There was a time when writing letters to corporate executives whom you didn’t know worked to get gift basket sales.

That’s no longer true.

Executives, managers, and anyone at a company with authority to purchase will buy from people with whom they have a connection.

It doesn’t matter if that contact is someone met on a train or a person whose child happens to go to the same school as the company worker. We live in a careful and suspicious environment because of unfortunate situations that the media highlights or personally occurs.

If you have no connection to an executive who has the power to buy your gift baskets, that person will throw your letter in the garbage.

Thankfully, there are ways to learn where hidden connections lie, and the conversation between gift basket expert, Flora Morris Brown, and corporate specialist, Sharron Senter, opens your mind to a basket full of possibilities you’ve not yet recognized. Click this link for more information about this audio.

After hearing the discussion and taking action on some of the methods, you’ll find yourself confidently connecting with corporate executives, getting sales, and boosting your revenue.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

Related articles:

1. Why You May Be Overthinking the Corporate Sales Process
2. Let’s Talk About Corporate Gift Baskets
3. How to Jump Start Your Corporate Gift Basket Sales

You’ll find a healthy amount of Administrative Professionals Week orders waiting for you through your current contacts.

Support staff who will be thrilled to receive your gift baskets are all tied to connections through friends, family members, colleagues, and professionals you visit for occasional services.

If you start marketing now, your sales will be much higher than they were last year.

Still not convinced? Click here for more help to sell your Administrative Professionals Week gift baskets.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

Related articles:

1. How to Jump Start Your Corporate Gift Basket Sales
2. Why You May Be Overthinking the Corporate Sales Process
3. Let’s Talk About Corporate Gift Baskets

Lots of us talk about the need to increase our corporate accounts, and if you don’t know how to achieve this, selling gift baskets to this profit-building group can be difficult.

That’s why on Wednesday, March 21, the teleseminar topic in the Golden Basket Club is all about How Administrative Professionals Week is the Beginning for Lucrative Corporate Sales.

I’ll share a roadmap on how support staff sales in April develops into solid opportunities to receive corporate orders all year long.

If you don’t know how this is done, you may as well kiss your chances of selling to the corporate market goodbye.

Joining the Club at the Elite level for this 60-minute learning experience is easy and takes just minutes. This link will explain everything so your days of selling to corporations start by next month.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

Related articles:

1. Why You May Be Overthinking the Corporate Sales Process
2. Let’s Talk About Corporate Gift Baskets
3. The $500 Myth and How Much Money You Really Need to Start a Gift Basket Business

Is a taste testing of gift basket products still part of your corporate presentations?

Some designers have crossed this off their list for several reasons, as told to me by numerous designers, include the top reason:

Prospects make a meal of products and never order.

We once arrived at corporate offices armed with cakes and chocolates to whet their appetites. Now, for some of us, it’s all about the getting the sale.

Is that the right attitude, or is it the position you’re forced to take?

Shirley George Frazier

Related articles:

1. The One Thing to Do Before You Ship that Gift Basket
2. Why You May Be Overthinking the Corporate Sales Process
3. Let’s Talk About Corporate Gift Baskets

It takes five steps to solve the “I want more corporate accounts” dilemma.

1. Make a list of corporate accounts you want whether or not you have a way to get them.

2. Find contacts in your circle of friends and family with access to a decision maker (someone works there, knows someone who works there, a connection’s child goes to your child’s school, etc.).

3. Get that corporate person’s name and telephone number.

4. Decide how to approach the person, starting with a 30-second introduction of who you are and how your company makes their job easier, increases the firm’s income, etc.

5. Call to make an appointment with the corporate person, and deliver your marketing approach.

These steps may be lengthened or shortened depending on the information you have now, but this is the basic blueprint for increasing your corporate accounts.

Last year I shared more ideas in the article, Four Ways to Woo Corporate Clients, which will help to boost your confidence as you move forward.

Instead of driving by the corporate office that you want to call a client, start with No. 1 above and set a one-month deadline for the No. 5 goal. Step up your game now to achieve the ultimate dream of running a successful gift basket business.

Shirley George Frazier

Related articles:

1. Let’s Talk About Corporate Gift Baskets
2. Three Ways to Increase Sales through Social Media

Last year I shared with you three ways to increase corporate customer interest in your gift baskets.

What were the results when you put those actions into your marketing plan?

Each day you’re in business it’s clear, especially when first starting a gift basket business, that corporate clients will not miraculously appear.

You must go after them by being in the places where they are and talking with them in a manner that lets them know what you offer and how your product generates more business for them.

This is the main reason why summer networking events is mentioned as one way to get more business from corporations.

Using old (but not stale) merchandise also helps to generate interest. I’ve created gift baskets with golf items and presented it to a radio executive who, in turn, ordered dozens of gifts for prospects and clients just months later.

My recommendation under No. 2 proves that items you thought would be popular but weren’t can still get you noticed.

Getting people to talk about who you are and what you do cannot be taken lightly. Once customers introduce your business to others, the potential for an avalanche of business is possible, so encourage customers to refer you to others, and do so in a way that lets them know they will be rewarded.

How to get more corporate orders is explained fully on the CD, Low-Cost Secrets for Landing Corporate Accounts. You can read about the corporate accounts CD here.

What’s your biggest dilemma about getting more corporate gift basket orders?

Shirley George Frazier

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Finding, courting, and adding corporations to your list of accounts is a hot topic according to the questions submitted last year in the blog post, Your Feedback as We Move into Fall.

This valuable group continues to be our main focus of concern, so let me share some tips that hopefully put more of these accounts into your baskets.

• An introduction to corporate folks by people you already know (family, friends) is your best chance at signing up such accounts.

What’s most important is to not just meet a person but also find out where they work and the position they hold. That information opens the door to opportunities.

• You may have to spend money by advertising in the publications they read most to get their attention.

I still believe that personal connections are your best line of defense, but the possibility of getting noticed through newspapers and/or magazines is another option.

• Popular morning television and radio shows can help you make connections.

Research will help you uncover which broadcasts are right for you and how to approach the producer to convince him or her to invite you as a guest. The influence here is that if you’re on television or radio, you must be important.

• Want to gain accounts that once belonged to competitors that are going out of business?

As with the second option above, you’ll have to spend money through advertising to have them reveal themselves or pay the defunct competitor for their account list. The latter option may get you the list, but it may not be updated, leaving you with a lot of names of companies that are also out of business.

What’s your best tip for capturing corporate clients?

Shirley George Frazier

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Administrative Professionals Week is a major event that allows you to connect with corporate buyers.

What’s your plan to offer gift baskets to executives who will show appreciation to support staff?

If you’ve been in business for several years, you can approach last year’s buyers. But what if you’ve just started your gift basket business? How do you get executives’ attention, convincing them to choose your designs over competitive products?

Years ago, I believed that being a co-sponsor of a Secretary’s Day luncheon (that’s what it was called before the title change) held at a country club would produce big results. That sponsorship bombed, but it did teach me a lesson for the next year when I netted high profits from a similar promotion.

Your goal is to start marketing early and to expect last-minute orders from supervisors who are suddenly influenced by peers to lavish the support staff with tokens of thanks.

This is an occasion where more than gift baskets will be requested. Be ready to offer standalone gifts and tote bag gifts, too.

You’ll find more Administrative Professionals Week gift basket tips through a quick video that I created while receiving orders and distributing invoices for this occasion.

What’s your plan to make and market these corporate designs?

Shirley George Frazier

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