240 – Lessons from a Prospecting Powerhouse with Kristen Crawley of Savannah Bee Company
The founder, president and head beekeeper of Savannah Bee Company is Ted Dennard.
Growing up in Coastal Georgia, Ted’s journey into the magical world of bees and honey was sparked by an elderly beekeeper, Roy Hightower, who believed in beekeeping as a way of life.
Even after 35 years, Ted’s passion hasn’t waned a bit. He backed into business in 1999 when his friend opened a store in Savannah and began selling his Tupelo Honey. Three years later, Savannah Bee Company was officially born.
Today, Ted remains dedicated to sharing the world of bees with others and introducing new honeybee products to market.
Kristen, who is joining me here today, has worked with the company for over 9 years focusing on the independent retail, gift basket, international and corporate gift accounts.
Business Building Insights
- Reach out and talk to people to understand their perspective about your company. Learn how the product worked for them and how you can improve your services.
- Always follow up on a warm lead. Make sure they received your information or samples and see if they have any questions.
- Encourage open feedback then feed on their energy to gauge their level of interest.
- It’s the end game, not how many sales you make at a show.
- The most valuable clients are those who become repeat customers.
- The best way to get visibility and create opportunity is finding a show with the right audience and making connections.
Resources Mentioned
Le Grand – CRM system
Sales Force – CRM system
Contact Links
Past Guest Spotlight
Episode #84 – Customer Solutions Prove Profitable with Derek Thielke of Northwoods Cheese
Northwoods Cheese Aquires Mille Lacs
Gift Biz Resources
Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcript
You're listening to gift biz unwrapped episode 240 it is by
Speaker:far our most popular product.
Speaker:It's such a great conversation starter because the conversation usually starts
Speaker:of one Oh my gosh,
Speaker:what is this?
Speaker:Can you eat it?
Speaker:Attention gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun whether
Speaker:you have an established business or looking to start one now
Speaker:you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue.
Speaker:Thanks for joining me here today.
Speaker:Just a few short weeks from Thanksgiving heads up and a
Speaker:reminder that all these special holidays happen just right after that,
Speaker:right? We've got black Friday of course,
Speaker:and then small business Saturday followed by cyber Monday.
Speaker:It's no wonder that they're all packed in together in one
Speaker:big extravaganza.
Speaker:This is when minds shift from eating Turkey to Christmas and
Speaker:Hanukkah gift giving and the official purchasing season begins.
Speaker:If you haven't planned to participate in one of these days,
Speaker:it's almost but not too late to join in.
Speaker:So if you haven't already,
Speaker:pick one.
Speaker:Set up a plan quickly like today and don't let this
Speaker:opportunity to get visibility and sales pass you by.
Speaker:People are opening their wallet and swiping their cards and you
Speaker:should get your share.
Speaker:Before we get into this show,
Speaker:I have a past guest spotlight for you.
Speaker:This is where I give you updates on people you've heard
Speaker:before on a previous gift biz unwrapped podcast,
Speaker:and today I'm spotlighting Derek Falchi from Northwoods cheese company.
Speaker:He was on episode number 84 way back in November of
Speaker:2016 so three years ago already,
Speaker:but this year 2019 will definitely go down in the records
Speaker:of his company.
Speaker:You see this past June,
Speaker:Derek purchased his competitor mill locks cheese.
Speaker:Not only that,
Speaker:but the deal also includes the lazy spa.
Speaker:That means they've expanded outside of food products,
Speaker:cheese, sausage,
Speaker:crackers now into bath and beauty as well.
Speaker:What makes this accomplishment so rewarding?
Speaker:Above and beyond.
Speaker:The obvious is that this has been a goal of Derrick's
Speaker:since the early two thousands you see,
Speaker:he used to work at Maalox foods and when he left
Speaker:and started his own business,
Speaker:he placed the intention that someday he would own mill locks.
Speaker:The law of attraction in the works for sure,
Speaker:so congratulations goes out to and his partner Angela for this
Speaker:huge accomplishment.
Speaker:I was actually honored to be in the room when Derek
Speaker:made this announcement.
Speaker:He was in front of the crowd and he ripped off
Speaker:his professional buttoned down shirt to reveal a mil locks tee
Speaker:shirt underneath and the crowd did indeed go wild.
Speaker:It was an exciting time for sure.
Speaker:Moving into today's guest,
Speaker:this is someone who excels in customer relationships and by that
Speaker:I mean the whole gamut,
Speaker:so prospecting,
Speaker:selling and getting repeat business.
Speaker:These are beautiful things to any business owner's ears.
Speaker:She's going to share with us how she became a pro.
Speaker:Taking us back to when she first started with just a
Speaker:desk, a phone,
Speaker:and a list of names on paper.
Speaker:Let's hear what happened from there.
Speaker:Today I'd like to introduce You too.
Speaker:Kristin Crowley of Savannah bee company,
Speaker:the founder,
Speaker:president and head beekeeper of Savannah bee company is Ted Denard.
Speaker:Growing up in coastal Georgia,
Speaker:Ted's journey into the magical world of bees and honey was
Speaker:sparked by an elderly beekeeper,
Speaker:Roy Hightower,
Speaker:who believed in beekeeping as a way of life,
Speaker:even after 35 years.
Speaker:Ted's passion hasn't waned a bit.
Speaker:He backed into business in 1999 when his friend opened a
Speaker:store in Savannah and began selling his Tupelo honey.
Speaker:Three years later,
Speaker:Savannah bee company was officially born.
Speaker:Today, Ted remains dedicated to sharing the world of bees with
Speaker:others and introducing new honeybee products to market.
Speaker:Kristin, who's joining me here today has worked with the company
Speaker:for over nine years,
Speaker:focusing on the independent retail gift basket,
Speaker:international and corporate marketing accounts.
Speaker:Kristen, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Hi Sue.
Speaker:So glad to be here.
Speaker:I know I've seen you a couple of times at shows
Speaker:and last year I was like I really want to talk
Speaker:to her about being on the show.
Speaker:And for some reason it just went by the wayside.
Speaker:And then this year I saw you again and I'm like
Speaker:I'm not leaving until we have this conversation.
Speaker:And yay you said yes.
Speaker:So that worked out really well.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:So glad to connect with you cause I always love kind
Speaker:of pop in and out of different shows and you're a
Speaker:constant there.
Speaker:That's always inspiring people.
Speaker:So it's really an honor to be included in this group.
Speaker:Oh you're so sweet.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Well and you have so much fun stuff to tell us
Speaker:about too,
Speaker:which I'm excited to get into.
Speaker:But before we do that,
Speaker:I'm keeping with tradition here on the show and I'd like
Speaker:to have you share with us who you are in a
Speaker:little bit of a different way.
Speaker:Cause we're all creators here are makers of some sort.
Speaker:So if you were to envision a motivational candle that really
Speaker:would resonate with you,
Speaker:it's your own special Kristin candle,
Speaker:if you will.
Speaker:What color and what quote would make up your candle?
Speaker:Yes. Well I would probably have a Navy blue candle cause
Speaker:I just think maybe blue is a great color for myself
Speaker:and I enjoy it.
Speaker:And then I have to stick true to the Savannah bee
Speaker:motto and tagline of be above your usual cause that means
Speaker:a lot to me.
Speaker:Ooh. And how do you guys use that within the business?
Speaker:Yeah, so we of course it's spelled B E above your
Speaker:usual and we try to emulate our business a lot like
Speaker:a honeybee hive.
Speaker:So having open communication,
Speaker:every person and every bee matters,
Speaker:how we all work together.
Speaker:And then so for personally for me being above my usual
Speaker:is elevating my workload,
Speaker:my personal mantras,
Speaker:just doing what I can to put everything out there in
Speaker:a positive light.
Speaker:Beautiful. Love it.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:So talk with me first.
Speaker:I want to get into your whole story and your position
Speaker:within the company.
Speaker:Cause I know you have a lot to share with us
Speaker:there, but talk a little bit beforehand about Ted's love for
Speaker:bees and how he incorporated that into his life and obviously
Speaker:the company.
Speaker:Yes, so Ted,
Speaker:he learned how to keep bees and he was really young
Speaker:and was very nervous the first time he went out there
Speaker:with Roy.
Speaker:As soon as Roy pulled the honey frame out of the
Speaker:hive, which is basically when you're opening a lid of bees,
Speaker:a beehive,
Speaker:there's the honeycomb and the light shined through the honeycomb and
Speaker:it was this beautiful glistening rainbow and Ted was hooked.
Speaker:So the fear of being stung by bees was gone and
Speaker:it just kind of followed him as a way of life.
Speaker:When he went to school at the university of the South,
Speaker:he was beekeeping with a landlord and then he went to
Speaker:Jamaica after college and the peace Corps and Jamaicans had to
Speaker:keep bees and then when he came back to Savannah with
Speaker:his brother,
Speaker:they were kind of doing some like odd jobs,
Speaker:flipping homes and stuff and still had some honey and a
Speaker:friend said,
Speaker:Hey, let me put your honey in my store.
Speaker:And he was kind of embarrassed.
Speaker:I mean he was a religion major so it was not
Speaker:focusing on businesses all it was like,
Speaker:just take the honey.
Speaker:She started selling it.
Speaker:Another start on the street called was like,
Speaker:Hey Ted,
Speaker:I hear you have honey.
Speaker:We'd love to buy some.
Speaker:So then that's kind of when it organically just got started.
Speaker:You know what?
Speaker:I think I'm going to give this a try and if
Speaker:it fails,
Speaker:I hope it's within the first year so I can move
Speaker:on and it's almost been 20 years and it's still rocking
Speaker:and rolling.
Speaker:That's so incredible.
Speaker:We're speculating,
Speaker:but you might know.
Speaker:Do you think it was his love of the insect?
Speaker:The bee or the love of the product of honey.
Speaker:Oh, it is a hundred percent the love of the honeybee,
Speaker:everything we do is a honeybee,
Speaker:honeybee, honeybee.
Speaker:So we have company meetings and Ted can get a little
Speaker:sidetracked or just talking about honeybees and we're like,
Speaker:what's going on here?
Speaker:But even if he's trying to coach us into prepping for
Speaker:the holiday season or trying to work out some communication issues,
Speaker:he's always taking it back to the hive.
Speaker:Like sometimes in business when you're doing a hundred projects and
Speaker:you get interrupted different ways,
Speaker:whether people pop in your office or just more indirect things
Speaker:with a personal phone call or you've got a crisis with
Speaker:your kid,
Speaker:he'll it back to the honeybees And saying,
Speaker:well, when you disrupt a honey beehive,
Speaker:it takes them three days to get back coming.
Speaker:So keep that in mind.
Speaker:It's always related to the honeybee.
Speaker:So he's out there any chance he can in the bee
Speaker:garden, just breathing in the esters and talking to them.
Speaker:And it is definitely a passion for honeybees.
Speaker:Oh, that sounds like such a beautiful life.
Speaker:To have a passion that is that deep and then you
Speaker:can take it into your business.
Speaker:That's so cool.
Speaker:And you guys of course all have to buy into it
Speaker:to work there for sure.
Speaker:Yeah. And it's easy to buy into Probably because of the
Speaker:passion. But I have a really scary question.
Speaker:Yes. Is part of your orientation going out and like interacting
Speaker:with the beehives?
Speaker:It is.
Speaker:And I can tell you as a person out of,
Speaker:forget what the fear is called,
Speaker:but I have a fear of a lot of little things.
Speaker:So like,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:my husband always makes fun of me.
Speaker:He's like,
Speaker:I know this is a scary thing for you,
Speaker:but we'll get this cleaned up in a second,
Speaker:whatever it is.
Speaker:But when I went out to the bee garden with Ted
Speaker:and he's got this calm demeanor,
Speaker:he's talking about them the whole time.
Speaker:And now wait,
Speaker:you're in this big garb,
Speaker:right? Like that.
Speaker:I see.
Speaker:Like on the discovery channel?
Speaker:No, no,
Speaker:you're not protected.
Speaker:Not at all.
Speaker:So we're wearing like interview clothes.
Speaker:Okay. So you go out there,
Speaker:you've got open toed shoes if you want,
Speaker:which he kind of like gently encourages but not always to
Speaker:wear the bee veil,
Speaker:which is the hat with the screen.
Speaker:So he's like,
Speaker:yeah, go ahead and wear a veil.
Speaker:And so we put that on,
Speaker:we go out there and he opens a hive,
Speaker:takes a frame out,
Speaker:encouraged you to try the honeycomb and went out of frame.
Speaker:So you stick your finger in it and you tried the
Speaker:honey. And then while we're standing there,
Speaker:the bees are already working to fix that problem of the
Speaker:open honey come sell.
Speaker:So of course he talks about that and I mean it's
Speaker:a really cool immersive experience and we're still,
Speaker:we've grown a lot.
Speaker:But when I first started we were super small so everyone
Speaker:was doing everything.
Speaker:I know the guy that got hired before me,
Speaker:I think it was his first week of work,
Speaker:Ted asked him to drive to some sort of bee farm
Speaker:and pick up some hives in this guy's Explorer.
Speaker:So it's always an adventure around here.
Speaker:I'd say I at the end,
Speaker:clearly. I mean you guys have gotten stung at some point
Speaker:that's just going to happen.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:Yep. So you just have to have someone who's not allergic
Speaker:or else you have your epi pen and you're good to
Speaker:go. Yeah,
Speaker:we're not trying to get anybody have any allergic reactions and
Speaker:we've got Benadryl on hand at all times and he gets
Speaker:stung all the time.
Speaker:He gets stung the other day and there's a picture on
Speaker:Instagram where he posted and it looks like he's had like
Speaker:some major lip filler.
Speaker:So that's pretty hilarious.
Speaker:It's a new form of Botox.
Speaker:Exactly. So your location right now are the beehives then,
Speaker:right where you work?
Speaker:Yep. So we're in Savannah,
Speaker:Georgia. We have three stores here and one of them is
Speaker:in Wilmington Island,
Speaker:which is where a manufacturing facility is.
Speaker:And we have observational and educational hives here.
Speaker:So the honey that we're obtaining and are pouring,
Speaker:those are working with our network of beekeepers worldwide.
Speaker:So Ted still has hobby hives,
Speaker:but there came to a point when he was producing to
Speaker:either work with beekeepers or try and help them grow their
Speaker:businesses by helping them sell their honey.
Speaker:And that's what we do now.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:So it's expanded to way past just your location and your
Speaker:product as you're talking about just the whole love of the
Speaker:bees, what they represent,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Exactly. Beautiful.
Speaker:Okay, wonderful.
Speaker:And that was what attracted me so much to talking with
Speaker:you also is just how far this whole thing has gone
Speaker:with the bees because I don't think people really understand the
Speaker:life and the complexity of life in the hives.
Speaker:Right. And then all the interaction and support and it's a
Speaker:whole big community going on there.
Speaker:Yes. And that's just a main motivator for our company is
Speaker:we're trying to tell people what we've been doing to help
Speaker:save the honeybees.
Speaker:So we've been doing it for so long that we're like
Speaker:no one even knows.
Speaker:So we're trying to get that out of there a little
Speaker:bit more.
Speaker:And one is of course working with our network of beekeepers.
Speaker:And then we are putting honeybee hive ingredients in our products,
Speaker:so we are utilizing amazing ingredients the honeybees make,
Speaker:but also supporting the beekeepers who help obtain those ingredients.
Speaker:And then we support a nonprofit called the beacause project and
Speaker:that's putting observation hives in schools around the world.
Speaker:So there's about 500 hives now in all 50 States and
Speaker:four countries,
Speaker:so it's pretty amazing.
Speaker:It's fascinating.
Speaker:I absolutely love it.
Speaker:I'm just going to say it now because I don't know
Speaker:if I'll miss slipping this into the conversation.
Speaker:When I saw you last,
Speaker:you had samples of the honey of course,
Speaker:but you also had samples of the honey comb,
Speaker:which I didn't even realize you could eat.
Speaker:It was so good.
Speaker:Yes, honeycomb is a hundred percent edible.
Speaker:It is by far our most popular product.
Speaker:It's such a great conversation starter because the conversation usually starts
Speaker:of one,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:what is this?
Speaker:Can you eat it?
Speaker:Or Oh my gosh,
Speaker:my grandmother or grandfather had bees and we use seat honeycomb
Speaker:all the time as kids.
Speaker:So it's this long lost art and it's the purest form
Speaker:of honey.
Speaker:You can eat and it is an amazing way to dress
Speaker:up like a short coonery platter or have a dessert have
Speaker:right before breakfast with a biscuit.
Speaker:Did you try some zoo?
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:You had me try some and I was like,
Speaker:Whoa, this is really good.
Speaker:Yes, it is amazing because I was hesitant,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I had honey of course,
Speaker:but not like that.
Speaker:So that was,
Speaker:I'm getting on in my years,
Speaker:I think I've seen a lot of things and there was
Speaker:something new I'd never seen before.
Speaker:It was really delicious.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker:So let's swing over and talk about your path into Savannah
Speaker:bee company.
Speaker:Where did you start and at what point did you guys
Speaker:connect? Yeah,
Speaker:so it's kind of ridiculous story and I won't go too
Speaker:long into it,
Speaker:but basically ridiculous here.
Speaker:That's okay.
Speaker:So that you can cut out as much as you want
Speaker:in the story.
Speaker:But basically my now husband and I were engaged.
Speaker:I lived in Atlanta,
Speaker:he was in Savannah and we were trying to figure out
Speaker:who was going to find a job first in which city,
Speaker:and by this gracious blessing,
Speaker:we landed in Savannah through my getting the job at Savannah
Speaker:bee company.
Speaker:So basically Ted calls one day and he's like,
Speaker:Hey, or I sent a resume in and he said,
Speaker:Hey, can you come interview?
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:well I live in Atlanta.
Speaker:Okay, can you come tomorrow?
Speaker:Well I have a job.
Speaker:I came as soon as I could for my job.
Speaker:Drove down,
Speaker:met him at our store,
Speaker:which we only had one store at that point and met
Speaker:with retail manager and Ted's like,
Speaker:okay, yeah,
Speaker:I like you but we need to make sure everyone else
Speaker:thought office liked you too.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:okay, we're pretty straightforward here like this.
Speaker:So I drive to the main office and on my drive
Speaker:I wreck my car completely.
Speaker:Undrivable so I call from the side of the road.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:Hey, I'm so sorry I've wrecked my car.
Speaker:I'll get a taxi.
Speaker:And the person here was like,
Speaker:no problem.
Speaker:I've got you.
Speaker:So she comes out and I mean to this point,
Speaker:my dad's a car fanatic so I feel like if I
Speaker:got a door ding I'd cry.
Speaker:But like my car is undrivable and I had got the
Speaker:straightest face like I'm getting this job.
Speaker:You are mission-focused.
Speaker:Exactly. So I'm sitting there and Diana is the person,
Speaker:she's still here and she's trying to ask me some questions
Speaker:like, Sarah,
Speaker:tell me about yourself and poor sitting on the side of
Speaker:the road and the police officer comes up and he's like,
Speaker:ah man,
Speaker:I'm your licensed expired.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:okay, thank you.
Speaker:I like just roll the window back up.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:let me tell you about more.
Speaker:So. So anyway,
Speaker:it was just this like hilarious interview story that of course
Speaker:I had another interview after that and all worked out.
Speaker:And so here I am nine years later,
Speaker:but I came to the office and there really weren't that
Speaker:many people here.
Speaker:We had this oversized 40,000
Speaker:square foot building that Ted was wondering if we should run
Speaker:out the space.
Speaker:And it was a lot of storage places for his friends,
Speaker:like old furniture.
Speaker:I came to the office and there was a list on
Speaker:a table with a phone and a computer.
Speaker:Well wait,
Speaker:what was your job?
Speaker:What was the job you interviewed for?
Speaker:So I came in for sales.
Speaker:Okay, we need someone who's going to help push products.
Speaker:So I get this list on my desk and it's just
Speaker:of the people who have ordered in the past year and
Speaker:if they had a certain dollar amount,
Speaker:call them first.
Speaker:So I'm just going down the list.
Speaker:I have no history on these people.
Speaker:I don't know anything.
Speaker:I'm just like,
Speaker:Hey, I'm Kristen.
Speaker:We have some new orange blossom honeycomb.
Speaker:Would you like to place an order?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:just trying to navigate.
Speaker:It was really only about seven months after I graduated from
Speaker:college. So I'm just kind of learning the ropes and I've
Speaker:got all this stuff on the top of my head and
Speaker:I remember like the first month and I was like,
Speaker:I saw Ted in the home like 10 guess what?
Speaker:And I like have my little yellow legal pad.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:in the past month I've gotten $700 and he's like,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:you're joking.
Speaker:And so it's like this joke about when we shorten numbers,
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:Oh this is seven he's like hundred or thousand and I'm
Speaker:like thousand and so now as we've gotten bigger,
Speaker:my numbers have gotten bigger and he's like hundreds or thousands.
Speaker:So anyway,
Speaker:more related to everyone here trying to grow their businesses is
Speaker:this list had no history and I just wrote everything down.
Speaker:I made spreadsheets and then I realized if we're going to
Speaker:grow this thing,
Speaker:I can not have all this in my brain.
Speaker:Like what if I want to go on a vacation?
Speaker:No one's going to have any idea how to navigate.
Speaker:So I started to look up kind of like a free
Speaker:CRM program.
Speaker:I didn't even know what a CRM was at the time.
Speaker:I just was like some way to store data.
Speaker:So this would have been early two thousands This was about
Speaker:2010 and 11 I started and,
Speaker:and by 11 I was like,
Speaker:I've got too much stuff in my brain.
Speaker:What if something happens?
Speaker:I need help.
Speaker:So we signed up with this program,
Speaker:I don't even know if they're,
Speaker:I'm sure they're still around.
Speaker:It's called Le grant.
Speaker:And it was a very like basic CRM,
Speaker:which is just a place to put customer information and keep
Speaker:it all organized.
Speaker:And it was great because by the summer 2013 I was
Speaker:allowed to hire somebody to come help and we divided and
Speaker:conquered and there was history on these customers.
Speaker:So it wasn't just ask Kristin Crawley about this person or
Speaker:what do they order?
Speaker:We were able to just keep the relationship going and it
Speaker:didn't just have to be me knowing everybody's business.
Speaker:So getting tools like that have been really helpful.
Speaker:What did you grow into?
Speaker:What are you using today?
Speaker:Yeah, so now we're using Salesforce,
Speaker:which is gigantic.
Speaker:So now we have like a whole team.
Speaker:There's five people in the sales team,
Speaker:which Diana was here,
Speaker:and she just managed such larger accounts that she was just
Speaker:grateful that I came in to take the smaller accounts and
Speaker:try and grow those.
Speaker:So we've always been a great team.
Speaker:And then we have just a couple more people and everybody's
Speaker:got their initiatives and now or over the past couple of
Speaker:years. So I did international and that's a whole fun adventure
Speaker:because nothing is the same for any country.
Speaker:And then most recently I've been working on corporate gifting,
Speaker:so that's a whole fun new challenge.
Speaker:I loved that project because you can meet so many people
Speaker:and they all have different ideas and they want to represent
Speaker:their companies in different ways.
Speaker:So there's a lot of creative process there.
Speaker:Okay. So this is a great conversation to dive a little
Speaker:deeper into because I think where you were when you first
Speaker:walked in that first day and saw that list of people
Speaker:with names,
Speaker:I think that many people who are listening with us right
Speaker:now maybe have a handful,
Speaker:maybe a little more than that if they're just starting out,
Speaker:right, of,
Speaker:yeah. Names of customers or potential prospects.
Speaker:Right, right.
Speaker:But then comes the scary part.
Speaker:Like, okay,
Speaker:you've got these names they bought once before.
Speaker:How do you get them to buy again?
Speaker:Or if they're a prospect,
Speaker:how do you reach out to them in the first place?
Speaker:So it sounds like you have been very successful just in
Speaker:the old fashioned way,
Speaker:picking up the phone,
Speaker:which I think still holds some importance today.
Speaker:I'll ask you that again in a second,
Speaker:but any direction for someone who is facing that situation today,
Speaker:how do you approach those calls?
Speaker:Yeah, so I just really,
Speaker:I love to reach out to people just to hear their
Speaker:perspective on Savannah at me company.
Speaker:So I'm not necessarily to get an order.
Speaker:I mean that's always going to be super fun cause that's
Speaker:the end goal.
Speaker:But I reach out and just say,
Speaker:Hey, this is Kristin.
Speaker:We're calling from Savannah bee company.
Speaker:I know you've ordered from us in the past.
Speaker:How did those products do for you?
Speaker:Do your customers like them or are we doing something that
Speaker:we could better improve our service?
Speaker:Do you have signage?
Speaker:I really just try and hear what they have to say
Speaker:and a lot of times it turns out of,
Speaker:I'm so glad you called.
Speaker:I've been meaning to call you.
Speaker:I know personally I just get inundated with emails and we
Speaker:do rely a lot on sending our monthly newsletter,
Speaker:which is great,
Speaker:but just that personal connection of even if they don't answer
Speaker:the phone and they just see Savannah bee company on the
Speaker:caller ID,
Speaker:you can see a couple of days later the order rolls
Speaker:in. So it's just that constant reminder,
Speaker:keeping the relationship there.
Speaker:Also not being like overbearing of I'm going to call you
Speaker:every day and if you can connect with somebody,
Speaker:I like to just ask them,
Speaker:how do you prefer?
Speaker:I connect with you,
Speaker:do you want me to call you?
Speaker:And surprisingly a lot of people say yes but then if
Speaker:they don't,
Speaker:I make a note in my little system like don't call,
Speaker:maybe just send an email.
Speaker:And so you put that that into Salesforce under their client
Speaker:record. Absolutely.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah,
Speaker:I think that's really good.
Speaker:I mean first of all,
Speaker:it's so respectful.
Speaker:I've got to say here,
Speaker:we'll get phone calls from people.
Speaker:Now customers are different because they have a customer service question
Speaker:or something like that,
Speaker:but we'll get people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:many times it's solicitors who will call and we might be
Speaker:smack in the middle of something and instead they just go
Speaker:right into their sales pitch versus saying,
Speaker:is this a good time to chat?
Speaker:Or I'd like to say two minutes of your time.
Speaker:Is that all right?
Speaker:And like to be a little bit more respectful.
Speaker:So I think the first point when you're saying figuring out
Speaker:how they want to be communicated with is perfect cause it's
Speaker:showing a lot of respect for their time.
Speaker:Yeah. I also,
Speaker:I really like and gift as listeners think about this too,
Speaker:because we're so hesitant to pick up the phone.
Speaker:But what you're saying is a lot of people are saying,
Speaker:call me,
Speaker:I meant to call you and now you've taken away their
Speaker:need to fit it into the day.
Speaker:You've already done that for them.
Speaker:Exactly. And then they can just say,
Speaker:repeat my order.
Speaker:You have it all.
Speaker:You can just set it out and you can be done
Speaker:with that.
Speaker:Yeah. And if they seem very short and they're like,
Speaker:don't call me,
Speaker:then I just take that as,
Speaker:okay, great.
Speaker:I now know to not call you.
Speaker:You just have to keep playing the game and just give
Speaker:everyone the benefit of the doubt that you never know if
Speaker:you've called in the middle of their biggest fire or if
Speaker:they're bored or they're not selling,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:everyone's just trying to make it through.
Speaker:That's how I think about it.
Speaker:Right. And we all feel like we're doing way more than
Speaker:the hours of our day.
Speaker:Allow us to do.
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:we're all swamped.
Speaker:So sticking with this.
Speaker:Okay. So we've talked about customers.
Speaker:What about if you're prospecting over the phone and maybe I
Speaker:should start,
Speaker:do you even do that?
Speaker:Okay. Gift business nurse.
Speaker:I just have to do this.
Speaker:We will be right back to hear more about prospecting after
Speaker:a quick word from our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible thanks to the support of the
Speaker:ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store or craft studio in
Speaker:seconds. Visit the ribbon,
Speaker:print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Yeah, we do that off and on.
Speaker:So we just go to a lot of trade shows,
Speaker:so we have a lot of leads to follow up with.
Speaker:So between the leads and then the current customers,
Speaker:there's a lot of touch points.
Speaker:There is we do prospect,
Speaker:but they're pretty warm.
Speaker:So there's never really a cold call because we'll call it
Speaker:the purpose and kind of see what they're up to or
Speaker:if they have any interest.
Speaker:Okay, so that's your strategy.
Speaker:So you're out at shows,
Speaker:you're collect leads,
Speaker:it shows where people have then probably tasted your product like
Speaker:I did with the honeycomb.
Speaker:Right. And then you're following up then on a warm lead.
Speaker:Yes. That's your way to do it.
Speaker:Okay. When you're at shows question,
Speaker:I've seen some times it shows where the goal is to
Speaker:get as many business cards as you can.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:people just want to get those cards,
Speaker:you want to swipe all of that.
Speaker:What's your philosophy and method on when do you pick up
Speaker:business cards and follow up and when do you not?
Speaker:Yes, so I can say this whole thought process has evolved
Speaker:for me in the beginning.
Speaker:Every person who came to booth,
Speaker:I'm going to swipe your badge.
Speaker:You're like,
Speaker:I'm going to scan you.
Speaker:I want to follow up.
Speaker:I want to grab my database,
Speaker:and then I've learned over the years that that is not
Speaker:always effective.
Speaker:So I try and engage a conversation,
Speaker:get an idea what they're looking for,
Speaker:and sometimes there's just not enough time for that.
Speaker:So people will say like,
Speaker:here's my card,
Speaker:give me a call.
Speaker:So if I can jot a quick note,
Speaker:then great.
Speaker:If I can't,
Speaker:then we always send them a blast,
Speaker:which is like our little followup.
Speaker:Like thanks for buzzing by.
Speaker:Thanks for buzzing by.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I know we have all sorts of little kitschy things like
Speaker:that, but we'll do that and then I immediately will start
Speaker:following up over the next couple of weeks of just like,
Speaker:Hey, you've expressed interest and just want to make sure that
Speaker:we don't drop the ball.
Speaker:Because a lot of times people do want our stuff,
Speaker:but then it's on us to make sure that they actually
Speaker:get it right.
Speaker:And so how many times do you follow up without a
Speaker:response before you put them on?
Speaker:Like a more time intervaled connection.
Speaker:Yeah, so it really,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:it depends on the conversation that we had.
Speaker:So if somebody spent a lot of time with me at
Speaker:the booth and they kind of gave me a direction of
Speaker:what they're looking for,
Speaker:I'll probably reach out maybe four times,
Speaker:but over a span of probably two or three months.
Speaker:And then if there was just like a drop by and
Speaker:they didn't really do anything,
Speaker:I'll just reach out twice.
Speaker:Okay. Alright.
Speaker:But they're spaced out and they're a phone call than an
Speaker:email than a phone call.
Speaker:I kind of really just pepper.
Speaker:And then with those people who you've had an individual conversation
Speaker:with, obviously if something a little more detailed to talk about.
Speaker:Right. And then how detailed are your notes then within Salesforce?
Speaker:How much do you keep track of that?
Speaker:Well, it's a case by case.
Speaker:So I try and take my leads,
Speaker:I go through them and if I know that I've had
Speaker:a really detailed conversation with somebody or they'd given me a
Speaker:really good idea of what they're looking for,
Speaker:I just go ahead and convert that into an opportunity.
Speaker:And then that way know this person I really need to
Speaker:follow up with because they're going to be in my open
Speaker:opportunities. And then at some point,
Speaker:I mean I ask for people to tell me if they're
Speaker:not interested anymore because I know one,
Speaker:I don't want to be a bug in their inbox.
Speaker:And then too,
Speaker:they don't want me wasting my time on them if they're
Speaker:not gonna move forward.
Speaker:So I always try and encourage really open feedback with people.
Speaker:Yeah, I mean you can always say,
Speaker:if you're not interested now,
Speaker:that's fine.
Speaker:We're here for you when you are.
Speaker:Exactly. And then you maybe do like a mass mailing to
Speaker:that kind of cool list.
Speaker:They've been warm for a while,
Speaker:but they're cooler.
Speaker:I don't know how many times a year.
Speaker:Three, four times maybe.
Speaker:Yeah, at the most.
Speaker:Probably on that.
Speaker:Just if there,
Speaker:we have people who sign up for our newsletter,
Speaker:so when we send that monthly,
Speaker:and they're usually already engaged customers,
Speaker:but then the people,
Speaker:if they've been converted to an opportunity now,
Speaker:I'll reach out every couple months and then just realize,
Speaker:okay, this might not be going anywhere.
Speaker:But it is amazing because some accounts just have a really
Speaker:long lead time.
Speaker:They're like sitting ducks where they underneath,
Speaker:they are just working,
Speaker:working, working.
Speaker:They have,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:like I have a couple of gift basket accounts where you
Speaker:think that you've lost them,
Speaker:but they're like,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no. We're designing,
Speaker:we're pricing,
Speaker:we're doing all this thing.
Speaker:Okay. Now where we're working and you're like,
Speaker:Oh, okay,
Speaker:well I'm glad to hear from you.
Speaker:Yeah, So glad this is still happening,
Speaker:but it just,
Speaker:sometimes other customers just aren't as fast,
Speaker:like the independent retail,
Speaker:most of the time they're going to place an order at
Speaker:a show or directly after,
Speaker:and then I've had an account that's been really great for
Speaker:us over the past couple of years that it took a
Speaker:year and a half to get a confirmed order.
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker:This is a good example.
Speaker:Then how did you keep in touch with them?
Speaker:Well, we kept seeing him at shows,
Speaker:so we saw him for a year and a half at
Speaker:shows, and then like the response was like,
Speaker:yeah, I still want you guys just gotta find the right
Speaker:way to get you in.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:okay, I'm here.
Speaker:You just kind of feed off of their energy of if
Speaker:they continue to say they're interested,
Speaker:then touch base maybe once a quarter.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Yeah. Well and that's a good example.
Speaker:You don't give up but you don't stay on top of
Speaker:them either.
Speaker:Right. Pound them.
Speaker:Yeah. I've had some of that where you know,
Speaker:I'm interested in something I see where it could have potential
Speaker:for us down the road and then that sales part is
Speaker:that it's like a dog on your leg,
Speaker:right? Like they won't leave you alone when you've given them
Speaker:one little glimpse of potential.
Speaker:So you definitely don't want to be that way,
Speaker:that's for sure.
Speaker:Have you had any challenging moments or specific pieces of advice
Speaker:specifically for working trade shows?
Speaker:And I bring that up because I really incentivize a lot
Speaker:of our new people who are just starting to develop a
Speaker:product to do a lot of test marketing through local craft
Speaker:shows, farmer markets,
Speaker:not trade shows necessarily for wholesale,
Speaker:but working a booth and you know when you're new,
Speaker:that whole thing seems pretty daunting.
Speaker:You're a pro at this.
Speaker:So any advice or any kind of things that you did
Speaker:wrong just to make a fun,
Speaker:maybe things that you've learned that you can do different for
Speaker:booth presence and interaction with people at booths?
Speaker:Yeah, actually someone to call myself out on this one.
Speaker:My first trade show was the Atlanta gift Mart and Ted's
Speaker:brother was working with us and he's a super fun energetic
Speaker:person and just like canceling product like no other,
Speaker:he's just great,
Speaker:great energy.
Speaker:And so we were having fun going back and forth of
Speaker:seeing who could get the highest order.
Speaker:So it was kind of a joke because when instead of
Speaker:asking them how many,
Speaker:how many units would want that,
Speaker:we were like,
Speaker:well how many cases do you want?
Speaker:And so we joke back and forth and then we had
Speaker:this one person come in to the showroom and she seemed
Speaker:to really like the brand and I hadn't quite figured out
Speaker:how to really develop the relationship with people yet.
Speaker:So I was just in it to come home with record
Speaker:breaking sales from this show.
Speaker:And when I got back in the showroom,
Speaker:she said,
Speaker:well, this is my budget and what are the items that
Speaker:I should fit in this budget?
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:Oh, well these are the things,
Speaker:but really you need these.
Speaker:Like I just kept making the order bigger and bigger.
Speaker:And I just really focused on that.
Speaker:And she was like,
Speaker:well, no,
Speaker:but like this is my budget and I really just need
Speaker:to know.
Speaker:But to me it felt like everyone has a budget of
Speaker:the show.
Speaker:Let me just take as much of it as I can.
Speaker:And when I got back from the show,
Speaker:she got her order and called me and she's like,
Speaker:can I just give you some feedback?
Speaker:There was somebody at the show that I kept telling them
Speaker:what my budget was and they just had complete disregard for
Speaker:it. And they just kept pushing and they want it more
Speaker:and more.
Speaker:And I just was really clear of what I had to
Speaker:spend and I was like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:that was me.
Speaker:I'm so sorry.
Speaker:Did you tell her that I shared it.
Speaker:Good for you.
Speaker:Yeah. So I wrote her a letter.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:cause I didn't want her to have a bad impression for
Speaker:the company and it was a great learning experience for me
Speaker:because she's like,
Speaker:you're not like the person at all that I talked to
Speaker:at the showroom.
Speaker:There's no way.
Speaker:And so then I wrote her a letter,
Speaker:I sent it with her order and apologize and let her
Speaker:know that I really appreciate your feedback.
Speaker:And she called me and we had the greatest relationship for
Speaker:the next four or five years.
Speaker:I don't believe she's in business anymore,
Speaker:but it was just this really open communication and she's like,
Speaker:I cannot even believe that was you and thank you so
Speaker:much for telling me and I just respect your company even
Speaker:more now.
Speaker:And it's very humbling and I'm like embarrassed as I'm telling
Speaker:you now.
Speaker:But now moving forward,
Speaker:here I am,
Speaker:how many years later?
Speaker:And I feel like I have great relationships with my customers.
Speaker:I know how to guide them.
Speaker:I understand that some people really do work on a budget
Speaker:and you have to respect that.
Speaker:And so when you were doing that,
Speaker:did you feel good about it?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I know you were in competition,
Speaker:so it was part of a game kind of,
Speaker:and competition's not bad.
Speaker:Yeah. But were you feeling yourself when you were doing that,
Speaker:when you were talking with her and trying to increase her
Speaker:budget? No,
Speaker:I think it was just like I was just caught up
Speaker:in the moment of having fun and trying to say like,
Speaker:well, this person only had $300 just then,
Speaker:but I got her up to 800 and no,
Speaker:it wasn't great,
Speaker:but it was part of being young and inexperienced and not
Speaker:realizing that it's the end game.
Speaker:It's not the show.
Speaker:Because for us,
Speaker:I think as a new business person,
Speaker:you can get really caught up in the numbers you get
Speaker:at the show.
Speaker:But I've learned over the years that sometimes I talk people
Speaker:out of product at shows.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:let's just start small here.
Speaker:Let's get some products in your store,
Speaker:make sure that you can focus and know how to sell
Speaker:those. And then once they do well with that,
Speaker:they're going to come to you and say,
Speaker:give me more,
Speaker:give me more.
Speaker:Because there are a lot of new businesses that come to
Speaker:the shows with huge budgets and no buy everything in the
Speaker:line and they never order again.
Speaker:But from a sales standpoint,
Speaker:that's not great because you can't anniversary that was sales and
Speaker:you haven't built a great relationship.
Speaker:You're right.
Speaker:What I was getting at with that was when you feel
Speaker:uncomfortable with what you're doing,
Speaker:it's probably not the right thing.
Speaker:Right. So it sounds like there was a little bit of
Speaker:that in there for you,
Speaker:but I would imagine just what you're talking about.
Speaker:I mean the most important thing besides fulfilling orders for people
Speaker:who are coming back to see you because they want to
Speaker:reorder for the next season.
Speaker:But the most important thing is bringing on new clients who
Speaker:are going to be regular repeat customers.
Speaker:Right? So it doesn't almost matter how big the first sale
Speaker:is, it's getting the product in first.
Speaker:I remember when I used to work shows,
Speaker:I mean we're out at trade shows for the ribbon print
Speaker:company as that's how you and I ran into each other
Speaker:and we'll do the same thing.
Speaker:We want to recommend what's in the best interest of the
Speaker:customer because then that's going to establish the right type of
Speaker:relationship moving forward.
Speaker:But what I've often done is said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if someone comes with a budget,
Speaker:let's say they're buying a printer,
Speaker:so we're talking 12 $1,500
Speaker:products, right?
Speaker:And they want to add all this other stuff.
Speaker:I'll say,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no. Let's just stick with this original package and then next
Speaker:time look at this and this and this and this.
Speaker:But then possibly a month later they're already ordering it.
Speaker:When originally they just came in with a certain budget.
Speaker:You never know how it's going to go.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:I think it goes back to doing right by the customer
Speaker:always. Yeah,
Speaker:and I mean,
Speaker:but I totally understand how I got there because as a
Speaker:smaller business where you're paying so much money to go to
Speaker:these shows and you feel like you need to come home
Speaker:justified and just set those records and have a bang out
Speaker:show, and I'm sure you've experienced this,
Speaker:where exhibitors get together like,
Speaker:well, how are you doing?
Speaker:How are you doing?
Speaker:Oh, the show's so slow and it's just this energy that
Speaker:keeps going and you're like,
Speaker:Nope, I'm going to do what's right for me.
Speaker:So it's just like blocking out all that other noise.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:and let's face it,
Speaker:some shows could be really good for one person and not
Speaker:for another.
Speaker:It's just not your audience for sure.
Speaker:The very worst show I ever did was Atlanta's Mart.
Speaker:Oh gosh.
Speaker:Yeah. And a January one,
Speaker:a huge show that everyone's like,
Speaker:Sue, why aren't you there?
Speaker:You should be there.
Speaker:You should be there.
Speaker:I tried it once and I'm like,
Speaker:this, I'm never doing again because there are so many places
Speaker:you can be.
Speaker:Oh, there are.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:I just don't feel like it was the right audience for
Speaker:us. But you've got to try to know,
Speaker:and it could have been the year,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:who knows.
Speaker:Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about promotions or events that
Speaker:have helped you move the needle for the business.
Speaker:Again, now you're focused on wholesale,
Speaker:so we want to keep that in perspective,
Speaker:not just your product direct to consumer,
Speaker:but on the wholesale side.
Speaker:What has helped you get account?
Speaker:Yeah, so I would say really just more on being able
Speaker:to grow and get a new product out there is,
Speaker:we did our promotion about a couple of years ago and
Speaker:we had all these volcanic Ash pumice stones and they were
Speaker:for a kit we sold out of the kit and then
Speaker:we just didn't know what to do with them.
Speaker:But we also have this bees wax honey and bees wax
Speaker:heel balm,
Speaker:and that's a really great product,
Speaker:but it's kind of a foreign product because you don't just
Speaker:go, Oh,
Speaker:I need a heel balm,
Speaker:but it's a really awesome product.
Speaker:So we thought,
Speaker:what if we just gave everyone who bought a heel balm,
Speaker:a free pumice stone.
Speaker:So the reason it was successful for us is because it
Speaker:gave our customers a value that they could give to their
Speaker:customers. So the pumice stones were an extra item that we
Speaker:had and they're not very expensive.
Speaker:So we were helping move through a current inventory item and
Speaker:kind of an extra item.
Speaker:So just adding little pieces of value.
Speaker:Just help the pumice stones one last forever.
Speaker:So once they're done with that,
Speaker:they can go back and get the heel balm without the
Speaker:punnet stone cause you don't need 20 pumice stones in their
Speaker:life. So that's kind of one of promotion that's worked for
Speaker:us. Okay.
Speaker:I like that because you're not talking about discounting product,
Speaker:you're adding things on.
Speaker:Yes. Added value.
Speaker:Yeah. This is another thing to get into here is your
Speaker:product line has all your edible like the honeys and comb
Speaker:and all of that,
Speaker:but then you have lip balms and lotions and all of
Speaker:that too.
Speaker:Are those two separate clients for you most of the time
Speaker:or do they cross frequently?
Speaker:They cross very frequently.
Speaker:So you mentioned you don't do so well at the Atlanta
Speaker:gift market,
Speaker:but that is a huge show for us.
Speaker:So it's a lot of gift stores and an independent retailer.
Speaker:So they're kind of building a story around we have this,
Speaker:we can build the credibility of the honey and then we've
Speaker:taken honey bees wax Royal jelly and propolis and put that
Speaker:in our health and beauty products.
Speaker:So it's all again centered around the honeybee.
Speaker:And do you add in any educational elements or health benefits
Speaker:in the story?
Speaker:Absolutely, yes.
Speaker:So we provide shelf talkers for all of our customers.
Speaker:We have some little training materials for resellers and then all
Speaker:of our packaging has be facts and quotes and messages about
Speaker:the different ingredients.
Speaker:And we're always trying to educate anyone about the honeybee hive.
Speaker:Like Ted proudly says the post person can learn about honeybees
Speaker:just by delivering our package.
Speaker:Cause we've got quotes on it.
Speaker:And then it's funny we have this old warehouse that I
Speaker:was mentioning.
Speaker:It was an old cabinet company is really just not a
Speaker:state of the art kind of building.
Speaker:But we painted it and then we had somebody come and
Speaker:paint some bee facts on the back of the,
Speaker:and one Of the beef axes,
Speaker:all worker breeds are female and this woman drives by and
Speaker:she yells out the window.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:So It's just trying to get again,
Speaker:the majestic honey bee information out there everywhere we can.
Speaker:Do you do the same thing with social media?
Speaker:We do.
Speaker:Yep. So we're more active on Facebook,
Speaker:Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.
Speaker:And do you have somebody then within your system who's responsible
Speaker:for all the social media or how does that work?
Speaker:Yes. So we have internal social media person.
Speaker:She's been on this for a long time and just is
Speaker:great at carrying through the voice.
Speaker:And also our e-commerce director writes a lot of blogs for
Speaker:us and Ted writes blogs.
Speaker:So if you go to our website,
Speaker:you can see the B blog and they kind of differentiate
Speaker:like this one's from a worker bee,
Speaker:which is one of us.
Speaker:And then this one's from Ted.
Speaker:And we kind of have them segmented in the different voices.
Speaker:Okay, so wait,
Speaker:is Ted the queen bee?
Speaker:Yes, he is.
Speaker:Okay. So we were just at a show together.
Speaker:If you were to have taken photos at that show,
Speaker:could you post those then on the Instagram account or would
Speaker:it funnel through your social media person?
Speaker:It would funnel through social media person.
Speaker:And so one challenge that we have is that we have
Speaker:15 stores nationwide now that are our own company owned stores.
Speaker:So one challenge that we have is how do we share
Speaker:on social media what everybody's up to,
Speaker:but also make it relevant to our thousands of followers.
Speaker:Because if we post a Savannah event,
Speaker:how is this relevant to our followers and Boulder?
Speaker:Or what if they don't have a store in Boulder?
Speaker:And then that's just been a challenge that we've had as
Speaker:a company and figuring out how to best promote.
Speaker:Okay, so each store doesn't have their own account.
Speaker:It's a master account,
Speaker:which is really helpful because then you've got way more content.
Speaker:Yes, exactly.
Speaker:And it's not scattered everywhere.
Speaker:Right. And you could post something from Savannah,
Speaker:but it's still showing like the lip balm or something.
Speaker:You can still go get it at your local store of
Speaker:what you know,
Speaker:however you would that would go.
Speaker:But there's one central person,
Speaker:which I think you're just compiling all the opportunity and then
Speaker:keeping a consistent message out there,
Speaker:which is great.
Speaker:Yeah. And that's her full time position.
Speaker:I am quite sure.
Speaker:Yes. That and photography.
Speaker:So a lot of our lifestyle images that are just so
Speaker:beautiful are attributed to Kate Dowdall.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Perfect. Perfect.
Speaker:So what would you say to somebody who's just getting started
Speaker:a little bit different than you in that has their product
Speaker:and they're just starting to get it out to the market?
Speaker:What would you tell them to do?
Speaker:What would be their first thing to do?
Speaker:Not business development,
Speaker:but getting customers to seeing their product?
Speaker:Well, I think it would just depend on what their goals
Speaker:are and their business model.
Speaker:So are they trying to get into other stores or are
Speaker:they trying to get into just homes?
Speaker:Hat's their way of selling.
Speaker:Let's say their ultimate goal is to be placed in boutique
Speaker:gift shops.
Speaker:I see.
Speaker:Yes. I'm a big fan of the shows.
Speaker:I know that they've evolved through time and sometimes shows are
Speaker:more traffic than others.
Speaker:But I really think that a good way to get out
Speaker:there and build credibility is finding a show and just making
Speaker:connections that way.
Speaker:Cause it's really amazing because not only are you finding customers
Speaker:there, but you're finding likeminded businesses there.
Speaker:So every year there's new people who pop up at these
Speaker:shows and so you can make connections with people who are
Speaker:just like you and you can kind of work together and
Speaker:say, okay,
Speaker:well here's what worked for me and here's what's not working
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:And you kind of figure it out together.
Speaker:You build a network of peers and I just think that
Speaker:that's really valuable because that's kind of what we do.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:Ted started going to shows and then he's built this network
Speaker:of people and to this day we still call some of
Speaker:them and say,
Speaker:Hey, this account wants to carry us.
Speaker:What do you think?
Speaker:And they're like,
Speaker:Oh, we work with them,
Speaker:they're great.
Speaker:Or I dunno,
Speaker:I'd steer away and we're in different levels of business and
Speaker:have different products,
Speaker:but we can share the truths with each other.
Speaker:I guess it's just a nice way to put it.
Speaker:I agree with you that there are two different things going
Speaker:on at the shows at the same time.
Speaker:They're the people who are walking the shows and then there
Speaker:are your fellow booth people or vendors or whatever you want
Speaker:to call people.
Speaker:And they're both important because we've gotten business off of them
Speaker:or con great,
Speaker:really valuable conversations with them,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:And I guess I would just say to to the people
Speaker:who are listening,
Speaker:you might feel like you're in a remote area of the
Speaker:country so you're not going to be traveling to Atlanta or
Speaker:where some of these big shows are.
Speaker:But so many areas of the country now have gift shows.
Speaker:And what I've found,
Speaker:and Kristin I'll be interested in your opinion of this too,
Speaker:is sometimes I've found a better show isn't the one where
Speaker:the aisles are packed with people up and down.
Speaker:So there's like a million people coming to the show and
Speaker:the shows are really big because everyone is so busy wanting
Speaker:to get to every single thing they want to get to.
Speaker:The smaller shows allow for much better conversation.
Speaker:People stay and you deepen a relationship at a booth faster
Speaker:at some of the smaller shows and honestly you only need
Speaker:a handful of really good connections walking out of a show
Speaker:for it to have been successful.
Speaker:Right. To kind of answer that response.
Speaker:There are some like major shows we go to where it's
Speaker:just, that's very short show,
Speaker:but there's thousands and thousands of people there and so many
Speaker:vendors and I mean those shows,
Speaker:those are really long lead times.
Speaker:As someone who's starting,
Speaker:I would not recommend it at all because most of the
Speaker:people who are walking do free samples,
Speaker:do free samples,
Speaker:can I have samples?
Speaker:And like who has budgets for that?
Speaker:Right? If you're not established and you don't have free samples,
Speaker:you're so you're really not making a lasting impact.
Speaker:But if you can go to even just a regional gift
Speaker:show or network with some people in your community,
Speaker:there's a lot of like economic development centers.
Speaker:We have amazing resources in Georgia that they're always trying to
Speaker:grow our businesses so they'll connect us with the right people.
Speaker:So if you don't have the resources yet to go to
Speaker:a show,
Speaker:you might be able to just connect with other makers,
Speaker:your area that can say,
Speaker:Oh, you know what,
Speaker:why don't you try this?
Speaker:Or there's another show we went to with a like-minded brand
Speaker:and we're not competitive.
Speaker:We compliment each other and we split the booth and we're
Speaker:going to it again this year and it's just one of
Speaker:those like smaller shows for us.
Speaker:But we're going to give it a try and we bounce
Speaker:ideas with this other company and it's just a nice way
Speaker:to kind of cut your costs and not all shows will
Speaker:let you do that,
Speaker:but if you're small enough,
Speaker:they might.
Speaker:Right. Another thing I've had experience with right in your area
Speaker:is the Southern woman show and I did in Savannah and
Speaker:that's a consumer show.
Speaker:And so I'm just bringing this up from a different angle
Speaker:with shows.
Speaker:Right. In a way it wasn't so great because there were
Speaker:so many people coming through.
Speaker:We were printing ribbon for people and children and babies and
Speaker:everything all day long.
Speaker:However, there were a lot of business owners who also walk
Speaker:that show with their family over the weekend and we did
Speaker:very well at that show.
Speaker:So you can't just discount a consumer show thinking it's only
Speaker:consumers who are going to be the one off consumer purchasers
Speaker:either. Yeah.
Speaker:And the junior leagues do a lot of consumer shows like
Speaker:holiday popups.
Speaker:And that's actually one of the main ways that Ted got
Speaker:started is that Ted and his brother used to go to
Speaker:all these road shows for the holidays.
Speaker:So it was like the Nutcracker and Houston and then there's
Speaker:Dallas and there's one in Mississippi and Richmond.
Speaker:So I mean they would do very well in the holidays
Speaker:and it helped build the business because anytime you're out there
Speaker:showing just direct to consumers,
Speaker:you're building your brand and market.
Speaker:Then you can call the local stores.
Speaker:Kind of a way you can find some prospects if you
Speaker:can't go to a show is look on Yelp,
Speaker:like look at nice gift stores.
Speaker:That's if you really have some time and just call them.
Speaker:Be like,
Speaker:Hey, I just showed here.
Speaker:We sold crazy.
Speaker:Do you want to,
Speaker:can I send you some samples that maybe you could try
Speaker:and I don't know,
Speaker:just another way to build your business without having to go
Speaker:to a show.
Speaker:What I continue to hear from you throughout our whole conversation
Speaker:is the human connection.
Speaker:Exactly. Whether it's a show,
Speaker:whether it's after the show,
Speaker:actually getting on a phone call with them versus just email,
Speaker:but it's all that one-on-one human connection and working it through
Speaker:that way.
Speaker:Not collecting a million cards at a show and my pet
Speaker:peeve, so I just have to say it here because I
Speaker:have to say it every time this happens is not taking
Speaker:an email list that you get from all the attendees at
Speaker:a show and sending an email saying it was so good
Speaker:to see you.
Speaker:So because sometimes they didn't even come by your booth.
Speaker:That's a no,
Speaker:no, yes.
Speaker:And just PSA.
Speaker:The emails that you get from people who are like,
Speaker:Oh, would you like to buy a list from this show
Speaker:that's not right.
Speaker:Like don't buy those ever.
Speaker:Absolutely. And some of them are scams anyway,
Speaker:so or the list is 10 years old from a show.
Speaker:So yes,
Speaker:be very wary of that.
Speaker:Getting your emails directly from someone who has been in front
Speaker:of you,
Speaker:you've had a conversation and you both agree that you want
Speaker:to take the discussion further is the way to go for
Speaker:sure. Perfect territory.
Speaker:Right. So,
Speaker:alright, so tell me Kristin,
Speaker:what's up for you?
Speaker:Like what do you see as your future?
Speaker:It sounds like you absolutely love where you are.
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:So I have no idea what you're going to be saying
Speaker:here. But if you were to think about what your future
Speaker:is going to look like,
Speaker:what is it?
Speaker:I am just loving the corporate gift channel right now.
Speaker:So I love working with companies who are trying to sell
Speaker:to corporations.
Speaker:I love working with corporations and I'm having fun diving into
Speaker:the creative space.
Speaker:So my first big corporate gift account this year,
Speaker:I had fun procuring all these different items to match a
Speaker:goal of how they want to project themselves to their clients.
Speaker:And so I'm just excited to see where this can go.
Speaker:And this is really the first big year of it.
Speaker:So the world is my oyster.
Speaker:It's exciting.
Speaker:I love the fact that you're in a company that is
Speaker:continuing to grow.
Speaker:You're still have a smaller number of people,
Speaker:so there's a lot of opportunity to bring in new ideas,
Speaker:test new things,
Speaker:and continue expanding.
Speaker:So being able to do that and stretch yourself and move
Speaker:forward is a beautiful thing for sure.
Speaker:How is the best way for any of our listeners to
Speaker:learn more about Savannah bee company?
Speaker:Where would you send them?
Speaker:Online? Savannah b.com
Speaker:so that's a great way.
Speaker:And then you can click around,
Speaker:we've got our video up under our save the bees tab
Speaker:and you can learn all about how Ted took honeybees to
Speaker:The Bahamas and restored life and beautiful flowers there.
Speaker:And then you can also shop our products Beautiful.
Speaker:And if someone wants to talk directly because maybe they're a
Speaker:gift shop and interested in considering your product.
Speaker:Sure. I'm happy to connect with anybody.
Speaker:My email is Kristin,
Speaker:K R I S T E n@savannahb.com.
Speaker:Wonderful. Thank you so much.
Speaker:This has been fascinating.
Speaker:I didn't know exactly where the conversation was going to go,
Speaker:but I'm really glad we spent a lot of time on
Speaker:sales because I know that's going to help a lot of
Speaker:our listeners.
Speaker:Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker:Thank you for sharing your wisdom,
Speaker:your experience,
Speaker:your insight.
Speaker:It's been a joy to have you on the show.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So, Oh my gosh,
Speaker:there are so many actionable tips that we just picked up
Speaker:on how to bring in and retain new customers.
Speaker:You guys,
Speaker:don't just listen to this show.
Speaker:Pick one new way of attracting or retaining a customer and
Speaker:implement it right away.
Speaker:Now I have to say there are many lines from this
Speaker:show that were my favorites,
Speaker:but here are the two that top the list.
Speaker:One, don't be a bug in someone's mailbox and two,
Speaker:all worker bees are female films up to both of those.
Speaker:Now, after all those colorful language,
Speaker:I'm really happy to say that our guests next week we'll
Speaker:continue to put a smile on your face in a joking,
Speaker:comedic kind of way.
Speaker:I look forward to all of us being together again.
Speaker:Then make it a great week and bye for now.
Speaker:After you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
Speaker:make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on
Speaker:Apple podcasts.
Speaker:That way,
Speaker:you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they go live,
Speaker:and thank you to those of you who have already left
Speaker:a rating and review.
Speaker:By subscribing,
Speaker:rating, and reviewing,
Speaker:you help to increase the visibility of gift biz on wrapped.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward to help others