Struggling to figure how to wedding florist consults? Here’s my go-to approach to making it easier for you (and your prospective clients)!
In 2018, I must have held the record for most wedding consults done and the least number of bookings made.
When it came to figuring out finding answers on “how to wedding florist consults” I was so lost!
Seriously. It felt like a crazy hamster wheel where I would show up for the consult, ask the questions, tell them I’d send them the quote and then either get ghosted or finally hear back that they went with someone cheaper. It was happening to me every single week.
Overcoming that challenge taught me so much and, most importantly, it got me to question how I was consulting my client consults and finding new, more efficient ways to do things.
Since that time, I’ve really mastered the art of the wedding enquiry process and started to really see that the process of how to wedding florist consult itself isn’t the end-all, be-all. Rather, it’s just one step in the customer experience we’re providing our clients. It’s like that one meeting is simply one piece of a bigger sales process, an experience you’re providing your clients.
Rule #1: There Is No One ‘Right’ Way To Do Consults
We all have different strengths and different personalities. Don’t shy away from that and don’t assume that someone else’s template is going to fit you perfectly.
Instead, I want you to think about your wedding consultation process as something that is intrinsically yours, built on your strengths and structure in a way that makes it easy for you to navigate.
Make your wedding flower consult process your own and, remember, you can forever be refining it, changing it and adjusting it.
Below, I’ve mapped out my five favourite questions to ask clients during a consultation – feel free to use them, try them out for yourself. But also, don’t feel you must stick to this formula. Make the questions your own. Play around with the specific words you use and the order you sort through the details with.
At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember when it comes to wedding consults is that this is about building a relationship. You want to show up with professionalism and focus on building trust, really getting to know your clients and understanding what makes them tick.
As crazy as it sounds, how you navigate your consultations can set you up for a huge amount of creative freedom. If you can get a sense from your clients about their vision for the day, their priorities, what they’re worried about and really dig into their priorities, you’ll get such a clear picture of where you can push the creative experience and where you need to stick to a specific box.
BONUS TIP: Not sure what to include on your wedding flower enquiry form? Check out this YouTube Video: 3 Questions Every Florist Should Include On Their Enquiry Form
How to Wedding Florist Consults: 5 Questions to Ask Your Clients
QUESTION 1: Paint me a vision for the day. How do you see the day unfolding?
I like to lead with this question for two reasons: yes, it’s helpful to get them to explain how they see their day going. But just as important: get them talking, have them share their vision and dedicate a bit of time getting comfortable with one another at the beginning of the session.
This question is all about setting the tone for the consult and building rapport. Your clients are as nervous as you are. Use the first 5-10 minutes to settle in, generate excitement and build that personal connection.
QUESTION 2: What are you most excited about on your wedding day?
This one question is incredibly powerful because it shows you where their values are and what really matters to the two of them.
A word of warning: don’t be surprised if they aren’t quite sure or they each have sort of conflicting ideas of what matters.
Not having a clear answer to this question is super common and in fact, it presents you with the opportunity to become truly indispensable.
Be the one who helps them sort out their priorities and they will take your guidance and input on all the things (particularly when it comes to prioritising budgets, colour palettes and flowers to feature).
Don’t be shy about sharing your point of view and bringing them back to the task at hand: prioritisation.
QUESTION 3: What is your budget?
Yes, talking about money can feel uncomfortable but this one question serves your clients as much as it serves you.
This is one area I really shied away from in the early years of my business. I didn’t want to talk about money and I didn’t want to feel the awkwardness. But I know, my hesitation to talk about budgets is one of the reasons I wasted so much time and got ghosted by so many clients.
Now, just like you, most humans hate talking about money. This is true for your clients as well.
Your clients are going to feel embarrassed to bring it up and might even be filled with a sense of shame because they are convinced they don’t have enough money (this is true no matter how small or big their budget is).
HOT TIP: I like to include this question on their initial enquiry form to avoid that uber awkward first money conversation. It’s much easier to repeat the information from their initial enquiry form than it is to have them be the first to throw their hat into the ring.
At the end of the day, 99% of our clients don’t have enough money to afford their entire wish list (that’s why it’s called a wish list, right?).
That’s OK. Remember, you are the expert. You’re there to help. Make it your goal to pass along your guidance and expertise and give them the information they need for them to make the right decision for them.
QUESTION 4: What is stressing you out the most?
This question is there to really built trust and create a better bond between you and your clients.
I’ve found that most couples getting married don’t feel like they have enough people advocating for them, cheering them on or giving them the support to make decisions from a place of empowerment. Instead, they’re trying to make sure they’re not hurting anyone’s feelings or hoping mum doesn’t blow a gasket when she hears how much that archway is.
Become your client’s #1 fan and be their #1 cheer person. They’ll love you for it!
In addition to building a better bond with your clients, this question is really helpful to give you a bit of a heads up as to what to watch for on the big day.
Weddings bring up all sorts of emotions for all of us and it’s helpful for us to know what we’re walking into on the big day, right?
For example, it’s super helpful to know if the bride is super stressed about being the centre of attention or if one of the pair is dreading what their Aunt Judy is going to do on the dancefloor.
QUESTION 5: If you could ask me anything, what would it be?
Yep. Give them a few minutes to ask any questions they might have. And give them permission to ask anything (quite literally, tell them it’s OK if they think it sounds silly).
Remember, your clients haven’t done this before (or if they have, they did 10+ years ago).
Be patient and shower them in kindness. A the end of the day, I have found this approach really does help set the foundation for being able to create an even bigger, better ‘wow’ client experience on the day.