Stay Positive as You Review Gift Basket Sales
Looking at this year’s sales, you may feel compelled to be disappointed about your overall business or next year’s projections.
That’s how I felt after my first two years in business.
It seemed as though nothing would change my sales for the better, but I never thought about quitting.
Instead, I applied pen to paper and began documenting which ideas were harmful to my business (wasting money with no return on investment) and which ones were valuable (increases occurred each time I completed the strategy).
When I decided to plug up the holes and concentrate on what worked to put my gift baskets into clients’ hands, that’s when profits increased.
The most-difficult part of business seems to be the planning — taking time to sit by yourself or with partners and map out the plan. If you take time to device monthly strategies, with the end goal in mind, you’ll see a marked difference in your gift basket business in 2010.
Were you happy with or disappointed about this year’s sales, and why?
Gift Basket Retailers Filling Orders Fast
Remember: Enter the gift basket business contest. Deadline is Monday. Get details here.
“Corporate spending is less, but they are still ordering baskets,” McCreery said.
“I get 800 gift baskets in one order. Instead of $50 per basket, they want to spend $35.”
That’s the order outlook from a gift basket designer in Arizona, as reported by TucsonCitizen.com in a recent article.
It’s better news than featured in other publications, the ones that seem to look for retailers who aren’t putting their best foot forward to make the best of a rough year.
There’s no doubt that getting corporate clients to buy is a tough sell. However, their budgets aren’t slashed to zero, and that’s why the Arizona-based designer who’s filling $35 orders will be the one that corporations buy from when revenues are higher in the coming years.
In the past I’ve recommended, in the newsletter and on this blog, offering clients gifts and baskets in varying amounts - from approximately $20 to $200 - so that you are their gift solution specialist no matter what the economy.
It works for the Arizona designer, and it will work for you.
The above photograph shows most of the grand prize items to be awarded in the gift basket business contest. A few more items will be delivered today.
Thanks to all who entered. Only three will receive prizes, but all of you are winners.
Higher Gift Basket Sales Depend on Lower Costs
“…we continue to be highly focused on achieving our bottom-line growth goals by leveraging our business platform to reduce our operating expense ratio.”
Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, said this is part of his company’s strategy to keep the firm profitable.
Last week, MarketWatch.com reported the company’s revenue for the last quarter. Here’s the first sentence in the gourmet food and gift baskets section:
“Revenues increased 60.5 percent to $37.2 million compared with $23.2 million in the prior year period.”
You can read the entire report here, and I encourage you to do so. It’s absolutely critical to read about competitors who sell on this level so that you can determine how to increase your market share.
1-800-Flowers is one of a handful of companies in our industry that’s publicly traded and must, by law, report their revenue. The rest (like you) are privately held, so it’s unlikely that you’ll learn about a smaller rival’s earnings.
McCann mentioned that lowering operating costs was partly the reason for growth. Have you recently reviewed your expenses to see where you can trim waste? Here are some areas to consider:
As an example, I reviewed and decreased my telephone charges, saving me $192 annually, and I lowered my credit card transaction expenses to save an additional $300 each year.
How can you increase sales by lowering costs and still satisfy customers?
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