Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

  • About
    • Bio
    • Coaching
    • Core Values
    • FAQ’s
    • Privacy Policy
  • Courses
    • Flower Math
      • About Flower Math
      • Free Preview Of Flower Math
    • Best Price Bundles
    • Business Plan
    • Contracts For Florists
    • E-mail Templates
    • How To Write Proposals That Sell
    • Marketing Minicourse
    • Wedding Workflow
    • Website Bootcamp
    • All Courses
  • Coaching
  • Testimonials
    • Student Success Stories
    • Flower Math Feedback
    • Art of Good Biz Testimonials
  • Blog & Freebies
    • Blog
    • Free Courses For Florists
  • Log In

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How To Book A Wedding In 10 Days

A floralpreneur® asked: “Do you offer any courses or advice on how you do your consultations and process? I have seen you post that you have a phone conversation with a client for weddings and then you usually don’t really have much contact until delivery/setup day of wedding. Just wondering how you go about doing this, so that you are not in constant back and forth with the client? Thanks!”

I offer a ton of resources for florists to help book weddings and write proposals quickly, inside my Wedding Templates AND I’m going to dive into this question in more depth inside Patreon member training on May 18th,

but questions on “the steps to actually book weddings” keep coming up–so I put together 5 Steps to Book A Wedding in 10 Days, and I’ll walk you though them here!

I’m going to lay out the timeline for how I book a wedding in 10 days below…

And when you scroll down, I’ll add more detail to each step with links to all the resources I have available that take you behind-the-scenes to show you EXACTLY how I do each step!

Because I have resources to help florists book clients more quickly, but if you don’t know which tools are available, you may be missing out on these proven strategies.


Here’s the timeline for How To Book A Wedding In 10 Days:

  • Day 1: New client inquires via website inquiry form (or phone).
  • Day 1 or 2: Reply promptly and invite the client to book a call.
  • Days 2-5: Ideally the consultation call happens ASAP.
  • Days 6-8: After the call, I send out the initial quote ASAP.
  • Day 9-10: Follow up to close the sale!

Want me to walk through the steps of the sales process in more detail?

Here’s a break down of all 5 Steps along with additional tips & resources:

Step 1. New client inquires via website inquiry form (or phone).

Pro Tips:

  • Your inquiry form should help to pre-qualify clients for style and budget by gathering data you need.
  • This helps you save time by weeding out clients who cannot afford you.

Resources:

  • You can find my tips on how to create a contact form that helps you pre-qualify clients inside my 3 Keys To Booking Great Clients Video Series on Patreon Here (access starts at just $3).


Step 2. Reply and invite the client to book a call.

Pro Tips:

  • This is where my Wedding Workflow kicks in. It starts with the 4 C’s of booking: Congratulate, Confirm, Compliment and Consultation.
  • I also establish a starting budget if it’s unclear that we’re a budget match.

Resources:

  • You can get my Wedding Workflow Here (just $19) if you want to see a complete breakdown of my 16 Steps To Client Management.
  • You can also get my Email Templates for Florists Here to get the exact wording I use to establish a minimum spend with clients.
  • Or you can get all of my Wedding Templates in a bundle Here (including my Proposal, Contract for Florists, Wedding Workflow, & Email Templates for Florists).


Step 3. Consultation call happens ASAP while the client has your company at the top of their mind.

Pro Tips:

  • The call is a mutual interview and an opportunity to listen to the client’s needs/concerns to make sure their expectations are understood.
  • This is also an opportunity to establish trust and authority with potential clients.

Resources:

  • You can get a Transcript of a Real Wedding Consultation when you join me on Patreon (access starts at $29).
  • I’ll also be walking through the phone consultation process in more depth with Patreon members on May 18th!

Step 4. Write up the initial quote ASAP.

Pro Tips:

  • I write this up quickly without a ton of detail, establish a minimum spend for the clients, and put an expiration date on the proposal.
  • This is usually sent to the client within a few days, but it may take up to a week.

Resources:

  • You can download my proposal template, How To Write Proposals That Sell Here to see exactly how I establish all of the above.
  • Or grab the Wedding Templates in a bundle to get all my booking tools including the Proposal, Contract for Florists, Wedding Workflow, & Email Templates for Florists.


Step 5. Follow up to close the sale.

Pro Tips:

  • I’ve mentioned the expiration date a few times in the steps above and that expiration date serves as a cue or a prompt to check in and follow up to close the sale with clients.
  • If you want to book the client, it’s your job to follow up!

Resources:

  • You can find exactly how I follow up to check in with clients inside my Email Templates for Florists.


After 20 years of booking weddings, I’ve found that a phone consultation and a prompt quote, combined with the follow-up email to close the sale creates a smooth process to consistently lead clients through the booking process to get to a “yes”.

 

For example: Client sends an inquiry on a Sunday (Step 1), I reply on Monday afternoon (Step 2), we arrange a call for Wednesday morning (Step 3), I send a quote by the end of the day on Friday (Step 4) , which means I could have this event booked by Monday (that’s less than 1 week)!

Though the quote would probably have an expiration date of Wednesday (or 5 days after I sent it). And in this scenario, Wednesday would be Day 10.

On Tuesday (Day 9), if I hadn’t heard from them yet, I’d check in to try to close the sale (Step 5): “I have a note on my calendar that your quote expires tomorrow and I wanted to follow-up to see if you have any questions for me or if you’d like to move forward.”

 


From my proposal template to the emails I send when a client inquires, to my Wedding Workflow (where I walk through the 16 Steps in my Client Management Process), to “up close and personal” lessons on how to pre-qualify clients, how to write quotes more quickly (and with more confidence), to a transcript of a real consultation so you can be like a fly on the wall in a real client meeting–I have resources available to help florists book more easily and I’m happy to help you create your own shortcuts to make a seamless sales process in your business as well!

In short, you’ll find all of my resources for booking clients quickly inside my Wedding Templates for Florists (found here) AND on Patreon where I share the 3 Keys To Booking Great Clients along with additional access to behind-the-scenes training that is usually only available to private coaching students. Patreon is a member-only creator page which can be found here.

If you have questions for me, get in touch. I’m a real person behind these courses and I’m here to help.

xo. -Alison


Learn More About Alison Ellis Here.

Read Real Student Testimonials Here.

May 1, 2022 — 6:17 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Spring Pricing Chat for Florists

Spring is approaching–even here in Vermont where it’s still cold and snowy, I can see and hear the signs of spring–and for the 3rd spring in a row I’m inviting florists to join me for a free Pricing & Profitability Chat for Florists on Monday, March 21st, 2022 at 12pm EDT/9am PDT.

Click Here to Join The Pricing Chat


In this free live chat I’ll share:

  • 3 Numbers Florists Need To Know
  • 3 Easy Steps to calculate your profit margin
  • Why tracking your profit margins are SO important
  • The importance of setting a profit goal, NOT a spending goal
  • AND I’ll address your questions LIVE!

Think of it as a quick 1-hour spring business check-in. I’ll even have a special offer for those who attend live!

I’ll also be kicking off my Spring Flower Math Sale on March 21-23rd and I’ll have all the details for you on that soon! (Sign up for the pricing chat to be the first to know when the sale is live.)

In the meantime, I’m talking “all things pricing” over in my Instagram highlights HERE and you can watch a few short pricing tips below!

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness)

Sign Up For The Pricing Chat


View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness)


 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alison Ellis (@realflowerbusiness)

Sign Up For The Pricing Chat

March 10, 2022 — 10:29 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How Do You Set Boundaries In Your Business?

I spent the last 4 Tuesdays teaching my live group coaching program, The Art of Good Business–as I do every January–and of ALL the tips and strategies I’ve shared this month, the most important action my students can take is to set healthy boundaries. This is such an important part of running your business that I decided to add an extra Bonus Session on Setting Boundaries that Actually Work for Your Life & Business, and I’m inviting ALL of my Patreon Members to join us on Tuesday, February 1st, for this live bonus Zoom.

Click Here to become a Patreon Member for just $3 to get an invitation to the 1-hour session.

If you need to get better at saying “no”, or you’re so busy that you need to raise your prices, or your clients’ expectations are depleting your energy–not filling your creative bucket–then this session is designed for you!

We’re going to spend 1 hour mapping out a plan to help you create boundaries that actually work for your life and your business–and you’ll walk away with a strategy to hold yourself accountable as well.

Grab a pen, a notebook, your favorite beverage, and block out 1 hour to tune in for this session. You’ll be glad you did.

FYI: This is not a “set bigger goals” kinda pep talk. This will be fun, easy, actionable and I hope you’ll feel stronger and more focused at the end of our hour together. A replay will be available on Patreon after the live session.

Note: As soon as you become a Patron, you’ll get instant access to all the existing lessons in the Patreon Vault–and new lessons are posted every month. As a Patron, you can ask me anything! I’ll answer your question in a lesson and you can message me privately if you’d like. (You also get invited to bonus sessions like this one!) Members in the Marketing Maven Tier get 5 Social Media Prompts on the first Monday of every month.

 

Not sure what Patreon is?

It’s an easy to use app that allows teachers and creatives to share original content with their Patrons. This is exclusive content that you cannot get anywhere else–and I add new updates monthly so there’s always something new. There’s no commitment–you can cancel anytime. Florists have been supporting my Patreon Creator Page since 2019.

As a supporter, when Real Flower Business shares a new post on Patreon, you’ll get an email letting you know there’s a new lesson on Patreon. You can click the link right from your email to access that specific post/lesson. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Click Here to become a Patreon Member for as little as $3.

 


Learn more about Alison Here

 

January 28, 2022 — 10:16 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How To Get More Business Reviews in 2022

Happy new year, Floralpreneur®! A florist asked the other day, “How do you ask for reviews from your clients? Do you ask for an opened ended review or send them a questionnaire?”  I’ve done both over my 20 years as a small business owner and I have 2 simple tips to help you gather more rave reviews in 2022:

  • You can click here for a free template on how to ask for a testimonial (there’s no e-mail opt-in required–just grab the template and go!)
  • If you’d like to take this a step further by creating a survey that puts your client testimonials to work, I just posted a short video my Patreon Creator Page here to show you how to create a questionnaire that gathers market research for your biz! (All Patrons have access to this video at any membership level starting at just $3.)
There are few things more valuable than your customers’ words when it comes to sharing your brand’s story. (They’re like gold when it comes to your marketing and overall messaging.)

So reach out and ask your happy clients for a review to help build up your social proof. You’ll be glad you did! And if you want to dig deeper, send out a questionnaire that helps you gather more insight on your ideal customers.

Keep doing beautiful work, and thanks for making time to read my blog today!
With love from me to you,
Alison Ellis

FYI when you join me on Patreon you’ll find a vault of tips and behind-the-scenes trainings including:

  • Tips on Sales Copy
  • Vision & Goal Setting Session
  • What If Another Florist Is Cheaper?
  • Quick Tips To Improve Your Instagram Bio
  • How I Wrote A Proposal in 21 Minutes
  • How To Get More Testimonials
  • Foam Free Arbor Mechanics
  • Tips To Build A Portfolio
  • 15 Business Tips I Learned From My First Boss
  • Behind-the-Scenes of a Big Wedding: From Prep Through Profit
  • How I Make A Floral Bracelet
  • Morning-Of Wedding Prep
  • Tips On Contracts (Yes, You Still Need One)
  • Running A Successful Floral Business
  • Why Instagram Is Only 1 Piece Of Your Marketing Puzzle
  • Streamlined Proposal Writing Tips
  • Tips On Setting Minimums (post-pandemic)
  • How I Wrote 3 Quotes In 1 Week & Booked All 3 Clients
  • Pricing Right From The Start
  • How To Handle Price Increases & Substitutions
  • How To Send A Non-Itemized Proposal
  • Tips to Help Build Your Newsletter
PLUS members in the Marketing Mavens Tier get 5 Blog and Social Media Prompts on the first Monday of every month! You’ll find at least 3 months of social media prompts at any give time waiting for you there.
Click here to subscribe for a month and check it out. (You can cancel any time.)

January 8, 2022 — 4:33 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Top 10 Florist Tips of 2021

As a general rule I find it’s best to look forward in my business, however, as 2021 comes to a close there’s a lot of hubbub about “top moments” and “best of” lists so it seems only fitting to reflect on some of the conversations and topics from the Real Flower Business community:

  • I started off last January with a question: Who Is Your Ideal Client (this was in preparation for my yearly program, The Art of Good Business)

 

  • Ben Cross at Crosslands Flower Nursery in the UK shared his family’s sustainable alstroemeria production with us and his #BritishFlowersRock campaign

 

  • April was dedicated to Newbie Tips on Instagram including: How Long Do Flowers Last?, a quick tutorial on How I Clean Stock and a behind-the-scenes look at How I Prep for A Wedding In My Small Home Studio

 

  • I shared time saving strategies for florists with 3 Tips on Writing Proposals Quickly

 

  • Ad we celebrated 5 Years in Community over in my free Facebook Group in July

 

  • I also broke down Tips for Running A Successful Floral Business (and what it means to define your OWN version of success)

 

  • Answered the question: How do florists actually “do a wedding” with Day-Of Wedding Prep Tips and a look at What I Bring To Every Wedding

 

  • In October, I got the opportunity to sit down with Michelle Lane of Something’s Blooming, to talk about How The Wedding Industry Can Be More LGBTQ+ Inclusive

 

  • In November, I hosted a Vision & Goal Setting Session and taught 3 days of live trainings to students inside my Marketing Minicourse (all replays are available now inside the course)

 

  • And it was so much fun to talk marketing with floral designers and flower farmers that I hosted a 3 day free Branding & Marketing Training for Florists in December, in preparation for enrollment in, The Art of Good Business, my online course and group coaching program, which begins January 4th, 2022!

While everyone is recapping the year, I just want to remind you of 1 thing:

Nothing’s ending–

it’s not over,

you didn’t miss it,

it’s OK if it isn’t “that special”,

all your efforts are part of what you’re building towards

and the “end of a year”, doesn’t mean anything is actually over…

 

Keep moving forward in your business.

I’m honored to be on your floral business journey with you.

Keep doing beautiful work and I’ll see you in the new year with MORE tips and trainings to help you move your business ahead.

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis

(click here to learn more about Alison)

December 26, 2021 — 9:32 pm

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 36
  • Next Page »

Welcome, floralpreneur®.  I’m Alison Ellis, creator of Flower Math, and founder of RealFlowerBusiness.com. My online business courses, group training and private coaching is created to help floral designers increase profits, book better gigs, type fewer emails & build awesome websites.  Learn More →

Follow me on social:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

FOR WEDDING FLORISTS:

Read my book: Falling Into Flowers

Templates for Florists

Flower Math Formulas

3 Keys To Booking Great Clients

FREE RESOURCES:

Free ebook: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business

5 Actions To Take When Biz Is Uncertain

10 Things I Did To Grow My Biz

AS SEEN ON:

*The Flower Podcast

*Slow Flowers Podcast

*Mornings With Mayesh

*Botanical Brouhaha

*Florists’ Review

*FlirtyFleurs.com

*From The Ground Up Floral-podcast

Blogroll

Be Sage Consulting

Botanical Brouhaha

Hitomi Gilliam

Flirty Fleurs

Francoise Weeks

Marie Forleo

Passionflower Sue

The Business Of Being Creative

The Flower Podcast

The Full Bouquet

Think Splendid

Slow Flowers

Seth Godin

Topics

advertising Alison Ellis blogging Botanical Brouhaha branding Business Plan For Florists contracts Customer Service design tips e-mail E-mail Templates for Florists Eco-friendly FlirtyFleurs floraculture Floral Artistry floral business floral design floral foam floral industry floralpreneur Floral Speaker Floral Wholesalers Floral Workshop florist pricing floristry florists Flower Blog Flower Boss 2 Flower Math Freelance Florists Giving Back gratitude Home-Based Florists Ideal Customers Marketing Mornings With Mayesh real flower business Testimonials The Art Of Good Business The Flower Podcast Valentine's Day websites wedding florist wedding proposals Wedding Workflow

Categories

  • Alison's Favorite Things (4)
  • Book for Wedding Florists (3)
  • Boutonnieres & Corsages (2)
  • Building A Brand (108)
  • Business Plan (16)
  • Coaching (13)
  • Contracts (7)
  • Courses (47)
  • Customer Feedback (10)
  • Customer Service (44)
  • Delivery & Set-up (2)
  • E-mail Etiquette (10)
  • Floral Design (118)
  • Floral Industry (176)
  • Floral Workshop (13)
  • Flower Blog (149)
  • Flower Business (166)
  • Flower Math (40)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (23)
  • Giving Back (1)
  • Home-Studio Florists (71)
  • Ideal Customers (45)
  • Inclusivity (5)
  • Marketing (69)
  • Online Business Education for Florists (145)
  • Photography tips for Florists (1)
  • Pricing (41)
  • Pricing Tips For Florists (16)
  • Proposals (23)
  • Recipes (5)
  • Uncategorized (5)
  • Websites (33)
  • About
  • Courses
  • Coaching
  • Testimonials
  • Blog & Freebies
  • Log In

Copyright © 2022 Fresh Event Design, LLC · Website Designed by Zach Hoag