Re: Ok ,a bit of confusion here folks.......

Greetings BizNewbie,

Thank you for the updated information.

I don't know about your area but every flower shop I know of has employees that make deliveries. They do not farm out deliveries. It all goes back to their tight fistedness.

It's cheaper for them to hire a high school kid part time to drive their van or truck around town making flower deliveries, then to pay another company to do it for them.

The high schooler only get's paid by the hour at minimum wage. In an hour's time he can make 3-6 drops. Also the shop owner usually plans out a route for the driver to go on. Meaning take the shortest routes in the shortest amount of time and then get back to the shop asap.

Even though I wasn't in high school back when I worked at different flower shops, the delivery practice is still pretty much the same today.

Now with that being said here is an idea that might prove benefical.

Since every shop owner has to pay for a delivery guy, vehicle maintence, vehicle insurance, workers compensation, employee taxes and at least a minimum wage these are the points you should focus on when trying to convince the shop owner how they can eliminate some critical business expenses.

What they are going to want to hear from you is,

Remember they are seasoned business owners that are always looking for ways to cut costs but enhance services.

What you could offer is calling each flower shop in the morning to see if there are any deliveries to be made. You will need to do this everyday, at the same time of day, 6 days a week.

By being persistent and repetitive the shop owners will become conditioned to receiving your calls. They will come to expect this and will start to trust your intentions.

If they do have some deliveries setup a time to pick up all their floral arrangements along with any specific instructions. Try to get all the pickups for the day if you can. Also make sure that every delivery you make you get a signature that the delivery was made and accepted.

What you are trying to do is get them under contract to use your service. Starting out you may find it hard getting paid everyday. If you can set them up on a weekly payable account that will work to your advantage. Once you get established then set your regulars on a monthly billing.

I hope you can break into this market.