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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

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

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Welcome to April!

Welcome to April, Floralpreneur!

What’d you do this weekend? Work? Spend time with family or friends? I had a mix of both.

I spent Sunday celebrating my son’s 5th birthday, which gave me one full-day for family,

but on Saturday I fell into a project I KNEW I had to tackle, but simply did not think I had the time for; I finally updated my testimonials page on my website.

Sounds pretty B-O-R-I-N-G, I know, but reviewing testimonials is actually really fun.

(it’s a great opportunity to hop onto your website, and do some quick updates!)

You’ve probably heard me talk about the importance of gathering more client testimonials

and using your testimonials to attract more ideal clients,

but If you missed my free download “How to get more testimonials”,

CLICK HERE to get the free pdf today.

Once you get more testimonials, what will you do with them?

Client testimonials can tell you a lot about yourself, your business, and your brand, but they also tell other customers exactly what they need to know about working with you.

I also highly suggest you re-read your testimonials a couple of times every year, as well as any time you’re feeling “down” or find yourself “struggling in the off season”!

A good read through of your testimonials and online reviews can be a great ego boost!

Reflect on the good work you’ve done and get yourself pumped up to exceed those standards year after year.

We can never stop learning and improving our customer service experience!

Once you gather reviews from your clients, put them on your website! Use them!

The reviews that describe what it was like to work with you most recently, can be powerful tools to add to your website.

This April is about giving back!

April is my birthday month, as well as my grandmother’s, so to honor her memory this year

I’m donating 10% of ALL COURSE SALES for the month of April to the Vermont Foodbank (and in honor of my son’s birthday, I’m including sales from the last 2 days of March as well!)

Every $1=3 meals, so even a little bit of giving goes a long way!

Find my course offerings HERE!

Oh, and have a look at my new Testimonials Page HERE to see what other florists have to say about my courses!

Thanks, as always, for reading!

Keep

doing

beautiful

work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

A Hero’s Journey. The story of your business.

If you missed my Facebook Live today, check out a replay here:

The topic is the hero’s journey of your small business. I wonder if you can relate?

These are the final few days to register for Session 2 of The Art of Good Business!

Click below to see what other floralpreneurs had to say about the course.

Click here to enroll today. The first 5 Floralpreneurs to register will receive a FREE 1:1 coaching call as a bonus!

Still not sure if The Art Of Good Business is right for you? Let’s hop on a call. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

Shoot me an e-mail any time at floralartvt@gmail.com

Join my Facebook group here and catch my next Livestream on Friday at 11:00am.

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

The Art Of Good Business: Session 2

I just completed my very first live course and it was so much fun, I’ve decided to do it again in March.

If you missed out on The Art Of Good Business in January, join me in March!

Floralpreneurs have already implemented changes over the past few weeks and reported some major “a-ha moments”.

The Art Of Good Business is an online course designed to show you how to attract ideal clients, improve your website engagement, choreograph outstanding customer service and eliminate your competition.

Free Bonus: The first 5 floralpreneurs who sign up will receive a free one-on-one coaching session. (Value $249)

Read all the details on the LIVE course HERE. Registration closes March 10th at 11pm EST.

Read all the details and see the course schedule here.

Testimonial:

“After taking Alison’s class I clearly see that once I create my business model based on her guidance, I will have a template to grow my brand that can be only and uniquely mine. The class is broken down into easy to follow format and you can jump around as needed while remaining on target. However, I do suggest that you make sure to utilize all the content…trust me you do not want to miss a thing. The program is soul searching as well as thought provoking. Each time I go back over the material, I see things in a deeper hue. I’ve learned about myself, my belief system, my ideal client, my accountability, and my personal wisdom (yes! I have some!) I’ve been given a roadmap for business success that will be a baseline for my future growth. And here is another fantastic result of The Art of Good Business, I have acquired new confidence in my ability to manage all that office stuff! It must show because four weeks into the class the inquiries started coming, I booked three clients and have two new prospects!

Alison has put her heart and her vast knowledge into this class. She is open and supportive. Honest and kind. She will tell the truth. She is clear and concise. She is a bit of a genius and she’ll bring out the genius in you! Her class is one of a kind because of all the backing and support she offers.

Believe me, I’ve taken a lot of “let me help you” classes. This is the first one that has held me accountable for my personal implementation and success.

I won’t lie, at first, I thought, this is not my forte, this is going to be a challenge…

But Alison’s approach is to encourage us to take some action, because it all adds up. One success leads to the next and soon it was fun! My new discoveries are exciting, I found myself not wanting it to end, and was pleased to discover that the information in the class will always be available to me.

Alison is personally invested in your future. She really cares that you grow and implement change for positive results. Most of all she believes in your success. And she is ever guiding you to “keep doing beautiful work!”

I encourage you to indulge in the Art of Good Business. I promise when you are done, your journey to business success will have just begun.”

RR – Rebecca Raymond Floral

What if you can’t “join me live”? No problem. You can do this course at your own pace!

I’m offering live support to encourage you to get started and implement changes, but you can catch up on anything you may “miss” along the way.

You can even skip around…do whatever feels the most worthwhile to you in your business, right now!

The important thing is that you get started! Enroll Today!

I hope you’ll join me on a journey to build an integrity brand and find more customers that love you!

As a consumer I can appreciate a good pricing guide.

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

Instead of a price list….

Read my core values HERE.