Rachel asks:

“Last week I set up my first gift basket display at a craft show. I was so excited until everyone around me was selling, but I wasn’t. What did I do wrong, and what can I do in the future to get people to buy?”

There are some details omitted from your question that keep me from fully answering without all the facts. I do, however, understand this dilemma. My gift basket business launch was also at a craft show, and when the day ended, I went home with all of my baskets in tow. Nothing sold, and here’s why.

1. Gift baskets and craft shows usually don’t mix. People are looking for handmade dolls, candles, and other individual items for themselves and their homes. Gift baskets aren’t on buyers’ minds.

2. Craft shows are a place where I was able to sell expiring merchandise in tote bags that, like the items being sold around me, people personally wanted.

3. The people who are best suited to buy gift baskets didn’t attend the event where I exhibited. It simply was not the right place to meet my customers.

I’m glad to have spent a low amount of money (about $60) to learn early in my gift basket career where my customers are not hanging out so that I could move forward to find them elsewhere. It’s a lesson, along with solutions, I share with students in my new online course, Start Your Own Gift Basket Business. Take your experience as a lesson, and begin focusing on exactly who buys and where they’re located.

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

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2. Is There a Better Place than Retail Stores to Buy Enhancements?
3. Where are the Gift Trade Shows?

Dawn asks:

“What can I say when customers tell me that they can buy gift baskets cheaper from another place?”

This problem is common, especially if you’re new to the gift basket business and are still searching for clients who recognize your talents and service.

People who tell you that they can get gift baskets cheaper elsewhere are not clients for you. These are individuals who want everything for a budget price, people who don’t separate price from quality.

You may not realize this, but hearing these words from people to whom you’re trying to sell is an advantage.

You get to see individuals, up close and personal, who are not part of your target market. This lets you bypass them in the future and head straight for people who only buy quality goods from reputable and reliable designers. That’s you.

There are many phrases you can say to people who favor budget buying that separates you from discounters. Here’s my favorite:

Here’s my card. Come back when you’re ready for quality gifts and outstanding service.

Designers: What do you say when people tell you about low-quality, mass market baskets they buy elsewhere?

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

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1. How Do I Get Gift Basket Sales?
2. How to Start a Gift Basket Business on a Tight Budget
3. How Do I Market My Gift Baskets?

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.

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

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2. Is There a Better Place than Retail Stores to Buy Enhancements?
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