $5 for a post to go out to our friends, we get 500-600 views.” A $20 buy can triple that number, and a $75 purchase sent their message out to 8,500. “I try to be selective and pay based on the importance of the post,” Malone said, “but it’s nice because you can target them by city, age group, gender and so on.”
For Dot, Beth and Walter Perry of Gordon Florist, registering for the last Profit Blast in their hometown of Baltimore was a no-brainer. “We enjoyed meeting other florists from our region who we wire out to and who wire to us,” Dot said.
Ira Bitner, II, AAF, of The Flower Shop, agreed: “The programs were excellent and networking with others opened our eyes to different aspects of this industry. Bitner, who operates stores in Littlestown, Pa., and Taneytown, Md., brought his wife and a key employee to the Profit Blast. “What we gained in one short day was invaluable.”
Visit safnow.org/1-day-profit-blast for details and to register you and your team for the SAF 1-Day Profit Blast on Sunday, Jan 25 in Seattle.
Source: Society of American Florists
