Quoting for weddings in under 15 minutes
There used to be a time running my floristry business when it would take me an over an hour to quote a wedding floral enquiry. I dreaded it and it was something that I avoided and put off.
Ultimately, I was leaving a lot of money on the table.
There was also a year where I did 80 weddings and was getting 50 inquiries a month. You would think I'd be cheering that my business was "successfull" but actually I was so overwhelmed and burnt out. I wanted to close my business and go and work for someone else.
That's when I realised something had to change.
Here are three things I do now that allows me to quote my clients within 15 minutes, and also reduce a lot of admin time!
1. Get clear on your messaging
I got really, really clear on my messaging, which actually reduced the amount of inquiries I was getting, but increased my conversion rate. By knowing exactly who I wanted in my inbox and the types of clients that I wanted to attract, it allowed me to sprinkle direct marketing to my ideal client through all of my Instagram captions, my website and all of my marketing. This made me attract the types of clients I wanted, but also repel the types of clients who weren't really going to be the right fit for me.
Whether they didn't like my style, didn't fit my minimum spend or even if they weren't in the right location. By honing in on my messaging and my ideal client, it allowed me to reduce admin, but increase conversions.
2. Have a set pricing structure in place
The next thing that I did was I had all my pricing figured out. When somebody came to me for a quote, I wasn't sitting there figuring out every single element and trying to calculate costs by doing flower recipes. All my pricing was figured out across my floral offerings, from bouquets to table arrangements, buttonholes, installations, hanging installations and bar features.
Every single floral element that I offered had a pricing template already created.
Not only did this save a ton of time, it also allowed for a lot more transparency with my clients, which they loved. It took out any emotions in my quoting because I wasn't sitting there thinking about whether I really want the job or not (which might make me want to lower the cost), the price was already figured out. By removing emotions, I was saving so much time and energy on the quoting while ensuring I was making profit.
3. Implemented an automated workflow
The next thing I did was have email templates and a really great automated workflow. When I started my business, I literally didn't realise was even a thing.
"Workflow" was a foreign word for me and the idea of having an email template seemed boring and not personal. But I soon figured out that you can have a template pre-written in your brand tone of voice, which is consistent and personalised, that you can send out to your clients, automated, so that your client is getting a response from you, even when you're not sitting at your laptop. This came in handy on those really busy wedding weeks. You can still be on top of your admin so that everyone feels like they're getting attention and taken care of.
It increased my brand experience and my conversion rate. Imagine a client getting completely quoted and emailed and spoken to while you're in bed, hanging with friends or family or working at a wedding! Creating email templates and setting them up as an automated workflow has changed my entire life.
These three collectively were able to decrease quoting time from over an hour to under 15 minutes AND increase client conversions. Not to mention, open up much more time for my lifestyle and personal time.
If I was starting my wedding floristry business from scratch again, these are the first things I would do.
You can learn exactly how I create my automated workflower, pricing templates and quoting systems within the Wildflower Academy Membership - I'm no gatekeeper, I share it all!
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