Exciting New Content From Rick Rivers

We're very pleased to be sponsoring Rick Rivers at the Maine State Florists Spring Design Show later this month.

In addition to his excellent marketing program Rick will be doing a second session of entirely new content, addressing a topic that is extremely important right now. It will look at the dangers of pushing customers too hard and breaking their "glass ceiling".

Why is this so important? Tim Huckabee of Floral Strategies has long been teaching a very sophisticated and effective approach to sales in this business. In part it involves asking each customer specific questions in a certain order, listening carefully, and, based on the answers they provide, upselling them when appropriate in an intelligent manner.

As  others have tried to get into the sales training game the sophistication of this approach has gotten watered down. Some "experts" and coaches are now insisting that florists should be pushing every customer to spend 20% more each time they place an order. That simply isn't sustainable. Worse than that it is dangerous.

Sure - in the short term it can lead to some bigger sales. But in the long term it leads to fewer sales and fewer customers.

Why? Because you have alienated the customer by pushing them out of their comfort zone. And the real danger is that they won't tell you that - they will simply order less or, even worse, go somewhere else.

This is great content that can really help florists and it is an honor to sponsor it.