Opportunity for Wholesalers - Become a Trainer for Flowers For Kids

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Erlene

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Here is information on opportunity for wholesalers from Flowers For Kids to have a staff person become a trainer.

In 2009 Flowers For Kids® will invite to Quito 10 wholesale florist employees to become Flowers For Kids® florist trainers. Do you have a dynamic employee who could be a Flowers For Kids® trainer? We will train that person. In Ecuador…...At our cost.

Florists who take advantage of Flowers For Kids® sell more in their communities and buy more from YOU, their wholesale supplier.

The sponsors of Flowers For Kids® feel that the best way to get the program to increase your business is to make one of your employees a “Flowers For Kids® Trainer”. Your Trainer encourages your retailers to get over their nervousness and give classes. Your Trainer reinforces the commercial tie between and your retail florists. Your Trainer is your company’s advocate and gets your florists to rely on you.

“Flowers For Kids® has made me the “Flower Lady” for my local schools. FFK has increased my business by 8% compared to last year. Since being trained I’ve been on local television four times. I now just have a small yellow page ad and stopped all other print advertising. Flowers For Kids® gets our name all over Madison, opens doors, and gives us confidence to come up with other ideas. I’ve started a adults “Flowers For Kids® at Heart” program that has resulted in 26 weekly standing orders. Flowers For Kids® works! Call me.”
Tricia Adler, Buffo Floral, Madison, Wisconsin 1800.352.8336
5000 children taught 2007-08.

Since 2006 Flowers For Kids® has trained more than 1,100 retail florists and 400 mass market employees to become certified Flowers For Kids® teachers. Flowers For Kids® works best when the wholesale florist is actively encouraging its retail florists to go out into the schools and give classes.

Flowers For Kids® will pay for your Trainer’s ticket and lodging. The Trainer will visit 4-6 Flowers For Kids® farms in Ecuador and learn about all the sponsors: Californian, Colombian, and Peruvian farms, the cargo agencies, the importers, plant breeders, and floral care companies. We will spend eight hours teaching him/her how to be able to train your retail florists how to become great Flowers For Kids® florist-teachers.

So what’s the catch???.....$4000.
Your Trainer will receive 40 Flowers For Kids® Retailer Kits. Each kit is worth $100 and contains the script, teaching information, CDs, Banner, signs, handouts, and nametags. Also included is information from the 120 FFK sponsors. When your Flowers For Kids Trainer gives a retailer training class the retail florist pays $100 per kit. After training 40 retailers you recover your $4000 and now have 40 loyal and market savvy florists.

By you fronting the $4000 the sponsors of Flowers For Kids® know that your Trainer will give training classes since you are highly motivated to recover your investment.

There will be four training trips in 2009. The first is February 21-25. Each session can accommodate up to three trainees. Contact us to reserve your space.

Are you willing to take up this marketing opportunity?

“I have cut my newspaper and radio advertising in half and summer sales are not declining. So Flowers For Kids is making my store more profitable. FFK will not make any one week or event into a holiday like Valentine's Day, but it will increase over all awareness and consumption of flowers over a period of time. Profitable everyday customers are much better than a fellow who only buys at holidays. Flowers For Kids in an investment into our floral present….. and future..”.
Carla Emert Troy Flower Shop Troy Mo. 600+ children taught in two months

Flowers For Kids® is all about educating children and getting them to pull their parents into the local florist to buy flowers. It’s simple, direct, and effective marketing. It’s Marketing disguised as Education

Ramiro Peñaherrera
Director, Flowers For Kids®
www.flowersforkids.org
[email protected]
Tel: 202.386.6169
 
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FFKs is working out great for our customers who are putting it into practice. Like Erlene says, they are experiencing new business they wouldn't have had. it's like anything else, you get back what you put into it. Flowers For Kids is the only marketing program that I know of that has the support and interest of the Growers/Importers, Wholesalers, and Schools. The schools love this program.

Retailer, jump on board. Don't wait, and let the supermarkets to jump in and take your opportunity.
 
FFK's Training Classes -

there are two Flower's For Kids training classes coming up next month.
January 5th at Greenleaf Wholesale Houston 6:30 pm
January 6th at Greenleaf Wholesale New Orleans 6:30pm .
 
Janna - I really really wish Greenleaf would do this in Portland, OR. I called the other day to ask if there are any plans and whoever I got had no idea what I was talking about.

We wanna do this. Bring it on!
 
I'm sorry you didn't get the information you wanted. I will what I can do about getting a class scheduled for there.

Here is our delema, and one for all wholesalers. There is a cost to the program, and when only 3,4, or 5 retailers sign up, it isn't cost effective to hold a class.

We see this all the time with different programs. As a wholesaler, we are very interested in providing education for our customers. Can anyone tell me why the retail florist isn't interested in taking advantage of them?

I will find out about a class in the Portland area.
 
janna said:
We see this all the time with different programs. As a wholesaler, we are very interested in providing education for our customers. Can anyone tell me why the retail florist isn't interested in taking advantage of them?

I will find out about a class in the Portland area.
Click to expand...

I don't get it either, honestly. Hold a business oriented class and nobody shows up, or so I've been told.

Hold a design class using only innertubes and duct tape and you got a bunch.

Truthfully I think it's because most florists are dumb as rocks about business.

And that's the crux of why we're in what my friend RC calls a failing industry.

I hope you do find out about Portland and if you do I will promise you the resources of Twila and myself trying to recruit attendants. Twila had the most successful program attendance I believe our Teleflora Unit has ever had when she was Board President - it's a talent of hers.

Thanks Janna...


PS I think in leiu of having one soon, we are going to buy the DVD of it and try our best to do it ourselves anyway come spring.
 
rsef, contact us at [email protected] so we can organize a FFK Retailer Training Session in your area.
Matterns Wholesale Florist in Orlando is hosting a training on January 8th.
There will be a training session at the Connecticut Florist Association show in February.
 
Yes we are in Tulsa. Call our Tulsa location 918-437-0333 and ask for Trey. Tell him you are interested in attending a FFK's training class, when he has one. you can tell him I referred you.

These classes need bodies. So all you florist's in the Tulsa area or near. Call and let Trey know you want a class.

If you want it we will have it.
BTW, I just heard from Ramiro today about another great opportunity to share Flowers For Kids. I won't steel his thunder, and I'll let him chime in.

But there are lots of opportunities for business for those who want it.
:soapbox:
 
bloomz said:
I don't get it either, honestly. Hold a business oriented class and nobody shows up, or so I've been told.

Hold a design class using only innertubes and duct tape and you got a bunch.

Truthfully I think it's because most florists are dumb as rocks about business.

And that's the crux of why we're in what my friend RC calls a failing industry.

I hope you do find out about Portland and if you do I will promise you the resources of Twila and myself trying to recruit attendants. Twila had the most successful program attendance I believe our Teleflora Unit has ever had when she was Board President - it's a talent of hers.

Thanks Janna...
PS I think in leiu of having one soon, we are going to buy the DVD of it and try our best to do it ourselves anyway come spring.
Click to expand...

Hold a business oriented class and nobody shows up, or so I've been told.
Well almost nobody. Generally about 10% of invited florists attend the Flowers For Kids Retailer Training Sessions. Sometimes I feel FFK would get more florists in these Training Sessions if we'd "mis"promote as a "five-flower design program".
Florists are passionate about their flowers. Flowers For Kids is just a tool to help the florists transmit that passion to children and parents. The result is increased sales for the shop.

P.S. The opportunity that Janna alluded to is giving weekend classes to kids and parents at local Childrens' Museums. Everyone learns how to appreciate and care for flowers. At then end of the class they make bouquets to take home. Flowers are supplied by the farms through your wholesaler. The cost per person depends on number of flowers in the bouquet. (so both you and the museum make money from this). Most importantly, all participants receive a coupon from "YOUR SHOP".

Flowers For Kids: "Marketing and Sales disguised as Education"
 
Hello Frank,
Contact Mayesh. They have shown interest in hosting a Flowers For Kids Retailer Training Session.
 
There is a Flowers For Kids Training Class in New Orleans on January 6th 6:30pm. At Greenleaf Wholesale
 
Cheryl,
I actually just hung up with Ramiro, He is on his way to New Orleans as we speak. If your wholesaler be willing to host the class Ramiro says he will be back in the states in March and could do a class in Pittsburg then.
Ramiro suggested you contact him to make arrangements.
 
Jana:
We have a couple of good people friendly wholesalers in Pittsburgh.

Please ask that he call me or email me & we can approach the wholesalers & ask. I don't know enough about the program to approach a wholesaler and ask....yet....so sorry for my lack of knowledge. Would really, really like to see this program take off here.
(my email address is [email protected]). I believe you have my phone # already.

Thanks for your quick reply!

Cheryl
 
I will have him contact you. There are some great opportunities for Retailers with Flowers For Kids. Now is the time to jump on.
 
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