Mar

30

Containers, Take Clients to Lunch, Overcome Obstacles

Filed Under Containers, Customers, Sales-Increasing Strategies | Leave a Comment

NO-BASKET OPTIONS ADD INTEREST
Umbrellas and rocking chairs are some of the unique containers I selected to grow my business quickly. There’s nothing wrong with baskets; I simply knew my customers and what motivated them to buy. Wednesday’s newsletter provides ideas for non-basket vessels that clients will appreciate.

LUNCH, LEARN, AND SELL
Question: How much will it cost you to treat a client to lunch? The answer: Pennies next to the sales and referrals that come from this almost-unheard of gesture. Read these tips if you’re ready to encourage orders while meeting with clients in a casual atmosphere.

HOW TO JUMP OVER AN OBSTACLE
Some prospects make it difficult for you to start a business relationship. You’ll have no choice but to give up on a few, but for others, it will take just one more step to get their attention and allegiance. Try the Side Door if the Front Door is Closed shares ideas on how to proceed.

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Mar

26

Are Containers in Your Future?

Filed Under Containers | 2 Comments

Gift basket retailers separate themselves from the competition by placing foods and gifts into alternative containers instead of only using baskets. This kind of “out of the basket” thinking sparks the creativity needed to meet the increasing demands of today’s buyers.

What containers can you turn to when baskets won’t do?

  • Wheelbarrows and flower pots add growth to gardening and new home gift sales.

Another container that’s gained ground on baskets in recent years is the die-cut gift box.

Several manufacturers distribute these attractive vessels, which are designed on all four sides to resemble any imaginable theme. Available in various sizes and shapes, these boxes ship flat, demand little storage space, and are easy to assemble.

Thinking “out of the basket” increases your profit margin, proving that your style of gift basket creation is limited only by your imagination.

The price for 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Cash In on Administrative Professionals Week will increase on April 1. Read all about the CD here, and order today.

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Mar

19

Boost Your Corporate Sales in April

Filed Under Corporate Baskets, Planning | 4 Comments

No matter how much a company trims its workforce, secretarial support is still the backbone of every firm. This highly-skilled position, whether under the title of receptionist, clerk, secretary, or administrative executive, is prized by executives because the person in charge knows how to balance duties with discretion.

He or she is the one who ultimately runs the office, and in April, that person will be rewarded with a gift that expresses appreciation and gratitude.

Selling gift baskets to large and small companies for Administrative Professionals Week starts with documenting your contacts at each company. It doesn’t matter if you know the janitor or junior vice president; the key is to ask the person for their order and get referrals to contact others in charge of purchasing this year’s gifts.

Your inventory must be filled with a selection of foods and gifts that will reward those who serve in the front office and board room. When you’re ready to show your best baskets, in person and on your Web site, encourage prospects to buy from you to thank their support staff for a job well done.

The CD, 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Cash In on Administrative Professionals Week, provides detailed advice to gain sales that guarantee corporate orders well after April ends. Read, on this page, a full list on what’s included on this popular CD.

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Mar

16

Creative Gift Tags, Update Your Web Site

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STORIES FROM THE OTHER SIDE
A new client called me, insisting on specific items for her gift basket, items that normally cost $60. She wanted it all for $30. Then she said the words that canceled the sale: “I’ll send you a check.” Wednesday’s newsletter shares three more examples and solutions to situations that don’t happen every day but are important to know to keep your sanity while doing what you love.

CREATIVE WAYS TO CONNECT
Finding attractive gift tags and cards to accompany gifts and baskets is sometimes difficult, but that’s when your ingenuity takes charge. There are retail and wholesale sources, or you might make your own brand of tags. See this photograph showing the types of cards I use, and learn where to find your own.

RENEW YOUR ONLINE APPEARANCE
Is it time to update your Web site? You’re not alone. I’m going over my sites with a fine-toothed comb, and I’ll use the list provided here that outlines changes you may want to make on your site.

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Mar

12

Clients Gone Wild (and How to Tame Them)

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I bet you have lots of stories about working with clients, and with each story comes a lesson learned.

There are many reasons for these lessons, among them 1) the need to succeed in business, and 2) the rule that says “do everything possible to please the client.” However, there’s a line between service and sanity. Clients often test us with the latter.

Here are three problems that are easily tamed by staying within guidelines that keep business on track.

1. “Can You Leave the Baskets Here?”
After a presentation, some clients want to show your gift baskets to co-workers who were not able to attend the meeting. This may seem like a reasonable request, but do not leave that office without your baskets, or you will not see them again.

Your gifts are so gorgeous that they will magically appear in the office of other firms that your clients want to impress. What if there are spoiled items inside of the basket? You not only must explain your client’s mistake, you also may be liable for any illness that occurs due to the spoilage.

2. “Show Them to my Secretary.”
Presentations with people who cannot sign the order form is a waste of time. I keep a sign in front of my desk that says “only make appointments with the decision maker,” because sometimes I can be in such a hurry to open opportunity’s door that I forget to ensure I’m meeting with the right person. Meet with the check signer, and no one else.

3. “We’ll Mail You the Check.”
One designer was told this as she delivered gift baskets. The check never arrived. She called the person in charge, wrote letters, and kept records of everything she did to collect her money. When all efforts were exhausted, she went to the town’s sheriff, who accompanied her to the non-paying firm that was forced to pay her in front of the sheriff.

If payment is due on arrival, get the money before the goods are placed in the client’s hands. If this sounds harsh or strict, then program the sheriff’s number in your speed dial, because you’ll call him often.

You love what you do, and you also make money. Clients can sometimes test your patience, so make them play by your rules, and they won’t go wild.

Visit this page for 10 more steps, the type that explain how to create a wildly-successful business.

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Mar

9

Gift Basket Supplies, How to Network With Others

Filed Under Startup Help, Wholesale Suppliers | Leave a Comment

FINDING WHAT YOU NEED TO DESIGN
There are times you need sausage, cheese, crackers, and other main stays to create a design, but you also require specialty products when making a masterpiece the client will always remember.

Wednesday’s newsletter leads you to product sources in your state and in other regions to sell more of your gifts and baskets every day.

HOW TO MAKE NETWORKING EASIER
Is it difficult for you to meet new people during networking sessions? Sometimes it’s not easy for me either, but I bet that three steps I outline in How Not to Work a Room will help you make the most of each event.

HELP THIS DESIGNER
A designer asked a question on how to name gift baskets made with Amish products. Do you have any ideas? Read her dilemma (and respond if you wish) at Ask The Gift Basket Expert. Do you have a question about gift baskets? Send it through the Question Submission Rules link at the top of each page.

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Mar

5

How to Find Products Online

Filed Under Wholesale Suppliers | 2 Comments

Your office phone rings. It’s a new customer, and she’s prepared to order a custom birthday basket. But there’s a problem. She’s asking for products you don’t have in stock.

How can you complete the sale to her satisfaction (and yours) without running around town as an unpaid personal shopper, retrieving the items she requests?

Here are two tips that help designers like you to keep as many sales as possible without going overboard on a shopping excursion.

1. Offer Alternatives. When a client asks for a product that is different from anything you normally stock, review your product list and suggest something else in its place. The alternative doesn’t have to be an exact match, but it should mirror the requested product’s theme or flavor.

Clients don’t know what you have until you tell them about your product selection. I bet that your customers aren’t so rigid that they would turn down every alternative.

The new Gift Basket Wholesale Supplies site lets you search your state to find specific products or research other states for everyday favorites. A search tool is available as well. Most states are online now, and all will be available by this weekend.

2. Create New Terms. If you wish to go the personal shopping route, inform the client that you’ll be happy to find the requested item — for a custom shopper’s fee.

Many designers post their personal shopping terms in their literature and on their Web sites. These prices start at $25 an hour to find specific products. When found, designers increase the retail price by 20-30 percent. Both costs (hourly and retail price increase) are passed on to the customer.

If the client agrees, then you’ve found a great customer who understands that your time comes with a price. If the client declines, go back to Option No. 1.

Making Money with Special Services uncovers more tips on making money with personal shopping.

Commit to the above tips, or years from now you’ll be looking at strange products in your inventory that no one requests for their baskets.

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