It’s Not About the Cookies

Jennifer Polanz

I’ve been thinking about our industry and how at times, we’re almost apologetic at taking the consumers’ money. If this is the case in your retail store, it’s time to change that. Let our collective mantra this spring be, “I will happily turn a profit this year.” Anyone who isn’t on board with that mantra needs to walk their happy feet to the door to find another place to work. And here’s why.

Profit is not a four-letter word (literally). People want your products. After a terrible winter like the one we had in most of the U.S., they crave your products. And they’d like your help in choosing the right products for them and in putting them in the right place.

Let me compare it to a recent experience I had with my daughter. She’s in her second year of Girl Scouts and last year was our first cookie sale—what an experience. At first we were apprehensive going door-to-door, thinking no one would want to buy. Guess what? People freakin’ love Girl Scout cookies. You know why? One—they are super yummy (mmm, Samoas). But two—they know their money is helping young girls learn about business concepts like money management, marketing and—yes—profit. So let’s turn the tables back on garden retail. People love flowers because they’re pretty. But it’s so much more than that. Your products provide them peace and serenity. They provide exercise through gardening. And they’re proven to improve communities through beautification.

Going back to the cookies for a moment (mmm, Thin Mints), my daughter’s troop set individual and group sales goals this year. These are second graders, by the way. Their troop goals was $2,000 overall (profit) and my daughter’s was 200 boxes. We took home about $2,100 as a troop and my daughter sold 227 boxes herself. She was so excited to earn that stuffed Cheetah; however, the bigger picture is the girls set a goal and accomplished it.

If you aren’t setting sales goals for your staff, thumb your way for some great recommendations from retail consultant Sid Raisch. Even if you don’t hit the mark, everyone knows the number that reaches the ultimate goal—profit. And if that’s a tough sell to employees, let them know if there’s no profit, there are no jobs next year, no flowers and the community hurts more than just a little. So enough with the soft sell; let’s think add-on products to help make gardeners more successful.

If you need more profit-related inspiration, check out Ian Baldwin’s guest column about how working tighter and smarter can add more to the bottom line. And for more niche markets that can add to that bottom line in the off-season, check out Bill McCurry’s column.

You have eight weeks to knock this out of the park. Hopefully, we can help you do it. Now, if only someone would eat those two boxes of Samoas … GP