What to do if customers are ghosting

How do you book more weddings?

First, you have to attract the customer, then you have to close the sale.

I’ve seen an influx of florists asking about “ghosting” in my Facebook group. Particularly the question, “What can I do to fix this?”

If you, too, are experiencing customers who “disappear” without a word, check out today’s video where I talk about 2 reasons this may be happening plus 4 tips to help you correct this problem in my live chat on “Closing the sale”.

Click to watch if you’re getting ghosted:

Find pdfs HERE!

The slow fade.

Every florist can relate to your frustration when a customer just walks away! You’re not alone.

At this point in my business I have an excellent pre-qualification process. I think instead of just “weeding out” price shoppers, prequalification serves as a form of “customer service” by letting potential clients know some important details before we move forward:

#1. My requested minimum for THEIR event (if it’s further away, the minimum is more, for example, if there are 8 bridesmaids, it’s more than if you have 2 bridesmaids, etc.),

#2. That our first contact is via phone consultation,

#3. I will provide them some preliminary details and a quote and THEN THEY CAN BOOK OR NOT, but we’re not going further down this road (with multiple revisions, meetings, etc.) unless we’re on the same page at this point regarding price, style and trust….and a deposit.

Now, that said, I really do feel your pain; it’s not easy to “start from scratch” each season as we do in the wedding industry. No “repeat business” from last year’s couples makes what we do in the wedding biz very uniquely, stressful and we must be resilient when faced with rejection. Which is easier said than done sometimes.

But here’s how I see it, anyone who’s price shopping and doesn’t choose you, is a GOOD loss. You don’t want that customer….OK, maybe you just need “any customers” at some point, but in the long run, the price shopper isn’t a “type of customer” you can truly try to court and make loyal to you/your brand.

Your ideal customer (not necessarily “high-end” or “luxury customers”, but YOUR customers, the ones who want the work that you enjoy doing!) have to “find you” because you show up for them in a way that’s clear and obvious to them.

As I always say, we have to speak directly to their hearts so they can find us….and what happens on the flip-side is that these price shoppers start to realize that we are not talking to them.

They “weed themselves out” because they can feel your honesty, your quality, your vibe, and they want you. Not “just anyone”.

You’re not “the cheapest”; you have something more to give…and they feel that.

Your businesses depends upon understanding what your customers need, then, you serve it up on a silver platter, and if it’s “not for them”, they know it…..just as much as we do.

But for your ideal clients, the clients who LOVE you and are excited to work with you, THEY GET IT. They get you. They want what you do. They don’t need convincing because you’ve already shown them WHO YOU ARE.

This is the work I do on-the-daily….and what I teach in The Art of Good Business….and it IS a long game…..

But it was only a few years ago when I was “doing my art of good biz work” and I was just not booking as many weddings as I needed. And I was bummed. And kinda stunned. ‘Cause I was working SO HARD. And putting SO MUCH out there…..yet a friend of mine who wasn’t “doing all the things” and wasn’t trying so hard, well, she was booking GREAT gigs, easily…..her customers loved her. And I was at the same junction you seem to be now; “WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?”

“Oh nothing”, my friend assured me. “You’re great. You’re doing everything right”…..but I insisted, “No. You’re booking. I’m not. I’m working hard to express myself (blogging, revamped website, and doing some of my best design work), but I must be doing something wrong.”

So I used this “less than busy enough” time to “do even more work” and in the end, the season was “OK, not great”…..BUT THE NEXT YEAR was my BEST season yet. The season after that, even better, Last year, best so far…..

That season I was down, well, I lost my mojo or my vibe was not jiving with the clients I wanted or I was trying too hard….because despite my best efforts, and I mean really, deep rooted best efforts, people weren’t digging me.

All this is to say, you’re smart to ask “What can I do to fix this?” Because it is up to you to fix everything around here! This is your dream, your biz, your struggle….and your ideal customer to attract and wow and attract again, and again, and again.

Keep working. Keep looking for holes, clues, signs, signals, mis-communications that you can fix.

Keeping the faith in the off-season is hard when we’re not booking. Keep moving forward.

Keep doing beautiful work.

xo. -Alison

Definition of ‘Ghosted’ (via Huffington Post).

The term “ghosting“ (sometimes known as the “slow fade”) refers to the anecdotally pervasive act where one dater ends a relationship by simply disappearing. The ghost does not give an explanation of any sort, leaving the ghosted wondering where he or she went wrong.

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By Alison Ellis

Can you be professional without a storefront?

It’s not always easy to work from home.

But it’s not unprofessional to “not have a shop”.

A shop doesn’t make you “more professional”. Your talent-level isn’t related to your workspace.

If you create beautiful work and provide excellent customer service….from home, a small studio, or your basement or garage….don’t feel inferior due to a lack of storefront.

Click to watch, Can you be professional without a storefront:

A few questions for you:

How many people do you allow in a consultation?

Do you prescreen clients with a phone consultation?

Consultations are an investment of time and I like to start with a phone consultation.

We can arrange an in-person meeting if we both feel we’re a good fit.

I can put together a quick proposal and quote after a consultation to get the ball rolling, make sure we’re on the same page; it’s essential to have a meeting of the minds.

Have you signed up for my FREE e-mail course, How To Book More Weddings More Quickly?

Check it out my FREE course HERE to get some of my best tips for booking more clients in less time.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out some of my Real Flower Business “stuff” today!

Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneur.

With love from me to you,

Alison

Find a full list of my course offerings HERE.

By Alison Ellis

Should you set an expiration date on your proposals?

Do you ever wonder how long you should wait after sending a proposal before checking in with a client?

I used to send out proposals and then wait and wonder for days, (or weeks!), whether a client was ever going to book with me! Then, one day, a business savvy friend told me to put an expiration date on wedding proposals and voila, my client management systems was forever changed.

Setting an expiration date on my proposals and was the single best move I ever made in my business. Period.

The expiration date is designed to set the parameters of your offer to honor this quote or “hold their date”…it’s a prompt for you to check in and see if they’ve made a decision or if they have any questions you can answer.

Checking in with a customer on, or before, the expiration date is to be expected when you’re trying to close this sale.

It’s not an ultimatum (most of the time), but it IS a clear signal that there’s a time limit on this offer because you don’t just “hold dates” indefinitely. Most offers are not open-ended. Neither is yours!

Click below to watch “Should you set an expiration date?”

Need some tips to write your next proposals in less time and present the expiration date to clients?

Save $30 Off Wedding Templates Here

Do you have a “System” for your client communication?

A “System” is essentially a process (or protocol) for how you accomplish a task in your business. Typically you document your systems in writing (ie your operating procedures), and use them to identify inefficiencies or opportunities for automation in your business.

Systems are critical for a successful business, because they allow for you to:

generate income with way less effort
reply faster and more effectively with less stress
automate and streamline to get more done in less time

I have a system for client communication (and you should too).

Your prospects MUST see you as an authority and understand your rules.

That’s it.

Before you earn trust as an authority, you MUST nurture the relationship.

And the best way to do that, hands down is with:

CLEAR COMMUNICATION THAT ESTABLISHES AUTHORITY.

Emphasis on the word “AUTHORITY”… In fact, just like it’s “OK” to want to make money, it’s also totally OK to WANT clients to respect you, and follow the rules of your “systems”, and treat you like A LEADER in your field.

In fact, that authority status is the key to unlocking your maximum potential so that you can be creative, profitable, and fulfilled.

Now the good news is… there’s a BETTER way to get prospects to see you as an authority… better than working without a system…and much better than starting from scratch on every single e-mail and proposal for every single event.

It’s called…TEMPLATES!

Here’s what a real florist said about implementing my Templates…

“A couple of weeks ago I bought a bundle of Alison Ellis templates after all the talk of expiration dates. Reading through the templates gave us a fresh pair of eyes and ideas over what we were already doing. BUT what I really want to say is – we decided to try the expiration date approach and we have a record breaker! Our ideal bride just booked with an 8 day turn around from quote to deposit! Wooohooo try it.”

-Danijela FitzGibbon (from the Facebook group)

Oftentimes florists ask, “How does this expiration date work? Does the price go up after it expires?”

Well, that’s up to you. Do you need to increase the price for some reason?

I don’t increase the price after the expiration date. I just want to make my offer clear; here’s what I can do, here’s what it costs, here’s when I’d appreciate an answer…

If the client needs “more time” (for whatever reason), then that’s up to you, too. Can you extend the expiration date? Or will the clock truly run out because you have another inquiry for that date? Or is their hesitation a sign that they aren’t really serious about committing to you? What is the reason for the hold-up?

An expiration date serves as a prompt to both you, the business owner, and the client.

Clients know that they should look it over sooner rather than later because you gave them the expiration date!
As a business owner you now have a bonafide reason to follow-up, check-in, invite questions and close the sale.

I want to be an easy choice for my clients. I want to be an easy “yes”.

Thanks for taking the time to read and watch!

And if you decide to implement an expiration date, I’d love to hear how it’s working for you!

With love from me to you,

Alison

Save $30 Off Wedding Templates Here

If you want to shortcut your proposal process and present an expiration date with confidence, click here to read more about my downloadable templates!

By Alison Ellis

My first podcast interview

I am happy to share my first podcast interview on From The Ground Up Floral.

When Gina invited me on, I was an immediate yes….I love talking to florists about business so this was a fun opportunity for me.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check it out! You can listen here: fromthegroundupfloral.media/podcast/2019/6/14/flower-math-with-alison-ellis

Here are some of the topics we talk about in our chat:

How I got started in the floral industry;
How do you make money as a home-based floral business?;
Industry standards on pricing;
Lessons from my best-worst boss;
A misconception I used to have about “ideal clients”;
The Art of Good Business (my online branding and biz building course);
Gina mentions that one of her favorite videos about the consequences of “adding one extra rose” (see below);
Should a newer designer charge less?;
Quoting on the spot;
Why grocery stores are losing out by not using Flower Math Fomulas!

You can find the podcast on iTunes and subscribe to future episodes as well! I hope you’ll make some time to listen.

Here’s the video mentioned in our interview:

Thanks to Gina for inviting me to your podcast!

Floralpreneurs sometimes ask me if I’ll ever do a podcast and while I’d never say never, you can currently find me on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest!

xo. -Alison

By Alison Ellis

What happens after you meet a bride?

What do you do after meeting a potential client?

A floralpreneur® submitted this question in my Facebook group:

Q: What is your workflow after meeting a bride? Do you give them an estimate or a detailed proposal?

She went onto say: “Right now after meeting with a bride we figure up what flowers we are using and recipes and build our proposals. I am always calling getting prices on flowers for whatever month it is unless it is something I already have an idea about. It is so time consuming! Are we going about this all wrong?”

Well, if it’s taking more time than you’re willing to commit before booking a client, then the answers is YES!

It’s essential to streamline your workflow and create processes that are:

easy to follow,
accommodating to potential clients,
and allow you to take complete control over the booking process, planning process and beyond.

Over the past 15 years I’ve developed my proposal template so that I’m spending no more than 2 hours on the pre-qualification, consultation and proposal writing process.

You can sign up for my FREE e-mail course “How To Book More Weddings More Quickly” HERE where I share some of my best tips to booking the right clients more quickly.

I do not create recipes before booking an event. If I’ve “never made something like this before” I will create some recipes to determine a stem count and possibly bounce ideas off of another floral designer, but I don’t create a recipe for every single bouquet and centerpiece before I get a commitment from the client.

Here’s why….

I’ve set some minimums on each piece which I can use as a jumping off point when I create a quote.

A professional florist should be able to determine the baseline price for a bouquet based on an inspiration photo and their own pricing experience.

Do your centerpieces start at $75? $95? $125?….what is your starting point? What’s your “average”? What’s your “premium” price?

When you’re unsure about pricing, you must do the math! Will you use 12 roses, 6 callas and 5 dahlias? Can you make it with 9 roses, 5 callas and 3 dahlias? What’s the price difference in each of these designs? What price will you quote to THIS client for THEIR desired look? What does it cost to achieve their ideal outcome?

It’s so important to “think like a flower shop”, as I always say, and think of flowers in retail dollars. Yes, it may take time to learn the “average wholesale cost of snapdragons in August”, but it’s not hard to remember that snapdragons are usually $3 retail or $2.50 or $4….what do you SELL it for? That’s the number to focus on.

Moral of the story….

Your time is valuable and so are your design ideas, which is why you have to create processes that allow you to provide potential clients with enough information that they can easily choose you, but not so much information that feel like you’re giving away too many ideas to a client who’s “shopping around” and may decide to just take your ideas somewhere else. (Speaking of which, have you seen my post on O.P.P? check it out here.)

Thanks for checking out my Real Flower Business “stuff”….keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

Additional resources:

Grab my FREE e-mail course “How To Book More Weddings More Quickly” here!
Get my 16 Steps To Client Management HERE in my Wedding Workflow!
Can Florists Write Proposals Without A Recipe? read it here!