When business is booming and time is tight, training can slip to the bottom of the list. But even a few minutes of the right training can boost customer satisfaction, speed up production — and prevent costly mistakes.
Eileen Weber, AAF, has seen it firsthand. When onboarding new designers, she skips the overwhelm and starts simple: Learn the materials. Shadow experienced designers. Create just one arrangement at a time — then talk about what worked and what didn’t.
“You can’t assume people know how to design just because they’re creative,” she says. “You have to give them small, clear steps to build confidence and consistency.”
Weber is diving into more detail on her year-long design training program during her session “Train to Sustain: Set New Designers Up for Success” at SAF Phoenix 2025, the Society of American Florists’ 140th annual convention Aug. 11-14.
This summer, take a cue from Weber and give your team a quick refresh on design and customer service skills — or help newbies learn more about the floral industry with the SAF’s easy-to-use courses and tools.
Listen and learn. Available on SAF’s Floral Education Hub, Tim Huckabee’s Flower Sale or Fail column — along with a curated selection of real recorded sales calls — helps florists train smarter when it comes to customer service and sales. Go behind the scenes with The Profitable Florist’s 15-Minute Florist program, where Tim and his team secretly shop real flower shops, then dissect the calls to uncover missed opportunities, blind spots, and teachable sales moments. These short videos are ideal for team meetings or one-on-one coaching — helping you uncover hidden potential and boost customer satisfaction, fast.
Set new hires up for success. SAF’s New Entrants Resource Package includes quick, digestible lessons for employees brand new to the floral industry. Topics include flower care, terminology, and customer service basics. It’s the perfect crash course for someone starting tomorrow.
Design Essentials. Save time and get inexperienced designers on the design bench faster. The interactive course “Flower Prep School: The Essentials,” walks new hires through universal design fundamentals — including tools of the trade, care and handling, core mechanics, production basics and pricing strategies. Through visual demos and guided explanations, a seasoned designer teaches the “whys” and “hows” behind floral design. Ideal for onboarding brand-new designers and cross-training current employees.
Join your peers at SAF Phoenix, August 11–14, where you can dive deeper into training strategies for care and handling and using AI for sales and operations.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
