How to Talk to About Pricing With Your Floral Design Clients

Cat Carty Buswell

It’s the worst feeling when you get down the line with a potential client and you’re excited to seal the deal—and then BAM! You hit a roadblock: The client thinks your price is too high, and they want to know if you can reduce your costs.

It’s never a fun conversation to have, but when you talk to clients about pricing correctly, you can educate the client, establish trust, and win the sale.

The best way to avoid having this conversation is to know their budget right from the get-go. However, this can be a tricky topic. Some designers may not feel comfortable asking for a budget right away, and some clients may not want to “show their cards” too early.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking about budget early on, you can try the following!

Set a Minimum

If you know that the type of work you want to take on can’t be done under $XXXX or isn’t worth your time for less, share your minimum so that people who can’t meet it can self-select out.

Put Together Packages

Packages with general pricing can show clients what items typically cost. This can be a range or one number “on average,” but it’s at least a baseline, so the client knows what to expect. It’s kind of like warming them up.

Cat Carty Buswell

How to Have Conversations About Price After the Proposal

If you’ve done the work to put together an accurate quote that will ensure you are paid a fair wage for your work (which you always should!), it’s tough to know what to do if a client starts pushing back. On the one hand, you don’t want to lose the client, but on the other, you want to do a great job and make it worth your time. At the end of the day, people who see your flowers aren’t going to know what the budget was, so it’s a direct reflection of you.

What can you do in these situations to hopefully secure the sale? Let’s explore.

1. Take a Step Back

It can be frustrating when you receive an email asking for a discount, but you don’t want to overreact and fly off the handle (or swing the other way and undercut yourself) just to respond quickly and win the sale. Responding within 24–48 hours is entirely acceptable. It gives you time to process what they’re asking for, think about creative alternatives to lowering your price, and compose a thoughtful and friendly-yet-firm response.

2. Offer Explanations

Most people have no idea why flowers cost what they do and are unaware of all the factors that go into pricing. Brides find gorgeous images on Pinterest and don’t understand how size, seasonality, sourcing, etc., affect the price. It’s our job to educate them and explain how we arrived at our number.

It may be helpful to schedule a call to talk it through rather than trying to communicate everything via email. Once they understand that you’re not pulling this number out of thin air and there are very real reasons why things cost what they do, they are less likely to keep pushing. Remember to be kind and empathetic to the truth that flowers are expensive! Most people wouldn’t dream of spending this much money on many things, so put yourself in their shoes and help them understand why things cost what they do.

Cat Carty Buswell

3. Don’t Undercut the Competition

A sneaky way that clients try to get you to lower your price is by saying that so-and-so down the street will do it for cheaper. First of all, unless you see a quote from that florist, that could be a bluff in an attempt to get you to lower your price. Second, if they do send you someone else’s quote, you should respect the florist and not use the information against them. If you undercut and win the sale, you’re really only hurting yourself and potentially the relationship with a fellow florist. When discussing why you won’t reduce your price, explain how your offering is different/better, and that’s why you charge what you do.

4. Offer Alternative Solutions

Knowing that you are not going to lower your price, what can you offer as an alternative to make the client happy? There are many ways to reduce the client cost without reducing your profit, including the following:

• Decreasing the size of the bouquets/number of stems

• Reducing the number of expensive stems and swapping them out for more affordable blooms

• Suggesting a mix of floral and non-floral centerpieces

• Thinking of ways to repurpose arrangements where possible

• Asking the client to return items rather than you returning to tear down, etc.

Many clients don’t think about these things, so if you can offer some creative solutions, your client will feel like you’re willing to work with them.

5. Create a Payment Plan

Many clients get sticker shock when they see that big ol’ total at the bottom of their proposal—and that’s fair! It’s a significant number. Many designers ask for a percentage of the total as deposit, but then the larger remaining balance is due all at once at a time when they are paying a lot of other big wedding bills. Soften the blow for them and offer a payment plan. Say your client is getting married in 12 months, and their quote is $2,400. To them, $200/month until the wedding may be more manageable than a lump sum at the end.

Cat Carty Buswell

6. Be Confident

Many times, new designers are so eager to get clients but believe they’re too inexperienced to ask for what they’re worth, so they end up taking on jobs that make them very little money. Even if you’re new, the client obviously trusts you enough with this critical job to consider you, and you’re likely more experienced than they are! Projecting confidence can help you win you the sale because the client will see that you’re a serious artist and businessperson, not just a fledgling, wannabe floral designer.

7. Say No

If you’ve followed all the tips outlined here and you’re still battling with someone who wants you to lower your prices, it’s time to politely but firmly say no. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will go away, but even if they do, it’s important to remember that not every lead will turn into a job, and that’s ok. Thank them for their interest and the opportunity to “bid” on the job. In the end, it will feel good to know that you stuck to your guns. Plus, it leaves you free and available to attract a client who truly values you!