Holiday Sales Strategies for Your Cut Flower Business

As the end of flower season quickly approaches, it’s the ideal time to shift focus to off-season sales strategies.

When I left my office job to focus on the flower farm full-time, I quickly realized that the flower business couldn’t take a break after the first killing frost. To create a recurring source of year-round income that could replace the one I left, I had to continue to generate sales during the off-season. By thinking outside the box and taking advantage of the holiday season, I’ve been able to sustain consistent sales even as snow covers my flower field.

Over the next month I’m going to hone in my own off-season sales strategy, but before I dig into plans for my business, I want to share ideas and tips to help you implement the same plans into your cut flower business.

Throughout this post I’ll provide a brief overview of three of my top revenue generators in the off-season and how they fit into my annual sales strategy. Whether you’re just getting started in your cut flower business or you’re looking to take your business to the next level, I’m hopeful that this post will give you a clear action plan for the coming months.

Off Season Sales Strategies

1. Holiday Decor, Gifts and Workshops

One of the easiest ways to generate sales after the flowers have faded is to take advantage of holiday season. I’m sure you’ve noticed that many of the big retailers are already turning their focus to Christmas, just as my children have noticed that the toy catalogs are starting to arrive in our mailbox! There’s a reason for that. The holiday season and Q4 is HUGE in the retail world, often accounting for the bulk of a retailers annual sales.

In the cut flower world, there are some obvious tie-ins that make perfect sense for us to capitalize on the excitement, buzz and dollars of the holiday season. Fresh holiday decor has been a huge hit for my business during November and December. Evergreen wreaths, swags and porch pots top the list, created with a combination of greens, berries and cones foraged from the farm and sourced from reputable suppliers. Most customers prefer for me to do the making but for those with a creative side, on-farm workshops are an obvious next step.

Once the halls are decked people are ready to check off their gift lists, so I make sure to stock a variety of flower-related gifts and potted plants. Forced winter bulbs offer the perfect opportunity for us to get back in the dirt and create gorgeous living gifts that customers love.

2. Holiday Floral Arrangements

This strategy goes a bit further than Christmas. From Thanksgiving to Mother’s Day, customers are looking for flowers while my fields lay barren. While I could simply opt out of these holidays,  the decision to source flowers not grown on my farm has given me the opportunity to generate huge sales numbers that keep my business humming.

Access to a designated flower workshop makes this a little easier, but I created holiday arrangements on my kitchen table for 3 years before we built the workshop. I got creative with on-farm pickup, local deliveries and even set up a mini holiday market in the barn (with the help of multiple propane heaters) to make sure that customers could easily access the bouquets and arrangements I had to offer. Setting up a pre-order marketing strategy and sticking to a very strict flower recipe ensures that I’m profitable, even when ordering in flowers that I didn’t grow.

3. Subscriptions & Gift Cards

I’ve made no secret of the fact that a booming subscription program has been key to building my business. While the subscription (like a flower CSA) runs through the growing season, I sell the majority of subscriptions in the off-season, most popular as stocking stuffers or Mother’s Day gifts. The revenue generated from selling subscriptions in the off-season becomes capital towards next year’s seeds, plugs and supplies, so I’m never starting the year in the red.

Along with subscriptions, I sell bouquet cards (like a gift certificate good for one bouquet) and gift cards (redeemable in my retail flower shop, towards subscriptions or workshops). A solid marketing plan is key to selling out of subscriptions long before the season begins!

Action Plan

I hope that this overview has given you some food for thought as you begin to map out your off season sales. As you begin your planning, I’ve created a little action plan to guide your next steps:

1.  Research your local market. What opportunities exist for holiday sales and how can you get involved? Look into pop-up opportunities at local boutiques, holiday farmers markets and local craft fairs or bazaars.
2.  Put pen to paper with an old fashioned calendar and plan out your off season. Note important school events, family gatherings and work obligations. Be realistic with your availability and calculate how much time you can devote to adding something new to your plate.
3.  Review your business finances to determine what makes the most sense for you. If you have very little cash on hand, focus on strategies that involve little to no capital like pre-selling subscriptions and gift cards. If you have a little more financial flexibility, think about how much you can spend on supplies like wreath rings and winter bulbs.

Ready to take advantage of the holiday season to boost sales for your cut flower business?

Join me for a 2-hour workshop where I share my BEST strategies for making sales throughout the holiday season (and beyond). We'll cover real, tangible products and services that I've successfully offered to my customers with outstanding results. I'll also cover marketing strategies so that your hard work doesn't go unnoticed by potential customers, plus how to turn those first-time buyers into repeat, loyal customers going into the 2025 flower season.

In addition to the workshop, you will receive a 16-page resource guide filled with my preferred suppliers and wholesalers, links to supplies and products, sample images and marketing templates that you can use to capture those holiday sales.

This is an exclusive offer! Don't miss out on your chance to go behind the scenes with my as I share real, successful strategies for making sales throughout the holidays.

Click here to access the workshop RIGHT NOW!