This Week’s Gift Basket Rap
Ever wonder how you can work for someone else and successfully operate your gift basket business? This week’s MercuryNews.com tells the story of one woman who does both.
The article is a bit lengthy, which is good for you, and here’s my favorite quote, something you want each client to say about your gift baskets.
“What I want is for you to get a gift basket that you look at and go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my favorite coffee,’ or ‘I love those crackers.’ “
How easy is it for you go get into a trade show for the first time? That’s the question I answer at Ask The Gift Basket Expert for a woman who wants to attend AmericasMart Atlanta but isn’t sure how to apply.
There are two ways to get in, which is true for most shows. See the advice to be sure you attend your local trade show.
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Is Every Business a Potential Client?
Early in my career, I thought it would be a good idea to start getting clients by delivering either a gift basket or small gift to new companies listed in my local newspaper.
I wanted to get each companies’ attention so that as their businesses grew, I’d become their “go-to person” for employee retention and customer appreciation gifts.
Before moving forward, I decided to do some research. I drove to each company’s address to see the location. One place listed as an automotive firm was located in a house, and locations for other businesses that required at least a sign in the front (but had no sign) were just as strange. Were the newspaper listings accurate?
What the paper did was print a roster of anyone who registered a new business within the county, so while the information may have been correct, the potential for sales was not. I immediately abandoned that plan.
We all know the importance of initial impressions. What I saw at each location told me not to send anything to these businesses. Instead, I stayed with my original plan: contact corporate clients I already knew as well as referrals they passed on to me.
That marketing strategy worked like a charm to increase my sales and client list every year.
Sending welcome gifts to unknown prospects wastes time, energy, and money. In many cases, it’s simply not the way to build your business.
What’s your secret to increasing your corporate sales?
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Gift Basket Week in Review
Enhancements create a lively and dazzling appearance in gift baskets, and Flora Brown of Gift Basket Business World features a blog article on how enhancements spice up your designs.
This topic is right on point for Charlene, who just asked a question about making an inexpensive basket for corporate sales more elaborate. You’ll see her question and my response when you scroll down to the comments section.
Want to know more about enhancements? Learn more about them and see a photo in the Gift Basket Dictionary.
Lorie Obernauer of Apex Gift Foods reminds us that the Summer Fancy Food Show will arrive in New York next month. She also provides information for next year’s event.
I’ve mentioned in past newsletters that if you’re unable to attend a trade show due to time or travel, but want to know who exhibited, call or Email the producer and ask how you can receive a show directory. It may cost you, but it won’t cost as much as the actual travel and lodging.
Are Gift Baskets a Business Tax Deduction? is the current question at Ask The Gift Basket Expert. I may not be able to give a definitive answer, but I do provide general guidance to find expert help on this sales-increasing topic.
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How to Create A Gift Basket Club Program
After ordering a gift basket starter kit, an aspiring designer sent me a question about the business.
“How can I get people to buy from me every month?”
My answer — create a “gift basket of the month club.”
You’re familiar with these types of clubs. They’re offered by record companies, fruit firms, and book sellers, so the model is already in place. Your mission is to:
It will take planning on your part to create each basket’s theme and determine product selection. However, the revenue generated will show a huge increase in your monthly sales.
Corporations are prime targets for this campaign. They have employee-of-the-month programs for which your baskets make perfect gifts. And that’s just one idea. You’ll find more as you develop your club program.
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Five Design Tips that Deliver Sales
Summer is the season to review gift basket designs offered to customers now and later in the year. Here are five tips to increase your sales.
1. Add tall, slim designs to your offerings. Customers equate height with value. One example is shown on the Baskets site.
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2. Use gift basket designs featured in warehouse stores and large retail shops for research. Look at those designs to see how you might capitalize on what they offer.
3. Search through local floral wholesale supply firms for unique containers. Treasure chests, gold-brushed pots, and other expensive-looking tins can be found at prices that sometimes rival baskets.
4. Combine two ribbons together to make a large, impressive bow. Clients love the look of this enhancement, and it costs pennies to make.
5. Tier two matching boxes, smaller one on top, to create a large, attractive design. Hot glue added at the corners where the two boxes meet helps to stabilize the containers. The boxes are meant to stay together, so don’t worry about them not coming apart when the contents are removed.
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