A Customer Cancels a Custom Order. Now What?
Tammy asks:
“A new customer asked me to add some items in her gift basket order that I didn’t have in stock. I agreed to buy it for her, but when I told her the basket was ready, she said that she found something else and didn’t need the basket. Now I have a basket with a special item that I paid for and no way to sell it. How do I handle this better next time?”
Try not to beat yourself up about this, because this situation happens more often than new designers care to admit, me included when I was new.
You feel foolish, but such mistakes helps remind you of what you won’t allow to happen in the future. That’s one reason why I wrote Creating a Private Label Program.
First, determine if you want to purchase custom products. If not, you simply won’t do it. If so, a rule of having the customer pay in advance for the product, through cash or a credit card, is one you’ll follow.
Second, account for all expenses associated with buying the custom product. That includes travel and time in addition to the item. The customer pays for all of it.
Last, recognize that it’s a blessing when customers decline the order because they won’t pay for custom products ahead of time. One look at the custom product that now sits in your inventory reminds you that it’s better to let this person look elsewhere for a gift.
Collect monies for custom products before you begin your search. That way, you’ll be paid in advance, and the customer will have a vested interest in having you finalize the order.
How Do I Get Gift Basket Sales?
Tracy asks:
“Can you give me some gift basket sales tips? I just can’t seem to get people to buy.”
The best advice I can give you is to not focus on selling. That might sound counterproductive or downright strange, but thinking solely about the sale does not generate revenue.
First, ask yourself:
What are customers trying to achieve?
When you focus on their problems, whether it’s personal or professional, you can determine how your gift baskets become the solution.
One of my clients couldn’t decide what to send relatives to thank them for their hospitality. Once I asked the client about his life (after our initial reason for meeting), he shared this dilemma with me, and I suggested several items in my inventory to be wrapped in a gift basket and mailed to the relatives. He immediately agreed.
As you see from this example, one of many in the book 101 Ways to Market Your Gift Baskets, I didn’t sell – I solved a problem.
It may take you a few tries to master this blueprint, but once you do, you’ll find yourself solving lots of problems and selling many gift baskets.
