Wedding Consults "How much will this cost?"

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fleuray

fleuray

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May 12, 2008
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There is a new question that has been being asked at the beginning of a consultation and while valid, is slightly *jarring* to my approach and I just feel like it sets the whole tone of the conversation.

"How much is this going to cost?"

I explain that first I need to know her needs and theme of the wedding before giving her an idea of what the prices will look like. And then I secretly wish that I was talking to an event planner instead.

So here's my question, "How do you answer that?"
 
With in a few minutes of the start of the consultation, I explain I am not good with mental math and for both of our sakes, I do not provide prices during our meeting. I do provide price ranges. I will email them with in 48 hours with their total.

This allows me to contact any supplier I may need to, figure out bouquet menus and if I will need to bring an extra designer or delivery person.

Its worked for me for years.
Leah
 
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fleuray said:
..."How much is this going to cost?"

So here's my question, "How do you answer that?"
Click to expand...

I use to get that question until I was enlightened by Cathy's (CHR) pre-consultation questionnaire sent to the perspective customer to fill out prior to your meeting.
I have tweaked the questionnaire to my business needs and it helps give me a profile of the event, number of arrangements and the bride's vision plus the target budget. I won't schedule a consultation without the questionnaire completed first.
It's been a tremendous help to my honing in on what the bride needs and can afford. So there is no question "how much will this cost" because the bride and I know in advance how much she wants to spend.
Hope this helps.
 
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Yep, I have adopted Cathy's "risk and reward" concept as well. She's a smart one that Cathy!

The best thing for me is it gets me off the hook and I can find out later exactly what the cost will be.

Now with rose wedding packages, It's printed, so no problem there!
 
I use to get that question until I was enlightened by Cathy's (CHR) pre-consultation questionnaire sent to the perspective customer to fill out prior to your meeting.
Click to expand...
Is there a place on FC to download the form?
 
And me! Sounds like a great idea and would certainly help me - when a bride walks in 'cold' you don't know if she's doing it on a shoestring at the register office, or going for something massive in the local church that's so big it thinks it's a cathedral.
 
Ah yes, We already use the pre-consultation forms (and they work like magic!)

I was thinking more along the lines of bridal shows and open houses that our partners are inviting us to be a part of recently.

So in a *cold* situation, I was wondering what might be the best way of responding so that they would want to come in for a consultation.

I love your response Leah, its true that I don't want to give them off the top of my head prices when I might be able to offer better ones if given some time to check with my suppliers.
 
I tend to give them a price for each piece as i go along in the consult. I have general prices for handtied designs and shower designs etc.. I know what flowers i can include in these designs and how much it goes up if more expensive flowers such as Callas or Phals are included etc. I know this sounds very general but i make a good profit on each, i have tested.

I do ask if the price is ok, and explain that there are cheaper options for them if they find that what they like is too expensive. I also have a list of prices to hand so that you know how much everything is. No need to give personal quotes then.

If we design a table centre there and then, i have to get back to them with a quote. i also have a range of table centres to show them from cheap to expensive, they have a choice within their budget then.

I find that when i do this they more or less confirm on the spot and give me a deposit there and then.

Anyway, hope this helps...
 
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The thing is, that's an impossible question to answer unless I know what we're doing for her. And that's what I pretty much tell them.

I say we can do this 2 ways; either we can talk about what you want and I'll let you know what that costs, or you can tell me what your budget is and I'll tell you what that can get you. I don't want to be secretive or weird about money which I think some florists are and thus the reputation is born.
 
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Impossible

I too think its an impossible question to answer. We have a new policy, we do not consult unless the bride and groom have a budget. When they shop for their dress they know what their maximum budget is and it should be the same for flowers.
Last year we had a consultation with a bride that we have known for years. Her family is very well known and they were all customers of our shop. She came in with no budget and her father said "I want whatever my daughter wants, its her special day" Okie dokie, we look at some books and magazines and our portfolio online... we spend 4 hours with her and she signs a contract for just over $4000 (including a family friend discount of about 15%). She had picked out roses, hydrangeas, lisianthus, freesias, orchids.. Her 30 centerpieces were to have cascading dendros and all kinds of pretty little extras. When came time for the deposit I couldnt get in touch with her, she wasnt returning any of our calls. About a month later I ran into her Mom at the grocery store and she told me they booked with someone else because it was cheaper. Big slap in the face! I didnt shove the contract down her throat because I didnt want to ruin the relations with the family but NOT ONE of them shop her anymore and it makes us wonder In hindsight, I should have choked her with the contract or at least have her honor it.
On the day of her weeding I just happened to be in the area *cough* so I went to check out the flowers... Oh my! the centerpieces looked more like funeral arrangements. She got carns and glads for her money. They are Italian, I mean come on, Gramma was probably horrified by the the "dead people flowers".
So this is what happens when brides dont have a budget. Of course they will always find cheaper, but what are they getting for their money and do they really care? Bunch of weirdos....
 
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When a bride choses our expensives designs i make it very clear that these are the most expensive and that if they need to scale down we can do that for them. It does seem to work, and they generally dont scale down but i give them the option so that they dont go elsewhere.

Janice, i feel for you. Spending that much time and then the price not being comparable anyway. Grrrrr.
 
Palms said:
I do ask if the price is ok, and explain that there are cheaper options for them if they find that what they like is too expensive. I also have a list of prices to hand so that you know how much everything is. No need to give personal quotes then.
Click to expand...

Better to start HIGH and go down, if need be, then start LOW and HOPE they go higher.

I learned to not give too much detail in a written quote. Same as what someone else said on here because then they just take the quote with ALL the details to another florist who simply cuts it by 10-20%, without doing any of the work!

I think I'm going to figure out how to add the consultation/info gathering form (.doc or .pdf) to our website for download or build an online form so that when brides email us, much of the detail is in our hands right away.
 
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Oh yeah i do start high Dorothy, definately, but end with the option of going down. I also dont write down any quotes for them, only on my form. Thats why i try to close the deal at the end of the consult and believe it or not i do this by telling them they have no obligation and they can go away and think about it. They always say, actually we are happy with that and out comes the card.

I bet i only lose about 2 weddings a year to someone else because of price and i wont bartar. I think its all about knowing your customer, chatting with them, getting excited with them, and having a feel for how much they want to spend. Sometimes all the smilling hurts but they like it:)
 
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good points about giving options. Even with brides who seem to have big budget$ I give them the "ideal" option that we discussed and then a couple of other similar, less expensive options in case they balk. I've found a lot of the time the bride wants it all but the parents put the brakes on. So I like to give them options.
 
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I started to reply to this and then deleted many times....
I think the rules are changing. We have to be able to have the ability to work with tighter budgets. Even our wealthy clients are starting to look at budgets.
We are creative people, it's our job to create on tight budgets. I think?
It seems like our requests are up this season, but I was going through punching numbers earlier and overall sales are down.

We used to have a $5000 budget plus 25% delivery, installation, and removal, but not this year, I am just booking everything. At least it will be on the books.

Good Luck
 
The consultation forms work great.

The biggest problem that I am running into lately is that my brides are coming in with decent budgets in the $3000-4000 range which is way over the national average. They think that they can get anything they want with this sort of budget. So they come in with pictures of platinum wedding photos and need 40 huge centerpieces, a chuppah, 20 cocktails, 10 bridesmaids, 25 aisle pedestals.... all dripping with cymbidium orchids and callas. It's a little awkward to tell them that they can't afford the vision they have.

So if they have that much of an original budget I would be happy to work with them, I will put together a very detailed quote with a pricing for economy, standard, luxury and imports pricing. They get a list that goes with the quote of the flowers that they can select to stay within that pricing. Low gets daisies, carns, mums, Luxury is cyms, callas, etc.

This way they know that I can work in (and often under) their budget, but if they want anything other than economy flowers, they have to cut back or pay more.

I know people are worried about releasing a detailed quote on here, but I prefer it and my brides prefer it. Sure they can take it to a competitor to get them to undercut. If they do, they are not getting the same thing and frankly I don't really care to work with them if price is the only thing to be concerned about.

I guess I kind of went off the original topic. Yes, they give me a budget upfront and they also receive a detailed quote. I will do a $500 wedding and I'll do a $15000 wedding, but the brides need to be upfront with me before we can even start the consultation because those consultations go two different ways.
 
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