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Are you ready to grow your floral business not only in profits but in creativity and fulfillment? Listen as Jeni Becht a wedding and event designer of over 25 years shares all the juicy details of growing and evolving her floral business into one of passion, purpose, and financial freedom. She shares all the secrets with actionable tips and strategies so you can wake up inspired and on a path to profitability while feeling lighter and more aligned in work and life. Join Jeni in building your business while ditching the overwhelm, avoiding burnout, and feeling fulfilled in work and life.
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Hello flower friend, this is Jen and you're listening to the Floral Hustle Podcast. On this week's episode, our little mini episode, we're going to talk about my inquiry process and start to finish what I do with a client when an email comes in. So the first thing that I want to preface is if you do not have a contact us form, Very clearly laid out on your website.
It is hard for you to get inquiries. You want people to send you an email that invites them in to learn more about you. Ways that I have done this is by saying I have a brochure and if they contact me it has starting at pricing and I could send that their way. So, I'm inviting them into interacting with me on a direct basis, and that is, has to be facilitated somehow.
And you have to make it really easy. Anytime something is hard, they're not going to do it. So is your inquiry form very accessible, easy to fill out? If you are asking them a million questions, your chances of getting that inquiry to submit It gets lower and lower. So when I get that inquiry to come in, uh, I then reply to them and I say, thank you so much for contacting us.
I really appreciate, um, you reaching out. And if they have told me where they came from. And they just said it was a referral. I would love to know who sent you my way. Um, so I can send them, um, a quick thank you note. And then I say, I love your venue. I've done a bunch of weddings there. I absolutely, or maybe you haven't, but there's something that you really love or have desired to do, a wedding at their venue.
I'm pointing that out. I'm drawing, like, Hey, I'm excited about your wedding, excited over here, you want to talk to me because I'm excited about your event. Then, I say, I have a few questions to understand, um, the full scope of your event. If they have been vague, this is my opportunity to ask questions. I go, how many bridesmaids do you have?
Are you, outside of personal flowers, needing reception or centerpieces or whatever? If it is a venue that has multiple ceremony locations, I ask them where they're planning on having their ceremony at that venue. Are they requiring a room flip? I am asking that because those two things help dictate... If I already have a wedding or two, if I can take this wedding on because if I know the other one already has a, you know, room flip and it's at five o'clock, it's going to be hard to do another one unless I have a team of people to go and help me with that.
So asking some clarifying questions to understand the full scope of the event is so helpful because I know then that I could likely take this on or if it's a teardown, you know, understanding will you need help if you already have a wedding with a teardown and you do not have a team that can help you, asking that person if you have to do a teardown would be helpful to understand before engaging with that person, doing an estimate, spending time, so yeah, Making sure that you're getting all like that.
Where am I going to need to be and doing what? Basic info. Then I'm asking them their wedding color. I'm asking outside of You know their overall budget if they haven't given a floral budget to you yet that is one of my line items in my My like, you know, inquiry form, it's inset into there, but it's not a mandatory field because some people don't know.
And so with that, uh, if they didn't answer, I'm going to ask them again. I, I will word it like, um, just so I understand going forward, what is your target floral budget? Or, um, where are you trying to... Be, you know, just whatever phrase you want to say, I'm asking that again. And I will ask again if they don't answer it after I put this, or if they say, I don't know.
Then I say, great, let me help you understand how much flowers cost. So then I'm turning that into, let me help you figure this out. Then, I am asking them for a Pinterest link to their board or three images that capture their vibe. And I'm asking for that because if it is something super uninspiring that I am not wanting to do, I want to know that as soon as possible.
If there's baby's breath in mason jars, if you've been listening to the podcast, you know that that's like the bane of my existence. Um, I want to know that. And so I will ask them for those inspiration pictures right up front. Then, after that, I am saying, um, Attach is my brochure that features some starting at prices and, um, highlights my two service offerings.
Check it out and let me know if you have any questions. So I've asked them specifics, in case I have another wedding book, and just really to understand the scope of their event. I've asked them for photos. I have not said that I am 100 percent available yet. I have said that I am interested to hear about it.
And sometimes, if somebody's really interested, they'll... They can see that I didn't say a hundred percent that I am available. So they'll ask, okay, are you available? My date is a reply I sometimes will get and I usually know that they are really interested if that is the case. They then usually return an email to me in that hopefully they're answering all my questions.
If their answers align with something that I want to take on, and their budget seems realistic, whatever it may be, I then will say, Hey, I would love to set up a call. Um, I just want to make sure you've looked over my pricing, my starting at pricing, so that you understand, um, you know, pricing details, and hopefully that fits together with where your budget is.
And then I'm saying, could we meet for a video chat, a quick video chat, so I can put together a full proposal. If they did not answer one of the questions, which I don't know why this is so hard, but it happens, I then will ask them to, uh, answer that question again. Hey, I didn't see your answer to this question, um, but it's really helpful for me to understand that going forward.
So I'm asking again. Then we set up a video chat. I try not to meet people in person. I did that. Exclusively before COVID, and I feel that doing a video chat is more time efficient. It helps me get down to the details and not have this mandatory fluff time of a million different things. Um, you're not driving anywhere, so it saves time.
Uh, people are really good about showing up on timed video appointments because... I make sure I go and put that appointment in a calendar invite. I do ask them how they would like to video chat. I'm giving them options. So I usually say in a hierarchy, FaceTime, Google Meet, or Zoom. And I'm giving options because I personally like having options.
I feel it's meeting that customer where they are at. So if they are a FaceTime person, great. I don't have to set crap up, and we can have a video chat very easily. If they are a Google Calendar person, great, let's do a Google Meet. If they are a, um, person who likes Zoom, great, I can send that. So I'm asking them their preference because people like to do business how they like to do business, and I am fine with any of those three.
So I'm not dictating with them that they have to have a Zoom call. I'm not dictating to them that they have to have a Google Meet. I'm asking them, which makes me seem like I am, um, flexible and easy to work with. Then, we set up our video chat. I, at the beginning of my video chat, will say, Hey, just to let you know, so it doesn't seem that I'm distracted, I did open a Word document so I can take notes, and so if for some reason I'm not remembering correctly something that we talked about, I always have my notes to reference back when I'm putting together your estimate.
So I am sharing that, Hey, I have some, you know, I have my keyboard open. You'll see me typing, whatever it is. And then, from there, I am, um, going and, and taking notes, asking them, guiding them through my, my process. I do not send a form ahead of time for them to fill out. Because I like to hear what's important, the tone about something, if it matters, if it really matters.
Uh, I can really just get a gauge for how important certain things are, which helps me design a budget around that. Then I go through and ask them like day of questions, like about tear down, about room flips, I just get more details. I'm asking them if they have a wedding planner, I'm asking
them, um, you would like to do with the flowers? Whatever it is, I'm I'm getting some of those details out of my head that are relevant to the actual inquiry. Then, um, I'm also saying something nice about, like, their Pinterest board, their design that they came up with. I'm saying something nice about their venue, because again, that energy.
I want them to see that I'm excited, and I want to talk about their wedding, and I'm excited to do their wedding, and I'm not acting like my fingernails are being removed because this is painful. I'm really showing them what joy that I find in flowers. And I'm telling them a little bit about myself at the end of the meeting.
Uh, I'll ask them, Um, he did, uh, Whoever referred them or whatever you find. I don't know if you looked through my brochure or had a chance to look at my website But I'd love to share a little bit about my business I've been a florist for 25 years. I've done over 1, 700 weddings. So nothing will surprise me.
You will be in good hands because I Have done this so much. I've been at your venue so much. I'm I'm somewhat bragging or boasting, but I'm building myself some credibility with this client that I am an expert. This is not my first rodeo. I can do this easily, seamlessly, and efficiently. And I am asking them to, to trust in me and to really understand that my level of expertise is going to be so helpful on their wedding day because I have been there, done that, and I will take good care of them.
And then I ask them if they have any other additional questions. And then from there, I'm working on putting together a proposal. I put full visual proposals together. I send that over. I tell them it was so great to meet with them. I tell them thank you so much for considering me. Um, attached is your estimate.
If we are above their budget, I will say with our, we would love to have options, we came in a little over your target floral budget. So I did put some budget reducing ideas or some cost effective ideas. So again, I'm being very easy to work with and explaining that it doesn't have to be something out of your budget.
We can figure out and still get you nice flowers. So, I'll make suggestions to them in the proposal and I'll tell them either way you can, you know, we can make that decision closer to the wedding date if needed. Please let me know what your thoughts and if you have any questions. I would love to get this date booked up for you because I've been getting a lot of inquiries lately and I would love to work with you and I would love to do an event at your venue again.
That's it. If I don't hear back from them in three days, I'm reaching out again. And I'm circling, hey, I just wanted to circle back and make sure that you got my proposal. I wanted to see if you had any questions. And, uh, I wanted to also share, like, I hold your date for one week. And I put this in the proposal, so hopefully they've already seen this.
I hold your date for one week and put your name on it. Um, but if the week passes and I haven't heard from you, I remove your name from there. Sometimes you will get somebody to ask. What happens if it goes over a week? That's great, because that shows that they're interested. I say, um, you know, I, I totally understand that it takes a while to make these decisions sometimes.
Just because of the volume of inquiries, I can't hold the date after a week. But I'm happy if you decide that you'd like to move forward to check that availability. Um, I don't currently have anybody that's inquired about your date. But, um, you know, that could happen, and I also can let you know if that happens.
So, there you're being easy to work with, you're sharing that you have boundaries, that you would like to lock this up, but you're also sharing, you know, like, I am getting booked. People want to work with me, and so please make a decision.
Thank you so much for listening, flower friend, and you have an amazing 📍 flower filled week.