It was a seemingly simple Saturday morning task: order flowers for a friend. What should have been a quick ten-minute endeavor turned into an eye-opening, almost unbelievable lesson in how businesses can unintentionally repel customers and, frankly, seem to hate taking money. My experience trying to send flowers highlighted a critical business truth: sometimes, the biggest obstacle to success isn’t a superior product, but simply making it easy for customers to say, “Money, please!”
My usual florist was out of delivery range, and same-day delivery was essential. Google Maps pointed to ten flower shops within a five-mile radius of my friend. Ten! I was initially thrilled, thinking this would be a breeze. Little did I know, I was about to encounter a masterclass in how not to run a business.
The digital storefront of the first shop was strikingly devoid of a phone number. In today’s instant communication age, this felt immediately off-putting. No phone number on the homepage? Okay, maybe buried in the contact page? Nope. Just a generic “inquiry” form. Inquiry? For a simple flower order? The friction was immediate. Click. Back to search.
Shop number two boasted a 9:00 a.m. opening time on their Google Business Profile. Promptly calling at 9:20 a.m. resulted in a direct line to voicemail. Frustrated, I navigated to their website, only to discover they were closed on weekends. Weekends! For a flower shop! And the listed hours? Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Their Google profile was not just wrong; it was actively misleading. Another click, another shop.
Finally, shop number three answered with a live voice! Hopeful, I explained my needs and delivery location. Then came the dreaded hold music. Five minutes ticked by. Five minutes! A new voice finally answered, “How can I help you?” I repeated my entire request. More waiting. He returned to deliver the disappointing news: “Sorry, we can’t deliver today.” Frustration mounting, I moved on.
The fourth online presence was equally baffling. Bulk flowers only. No phone number. No inquiry form this time either. Just… nothing. Their website was essentially a digital dead end, offering no avenue to actually spend money. Back to Google I went, patience wearing thin.
Shop five at least had a phone number, albeit hidden. After some searching, I found not one, but three. Choosing the middle one, I called. An answer! Relief was short-lived. They didn’t do same-day delivery, despite being a mere mile from the delivery address. One mile! They could practically hand-deliver them. Pickup was offered as the only option. I reiterated my need for delivery, offering to double the delivery fee and generously tip the driver. Still, a firm no. Hanging up, disbelief set in.
Shop six, two miles away, also couldn’t deliver that day. “No one doing deliveries today,” they stated. On a Saturday! In the flower business! They offered Monday delivery. Completely useless. Hang up.
Shop seven? No phone number. Period. Just pretty pictures and, yes, another damned “inquiry” form. The digital equivalent of a locked door with a tiny, unanswered mail slot.
By shop eight, desperation had taken hold. At this point, I was almost willing to risk receiving wilted weeds tied with string. This shop initially seemed promising but then delivered the excuse that they had “already been to that area this morning.” An area presumably encompassing a five-mile radius. Again, pleading and offers of double fees and generous tips were met with a polite but firm refusal.
Shop nine turned out to be a bizarre repeat. Same voice, same shop, different name listed online. Click.
Shop ten was “Kroger Floral.” Delivery? Unlikely.
After eight phone calls, website visits, and mounting frustration, the solution became clear: 1-800-Flowers. And in that moment, the “secret” to business success hit me. It’s the reason 1-800 Flowers became a $2 billion behemoth while countless local flower shops, potentially offering better quality and value, struggle to grow: Jim McCann made it ridiculously easy for people to give him money. He understood the power of “money, please!”
Alt text: A vibrant and colorful bouquet of mixed flowers, symbolizing the desired purchase that was made difficult by local flower shops.
McCann started with a single local flower shop. His innovation wasn’t in the flowers themselves, but in the buying process. He embraced online ordering in the early days of e-commerce. He secured the 1-800 Flowers number and relentlessly promoted its ease of use. His flowers weren’t inherently better, his arrangements weren’t necessarily more beautiful, and he certainly wasn’t cheaper. In fact, the product itself was often comparable or even slightly inferior to what a local shop might offer directly.
His winning formula? Ease. Accessibility. Making it utterly simple to say “money, please!”
This isn’t just about flowers. Just this week, a disgruntled member of our program lamented that their market was “saturated” with MSPs and that marketing “doesn’t work” in their area anymore. I’d wager that a similar frustrating experience would await anyone trying to engage with many MSPs in that area. And I’d further bet that this very member might be contributing to the problem.
Alt text: A man looking stressed and holding a phone to his ear, representing the frustration of customers trying to make a purchase.
So, ask yourself: how easy are you making it for prospects to give you money? When potential customers call your business, is it simple to reach someone who can actually help them? How quickly do you respond to inquiries? How streamlined is your quoting process? How effortless is it for someone to become a paying customer?
Sometimes, you don’t need a groundbreaking unique selling proposition. You just need to master the art of picking up the damned phone – literally and metaphorically – and saying, “Money, please! We’re ready to take your order.”
Stop losing sales to silence and complexity. If customers face hurdles in reaching you or doing business with you, they will inevitably go elsewhere. Learn how to eliminate friction, seize every opportunity, and make choosing your business the obvious, easy choice at the IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp. Don’t let competitors snatch what should rightfully be yours. Claim your spot now at robinsbigseminar.com and start saying, “Money, please!” effectively.
