The “secret” to more profitable wedding work may be as simple as raising your prices or offering couples a service they want but never realized you offer.
Those are two of the practical tips from “5 Steps to Profitable Weddings and Events,” a recent Society of American Florists WebBlast presented by Ryan O’Neil of Twisted Willow in St. Louis.
Together with his wife, Rachel, O’Neil came up with a list of tips after several years of soul-searching that helped to make their wedding work more profitable and higher end — the shop’s average event has gone from a budget of around $1,500 to $4,500.
“Every floral shop has their own goal, so not all of these will work for everyone,” said O’Neil, also the founder of StemCounter.com, a wedding software tool that generates custom quotes. “Pick one or two. Analyze how you work.”
Some of O’Neil’s tips include:
Give them Guidance. Upselling, O’Neil cautioned, is not about pushing products and services that clients don’t need. In fact, it’s about ensuring they have everything they want that fits in their budget, and that can mean educating them on items they haven’t considered (e.g. make sure they know you offer linen rentals or find creative ways to insert flowers in unexpected areas). “When you get done with the event, you want clients to be happy,” he explained. “You don’t want them to look back and think, ‘Oh, I wish we’d had flowers on the chuppah.’” His suggestion on how to get that conversation going smoothly? Provide couples with a budget calculator. At Twisted Willow, that means a simple online form that couples can fill out detailing their style, range of floral needs and desired level of service. (Check it out here.)
Ponder Possibilities. Another way to ensure you are making the most of a couple’s wedding budget is to include a “possibilities” section in your planning notes during the consultation. “We listen really closely through the consultation, and if there’s something the bride says, ‘I kinda would like that, but I don’t know,’ we put that in the possibilities section,” O’Neil explains. If money remains once you’ve covered all the “must-haves,” the possibilities section provides a ready-to-go list of what to prioritize next.
Scale Up or Down. You’ve worked for years to establish a reputation as a top-notch, full-service florist — does that mean you’ll risk your brand by catering to a la carte weddings and DIY affairs? Not necessarily, said O’Neil, who noted that some florists have successfully spun off smaller brands to serve smaller budgets. (One to check out: Pops of Plum, a division of the D.C.-area Intrigue Design & Décor.) “Your markup is the value that you add to wholesale costs,” he said. “If you’re giving the client a experience, your client should be paying that. A more streamlined experience? Maybe less. Create value and pass that onto the client.”
Check out the full 30-minute webinar for additional tips (free for SAF members), including more insight on how Twisted Willow increased that average wedding size, and a question-answer session where O’Neil tackles practical issues such as when and how to talk prices to potential clients.
