Today is my third Saturday at the corner nursery. I joined thinking I'd be able to contribute something positive, be informative. What I've learned is that this is business, and business is one hundred percent about sales, and sales must be fast, many, and big. That pleases Business. Sales God commands that I avoid confusing the customer with details, with the gray area. Do not say more than needs to be said. Don't sell them the wrong plant, mind you, don't lead them astray. But don't tell them about root pruning the fig they really want to put in a pot, just tell them it's best to put it in the ground. Don't confuse them with southerly facing walls, just tell them it's best to wrap the fig in November.
In general I would say most customers at the nursery are repeat customers, buying the same thing they bought last year. They require little to no assistance, unless something is missing. They are buying annuals, hanging baskets, and vegetables -rarely big sales. Trees and shrubs would be big sales and although I am pretty sure J&L is not the place people think of for these things, he does stock a small selection: peach, apple, plum, crape myrtle, cherry, japanese maple, magnolia, birch, rhododendron, azalea, laurel, boxwood, etc, etc.
I wish Larry carried more perennials, interesting varieties, arranged by sun or shade- typical but efficient. It would be helpful if his quart perennials, the best deal in town at 3 for $10, were not so often root-bound. Why so cheap anyway? I found a gardening neighbor looking through them, and I mentioned to her how good of a deal it is. Her response, and rightly so, was that they are all root-bound. Any gardener knows how to deal with this, but why not sell healthy plants at $6.99? It's still lower priced than any other outlet, Home Depot excepted (I can only assume). I suspect it has something to do with where he gets his plants, long-standing business relationships, and Larry's ideas about what our neighborhood will tolerate in terms of plant prices.
Well, I'm out to plant the bush beans, then off to the nursery for my day's work.
Hm. That's tough. I guess you mentioned the sun/shade idea to him? 3 for $10 is a steal.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should fake an English-type accent while imparting info. I managed to sell a lot of stuff, and people said it was because of my accent. They trusted me.
ReplyDeleteToo funny.
The other employees say it used to be arranged this way -sun/shade, but now much is scattered about. Larry knows best.
ReplyDeleteBut, in general, there's some sunniness or shadiness about the overall arrangement -just not absolute, the way I prefer.
Personally, I think quart perennials is the way to go. They're easy to carry, they fill out fast, and inexpensive. But the return on a gallon plus is higher.
However, quarts will outgrow their container if they don't sell this year. A full on nursery can pot up, but Larry just adds them to a landscape job here or there and the rest remain root bound.
And all those years it took to shed my LI accent! Now I should get it back to sell roses? Ha! I'll work on my worldly accent.