Why It’s Time to Start Drop Shipping
After speaking with Emmitt Holtzclaw, president and CEO of Gift Marketing Alliance, about how his firm elevates gift basket businesses into a brand new category of excellence, he nearly convinced me to re-enter the industry full time.
When my business opened in 1990, everything revolved around what I purchased, designed, delivered, and service provided to clients after the sale.
This is still true for most of us, but never did I imagine that joining ranks with a gift basket drop shipping firm could open so many doors of opportunity.
Customers who order gift baskets will also require cookies, cheesecakes, and bouquets. What happens when you cannot deliver these goods?
1. Customers go elsewhere.
2. They give someone else the sale.
3. You are considered a “gift basket retailer” rather than a “gift solution specialist.”
Why let clients go to another firm for their non-gift basket gift items when a drop shipper makes you the one and only person they call or Email every time a gift is needed?
I could go on, but Emmitt spilled all of the details on a one-hour CD we recorded yesterday.
Wednesday’s Basket Biz newsletter featured the call information and a deadline of Thursday for ordering the CD, but this is so important for you that I’m extending the pre-order pricing.
Until Sunday, the Drop Ship Report and CD interview with Emmitt are available for just $47. You can order through this link.
If you want to increase your business and sales without the hassle of ordering lots of inventory, this information is for you. Best of all, it’s not hype; it simply makes sense to let another company handle all of the details while you make money.
Are You in Control of Your Spending Habits?
How do new gift basket designers spend all of their cash before making one sale? By buying merchandise on impulse.
I went through the same thing in my early years. When I saw certain products, I bought all the store’s stock. I just had to have it.
Years later, some of that same merchandise was still sitting on my shelves. It was dusty, unattractive, and could not be sold because of age. What a waste of shelf space and money.
After that lesson I asked myself one question before buying anything else: “Which theme can this be added to for a quick sale?”
If I could not answer the question, I did not buy the product.
Consider these three rules before spending another dime.
1. Review your cellophane and ribbon inventory. I know some designers with enough of each to open their own store. Do you really need another roll?
2. Resist the urge to buy everything on clearance. There’s a reason that another firm cannot sell clearance products — their customers see no use for the items. Think realistically: will it sell for you?
3. Re-purpose your own merchandise. If plush toys or tea cups don’t sell within a basket theme, either give it away as a promotional item or sell it as a standalone gift.
Re-purposing won’t always work, so think long and hard before making all purchases.
Do You Add Expiration Dates on Your Gift Baskets?
One of my good friends is a regular gift basket receiver because of the support she provides to people in her industry.
This lady recently Emailed me to ask:
“I’ve had a beautiful gift basket on my mantle for three years. Is it okay to open it now and eat the contents?”
My immediate reply was, “You can open the gift basket and begin enjoying the non-edible products, but don’t you dare eat any of the snacks.”
She Emailed me back saying that she can understand why eating any of the items now would be hazardous to her health.
She also said that she was surprised to see no labeling from the gift basket designer related to the general expiration date.
You may think that gift basket recipients, especially the ones that are adults, automatically know that anything in a gift basket not eaten within a certain period of time is no longer consumable, but they don’t know.
Long ago, I created a label placed in an area of the basket that immediately alerted receivers about the perishable items.
Last week, I talked about business insurance, and this is one of the reasons why insurance is critical to your longevity. People might eat something they’ve saved for a very long time.
What type of labeling do you add to your gift baskets to alert customers and recipients about product expiration?
“How Do You Market Your Gift Baskets?”
In 1989, while sitting down for lunch during a break at the Washington Gift Show, two women who sat with me at a table asked me this exact question.
I talk about this moment in time in The Gift Basket Design Book.
Their question made me think long and hard about how I was going to move my product from the workspace to customers’ hands. How would I accomplish this?
My response was based on the promotional opportunities available in ’89, and the Internet was not yet on the radar. From the response, I wrote a rough draft of my marketing plan on the train back home that evening.
The plan helped me determine how to get my gift baskets into the hands of entertainers, politicians, and to a wide audience who watched my guest appearances on The Food Network.
This is why I offer marketing plan help, which is explained on this page. If you don’t have a roadmap to success, it’s pretty tough to get there, and chances are in your favor that you won’t reach your destination.
Your plan is more than just words on paper. It’s a blueprint to take you from thought to action and accomplishment. A review of your plan by me will prove that.
“Do I Really Need Insurance for My Gift Basket Business?”
Why is insurance one of the most-baffling parts of your business? It’s likely due to one of these reasons.
1. I don’t know where to get insurance.
2. I don’t know how much insurance to get.
3. Do I really need insurance if I’m buying pre-packaged foods?
I’m sure insurance companies would be very pleased if, when you registered your business with the proper officials, you were also required to show proof of insurance for that business, similar to when buying a house or vehicle.
The last time I bought a car, the dealer called my insurance company as I sat at his desk for proof that I had insurance before I drove off the lot. If I was purchasing a business, chances are I could not start selling gift baskets unless I had coverage.
Hopefully, such a scenario will not become a reality, but if your business is not protected by insurance, don’t you also hope that nothing will ever happen that proves it would have been better to buy it?
Click here to read more about insurance. Then determine if it’s hope or peace of mind that will allow you to sleep at night.
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