Aug
3
Gift Basket Sales Tips, Where to Find Baskets, Corporate Sales
Filed Under Baskets, Corporate Selling, Sales-Increasing Strategies | Leave a Comment
SAVVY SALES TIPS
Before you buy that package of cocktail forks, ask yourself: How many of my designs are appropriate to sell this item quickly? Wednesday’s newsletter focuses on what to think before you buy and gives examples of outlandish items I may have bought before making better decisions. Also read the newsletter for three sales tips.
THREE WAYS TO FIND BASKETS
A Louisiana-based designer wants to know where to find baskets in her area. Wholesale suppliers are probably closer to her location than she realizes. On Ask The Gift Basket Expert, I provide her with three ideas to start her search. Join the conversation, and submit your own question.
OUT-OF-TOWNER OPPORTUNITIES
Meeting planners and other conference coordinators welcome attendees with basket and non-basket gifts. Are you ready to meet this lucrative demand? Here’s a number of ideas that make planners and guests happy while keeping your bank deposits high.
Jul
20
Trade Shows, Asking Questions, Imprinting Machines
Filed Under Customers, TRADE SHOWS, Wholesale Suppliers | Leave a Comment
FROM CHAOS TO CALM
There are certain expectations when you begin making gift baskets. First, you wonder if you’ll get sales, and when they arrive, you wonder how to organize everything, including travel. Wednesday’s newsletter provides trade show alternatives when you cannot travel, which includes magazines to get this month to read gift basket articles.
WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION?
Learning about the receiver, before you begin designing, ensures that the gift basket matches their preferences. What do you ask, and are the questions organized on paper rather than by memory? Here’s what I asked a client before dazzling 25 members of her day care staff.
HOW TO PRINT UP SALES
What type of ribbon imprinter is in your workspace, and can it do more than imprint on ribbon? One designer is searching for a special imprinter to satisfy her clients with different types of personalization. Her question is at Ask The Gift Basket Expert. Can you help her?
Jul
16
How to Manage Your Time, Travel, and Money
Filed Under TRADE SHOWS, Wholesale Suppliers | Leave a Comment
Managing your time while marketing, selling, and attending trade shows is often a difficult process, but there are alternatives to keep order and sanity.
Rather than attend trade shows, some gift basket designers choose to stay close to their stores due to time or budgetary constraints. This dilemma can leave a big void in the items offered to customers who count on you to surprise them with every order.
But how can you take time away from business to visit trade shows when the ones you really want to attend are thousands of miles away? Here are two solutions.
1. Speak with suppliers. Call wholesalers that plan to exhibit. Ask the representative if you can take advantage of specials through a phone order. New items are usually shown online, and the rep may have approval to give you a “heads up” on sales specials.
2. Re-review trade publications. Gift and gourmet trade magazines often feature new items for each season, introducing you to what will be in style in terms of colors and trends.
The July issues of Gifts & Decorative Accessories and Gift Shop Magazine include gift basket articles. Try and get a copy of both before month’s end.
Don’t let schedule, location, or budget keep you from finding new products to refresh designs. Your customers are counting on you be their premier, trend-setting gift consultant.
Gift Basket Wholesale Supplies lists wholesalers and distributors in state order and throughout Canada. It’s a resource that may be beneficial if you absolutely cannot get to a show.
Jul
13
ARE YOUR GIFT BASKETS READY FOR A CLOSEUP?
Remember when Polaroid and 110-film cameras were the only picture-taking products available to snap photos for clients? It’s wonderful how technology has changed, allowing us to easily add photos on flyers, postcards, and Web sites. Wednesday’s newsletter exposes the versatility of digital images and how to use them to impress clients and sell more.
WHERE DO YOU BUY BASKETS?
It took some time, but I found four basket distributors less than 10 miles from my location. The same may be true for you, especially if you haven’t started your research to find a local source. You’ll find tips in this article to uncover local suppliers and consider trade shows as alternatives when close sources don’t exist.
AN EASY WAY TO LEARN ONLINE
Don’t have time to enroll in adult school classes? Hewlett-Packard makes learning simple through your computer. They offer an extensive list of business and technology courses at no charge to help you become more productive. Find out more about their courses through this article.
Jun
22
Trade Shows, Your Own Toolbox, Getting Past Gatekeepers
Filed Under Customers, Enhancements, TRADE SHOWS | Leave a Comment
TIME TO TALK TRADE SHOWS
There was a time when trade shows intimidated me. I didn’t want to go because exhibitors tried to sell me products that weren’t on my buying list. Wednesday’s newsletter puts your product needs in center focus, helping you to determine how to navigate each aisle so that you leave knowing you’ve made smart buying decisions for your best sales year.
GIFT BASKET DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
After 18 years in business, a design repair toolbox is still part of my workspace arsenal, and it’s inside each vehicle during deliveries. The photo shown with this article is my exactly toolbox; you’ll see some of the items always on board. Read the article and tell all of us what’s in your toolbox.
NO MORE GATEKEEPER GAMES
We’ve all heard of the gatekeeper, the person who stands between you and the one with the power to buy your gift baskets. Do you know that there are ways to bypass this person? I share my top three ways to meet your prospect so that the gatekeeper is no longer a factor. Now’s the time to try these ideas so that you’re sure to earn your Christmas bonus.
