Sales and customer service expert Tim Huckabee, returns to the stage February 27 for SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Austin, Texas, where he’ll deliver his no-nonsense advice that has helped hundreds of retailers drastically increase their average sales values.
Sponsored by the Bill Doran Company, the education-packed event in Austin is the latest in a series of 1-Day Profit Blasts, which SAF launched three years ago as a way to make the kind of “high quality education” floral industry members enjoy at the organization’s annual convention more accessible to more members, both from a cost and time perspective, said SAF CEO Peter Moran.
Huckabee, with his lively presentation style and specific, practical advice, is a regular presenter at Profit Blast, and a favorite among florists looking for a way to recover lost sales and add-on potential
“It’s tragic how much money florists let slip through their fingers every day,” said Huckabee, the president and founder of FloralStrategies LLC and a Floral Management columnist. Lackadaisical sales people, along with employees who sell from their own pockets, can cost flower shop owners hundreds of dollars a day — “and diminish the shop’s reputation as a provider of quality floral gifts,” he explained.
During his session, “CSI: Flower Shop — Live!,” Huckabee will ask audience members to volunteer their shop’s number for a test order played on speaker phone for the whole room to hear.
Huckabee will pretend to place an order for scenarios such as a sister’s 30th birthday, a friend in the hospital, and a 20th anniversary, “the typical calls shops receive on a regular basis,” he said.
Upon completion of the call, Huckabee will critique three critical components of the employee’s performance:
Renato Cruz Sogueco, CIO
- Use of technology: Did the employee check out the customer’s purchasing history to get a sense of his or her taste?
- Assessment of the situation: Did the employee pay close attention to the customer’s motivation for calling and sell appropriately? For instance, a card message such as, “Congratulations on your new baby! From all your friends at the office,”indicates an opportunity for a large, show-stopping arrangement.
- Attitude: Did the employee sound sluggish or enthused and eager to help?
“Inevitably, the flubs are the same,” Huckabee said. “Every one in the room has overheard an employee answer a call, ‘Flower shop,’ or start the conversation by asking the customer how much he wants to spend.”
The session will also include a call to a shop Huckabee has visited to demonstrate the effects of his training. (Typically, regardless of size or location, shops that have adopted his methodology see their average sales rise by 15 to 20 percent, he said.)
“Hearing is believing,” Huckabee said. “I want florists to realize how great it sounds when you treat a customer well and let the occasion
and your expertise guide you.”
In addition to Huckabee’s sales program, attendees will get practical technology, event and money management guidance in three other programs:
- Tech Strategies to Capture More Online Sales, by SAF Chief Information Officer Renato Sogueco
- Treasure Hunt: Finding Your Hidden Profits, by Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, vice president of Crockett, Myers & Associates Inc.
- Successful Events: From Concept to Completion, by Jerome Raska, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Blumz…by JR Designs in Detroit and Ferndale, Michigan
In between sessions, attendees will have opportunities to network and peruse a supplier showcase.
Due to popular demand and wholesalers’ interest in bringing education to retailers in their region, SAF is bringing its 1-Day Profit Blast to two more cities in 2016. Denver Wholesale Florist will sponsor an SAF 1-Day Profit Blast on April 16 in Cincinnati and on October 23 in Denver. For registration details and more logistical information, visitsafnow.tempurl.host/events-education/1-day-profit-blast.
