2009 FSFA Convention featuring the “Art” of Sales

Owner of Beneva Flowers, Arthur Conforti was invited by Womar Glass to be a guest speaker at the FSFA Convention in St. Petersburg.

Art opened by addressing the very root of what all floral retailers want, to sell more flowers. While that seems simple, the current economic conditions play a big role in this effort. Understanding where we stand is the first step when building a plan to succeed in any market.

Art pointed out that during Valentine’s Day, there were over 4.2 million unique visitors at the top four floral websites; 1-800 Flowers, Ftd.com, Pro Flowers & Teleflora

Where did these customers come from? “Each of our local markets,” Art explained. “If there are 4.2 million customers out there, I feel confident there is enough business for each of our shops, even in time of a recession.”

Wire In Orders

Of the companies competing, Art made it a point to state that Teleflora was the only one of the big 4 that always send all their orders to local flower shops to fill. Retail florists seem concerned about these efforts. “Let’s face it,” Art said, “if Teleflora weren’t there, the other three companies would be getting those orders? Would they ever come back to the florist or would the orders be shipped direct? My point is that regardless of the competition, sitting back and waiting for orders is killing the local floral retailer’s chance for survival.”

How Can We Compete

Art reminded us of where we once were and were we are today. Starting with Main St, USA and the how you used to visit each local store like the butcher, baker and pharmacy. Now these are all under one roof at the local supermarket; one stop shopping. The retail florist is now being challenged by not only the local supermarket, but by flowers in a box. So how can we compete? It starts with the right attitude. YES WE CAN! Timed delivery? Specialty Requests? After hours delivery? The more we aim to satisfy these requests, the more we will be looked to for sending flowers. In many cases, the local retail florist has made it difficult to have an order placed. Removing these barriers is the first step to keeping people shopping locally. Why should someone choose your flower shop is what Art believes we should be asking ourselves each day.

New Business is a MUST

You must be looking for new business today. Almost everyone’s customer base has diminished somewhat. However, there is still business out there. You need to replenish your customer base with those who are still sending flowers. There are companies still thriving and using flowers to recognize employees and for customers. Are they using your shop? As other florists in your town are going out of business, what are you doing to secure their customers? What are you doing to keep those customers local???

Covering Ground

While the task of covering the entire nation is too cumbersome for one, it is manageable if we are each responsible for marketing to our own local area. If we can each claim our local customers and work together sending orders back and forth then the pool of opportunity for the online companies would diminish. “By owning our local markets and working together we can cover a lot of ground,” Conforti added.

Personal Selling

We must be unique. Most floral designs can be duplicated. Suggesting an upgraded vase or offering a Conforti Collectable piece is unique. It is not available everywhere. It is what makes people look at YOUR marketing piece and your shop. To market a promotion featuring a standard design or a container that can be purchased at any flower shop is not the most effective. Using unique containers and LocalFlowerShop.com to find the shops that carry them is how you can send orders out of town as well as service your local customers.

Local Flower Shop.com

While this directory is designed for consumers, complete with an image gallery, it also promotes florist to florist transaction by showing memberships to wire services. This way, you have the option of sending your orders using any wire service you please. LocalFlowerShop.com is not a wire service and we have no intentions of ever being anything more than a link for customers and florists to find local flower shops as well as hospitals and funeral homes with servicing florists listed.

Measuring Success

Comment cards and surveys in Art’s opinion are a must. This is the only way to really know what your customer feels about your shop.

Conforti Coaching is what Art offers with every marketing effort. He mentioned that he and his team are always there to help guide other florists into solutions that will work in their shop. He was clear that his coaching is free of charge, after all, “I am one florist trying to make the most of the industry today and if we each have that goal, we can strive in our local markets and support each other nationally to provide the greatest customer experiences.”