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Sales, Profit Builders -
Sales Training
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Monday, 01 June 2009 17:07 |
When a staffer on Capitol Hill wanted to order an orchid plant for her mother's birthday recently, naturally she called a florist. She asked the person who answered the phone how many months of the year orchid plants bloom. The employee didn't know and then admitted that she didn't know "anything about plants." SAF heard about her experience when we were asked to fill in the blanks — which of course we did happily.
It got me thinking about what was lost for that florist...a potential sale, obviously, but also any potential to turn that caller into a repeat customer, and let's not talk about the referral possibilities from a satisfied (and well-connected) flower-lover.
I won't venture a guess about how often that happens, but I can tell you for sure there's an easy way to prevent it. Just share what you know about flowers with everybody who has customer contact.
There are the basics of course. How to care for the arrangement or plant being sold should be readily available to your sales team and also on a card that goes with the order. SAF's Care and Handling Manual and online training can help bring your folks up to speed if they need it.
But more important is the information that can seal a deal or up-sell an order. Think about buying a bottle of wine. The best shops have signage telling you where it's from, what it tastes like, any awards or top ratings, etc. So...
- What if... on every bin in your cooler you had colorful flower name tags noting the common and varietal name of the flower, growing regions, traditional meaning and any other useful information (like maybe it's the same Lily that took top-honors in last year's Outstanding Varieties competition).
- What if... instead of just putting a few of your most popular summer arrangements in the cooler you had a floor decal with an arrow pointing to the cooler that said "Check out our best-selling floral designs."
- What if... retail staff shared a little insight on the health and emotional benefits of flowers with customers as they shop? Or customers picked up a counter card pointing up the benefits of flowers for seniors. Do you think it might sway a decision between flowers and another gift your way?
Give it a try. Use SAF resources (so subtly alluded to in the links above) or ask your suppliers for help. And please be sure to
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along the way.
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Sales, Profit Builders 
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P.S. Hope my stories will soon be here