editorial
My team and family will tell you that if I can fi nd 10 words where 3 could do I’ll do it. Not just because I waffl e but because I love words. So should any self- respecting fl orist. Because selling, over the phone or on a website, is about creating a vision in the customer’s mind so that they can confi dently place their order and, if possible, for slightly more than they planned. Which is why you need to get a grip on adjectival selling. You see customers can’t see just how lusciously shiny and long lasting that Anthurium you want to sell them is, they can’t smell the amazing oriental lilies in your shop, they have absolutely no idea just how much those glorious Leonadis roses look like a sunset with their undulating brown red to orange petals and as for that lush green foliage with the snow white berries… it’s all a bit of a mystery to them! OK I’m going a bit overboard
here but the reality is that if you can’t fi nd the right words to describe your product, your service or your design ideas then you are far more likely to end up with a lower value sale. And that’s why every fl orist
should treat themselves to a dose of shopping channel TV which has me mesmerised at times. Not because I want to buy the all-singing, all-dancing, and all-encompassing furry bed slippers that make the tea as well but because I am so impressed that they can talk about the bally things virtually non-stop until enough people have bought them! Now it could be argued that
they’ve bored people into buying. But I tell you it’s amazing. These
presenters can wax lyrical about the most mundane items and make even the minute detail sound exciting. Because my all-singing all-
dancing etc etc furry bed slippers don’t just make the tea but they have double loop stitching, a non- slip sole crafted from the most stringently checked rubber, use a new technique for making sure the fur doesn’t fall out and oh yes keep my feet warm. You can visit our website
(thefl
orist.co.uk) for a whole list of words that sell but I reckon if Flossie Fleabag on a shopping channel can rave about some stitching on a pair of slippers for fi ve minutes a fl orist can surely wax lyrical about a bouquet for two and with a bit of luck get an extra fi ver for it.
Size is another area that can be tricky to explain. How big is big, how small is small. An old trick I reckon is worth dusting off is to relate the design to pieces of furniture. Instead of asking a person how much they want to spend or telling them prices start at £20 simply ask if they want something for a coff ee table, a sideboard or a dining table. Because whilst the actual size of
a person’s dining table may diff er it at least gives them a clue as to how big is big, how small is small and they can judge their purchase level accordingly. It also avoids using all those
phrases you should never ever use (like how much do you want to spend?) which can either turn them off or fi x them into a set fi gure when in fact they were feeling far more generous. Worth practicing perhaps in the run up to Crimbo.
What is the diff erence between a cut fl ower and a plant? It may sound fl ippant but as far as I can see, the only diff erence is how much of the stem is still attached to the soil! Because let’s face it fl owers (and foliage) are all plants that have been cut. Which means that the creativity with plants should be no diff erent to creativity with fl owers. As Hannah discovered in her
Pimp your Plants feature on page 71, there are loads of fl orists who do brilliantly with plants. Trouble is there are also many fl orists who ignore plants either because they need ongoing TLC or don’t reckon they can sell them. And never is that more true
of the Poinsettia which a lot of fl orists simply see as a supermarket plant to be ignored at all costs. Well once you’ve sussed out how ‘pimping’ plants can make money, have a shifty at the designs our team made using Poinsettia as a cut fl ower. By his own admission, lead designer Ian Lloyd was nervous about the challenge and worried that they would simply keel over to the point he had a sleepless night before the shoot. Well I can hand on heart say
that we monitored the designs for over seven days in a normal house and the
F&wb Autumn/Winter 2013
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