By now many florists are knee-deep in garlands, ladders and strings of lights. Holiday installs — especially for commercial clients — can bring in meaningful revenue but they also come with landmines that can drain time and undercut profits.
They don’t have to. With a solid strategy for holiday installations, florists can make their work more efficient, more profitable and less stressful. These recommendations can help you stay sane as you help customers deck their holiday halls.
Do Choose Jobs Wisely
Just as not every wedding is right for every florist, not every holiday installation makes sense for every business. After 40 years in business, Toomie Farris, AAF, AIFD, of McNamara Florist in Indiana says he prefers commercial installs over residential, which often involve time-consuming clients.
“It’s too personal for people,” he says of residential clients. “Half of the clientele wants you to come out and spend a half day or a day chatting about Christmas, and this ornament means this from Aunt Susie and this ornament was from my dead great grandma.”
He has found that business installations are more profitable for McNamara Florist, which does up to 50 commercial holiday installs.
“They’re looking at a theme or a color or an impression they’re giving customers and employees,” Farris says. “They’re not worried about each individual ornament. They want the overall impression to be good, so it’s much simpler to deal with.”
Do Rent Space When Necessary
If you think having a smaller shop precludes you from doing big holiday installations, think again. By renting storage space, you can ensure you have the room you need for the product you’ll be using.
“If you don’t have space in your current operation, rent a self-storage unit to store the product,” Farris says. Make sure your business insurance covers off-premises inventory and pass all costs of insurance and storage along to the customer.
Don’t Forget to Plan for Logistics
Ladders, batteries and command hooks all add up. “When a site doesn’t have what’s needed, the job slows down,” says MariElena Baldini of Donna Flora in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Even worse is arriving to find your point of contact has gone home for the day.
Require that your point of contact be on site while you work. Not only can they help with needed equipment but you can also upsell additional boughs or swags if you have leftover material, Baldini says.
You can also avoid disorganization by completing much of the work before arriving on site.
“We have somebody take all the ornaments and prehook them with ornament hooks, so they’re all ready to go,” Farris says. “Be as organized as possible and prepared as possible going in so you’re able to throw that tree up.”
That goes for lights too. “I ask for new lights or have someone check the lights before we get there,” Baldini says. “That’s a major frustration — getting there and none of the lights work.”
Do Charge Strategically
One of the biggest mistakes florists make is undercharging for their time, Farris says. To avoid this, he suggests charging a strategic hourly rate that takes products and labor into account.
“Be sure the client knows what you’re billing by the hour and be sure that rate is adequate to assure profitability. Minimums should be very high on residential,” he says. McNamara’s residential minimum is $1,500 for the purchase of new product and labor.
Pricing strategically doesn’t end there. Travel time and mileage often fall through the cracks when florists estimate jobs. “If I have to stop a job and go get batteries or anything, travel time and mileage adds up,” Baldini says. She always tracks mileage and hours spent doing “other” tasks and adds them to the final invoice. For that reason she also bills by the hour, doubling the rate if she brings help.
Kenya McCullum is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
