Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

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How Florists Book Great Clients

Want to know the keys to booking great clients?

I would have given just about anything to know how to find good clients when I was starting out in my business.

Even after I put in years of work and my experience grew in business, I had to actively seek out more knowledge on managing and retaining awesome clients.

Self-learning kept my business moving forward.

I’ve spent time reading, attending conferences, and diving into high-level online education programs to gather a few more tools for my business tool belt. I know the right advice can take years off your learning curve, which is why I invite you to learn with me as often as I possibly can!

Booking great clients is just the tip of the iceberg!

Florists have to know how to attract awesome clients, pre-screen and pre-qualify, run a kick-butt consultation, and close the sale if you’re going to consistently book customers and I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you in my NEW TRAINING FOR FLORISTS on Patreon where we’ll officially kick off Lesson #1 on Monday, November 18th.

This week, you can join me on Facebook at 11am ET on Wednesday, November 13th for a LIVESTREAM WHERE I’LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS FROM THE PAST WEEK.

I received questions on where to advertise to bring more customers into your flower shop; managing a client’s expectations when she has a $700 floral budget; and handling last-minute cancellations on a scheduled consultation, which is just so rude! (click here to join my FB group if you aren’t a member, yet! and make sure to answer the 2 questions.)

If you missed last week’s live chat you can click to watch it below!

Remember: booking great clients is only the beginning.

If you want a behind-the-scenes class on how I’ve learned to attract great clients and book my calendar year after year, join my new online training program on Patreon TODAY.

You’ll learn how to:

pre-qualify clients and STOP WASTING TIME;

run a phone consultation with flair and BOOK CLIENTS WITHOUT A MEETING;

and ATTRACT THE RIGHT CLIENTS with better branding and marketing efforts that are authentic to YOU.

If you sign up before November 16th, you’re eligible for A GIVEAWAY! I’ll be selecting 10 group members a one-on-on strategy session if you sign up before the end of the day on November 16th. (This will not be random, I’ll be hand selecting the giveaway recipients before the end of November.)

Click here to sign up today.

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Join Me On Patreon

Want to book weddings more quickly?

I’m hosting a new training on Patreon!

The intention of this 6-month training is to serve as a behind-the-scenes pass to the strategies I use to attract awesome clients year after year and help you improve your booking, marketing and branding efforts.

In this private subscriber-only forum we’re going to dive deeper into EXACTLY how you can pre-qualify clients, perfect your consultation process, book weddings more quickly, and build a long-lasting brand.

Let me tell you a little bit more about this new thing I’m trying….

Become a Patron!

Question:

Would you like to get a closer look at how I fill my calendar every year with AWESOME CLIENTS WHO TRUST ME and book me without a meeting?

Answer:

Now, you can join me in a NON-Facebook space where you get behind-the-scenes training on:

  • How To Identify & Pre-qualify Customers BEFORE investing time in a consultation and proposal.
  • Phone Consultation Tips & Scripts (so you don’t have to meet clients until you’ve been paid).
  • Branding Building & Marketing Prompts for 6 months of weekly blog posts, social media content, IG posts. (This is for anyone who says “I don’t know what to write about” or “I don’t know what to post”.)

Sound good? Join me & become a patron today!

In this new subscriber-only space on Patreon, we’ll hone in on your ideal customers, sales copy, marketing strategy, and increase your confidence when pre-qualifying clients so that you can LOVE your business (and your life!) as you set yourself up for business success in the long run!

From where to find the right customers to spending less time on consultations, members can ask me anything about streamlining your systems to help you gain more freedom and ensure longevity in your business.

Become a Patron!

Goals:

The goal is to create a professional, curated group that’s NOT ON Facebook so that I can provide off the charts value.

We’ll be focused specifically on attracting clients, booking clients and developing a personal connection with your brand (even if you’re not sure you have a brand yet!).

I am ALWAYS engaged in what I call “the art of good business”;

this means ALWAYS striving to streamline, perfect and hone my skills, not only in floral design, but in ALL the elements of business that make up a high quality brand.

The training starts November 18-20th and then, you’ll continue to receive monthly training sessions thru April. (You don’t need to attend live to access the training!) If I reach 100 subscribers, I’ll release 2 videos (or mix of video and live Q & A) per month thru April!

Become a Patron!

 

Your success is my #1 goal. That’s why I’m offering multiple tiers of membership on Patreon–you can choose which subscription meets your business goals & budget. The first tier of membership is just $9 per month.

If you haven’t been over to Patreon yet, it’s a super user-friendly space where creators, artists, writers and teachers share their work with the people who sign up to support them, or learn from them, on their creative journey (aka their Patrons!).

If you’re reading this, but you’re not familiar with me yet, I’m Alison Ellis, a floralpreneur® with over 25 years of design experience. And while floral design is what brought me to the floral industry, my passion for the art of good business is what’s kept me in business for over 17 years!

Ask me anything! Leave a comment on a post anytime and I’ll address your questions in the upcoming training. You’ll get 3 training sessions in November. This may be a mix of recorded trainings and live Q & A…your input will help shape the content I deliver to you!

Become a Patron!

This is a super up-close and personal look at how I “conduct myself in business” and I’m looking forward to helping you incorporate some of my tips and tricks into your systems, too.

I’d be honored to have you join me on this brand building journey!
With love from me to you,
Alison

Note: Payments for the current month will be due on the day you subscribe and then, on the 1st of the month for recurring subscriptions. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Become a Patron!

 

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Frequently Asked Questions from Floral Designers

FAQ’s

Florists have a lot in common….but no 2 florists are exactly alike!…

Which is why when a floralpreneur® asks: Which course should I take first?

The answer really depends on your own personal business goals and struggles…

Here are a few frequent Q’s and A’s to help you choose the courses that are right for you:

[Read more…]

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February Flash Sale for Floralpreneurs

flash sale realflowerbusiness.com

To close out February, I’m having a flash sale on 2 of my most popular Wedding Templates designed to help you book clients quickly and confidently! I’m offering $20 OFF BOTH TEMPLATES til 10pm Eastern Time Wednesday 2/28! CLICK BELOW TO SAVE:

In these templates I show you how I spend less time typing proposals AND walk you through the clauses in my wedding contract (plus a few additional clauses you might want to add)… 

If you want to:

  • Feel CONFIDENT when presenting an initial proposal,
  • Forget FEARS about explaining your terms,
  • Gain AUTHORITY and build trust with clients,
  • Increase the INCOME you’ll be able to generate when you state your minimums clearly so clients say YES to your next proposal, no questions asked…

… then my templates are made for you! Here’s how I know:

*Allison Schrade wrote to say, “I just have to say that I have been hating proposals for five years now because I put so much work and detail into them. Your templates have inspired me to just simplify and I love it!…I tried a bridal software program last week and it ended up being more work for a result that I was unhappy with….I have just spent my morning enjoying your tutorials and loving your course templates…”

*Chantelle shared in the Facebook group, “Just a quick THANK YOU to Alison as your videos and templates have helped me immensely in streamlining my client workflow – this client only contacted me a few days ago and we met yesterday – I had her proposal to her in a couple of hours (used to take me 2-3 weeks!)…”

*Melissa said, “Just downloaded the 12 E-mail Templates, Wedding Workflow, and How To Write Proposals That Sell…..ALISON! You are the flower fairy god mother we all needed! Information overload! Do it guys ;)”

Point Blank: Templates Save You Time & Stress.

And during this Feb Flash Sale they’ll save you money, too!

To discover how to increase your authority, grow trust with your clients, and streamline your proposals…check out my Feb Flash Sale —>CLICK BELOW TO SAVE: 

Each course I create is made with love from me to you!

Feel free to be in touch with any questions for me! And enjoy the Flash Sale Savings!

xo. -Alison

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Why Florists Cannot Compete On Price

realflowerbusiness.com, floral design, floristry, business of flowers

Have you ever been pressured to lower your prices in order to book a job?

Today, a floralpreneur® in my Facebook group shared that a client slashed her prices in half and re-sent the new pricing back to the florist!…..needless to say, the comments on that one made for some good reading!

As a business owner and floral artist, it’s important to recognize that you don’t want every customer. You want the customers that want YOU…and are willing to pay your for your work!

Business guru and genius marketer, Seth Godin, talks about Competing On Price as a “race to the bottom”. As Mr. Godin puts it, what do you do when you win?…ie. when you’ve succeeded and you’re “at the bottom”!

The idea of “winning” based on undercutting, is a misconception. You cannot “win” if the only reason someone picked you is because you’re cheap-er.

The real reason you don’t want to compete on price….

A florist cannot lower prices and exceed expectations at the same time!….not unless you’re giving up your profit margin.

And if you’re going to sustain your business, you must respect your profit margin.

I don’t want to win at the game of “cheapness”.

I want to win at the game of quality work and amazing customer service.

Click to watch this quick video, “Why you cannot compete on price”:

 

In today’s video I mention my Flower Math course.

Learn About Flower Math!

What is your goal?…

Do you want to be the cheapest?

Or do you want to be better than the cheapest?

I hope you’ll choose option #2 above!

Don’t compete on price!…so you can keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. If you want to find out more about my Flower Math course, which is designed to help florists price with confidence and maximize profit margins, click here for details on the course!

More FREE Tips from the Blog:

You down with O.P.P? (Other People’s Proposals) Click HERE to read.

How much should florists charge for rentals? Click HERE to read.