The Definitive Guide to SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Des Moines

SAF launched the 1-Day Profit Blast two years ago in an effort to make the high quality education florists receive at the annual convention accessible to more members – from both a time and perspective.

 

“Our annual convention continues to grow…but we also know that many of our members simply cannot afford (the time and/or dollars required) to attend it,” said Moran.

SAF CEO Peter Moran

 

Since its inception in 2013, SAF has brought the 1-Day Profit Blast to Atlanta, Baltimore and, most recently, Seattle. On November 13 it comes to Des Moines Iowa, sponsored by the Bill Doran company. It is a great opportunity for florists, and here are some tips to make the most of it.

 

Notes

Take notes. Everybody needs notes. If you don’t take notes the mind-blowing thing that you hear early in the first session, the one that you can’t wait to implement once you get back to your shop, will be forgotten by the end of the next session.

Be selective about the notes you take. Facts, statistics and anecdotes are interesting, but unless you will need them again later (and you might, even if only to stay motivated) don’t bother writing them down.

Focus instead on creating a plan of action. The notes you take are to help you put new ideas into action on Monday. They should be focussed on what you are going to do, how you are going to do it, and maybe the why you want to do it (just in case you forget).

 

Meet The Suppliers

There are a lot of shady, fly-by-night suppliers in the flower business, but you won’t find them at SAF events. The vendors you meet at an SAF Supplier Expo are the very best in the flower business. They’re also the few that are working hard and supporting the industry and this kind of valuable educational content. It is a great chance to meet with them – don’t miss it. FloristWare will be there, along with Flower Shop Network, another strong supporter of the floral industry.

 

 

Socializing Social Learning

It is very tempting to sit down with old friends, reminisce about the old times, catch up each others families, and gossip about the industry. That can wait for the bar later on.

Instead try and sit with new people. One great approach is to sit near a speaker or known industry expert (including ones that are not speaking at the 1-Day Profit Blast). Another is to sit near a shop owner that you have heard of (maybe one that has won an award like the SAF Marketer of the Year award) or respect (the owner of a thriving store in a nearby town). All of these people will have great information to share.

And if you can’t get a seat next to this kind of higher-profile attendee just sit with somebody new. You already have a lot in common – you’re in the same business learning the same material – and that is where the conversation will naturally start. Will what they just learned work in their shop? How are they going to implement it? These are great discussions to have.

They also tend to get missed when old friends get together and start catching up. Save that for later.

 

The Sessions

360° Marketing
Art Conforti, PFCI, owner of Beneva Flowers & Gifts

There is no getting around it – Art is a polarizing figure that takes a lot of knocks for his stance on some of the hot-button issues in the floral industry. But he is also a brilliant marketer and wildly successful florist. No matter how some people might feel about him, everybody can learn from him. This will be a great session for any florist that is serious about improving their marketing, including online advertising.

 

CSI: Flower Shop — Live! 
Tim Huckabee, AIFSE, president of FloralStrategies, LLC

Tim is not only the original but the BEST sales trainer in the floral industry and the author of the incredibly popular monthly CSI Flower Shop column in Floral Management magazine. It is easy to think “oh, we read the column and watched a webinar…. we’re doing it right already”, but the fact is that the biggest and most successful retail florists have an ongoing relationship with FloralStrategies – they’re TotalTraining members and they have a FloralStrategies trainer visit their shops on a regular basis. There is always something to be learned from Tim.

Treasure Hunt: Finding Your Hidden Profits
Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, President of Crockett, Myers & Associates, Inc.

Derrick is the most known and respected accountant in the floral industry. He is asked to speak at countless floral industry events and is the accountant for the biggest and best florists in the business. He also works with many smaller shops that are happy to know their books are being handled by the very best in the business. Just recently we worked with the Crockett Myers team, helping them get up to speed on a FloristWare user that had just signed on as a client. We were amazed by both their commitment to getting everything just right for this shop, and their knowledge of the flower industry as a whole (not just the financial statements). This will be a great session for any retail florist.

Minimalist Design, Maximum Profit
Jacob McCall AAF, AIFD, FSMD, Design and Marketing Director of The Elite Flower

This is the best kind of design education a working florist can hope for. A lot of design education in the flower business is focussed only on beauty, or innovation, or trends. They treat flower design like art. Sessions like this look at it as what it more often is – commercial art that is created to be sold. The focus is not just on how to make something beautiful, bust something beautiful that will sell AND sell at a profit.

 

For more information and to register please visit the SAF website.