Make more sales with stunning containers

Different textures and heights make containers stand out at Blumen Gardens.

Containers can spark the imagination of all gardeners, from those who know what they like to those just starting out and looking for ideas. By igniting that creative passion and personalizing container design, you can not only increase your sales in containers, but beyond. “Containers are effective sales tools for every single element of the nursery from trees to shrubs to perennials to annuals,” says Christina Salwitz, longtime container designer and home garden training specialist.

Salwitz says that a large, showy container does more selling for her than anybody else could when she’s away from the garden center, inspiring customers and showing them what they can create for their homes. “When [customers] come in and see the gallery of containers that I’ve set up for them, they’re able to stand there and ooh and ahh and look at the different flavors and different options that I’ve put up,” she says. “There’s kind of something for everybody.”

That works especially well for customers who come into the garden center with a vague idea of what they’re looking for, or just have no idea what they want. While the customer browses the container display, a salesperson can start the conversation by discussing the customer’s needs, growing conditions, price range and personality. Together, the two can find something the customer likes, or create a custom pot on the spot. “A good salesperson is out there and creating these container sales no matter what department they’re in,” Salwitz says.

Be fearless
“In an IGC, we’re not just mass-producing boring containers anymore. The competition is too stiff for that,” Salwitz says. But creating a huge container display can be a daunting task, especially when you consider the cost. Salwitz’s manager had her own misgivings about the idea at first, saying she was afraid shoppers would be too shy to really shop out of it. Salwitz didn’t agree. “That’s a sales problem,” she says. “That’s not a display problem. That means somebody is not doing their job.” The key, instead, is getting your salespeople to really sell the display by getting in there and picking out shrubs and grabbing containers off the display to show customers what they can get.

Salwitz says it’s a good idea to create containers at all price points, and make sure that you have something for every customer who comes through the doors. You never know what’s going to sell until you try, she says. At Salwitz’s garden center, she sells containers upwards of $399 in the blink of an eye. “People would come in and buy one at $299 and ask me to make them another one,” she says. “Don’t underestimate those kinds of sales.”

“So many of the IGCs I’ve talked to were really nervous about doing that,” she says. “My response is that if you don’t sell it within a certain amount of time, you can take it apart, repot it and sell it or repurpose those plants into another pot.”

Buy good pots
Start your container mix with a good foundation. Something out of the ordinary or even a simple fiberglass container with a unique design will catch the customer’s eye. Salwitz says she often uses standard black fiberglass pots, selling five or six a day.

“It’s the black dress of pots – it goes with everything,” she says. “I was providing really good ingredients in them and providing some style. Rarely would I make the same thing twice.”

If high-end pottery isn’t an option for your garden center, think outside the box and see what you can do with what’s available. Turn it into a challenge for your staff to see who can make the best container out of the ugliest pot.

Another option is going for color seconds, or not-so-perfect containers, some manufacturers sell on the cheap, or buying in bulk and storing the excess. Knowing that black, green and teal containers sold best for her demographic, Salwitz would ask for those specific colors and let the manufacturer pick the rest of the load.
 

Left: The Growing Place uses a container display to showcase fall annuals. Right: Containers on display outdoors at The Growing Place in Illinois

Know your customers
Staying stocked on what your customers want is an obvious must, but how do you connect the customer to the buyer to the grower?

Keeping open communication between growers, buyers and salespeople is one of the key ways to keep sales moving. By keeping track of which shipments are coming into the center each week, you can pre-sell new varieties or get customers excited about new containers.

The communication should go both ways, with salespeople getting to know customers and what they want, and relaying that to buyers. Container customers range from single professionals looking to spruce up a studio apartment to families wanting to incorporate edibles into their pots. Do your customers want a small pot to give as a hostess gift for a holiday party, or are they looking for tall, dramatic containers to make the front entryway pop?

“People’s spaces and budgets are downsizing,” Salwitz says. “They want a much more intimate space more personalized for them so we want to give them something that’s inspiring to them. I want to give them value in that container and I want to give them personality in that container.”

Start by taking a look at what your customers are already buying. There can be two garden centers in the same town, but blue fiberglass containers might only sell well at one and not the other. It’s a common occurrence, but if you look at what your customers already like, you’ll be able to predict what they’ll buy.
 

The information for this story was taken from Christina Salwitz’s OFA Short Course presentation titled ‘365 Days of Container Sales Ideas’ on July 14, 2012.