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
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.
May
18
Local Baskets, Business Solutions and Organization Tips
Filed Under Baskets, Organize Your Workspace | Leave a Comment
LOOKING FOR LOCAL BASKETS
Designers cannot resist buying beautiful baskets that will dazzle and delight customers. However, finding them locally can sometimes be a challenge. I share three tips in Wednesday’s newsletter on where to look for baskets in your region in order to save freight charges that are better spent on gorgeous vessels that are the basis for your designs.
MISTAKES MADE EASY
How do you recover when you make a mistake? The answer is to fix it as quickly as possible, and realize that mistakes are part of business. Here’s a lesson I learned early in my gift basket career and what I did to correct it. Would you do the same, or is there a better solution?
IS ORGANIZING PART OF YOUR PLAN?
Planning for future sales is the one main method to guarantee that your business thrives from now until December and beyond. I share my planning strategy in this article and also explain which office supplies make recordkeeping a snap. My hope is that these tips turn the burden of business administration into a quick and easy task.
May
14
Baskets in Your Backyard
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“Where can I find baskets?” is one of the most-popular questions at Ask The Gift Basket Expert.
It’s asked most often by new designers searching for beautiful containers to start their businesses, but veteran designers also ask when they’re ready to begin marketing to clients in untapped industries. Do you fit into one of these categories?
One concern about buying baskets is the shipping cost. You’ll pay high freight charges when ordering from wholesalers located thousands of miles away from your location, especially if the baskets are sizes that resemble the ones on this page.
That’s why designers search for local sources, which saves them $50 or more in freight costs depending on the order size.
Keep these three tips handy to cut your search time and budget for baskets in half.
1. Find local floral wholesalers. These firms sell fresh flowers and supplies to retailers in your area. I’ve visited many throughout the U.S., and they all stock baskets.
2. Use Yahoo.com’s search directory. Yahoo’s search engine is very specific in locating sources by state. Placing the word “baskets” into this site’s page may also yield results.
3. Look at tags and labels on baskets at retail stores. Local retailers often purchase merchandise from state distributors. One shop in my area never removes basket tags. That’s how I found a basket wholesaler just five minutes from my shop.
Basket sources are out there. Find them now, and use the savings to buy postcards or another type of marketing tool to reach customers.
Here’s a two-page report on selecting great baskets for your designs.
Feb
3
Buying Baskets, Valentine’s Day, Increase Your Prices
Filed Under Baskets, Money, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment
YOUR BASKET SELECTION MAY VARY
Why can’t there be one formula for every gift basket designer who buys empty baskets for the first time? There’s a simple answer: it’s just not possible. I show you in Wednesday’s newsletter how many baskets I’d buy if starting business today and why your choices will always be different.
WHO WON THE VALENTINE’S DAY CONTEST?
Meet the three winners who won How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business, plus get pointers from a top gift basket designer on how to get the work done if you become sick.
IT’S TIME TO RAISE YOUR PRICES
Hershey’s increased the price of chocolate twice last year, and everyone’s still eating sweets. Are you following their lead? Learn in this article why the nation’s largest candy maker attached a premium price to their product, then follow the five-step plan to raise your gift basket prices.
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