The Floral Hustle

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Hello
flower friends. This is Jen and you are listening to the Floral Hustle Podcast on today's mini. So we are going to talk about when a inquiry comes in, what to do with it. This is something so many floors struggle with because. You know, they don't know if they're doing the right things. They don't know, like if they're in love or this climate, this client is in alignment with them, or they don't think that this budget is realistic.
And so then they just start shutting down because they're just like, you are just overwhelmed with wanting to do a good job. And so your fearing failure. Normally or fear fearing rejection from that client. And it doesn't have to be that complicated. And one of the things that I think really makes a difference in my inquiry process versus others is I give a brochure.
The first thing I do before I, I'm going in diving deep. Into wanting to understand their special day is I'm giving them a brochure, asking them, um, you know, some basic questions, but I'm giving them some pricing guidance. I'm telling them about my business. I'm giving 'em a core foundation of why they should do business with me.
So how does that work? Because it's not like what everybody else does. If you go and listen to episode one of the podcasts, I actually talk about the number one way to stop getting ghosted is. Um, this and that is April shirt. If you are not providing some initial pricing guidance for your couples, and then you go and spend an hour with them to do a consult, an hour to do this beautiful proposal, and then you wonder, because they probably wasn't in their budget, especially if you're not asking for their budget.
You're wondering like, how did they not respond to you? Because they're embarrassed or maybe they felt like you weren't really digging deep enough to understand what they needed. There could be a ton of reasons, but they had no idea how much you cost. And then you sent them an estimate that potentially could have them like just floored because they have no idea how much these things cost.
So first thing to to really think about in the grand scheme is budgets. People are choosing their budgets and having no clue. Uh, usually why they're choosing that budget, how that budget came about. They're literally picking something out of air. So it is your job to help educate them. And I make that part of my whole social media strategy is educating the, um, couples, the whatever to really.
You know, understand for one, how much flowers cost, but that there isn't a, I'm just picking this number and trying to squeeze it in. You really have to st strategically think, is my budget more important than my floral vision? And that is one of the questions that I ask when I get a proposal that looks unrealistic or get a request that looks unrealistic for what the budget they have, um, denoted.
So I get an inquiry, I send them a reply. Great news. I am available for your day and I love your venue. And I say a couple comments, so know they lo know that I read their inquiry. Uh, I wanted to just share a little bit about myself and give you a little bit of an idea on starting at prices with me. So attached to my brochure that has all of that information, please review it so you can get an, a basic understanding of costs then.
I will ask them a few basic questions so that if they do respond, I have a better idea with their budget. Uh, number of bridesmaids, is there ceremony and reception at the same spot? Is, uh, the guest count, um, estimated at what? And so then I can work backwards into how many tables, how many, uh, and then I clarify with them, in addition to your personal flowers, do you need.
Uh, to have reception flowers. Do you need centerpieces? Do you need all those things? So I'm literally just asking them a few basic questions. I said, I would love to see your Pinterest board, or three of your top images that you are in love with that really capture your floral vision for the day. Then I wait to see what they say if they have in their inquiry.
Noted a very unrealistic, or under my minimum, I will flat out tell them that, uh, my current, um, full service minimum is X. And if you are looking for something less than that, I would look at my a la carte flowers. So I'm telling them I'm not having to go back and forth. I'm not meeting with them. So I'm saying if your budget is under this, this is the path.
I want to help you, but this is the path I'm, I'm not gonna do consultations. I'm not gonna do all these lengthy things because I know that it's not going to be worth my time to spend all that time when I've made my Ahart flowers process so easy for them that they can just check out online. But let's just say they might not know what their budget is.
If they put zero in there, I ask them, what is your target floral budget, and what is the biggest thing that you want to accomplish with that? And if they can't then tell me what their budget is. In their reply, I say, I didn't see your answer to the question of what your floral budget is. This is something like, I feel like we need a starting point because without any starting point, I don't know if $10,000 or $1,000 is their budget, and there's a lot of opinions that that is not a great approach and in my opinion, They have no clue.
So I, it's my job. If their budget that they are hoping for is unrealistic or is something that, you know, is a very good budget, I can approach that wedding as such, I can tell them, you know what? I saw in your Pinterest board that y, I mean, it's just stunning. I love what you've put together and I love your vision for your wedding, but it looks to me like several of those items could be like almost your entire floral budget.
So is your floral budget more important, or is your floral vision more important? When you say this, normally what happens is are they're gonna come back to you and they're gonna self raise their budget. They're gonna self-identify higher. Well, I was hoping to be around three, but we could go up to five.
So they've just bumped your budget, but you just saying one statement of your vision does not match your budget in a nice way. And that bump, they'll usually tell you like, this is my max. So if people are holding back, There are ways to get that out of them without being intrusive and without being kind of bitchy about it, in my opinion.
So just asking it the budget you, you know, specified. When I'm looking at your Pinterest board, I'm worried that they're, they're, we're really gonna have a hard time pulling off that look. So, is your floral vision more important, or is your budget more important? And if they mention that one item is super important, you could also say you, you mentioned that your, your ceremony feature, your ceremony backdrop is really important.
If we invested a good chunk of that and just. Figured out some, uh, more value kind of focused centerpieces or whatever. Would that be something that would be of interest to you? And then I'm gonna go to a point of setting up a consultation if I feel that they are realistic in their budget and what they want and their vision in is inspiring.
Just because the first two things fall in place doesn't mean that I need to meet with them if I don't like their Pinterest board. I literally can just say, you know what, this isn't really a good fit for our studio. Our studio is more lush garden style, and it looks like you're really looking for some, um, some crazy minimalist thing or I don't know, something.
So, you know, I have a couple other floors that really I think speak to this vision. You do not want to create things that aren't in alignment with your business because that is going to potentially attract, because it's gonna get tagged on Instagram. That work that you're not inspired to do, don't want to do.
So that is a good time to stop and shut that down. And especially if you have another wedding already, you can potentially find another wedding. And so you could potentially just find another wedding that is more to your purpose. And if you are not in love with it, You really should try and, and, and do that now, or if you don't have a good vibe with that client, now is the time to make that decision before you go and invest more time.
I have a, a lot of posts that I've seen in different Facebook groups where people feel like, you know, they've, they've went so far. And then they're ge being ghosted, obviously, and they're, or they didn't like the, the couple or something, but they didn't bail out in the appropriate time. So now they just feel the sunken cost bias, which don't do that.
Like if you don't have a good feeling, You are the CEO of your business and you can stop that. So I then set up a time, I honestly just do video consultations, um, on Google meets FaceTime or Zoom, and I think in the last two years had like maybe two in person and one of 'em was an already booked person that just wanted to see some of my rental items.
And the other one was just. You know, a mom that they're not used to the online universe, but I explained to 'em that it's just, it's a little bit more efficient. You're not driving here. I can still show you all my items, et cetera. So I have my consultation process that I go through when I meet them. I'm asking them, okay.
You mentioned you had seven bridesmaids. Has that changed? Uh, you. From your Pinterest board look like you love this type of texture blooms. Then I also explain to them that I don't promise blooms and I give them specific blooms and I tell them why. I explain a couple situations if I need to, and then I kind of just move forward.
Uh, so I'm. I'm telling them I'm going to give them ideas of flowers, but I, I don't promise exact flowers just because it can end badly for both of us. I don't wanna disappoint you and I don't wanna be super stressed out your wedding week because, uh, you're whatever got held in customs because of bugs or they froze or something.
So I just really am trying to set us both up for success because I also could find what I call unicorn flowers in the cooler. That are super seasonal, super short or something. A local farmer grew and it's just amazing. And so I just kind of talk through that and make it really easy for them to understand that this is in their benefit.
Then I'm asking them like, how do they want things to feel? I'm listening for language that they say about their day, and then I at the end, after we've gone through all the items, I explained to them that I'm going to put a proposal together. I, I make bloom boards, which is like a vision board for your wedding.
And it's very visual. It has the prices right on there. We can switch centerpieces if you like this one more based on price or the look or whatever. And then I give you a week, uh, that the, uh, estimate is good for just because there is so many inquiries that I wanna make sure that I can hold that date for you.
And then they're like, okay, that sounds great. And then I said, if it looks good and you want me to be your florist, I send you a contract and you return that either electronically or in the mail with a $500 deposit or whatever deposit you deem, uh, a $2,000 deposit that goes towards your day. I then make their whole B Board in Canva and I go through that process with them and you know, with them like, On each item like I've laid out when I was on the call, and then I send that over as a downloaded pdf, and then I say, I'm so excited.
This quote is good for seven days. I look forward to hearing from you. I'm so excited about your vision, and I just think it was gonna be so beautiful and I would love to be a part of it, blah, blah, blah. Then if they don't follow up with me within three days, I'm sending them a follow up email, and if you have Gmail as your email, literally.
Gmail will nudge you that there has not been a reply after three to four days, depending on, um, the communication. So I'm getting reminded by Gmail to do this, or you could just put this literally, I can put a calendar or a reminder or something, just three days. Check back in with Xbr easy, and then I wait to hear from them.
If they tell me that they're meeting with another florist, I tell them, that's absolutely fine. Actually, it was really interesting today I had, I met with somebody this morning and two things happen. For one, the budget that she denoted in her inquiry was $5,000. When I asked her today again, I said, yeah, what was your budget again?
Because I'm re-asking. I'm re-clarify. I'm not playing dumb, but I wanna see if she has a different answer because she had mentioned she met with another florist. And she said six. So she already self bumped herself. Then I said, okay, it sounds like you've met with another florist. Can you share with me what was missing in that?
That, um, was the quote more than you expected? Did you not vibe with the florist? Did they not have the right rentals? Like, what was it that has made you not want to say yes to them? Because I wanna fill that gap. And she said that their quote was $9,000 and that she was quoting things that she didn't think she needed.
So she over quoted, said, okay, great. So now I know how to approach my consultation because I've asked some clarifying questions. It's super easy. She's, they have my pricing upfront, they have my estimate. I've given them deadlines to make sure that like we're moving forward in an efficient manner. This is so easy that.
Literally it's going to change your business like how you do it. You're gonna be less stressed, you're gonna be less like dancing around pricing and they are just gonna think that this experience is better. I actually already got a follow up email that she just loved everything we talked about, loved my energy, loved all of that.
So that can be you too. Thank you so much for listening today, flower Front. I so appreciate 📍 you and I hope you have an amazing flower week.