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By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Luxury Weddings And Marketing Tips

Does your social media attract your ideal customers or are you repelling great clients accidentally?

Click to watch for some practical advice to help you course correct if your marketing has gotten a little off track!

FYI The Marketing Workshop for Florists starts on Monday, Dec. 4th! If you haven’t registered yet, Now’s the time to sign up so you can start attracting more of the BEST clients to your business.

>> Click Here for all the details!


As I mentioned in my live chat above, here are a few things to think about when marketing to “luxury” event!

Have you noticed that there are a lot of people who throw around the word “luxury” when it comes to weddings and events? Well, it turns out that “luxury” events may not be what you think.

To borrow a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

That’s because every single wedding you design is a luxury!

 

Just think about it: You can get married without a single stem of flowers, which means when clients choose to hire you as their florists it IS a luxury. (Yup, you’re already in a luxury market!)

It’s easy to lose sight of this in the social media world where “luxury” seems to be described as $100,000 weddings and above.

 

But as a florist who’s done her fair share of $100K weddings, they aren’t necessarily “luxury” in the way that social media wants you to believe!

Because that $100K budget actually gets spent quickly!

 

And while there may be $10,000 (or even $15,000) for flowers, that might “just barely cover” what they’re asking for–it’s not “ample” or “over the top”, it’s adequate (depending on the guest count!) and you can make it a beautiful event!…

However, you’re probably NOT creating that grand entrance to the reception tent, lining the entire aisle with flowers, or hanging a floral installation over the dance floor…which is what we tend to think of when the word “luxury” is invoked.

So when we’re really talking about “luxury events” you’re working with MUCH BIGGER BUDGETS–maybe even 3x higher, for example.

 

What does it take to do a $30,000-$45,000 floral installation? Well, in short, it’s soooooo much!

From a team of 8-10 floral designers you can trust (at $20-$50 per hour!), to multiple vehicles that need to be rented and loaded, to long design days (and nights!) to get the job done, to the VERY high expectations that your clients and their planner communicate to you every step of the way for 6-12 months!

(The stress level, in other words, is probably more than 3x!)

This is why it’s important to be careful what you wish for in your own “luxury goals”. 

➤ How do YOU define luxury as it pertains to your customers and your own brand identity?

➤ What sorts of events do you want to attract?

➤ Do you want to do full-service weddings and events that are manageable, yet profitable, and don’t require a huge team?

➤ Are flowers for the wedding party your specialty, so you’ll happily design boutonnieres, bouquets and corsages, but leave the rest of the event to the DIY client?

➤ Or do you prefer the higher-ticket, higher-stress events because you thrive in that CEO position overseeing a team?

 

So before buying into the idea that you should be striving for “luxury”, recognize that you’re already doing it! 

Define for yourself what your brand of luxury looks like so that you know EXACTLY what it means to your customers.

 

In short, when it comes to folks trying to convince you to break into a “luxury market”, don’t believe the hype.

Whether it’s personal flowers only or the biggest wedding of your career, the artistry you provide matters.

Keep doing beautiful work!

xo. -Alison

 

REMINDER: The Marketing Workshop for Florists starts on Monday, Dec. 4th!

If you haven’t already registered, Now’s the time to sign up so you can start attracting more of the BEST clients to your business. Click Here for all the details!

  • We’ll meet for 3 Days, Mon, Tues and Weds for about 45 minutes each day.
  • Recordings will be available if you can’t join me live!
  • VIP sessions will take place each day at 1:30pm Eastern to answer YOUR specific questions and provide additional support!

Questions for me? Get in touch. I’m here to support you along the way!

November 29, 2023 — 3:45 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

When To Talk Budget: A Tip for Florists

A floral designer in my Patreon Community who joined me for my live training, 5 Steps To Book Weddings More Quickly, asked a follow-up question today regarding budgets and minimums:

When do you present a minimum to a client if they don’t tell you their budget?

This is a BIG question that doesn’t have just 1 right answer, so click below to hear my reply and let me know if you have any questions for me after listening!

FYI after listening, if you want to dive deeper into the booking and sales process with me, you can find a link to learn more about my 5 Steps To Book Weddings More Quickly and get the replay HERE for just $37!

 

Real Flower Business · Budget Question:When Do You Share A Minimum

Writing proposals and talking about budget is all part of your own personal brand strategy! That’s why there isn’t just 1 way to do things.

I’ve figured out 5 reliable steps over the years to help me weed out clients with budgets that won’t work AND if you want to get the full rundown of all 5 Steps in an easy-to-follow 90-minute training, Click Here To Get Them!

 


You can watch a few short highlights from the 5 Steps Here!

November 1, 2023 — 6:03 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

5 Steps To Book More Weddings

How Can Florists Book Weddings In Less Time With Less Stress?

I taught a live training last week on the 5 Steps To Book Weddings More Quickly to help wedding florists streamline their current sales process so you can save yourself time (and sanity) when you’re investing energy in writing a proposal for a client!

I got some great feedback on the training and I want to share a few really important takeaways with you today!

Click below to watch a few of the tips I want to highlight for you.

Want To Get Access To All 5 Steps To Booking In The Replay?

Click To Learn More!


The first step to booking a wedding starts here! Click to watch this 1 minute clip now!


Learn 2 of the biggest mistakes florists make BEFORE even booking a client when you click to watch below!


Click below to watch the MOST important step to stop clients from ghosting!

One important thing to know is that none of what I teach is fluff or theory.

Everything I share with you is tested and proven–it’s not a magic trick to book great clients, but after 22 seasons of booking weddings, there is a clear sales process to follow to make sure you’re leading clients from initial inquiry all the way through to deposit! And if you need practical tips that work, I’m here to help!


Want to get the full 90-minute training plus the Q&A? Grab it now!

Yes, I want the 5 Steps!

 

October 29, 2023 — 2:26 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Pricing Weddings For Profit

The Mayesh Fall Flower Festival took place on Aug. 22, 2023 and Alison was invited to talk about Pricing Weddings for Profit! Watch below or listen wherever you get your podcasts! And THEN, join me for the Pricing Chat for Florists on Sept. 12! (Click Here to Sign Up!)

Catch a 1-hour Replay of the conversation between Yvonne and Alison on how to price for profit and how to handle substitutions.

Questions included:

  • How do you ensure a profitable wedding?
  • How do we make sure we aren’t overbuying?
  • Do you recommend padding the order to cover possible flower issues?
  • Should florists set a minimum?

Pricing for profit should not be a mystery in your floral design business!

If you have additional pricing questions for me, make sure to CLICK HERE to sign up for the Free Pricing Chat for Florists on Sept. 12th!

I’ll see you there!

xo. -Alison Ellis


Here’s a quick recap of the all day lineup from the Virtual Festival:

  • They kicked off the day with an autumnal design demo & discussion with Gilberto Espinoza of Dogwood & Fir to answer your design questions.
  • Next, David Dahlson has pulled together a great bounty of fall blooms to share with you, followed with a mayesh.com PreBook demo from Jaimie Cosgrove.
  • To wrap up the day, Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business shared tips for pricing for profit to ensure a successful wedding season! Catch that replay right now above!

August 28, 2023 — 10:12 pm

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Floral Designer Q&A

I received some great questions from florists in my Facebook group this month, and I’m going to address them in a LIVE Q&A Session on Wednesday, May 31st, at 11am Eastern/ 8am Pacific and I would LOVE to see you there!

Click here for a link to a replay of the live Floralpreneur® Q&A!

From how I leveraged local restaurant accounts and built my business on bud vases, to tips for pricing something you’ve never made before, to those the renewed requests for lily of the valley bouquets–I have a few questions on my list–but florists who join live can ask me anything!

We’re talking about what’s on your mind right now!

I hope you’re having a great day wherever you may be in the world and I’ll see you in the replay!

With love from me to you,

Alison Ellis


Find A Full Course List Here

May 26, 2023 — 3:00 pm

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Welcome, Floralpreneur®.  I’m Alison Ellis, creator of Flower Math, published author, and founder of Real Flower Business. My online business courses and private coaching help floral designers increase profits, book great clients & build a better brand.  Learn More →

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