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- Fishing for Clients? Use the Right Bait
- Are You Cashing in Online?
- It’s All About the Benjamins, If You Plan to Stay in Business
- What Can We Learn from Apple Now?
- Cover Your Assets, Insure Your Gift Basket Business
- Embrace Valentine Profits
- Make This Your Best Year Yet!
- Have a Happy Holiday. . .
- Change Your Phone Greeting
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| Get the customers you deserve with the help of the Marketing Bible |
Fishing for Clients? Use the Right Bait
Issue 198
Successful fisherman have many techniques that they often share with buddies. As I listen to their enthusiastic accounts I realize that going after corporate clients is much like fishing.
1. Decide what type of fish you want to catch.
Most gift basket designers have found that the corporate client is best. That includes not just decision makers in large corporations, but small to medium sized companies as well.
But you may want to mainly go after the general consumer. It’s your choice.
2. Go where your target fish gathers.
I’m no fisherman, but I wouldn’t expect to find fresh water fish in salt water.
Join the associations, clubs and networks where your type of client is active. Attend regularly and build relationships.
3. Use bait that your target will grab.
Companies use gift baskets to say thank you, to recover lost customers, to show appreciation, all aimed at increasing their business.
Gourmet food baskets are popular among corporate clients, while some lean toward non-food or themed designs. The best way to find out what your clients prefer, however, is to ask them.
Before going to a presentation, be sure you know the budget, occasion and preferred theme of your potential client. Design the sample basket in accordance with these considerations.
4. Once you have them on the hook, reel them in quickly.
After your client has stated a preference, price point and delivery date, ask for the order. Note the details and prepare a contract or agreement.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for future fishing success.
Related Articles and Posts
Keep Your Gift Basket Business in Step with the Times
Which Comes First–The Customer or the Gift Basket?
Promote Your Gift Basket Business or Else
Whether you are just starting a website or wanting to improve an existing gift basket website, my free course will save you enormous time, money and aggravation.
Here’s what one gift basket designer had to say about the course
I loved all the information received in this course. Especially helpful was the last lesson, that gave several very tangible ideas and priceless information on a way to accurately track the visitors and traffic on my website. That piece of information alone made me so glad that I signed up for this course. Excellent!
Ready to dramatically improve your website? I’ve created a report Prescription for a Successful Gift Basket Website. Available as an instant download this one-of-a-kind report can help you make the choices and changes in your website that lead to success and increased profits.
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Please note: I have discontinued the website www.giftbasketbiztips.com
Continue to get information and resources from the other sites listed below.
===================
~The Shortest Distance Between You and Your Success~
Main site www.giftbasketbusinessworld.com
Articles, mags, books www.thegiftbasketlibrary.com
~Free Help for You~
What goes in themes www.easygiftbasketideas.com
Step-by-step tutorials www.makegiftbasketsnow.com
Ideas for retailers www.addgiftbaskets.com
~Missed Newsletter Issues?~
Former newsletter issues www.giftbasketonlinenewsletter.com
Other Websites
www.smartbusinessmatters.com
www.craftideaworld.com
www.homebasedbusinessmatters.com
www.youreducationmatters.com
www.coloryourlifehappy.com
=======================
PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint the tips from the Gift
Basket Business World Newsletter in your own print or electronic
newsletter. But please notify us where they will appear and include
the following paragraph at the bottom of the tips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright©2008 Flora Brown Associates. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted from “Gift Basket Business World Newsletter,” a free ezine
featuring tips, resources and tools that increase profits for gift basket retailers.
Subscribe at http://www.giftbasketbusinessworld.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are You Cashing in Online?
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February 26, 2008
Issue 185
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Are you new to this newsletter? Then let me welcome you. I’ve prepared a personal introduction to this newsletter and what it offers. Find it here.
==========================
If you don’t already have a website you’ve surely fantasized about owning one.
If you do have a website, are you cashing in on all the sales potential that a website offers?
In either case, here are a few benefits of owning a website.
The world is your market.
Even if your gift basket business is small or home-based, a well-done website puts you on a level playing field with larger companies. In addition to getting customers the old-fashioned way, the whole world becomes your market.
It was pretty exciting the first time I received an international order. My customer was in Australia. Her recipient was in Fullerton, CA, just a few miles away from my studio.
Corporate clients know what they want.
Your website may not come up with the top companies on a search engine search, but corporate clients can be patient. They are willing to research to find just the gift basket business that offers the value and services they want.
One corporate client told me she spent over an hour going through all the links under gift baskets before she found my company on the seventh page of listings.
Your online gift basket business is open 24/7.
With different time zones, you can earn money while you snooze. (Now tell me that doesn’t appeal to you.)
These are just a few of the benefits of owning your own gift basket website. Watch for more benefits in the March 4th issue. I’ve also prepared an e-course and e-book giving you many step by step details for operating a successful gift basket website. Look for a separate announcement of the launch of these exciting new success guides.
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Related articles and posts
Ten Tips for Cashing in Online
Before You Start a Website
Use Drop Shipping for Your Gift Basket Business
Make Money from Google Adsense
Make Your Customers Feel Secure
It’s All About the Benjamins, If You Plan to Stay in Business
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February 19, 2008
Issue 184
===============
You are receiving this because you signed up for it at
http://www.giftbasketbusinesswo
If you wish to unsubscribe you may do so at the bottom of this page.
==========================
Are you new to this newsletter? Then let me welcome you. I’ve prepared a personal introduction to this newsletter and what it offers. Find it here.
Gift basket designers go into business because they love creating impressive designs and getting admiration from their customers. Pretty quickly your business must earn more money than you spend or you will soon be out of business.I’m a great believer in “do what you love” but for the money to follow you must find someone willing to exchange their hard-earned money for what you offer. When you find these customers, you must insist on getting the profits you deserve.
Short of discovering a gold mine buried in your backyard, how are some ways to increase the cash flow and profits in your gift basket business?
1. Trim the fat
Get rid of excess on and offline. This requires making a careful inspection of where your money is going.
Automatic payments are convenient, but can be dangerous if not monitored. Back when I bought my credit card terminal, I arranged to have monthly payments automatically debited from my bank account. Several months after my terminal was completely paid, I discovered that the company was still withdrawing the payments. Jump on things like this right away, and get your refund.
I found another place to trim when I took a careful look at my PayPal account. I discovered monthly memberships and services that I no longer used or needed. Cancelling those services spared up $110 a month.
2. Spend cautiously.
When I’m tempted to buy inventory for an order, I determine how I will use the remaining dozen and a half items after I’ve completed the order at hand. If I can’t figure that out, I make another inventory choice.
Another example of the need to think about your spending. I recently bought a wireless modem so I can access the Internet from anywhere. After several introductory discounts the total cost was $49 (this doesn’t include the monthly fees, of course.)
As the young clerk was inputting my information in the computer, he asked as part of his company script, “Would you like to get insurance for $49 so your modem can be replaced in the event it is lost or stolen?”
“Let me think about this for a minute,” I responded. “Do I want to spend $49 for insurance for an item that only cost $49 in the first place? ”
The young clerk and everyone in hearing distance could see the absurdity. We all burst into laughter.
You don’t need most of those so-called protection plans. More money for you!
3. Don’t extend credit.
You are not a bank, so don’t get into the loan business. Process your customer’s credit cards before you prepare and ship the order. To some of you this may sound harsh, but it’s much harsher to have no money to pay your own bills because your customers haven’t paid their bills.
This goes for corporate clients especially. Medium to large companies are known to hold up paying invoices for long periods, sometimes as long as 90 days or more.
Will your creditors wait for their money that long without taking action against you?
Consumers and companies who want your business must be willing to pay for it. Ignore this tip at your own peril.
4. Create continuity sales.
Set up a program that requires your customers to make monthly payments, such as a Gift Basket of the Month program. For this service the customers receives a different theme of your choosing each month priced at the same price. They can have it shipped to themselves for delivering themselves, or they can designate at the beginning of the service where they want them go each month.
This may sound like a contradiction of my first tip, but it’s different. You will be on the receiving end of these monthly payments.
5. Raise your prices.
Most gift basket designers price their baskets too low. This is brought on by what I call the “housewife mentality.” Your compassion for your customers causes you to cheat yourself.
Every time the cost of gas, food, shipping and living in general goes up, so should your prices.
To stay and prosper in business you’ve got to keep your eye and hands on the Benjamins.
Related articles and posts
- Create Gift Baskets Using Products You Already Own
- Want More Customers? Ask for the Order
- The Psychology of Pricing Gift Baskets
- Are Discounts Good for Your Gift Basket Profits?
- Price Right for Peerless Profits
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Other Websites
www.smartbusinessmatters.com
www.craftideaworld.com
www.homebasedbusinessmatters
www.youreducationmatters.com
www.coloryourlifehappy.com
==============================
Please help us make improvements to this newsletter by completing a short 7-item survey. You will find it here. Thank you.
==============================
Many of you have asked me to recommend a website hosting service. I recommend my host, SiteGround web hosting for websites and blogs.
==============================
How well do you know the gift basket business?
Test your skills with this crossword puzzle, “Gift Basket Wrap Up.”
Click here to get started. ==============================
Ready to design gift baskets? Watch the step by step tutorials and listen to the audio tips on our newest site, www.MakeGiftBasketsNow.com
ARE YOU FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR INABILITY TO
ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS?
Are you struggling to attract new customers to your gift basket business? Do you have a great gift basket service but aren’t sure how to let prospects know about you? You can attract more new customers, sell more to existing customers, and bring back your customers more often. Learn how in the Marketing Bible.
==============================
Have you been asked to create low-cost gift baskets? Learn how to profitably serve this market in our new our free 7-part e-course, “Satisfy Customer Demands for Low-Cost Gifts.” Sign up now . Once you confirm, you’ll begin to receive lessons in your email box.
=====================
If you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends, clients and colleagues.
PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will never distribute your address to anyone.
Period. Promise.
=====================
Many of you have asked how I send out my newsletter. I have tried several companies over the years, but the best is Tom Kulzer’s service AWeber.
Check it out for yourself at http://www.aweber.com/?284293
=====================
Read previous issues of this newsletter by clicking the
following link or pasting this URL into your address bar
http://www.giftbasketonlinenews
======================
Keep up with the gift industry and stay inspired. Read the latest
post on my blog.
=======================
PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint the tips from the Gift
Basket Business World Newsletter in your own print or electronic
newsletter. But please notify us where they will appear and include
the following paragraph at the bottom of the tips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright©2008 Flora Brown Associates. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted from “Gift Basket Business World Newsletter,” a free ezine
featuring tips, resources and tools that increase profits for gift basket retailers.
Subscribe at http://www.giftbasketbusinesswo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
446 S.Anaheim Hills Rd., #167
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
| To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/ |
What Can We Learn from Apple Now?
=========================
February 12, 2008–Issue 183
==========================
When Apple revealed its newest laptop, their commercial became another example of marketing genius. Watch it now and see if you can spot why it has appeal.
Did you figure out that this ad has appeal because of its simplicity, clever use of song that helps convey its message and its focus on a single benefit: thinness which implies lightweight, easy portability, easy storage and heightened customer satisfaction.
You probably don’t have the deep pockets that Apple has to produce such an ad.
But you do have a great product and service that meet the needs of your target audience. Zero in on the most significant and powerful benefit of your business and create an ad around it.
Your most significant benefit may be fast turnaround, highly customized designs, 24-hour ordering, or unique themes. Select a photo or image that portrays that benefit.
You might choose to create your ad on a postcard rather than in a costly TV commercial, but you get my point. We can learn from a company like Apple how to capture attention with an uncluttered, single-focused campaign.
Get great marketing ideas especially suited to the gift basket business from the audio CD, 99 Sizzling Marketing Ideas to Make More Money–January through June. Buy now and increase your cash flow tomorrow.
Related articles and blog posts
–Sell-a-brations for Your Gift Basket Business
–Promote Your Gift Basket Business or Else
–Every Business Must Market
–Market with Postcards
–Marketing Works!
====================================
Cover Your Assets, Insure Your Gift Basket Business
On an episode of the popular TV show “Crossing Jordan,” a mysterious toxin causes the illness of the medical examiners and even the death of one. The toxin is traced back to a food item that came from a gift basket provided by one of the sales reps.
This episode may be fictional, but the possibility that food you place in a gift basket could make someone ill is scary but real. To protect your assets and yourself you must have insurance for your gift basket business.
Need more reasons to get insured?
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A UPS delivery person slips on your icy driveway while delivering office supplies to you for your home office.
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A recipient of one of your baskets breaks a tooth while biting down on a biscotti and decides to sue your company.
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A customer cuts her finger on a sharp piece of wire sticking out of the end of your French-wired bow
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In addition to protecting yourself in the event of one of these incidents, you may also be required to show proof of insurance when serving some corporate clients and holding events at certain venues.
-
Getting insurance is spending money you can afford (a premium) to cover a risk you can’t afford (being sued or losing your inventory to theft or fire.)
Start your search for business insurance with the same company that provides your homeowner’s insurance. Others have relied on RLI, a specialty insurance company that insures many gift basket businesses. They don’t sell directly to policyholders, but you can use their locator to find an agent near you.
Some basket designers have been pleased with the services of other companies such as Nationwide and Zurich.
You just can’t count on good luck and good intentions to protect you from unfortunate events. Get insured so you can adequately cover the assets you’ve worked so hard to acquire.
To be on the safe side, it’s a good idea to prevent problems. Learn how on the audio CD, Legal Tips to Keep Your Company Out of Court. Get your copy now.
====================================
Many of you have asked me to recommend a website hosting service. I recommend my host, SiteGround web hosting for websites and blogs.
====================================
How well do you know the gift basket business?
Test your skills with this crossword puzzle, “Gift Basket Wrap Up.”
Click here to get started.
====================================
Ready to design gift baskets? Watch the step by step tutorials and listen to the audio tips on our newest site, www.MakeGiftBasketsNow.com
===============
Looking for easy gift basket ideas? Discover what to put in popular themes at www.EasyGiftBasketIdeas.com . Images and ideas for baby, holidays, celebrations, pamper, real estate and more. You’ll even learn to make diaper cakes from a short video.
===============
ARE YOU FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR INABILITY TO
ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS?
Are you struggling to attract new customers to your gift basket business? Do you have a great gift basket service but aren’t sure how to let prospects know about you? You can attract more new customers, sell more to existing customers, and bring back your customers more often. Learn how in the Marketing Bible.
=====================
Have you been asked to create low-cost gift baskets? Learn how to profitably serve this market in our new our free 7-part e-course, “Satisfy Customer Demands for Low-Cost Gifts.” Sign up now . Once you confirm, you’ll begin to receive lessons in your email box.
=====================
Many of you have asked how I send out my newsletter. I have tried several companies over the years, but the best is Tom Kulzer’s service AWeber.
Check it out for yourself at http://www.aweber.com/?284293
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