Create a Florist Invoice Template for Public Relations that Simplifies Your Workflow

Florist invoice template for Public Relations

let's talk about how to get good customers and grow your flower business without having to worry about custom quoting spending hours on fancy proposals or even worrying about what's going to be in season at the market and I know you're going to be like Kathleen that's this sounds way too good to be true but stick with me this one sales strategy this three-step process is exactly what I've taught to hundreds of floral designers around the world and it has changed the game it's the one thing that I wish that they taught us at flower school and one of the most fundamental strategies to nail in your business because it takes you from feeling like you're just reacting and being the servant to whatever it is that your customers are asking you to do and really putting yourself in the driver's seat being the Visionary and the creative director in your flower business so that you can create the kind of work you want to create and I also want to help you cut down the whole fails process so that you're not wasting so much time on admin and not feeling like you're burning the candle at both ends because it can be so much simpler and I just wish somebody had taught me this strategy years ago but alas here we are my friends everybody gets to learn from my mistakes and let's get into it so there are three steps to the sales strategy and this is like the one thing that I wish they had taught at flower school because it is absolutely the difference between running a business where you get to create work that you actually like and feeling at the mercy of what it is that your customers are asking you to do so let's jump in to step number one and I want you to forget everything that you might have learned at flower school and every kind of thought that is similar to the customer is always right well that philosophy might serve from a customer service point of view from a sales point of view in your flower business it is the fastest way to approach burnout and the fastest way to build up resentment of your business for many of us we are taught or we assume that the best way to get customers and attract clients to our flower businesses is we ask them what they want us to create and then we go out of our way to learn how to make that happen and we ran our flower business that way for years and it's almost like the extreme version of people pleasing but it's this idea of because we don't know that we are the authority in our own business because we're never explicitly told that you are the creative director and just like the head chef at a restaurant one of the most helpful decisions that you can make for your Creative Vision but even more importantly than that is for your customers is deciding ahead of time the kind of work that you want to create so instead of asking your clients to send you a picture and assuming that you have to replicate that exactly I want you to clear the table clear your mind and just sit down and decide the kind of work that you want to create really stepping into the role of being the Visionary and the creative director and I refer to this idea very template as sitting down and creating your set menu so it might be that you look at work you actually like from what you created in the past you look on Pinterest you look at other floors Instagram feeds for inspiration but really recognizing when you own the business you are the creative director of your flower business and one of the most beneficial things you can do for your customer is get really clear on the kind of work that you want to create and the formats that you offer and this at times is going to feel very scary and it's going to feel very selfish but what it does is it brings so much Focus to your vision and to what it is that you actually offer and because of that focus and that Simplicity it makes the entire sales process with your customers so much easier to navigate so one of the best exercises you can do is sit down and decide if you want to be the kind of floral designer that does big wow amazing ceremony installations sit down and decide the kind of ingredients you want to use the kind of abundance that you want to use the kind of style and design and mechanics that you want to use create yourself an initial base recipe using the kinds of ingredients that you want to use for example if you're the kind of designer that wants to feature orchids in your designs go for it if you're the kind of designer that doesn't really want to use orchids in your design that's fine too but you get to build your vision and your design based on your expertise your knowledge and your know-how and this is so much more about how you see yourself in your business and really taking that leadership position and I spent so long in our business just reacting to whatever it was that our customers asked for and it caused so much stress and it was like that idea of I need to be able to create this WOW amazing bouquet arrangement for 45 dollars so incredibly frustrating and I could not figure out how to get out of how to break that cycle so I wish somebody had sat me down when I walked out a flowerstone was like hey before you even think about posting your next image to Instagram before you even think about going in and sorting out your inquiry system or updating your online catalog take the time to just think about the kind of work you want to create if you're going to be asked to create an archway for a wedding what do you want it to look like what do you want your bridal bouquets to look like what do you want a standard size bouquet what do you want that price point to be what kinds of ingredients do you want to use how do you want to wrap it like this is so much more about embracing the fact that you're the owner of the business and you are the Visionary so let go of the thought that your customers write and recognize that putting yourself in the driver's seat of your Creative Vision is one of the most helpful things you can do for your sales process number two take a deep breath and know that no matter your qualifications how long you've been in business for or how many followers you have on Instagram your customers are coming to you because they see you as the expert so while you and I are sitting here second guessing our qualifications and wondering if we have what it takes to make it work and feeling like total imposters and a fraud your customers have already labeled you the expert so your greatest sales opportunity is to step in to that identity and know that your customers are coming to you because they need help and guidance two of the biggest assumptions I made in the beginning because I was so focused on my imposter syndrome and just not feeling capable and confident enough was I had this assumption that my clients and my customers knew as much as I did about what looks good together and the seasonal availability and that whole idea that the customer is always right so let's like Channel our most people believing selves and really set ourselves up for basically what becomes a master servant relationship I honestly thought that the way you built a successful business was allowing your customers to call the shots and that for me is such a red flag because in our industry it is so secretive and that means that your customers have no idea how the heck this whole thing works what flowers are in season what looks good together and how much things cost and it's your greatest sales opportunity to bridge that Gap at this moment in time your customers think that there's only one kind of white rose meanwhile you and I know that it's like okay well we need to find the perfect cream-colored Rose or the one with the blush Center or the one that has the extra frilly outside or like literally the number of fermentations and combinations is astounding but when we take our customers word for it when we allow them to call the shots we're missing out on the biggest opportunity because you're the one with the design skills you're the one with the expertise and you're the one who knows what looks good together and this is the thing I ended up in such a pile of resentment because I just felt like my customers were driving our business and asking us to create these beautiful designs for 45 dollars and I thought it was my job to figure out how to make that happen and there were so many instances where I was like Panic buying around the market because I had promised my clients that we'd find exactly the right burgundy color or I had to find the roses in this exact shade because I didn't know any better I didn't know that what it actually takes to build a successful flower business is recognizing that you are the authority and your clients see you as the expert so even if this is your first year in business or even if you feel like a total imposter and a total fraud and you've been doing this for decades your customers see you as the expert and that's an incredible opportunity to demonstrate your expertise be helpful and when you go into step number one and you decide ahead of time this is the kind of work I want to create and this is the kind of format I want to provide these Solutions in that actually helps cut through the confusion and the overwhelm for your client because if you ask any customer that comes in the store they're going to ask you you either for lilies roses or panties and they're only saying that because they think that they should know what to ask for because we haven't as an industry gone out of our way to openly share what happens behind the scenes so our poor customers think that they need to be in the driver's seat our poor customers think that they're the ones that need to tell us what to do and that is just so unhelpful for them because right now they're either dealing with a big pile of emotion because of something that's happened and they want to acknowledge that and send flowers to somebody that they love and or they're trying to navigate the experience of planning a wedding like any end of that Spectrum your customers are in overwhelm and confusion and they are so intimidated because most of your clients have not done this before and their familiarity with flowers is nowhere near as high as yours but they also have the expectation on themselves that they think they're supposed to know how this whole thing happened so when you flip the whole relationship on its head and recognize that the customer see you as the expert so you're here and you are going to be helpful and one of the most helpful things that you can do is make it easy for them to understand how this whole thing works what their money will get them give them a very specific box in terms of these the decisions that you need to make this is how to get the best outcome from this relationship I love coming back to that example of our experience of consumers walking into a restaurant because the overwhelming indecision that I would have if I had to sit down with the chef and say I am hungry please make me something but he was looking to me to like dictate to him what to make but that's how floral designers are taught to run their businesses so I just want to interrupt that narrative and I want to come in and say you know what there is an easier way a way that you can set your business up so that you can create the kind of work that you want to create a way that you can set your business up so that you truly are the most helpful to your clients and it's the exact opposite of promising specific stem specific ingredients and like really locking yourself into a corner because I did that for years and it sucked so really recognize that at the end of the day you are the expert and your customer sees you as the expert so don't be shy about claiming that position and putting yourself in the driver's seat of your business and by the way if you are enjoying these tips so far be sure to hit the like button so I know the last step in my super simple sales strategy for Flores is to be open with your expertise if you put yourself in your customers shoes and you really think about the experience of ordering flowers working with a florist or trying to organize an event or a wedding the amount of information that they have to sift through the amount of detail that they need to think about is just overwhelming and because our industry is so incredibly secretive our customers right now think that there only is three flowers available to them that will solve any problem roses lilies panties you're at an advantage if your customers actually know that there's more flowers than that but this is actually your single greatest sales opportunity because while every other floral designer on the planet is continuing to keep everything secretive and keep everything close to their chest you get to step in and be the leader you get to step in and be super helpful and you get to be the floral designer that shows up and says I totally get what it's like to be my dear old customer and I am here to help and that doesn't mean people pleasing that doesn't automatically assuming that what they say is what you need to create this is about building a relationship and understanding how to be empathetic and meeting your customers where they're at it's an amazing opportunity if your customers right now only think that there are roses lilies and peonies what an amazing opportunity for you to show off and be like here are my top flowers for spring here are my top favorite blue flowers here are my favorite peony Alternatives here are my favorite foliages here are my favorite pops of color there's so much content and so many ideas that you could put out into the world and write blog posts and post on social media and educate your customers about about and they will in turn be so grateful that you are the one that's busting through the secrecy and they will trust you so much more because you are so open with your expertise so a couple of things that we did when I started to really think through and understand the power of this strategy but having blog posts on your website that talk about how to get the best bang for your buck what flowers are in season when if your wedding flower budget is five thousand dollars ten thousand dollars pick a number and write a blog post about it and make it really accessible and really simple for your customers to understand don't hesitate at all to pass along your best guidance and advice and really be open with your knowledge and expertise your customers will just fall in love with you so quickly when you take this approach to sales and marketing and you will see just how simple it can be and even things that might feel as obvious as where do you Source your flowers from what flowers are in season in the peak of Summer what is your design process how early should I order my flowers what should I do to care for for my flowers to extend their shelf life you are the expert you know best and you know how you like to design and you know how you like to put the pieces of the puzzle together don't hesitate to really open up and explain to your customers this is how things go they will love you so much when you become more helpful and serve them content that actually helps answer some of their questions allows them to just be a little bit more vulnerable and say that they don't know and that they're really looking to you for the guidance and expertise and it just opens up such bigger possibilities for what you can do in terms of building that relationship and never ever ever forget that you're the one with the expertise and the knowledge you're the one who's obsessed with flowers and you're the one who has been hours trying to sort these things out your customers if you're lucky order flowers two to three times a year they don't remember what happened last year they're just trying to solve a problem and they've come to you because they need help so yes be compassionate and be empathetic but just remember put yourself in the shoes of the expert take control of the conversation and never ever ever ever forget they've come to you because they need help and your job is to help solve the problem and solve a problem in the best way that you know how being helpful being open with your expertise sharing this information online sharing it on social media having practical very helpful blog posts on your website for some very simple ways to gain that trust with your client and when you have that trust they will just eat up every word every recommendation that you make and they will love the fact that you are so helpful and that you're so open with your expertise then when you tell them that Archway is going to cost six thousand dollars they go oh okay what would you recommend if we had a budget of a thousand dollars become so much more of a collaborative partnership rather than the master servant relationship and please take it from me I spent years in that experience and it was so sucky and I am so on a mission to just make sure every floral designer and farmer florist on the planet knows when you sign up to start a business you are stepping into the role of creative director so be open with your knowledge and expertise create your set menu and just know that that is the best sales strategy that you can follow when it comes to building your business if you're someone who wants to learn even more Pro tips to help you make more money in your flower business then you definitely need to check out this video where I talk through the one mistake that cost me seventy thousand dollars thanks so much for watching this video and I'll see you in my next one thank you