In which we are reminded that sharing “whatguzinta” a product or service can help with sticker shock.

One early March evening,  at a friend’s house party (yes, one of my rare public appearances), just as I was reaching the groaning-under-the-weight-it-was-carrying food table to snag a bit of cheese, I bumped into another cheese-seeker,  Joanna.  After the “sorry, excuse me” exchange, we introduced ourselves and, once the we’d snagged the cheese,  quickly moved through “how we know the hosts” to “what do you do?” [Right? As one does?]

Joanna’s work has focused primarily on flowers.  In an earlier life phase, she worked in retail flower shops designing and creating fancy flower arrangements. Her husband was a software engineer. Now, she works in a significant wholesale flower business that her husband inherited from his parents a decade or so ago. They source flowers from growers in the United States and other countries and sell them to flower shops, grocery store chains, and the like.

I said, “I noticed last week that roses were $5.00 a stem. I was a little shocked. Isn’t that price gouging?” [My best effort at gentle cocktail party banter.]

“Yeah, I get it,” she said, “$5.00 a stem is  significant and here’s why. Flowers are highly perishable. During Boston winter months, wholesalers  have to import the roses.  So, a grower in, say, Colombia cuts the flowers and puts them in a cold pack. The cold packs are assembled into a larger container. That container is shipped by air to, say, Miami. There, it’s put on a truck and driven to Boston.  It reaches our warehouse two days, no more than three days, after it was cut. And, then we break down the shipments and deliver them to our clients.”

“Wow, I had no idea. It’s still a steep price and I get it.”

“Yeah, so,  when people complain about the price of the rose at five dollars I break it down for them. I tell them,  ‘Prices are lowest in August. Buy them then, if you like. But, if you want fresh roses any time between December and April,  that’s how they get here and that’s why they cost so much.’”

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/