Do Customers Think Your Prices Are Too Low?

Have you ever had a client tell you that you’re not charging enough?

I have. And it was a real eye-opener…

I’m always seeking ways to reach more ideal clients, so I’m familiar with the concept of “turning clients off” by not charging enough…

but it wasn’t until I experienced “pricing too low” up close and personal, that I was able to transform my mindset around always trying to give the “best possible price” (i.e. the lowest possible price) for each line item in a proposal.

Before I dive into my experience with “under bidding”, if you want to learn how to price with confidence & stop over-buying so you can increase your income, I teach you everything I know about pricing in my online pricing course, Flower Math!

Learn More

Now, back to my experience with pricing too low…

In this case, the mother of the groom was in charge of the wedding flowers and she gave me an estimated budget of about $7,000. When I quoted her a price for centerpieces based on the ideal budget, she came back to me with concerns that the centerpiece pricing seemed low for what we had discussed. And I had to agree!

She was right. I didn’t quote what she wanted. I tried to provide a quote within the budget she gave me, but I didn’t actually quote what she wanted.

She told me to up the budget a few hundred dollars per table and I updated her quote for what it would *really* cost to get the look she wanted and she ended up spending quite a bit more. And happily.

It didn’t bother her one bit to come in over budget. She was more than happy to pay to get what she wanted.

I’m very lucky to have met this client.

This gig was a big one for me and she was an ideal client. She was kind, yet particular. She had great taste and was more than willing to pay to get what she wanted (gardenias, peonies, sweet peas, lush floral table runners….you get the picture). She was creative, smart and no-nonsense. (In short, she was my kinda gal.)

I learned a lesson:

If this client was willing to spent this much more than her stated budget, then there must be other ideal clients out there who are willing to spend more than their stated budget, too.

It’s up to me to give customers a proposal that reflects what they actually want!

I cannot be confined by a preconceived notion of budget (whether that notion comes from the client or my own presumption!…You can’t wear your money shoes when presenting proposals to clients…Clients often wear a different shoe-size than you!).

If you’re a skeptic, I understand. I was, too.

Until I truly experienced this tremendous gap between what the client told me and what she was more than happy to spend, I thought all the business gurus who claimed that “low prices are a turn-off” were talking about “other businesses”….not flowers.

Moral of the story….

If a $7,000 budget turned into an $11,000 sale, then surely I can quote $25 or $50 more than the “average centerpiece price” for the clients who want more choice blooms or fuller-than-average pieces, even if it pushes beyond the confines of the budget they initially described.

If clients want elevated pieces, but don’t have the budget, I don’t feel compelled to figure out how to make something grand for $100 or less. I tell them the truth; it’s $350 per table and if that doesn’t work for the budget…if they don’t l-o-v-e this look so much that they’re willing to pay for it… then, we select a different option to suit their budget. Easy. I can work within their budget, but the choice was theirs.

If you want to do beautiful work for years to come, you must set a minimum standard for your work. Click To Tweet

Innovating and making deliberate business moves allows you to set your own standards for the work you choose to do.

AND if you’re really trying your best (i.e. you provide outstanding work so that you may charge more…because you strive to provide quality work and you deserve it!), then you should be making deliberate moves to enhance the value your clients experience.

If you deliver what you promise and your clients get the value they expect, then you’re doing the work of an integrity brand.

Keep doing beautiful work!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!….and please share it with a floralpreneur® you know and love.

xo. -Alison

More Pricing Resources:

And if you want to learn how to price with confidence & stop over-buying so you can increase your income, I teach you everything I know about pricing in Flower Math!

Sign up & SAVE $100!

Testimonial:

“In one wedding I felt more confident in my pricing & made my money back on the purchase of the class. This really has been a game changer for me!!

-Susan of Wild Blume

Remember:

If you want to do beautiful work for years to come,

you must set a minimum standard for your work…

And if you’re truly doing your best work,

then it should be worthy of a higher price.

If you struggle with pricing your work with confidence, check out my online course, Flower Math, The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability.

Learn to keep more of the money you’re already making! get all the details here. (SAVE $100 OFF RETAIL.)

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Do You Need A Pricing Guide On Your Website?

As a consumer I can appreciate a good pricing guide.

When I see the “pricing tab” on someone’s website, it’s usually one of the first tabs I’ll click on…That said, there are 2 reasons I don’t provide a pricing guide on my website:

Reason #1: I design custom work and part of doing custom design work means I provide custom quotes.

A pricing guide doesn’t fit my business model.

Each event has its own parameters and that’s how I determine what this job costs for this client on this date in this location. It’s not a one-size-fits-all pricing formula.

Reason #2: I want to work with clients who are more focused on “what I deliver” and less focused on the “price of each piece”; providing a price list doesn’t jive with that goal either.

Referring clients to a price list, suggests that they should consider pricing out their own wedding before speaking to you.

The intention of listing your pricing is to be helpful and informative, but focusing on price can work against the best interest of your business.

One can easily argue the virtues of a pricing guide and its ability to “educate” before going down the road of an official consultation process, etc., but in my experience, a price list doesn’t really inform the client of what it costs to do custom work for their wedding.

If you put the focus on price before service, it may work to weed out certain clients, but it may also turn other perfectly excellent customers away…

A sample pricing guide often presents a range of prices, which is likely only minimally helpful.

For example:

If I tell you that bridal bouquets range from $175-375+, what does that really tell you about what your bouquet will cost?

If I tell you that centerpieces range from $75-250+, how does that inform you regarding your overall budget expectation?

(And yes, I have seen ranges this wide on centerpieces in online pricing guides…..because it really “depends” on what the client wants before you to accurately quote a price….and centerpieces are usually the bulk of the “average wedding order”, so you don’t want to underbid on half the job!)

Instead of a price list….

Instead of itemizing a price list for your website, create a thorough contact form to draw information out of potential clients so that you can prequalify and start to assess their needs and then, start a budget conversation based around the requirements of this particular client.

If you focus on service before price, clients start to experience what it’s like to work with you before focusing on “what it costs”. They can feel your value!

The goal is to work with ideal clients who recognize your value and choose you for you!….not just because you fit their budget.

Ideal clients feel your value so they choose you easily…

And they pay you what you’re worth!

Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. Does your website make it easy for client to choose you? Want a few stellar hacks to help streamline your site and make it SUPER user-friendly?

Click here to learn more about my Website Bootcamp to improve your website in 3 days or less!

And…you’ll find a full list of course offerings HERE.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Should you quit in order to grow?

Hey Floralpreneur,

Are you a quitter? I am.

As a small business owner it can be hard to quit things, including jobs that are dragging us down, but sometimes quitting or saying “NO” to work that’s no longer moving us forward is essential if we’re going to truly thrive and grow our business.

Click to watch my video “Should You Quit In Order To Grow Your Business”.

I share how I finally became a quitter, and how I started my home-based floral design business over 15 years ago!

Thanks for taking a few minutes to watch!

THE MORAL OF THE STORY…

We have to evaluate what’s working vs. what’s no longer working if we’re going to actually enjoy the work we’re doing every day.

Because, what’s the point of running your own business if it doesn’t bring you joy, profitability and pride?

Taking pride in what we deliver is our responsibility to our clients, our employees and ourselves. Click To Tweet

We can’t let ourselves down because we got too busy saying Yes to EVERYTHING that we forget to say a big, fat, HECK YES to our own needs and wants and hopes and dreams.

Quitting or saying “No” to make room for something better (something that hasn’t actually materialized yet; something we’re hoping is out there, but we can’t really be sure) takes bravery;

it may get easier to do with time and confidence, but turning down a sale is not always easy for people who are in business to sell.

Think of it like this: Gardeners sometimes have to deadhead a few blooms for the sake of the overall health and prosperity of a plant.

If you want your business to grow, you must cultivate it, like a gardener.

If there’s something bogging you down that you know you need to stop, be brave. Quit.

Thanks again for being here. Let me know if you ever have any questions for me: info@floralartvt.com

Keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. If you enjoy my free “stuff” you’ll find the biggest collection of my real flower business tips, trainings and pdfs inside The Vault for just $13. Click here to unlock The Vault today!

JOIN ME…

If you’d prefer to be a “joiner” Click HERE to join my Facebook group and connect with floral designers around the globe.

Find a full list of course offerings here.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Sixth Anniversary with Flirty Fleurs

I try to keep track of landmark moments and anniversaries in my business, but I’ll admit a few business anniversaries have snuck up on me! I’ve officially been in business for 15 years now…my 16th season begins this month!

This “Sweet 16” feels like another landmark to me. I suppose each year in business is worth celebrating in its own way.

We have to make deliberate moves in our business, if we want to reach our landmark moments.

(For example: Will you leave your “real job” to do flowers full-time? Will you be able to set a minimum or say “no” to work that doesn’t meet your criterion? Will you blog? Will you get more training; hire a new accountant; get another designer; teach your staff more?)

I make moves in my business.

I made a move back in 2011 when I wrote my first guest blog post for Flirty Fleurs.

I had no idea if Alicia would be interested in what I had to say, but I LOVED her blog, and I felt like I had something to say, so I wrote up a post, held my breath and sent it.

I was thrilled that she not only posted my article, but she encouraged me to send her more.

I kept writing articles and made my first video in 2014. I have about 50 posts published so far.

Last March was my 5th Anniversary as a guest blogger on flirtyfleurs.com.

I even have my own blog category, which was absolutely a landmark day for me. I’m not kidding, Alison Ellis Videos is a legit category!

I’m also a proud contributor to the first 3 issues of the Flirty Fleurs print magazines. If you haven’t seen them, check them out.

The print magazines are absolutely beautiful!

They really are designed especially with floral designers in mind.

One of my favorite things about the magazines is that every single flower photo includes top billing to the floral designer! It’s truly a florist’s dream come true; designer credit right on the photo!

Check out the 3rd edition of Flirty Fleurs magazine HERE and treat yourself to all 3 magazines to enjoy all the incredible images!

Happy 6 year Anniversary, Alicia! Thanks for always giving me a place to “share my stuff” with your readers and fans!

xo. -A