Client Welcome Packet: Part 3
After your potential client realizes how awesome you are by simply opening your welcome packet, it's time to get personal.
Who are you?
Sure, your work is amazing and you have terrific reviews but who are you? As much as florists try to avoid overly-needy clients, potential clients want to make sure that their florist is easy to work with and meshes with their own personality as well as their style. So who are you and why do you do what you do?
We decided that a simple card with a personal introduction goes a long way in gaining a potential client's trust. So we created a design card that elaborates on why we do what we do. For yours, consider sharing how you got started in the floral industry, what your favorite part of being a florist is, how much you love your family, and any interesting hobbies you may have. This gives them a chance to know you as a human as well as a wedding florist.
Who are your friends?
Now that they know a bit more about you and you've earned their trust, a potential client needs to know who your friends in the industry are. Few companies do everything in an event alone. We wanted to make sure that the client who is using us also have access to other great vendors that will make their wedding be tremendous and make our flowers look ever better. So we created a small vendor suggestion card. Sharing a list of vendors you work with does two things:
- The old addage goes "Show me who your friends are and I'll show you who you are." By now, a potential client has been reading countless reviews of vendors and venues to consider for their big day. Listing vendors with whom you have worked and are known for their excellent quality of work gives you greater credibility with the client, making it more likely for them to choose you as their wedding florist. This also can subtly connect you with their brand if they have a tremendous reputation.
- Suggesting vendors shows the potential client that you genuinely care about making their day perfect because you are only suggesting vendors of the highest caliber, rather than just someone who will pay for your referral. (BTW...we never pay anyone for referrals or get paid for referrals. Our business is wedding flowers - not wedding referrals.)
What's the journey look like?
Most of our clients are getting married for the first time and it's a bit daunting. We decided a long time ago in our business that we were going to complain about why clients didn't know something...we wanted to educate them. If your client didn't get your contract signed, you've got to consider that your fault for not setting up a structure. So we created a check list to help the client but also create a structure so everyone was on the same page.
This differs from business to business. Is there a specific timeline they need to be aware of? Do they have any tasks on their end to handle (i.e. payment) and when are they due? Yes, this may be outlined in your proposal and contract, but giving a simple check list of the process will help the client with ten million tasks on their list breathe a bit easier.
Our process brochure is designed in such a way that it fits neatly into the side pocket of our welcome packet and is not the center point of the conversation as much as our personal style is.
"What exactly am I getting into?"
So now that a potential client sees a general overview of how things are going to work, it's time for the nitty gritty details of the wedding florist contract. Sure, it may be the boring but required legal stuff your client isn't the most excited about, but there's no reason that the initial presentation of the contract needs to feel drab.
We share our contract with our potential clients in two parts: a cover page and the actual contract.
The cover page acknowledges that, though you are now best friends with this (potential) client and will do (almost) anything to make sure that their day is extra special, there is still a business side to the relationship. This gives us the opportunity to reinforce the level of trust and familiarity that we've been building up to this point, rather than just hitting them with the terms and conditions of the business agreement.
If you're wondering what our wedding contract actually says, we're actually sharing it as a template for you!
Once you've added your contract to your welcome packet, it's finished! You have a beautifully presented welcome packet that highlights your work in a creative way, introduces who you are as a person and company, and educates the client about your process while building your brand credibility.
Now there is just one more thing that a potential client needs to add to their welcome packet after their initial consultation with you: the proposal! You can use Curate in a consultation and print out your beautiful proposal for the client to have a hard copy of as they leave your consultation.
