Fourteen Questions To Ask Instead Of "How much would you charge for this?"

We're excited to have Curate's Ryan O'Neil back on the blog today to revisit last month's question about pricing, and provide insight on how to rephrase pricing questions to be more productive.

Last month I talked about why it can be dangerous to ask other florists "how much would you charge for this arrangement?" and the response to the post was incredible. Knowing how to price custom installations from the underbelly of Pinterest is why the Curate floral software was created in the first place. This month, we're giving you fourteen questions you should ask instead.

1. How would you calculate the price on this arrangement?

2. Here’s the price I came up with and how I came up with it. Am I missing anything?

3. What’s the lowest number of these garden roses that would still look great in this bouquet?

4. Would you use a higher floral or labor markup for this arrangement because of its complexity?

5. I really want to do this arrangement but the bride is just shy on budget for me to hit my margins. Where can I get beautiful orchids for a more cost efficient price?

6. How can I best calculate my markup values to make this arrangement profitable? (Hint, you can use our handy-dandy markup calculator.)

7. Will putting this installation together on site require having any extra freelance help that I need to account for in the cost?

8. This elevated arrangement is gorgeous but huge. Should I pad my recipe a little bit for this arrangement just in case?

9. Has anyone assembled an arrangement like this on site? How long did the installation take you?

10. Is there anything special about this arrangement that I need to take into consideration before pricing it?

11. What can be done to decrease the price point for this arrangement?

12. What’s the best sub for Darcey Garden Roses that has the same color but fits a more “intimate budget?”

13. How would you calculate your greenery needed for this?

14. How do I break it to my bride how much this is going to cost?

Have another question florists should ask instead of "How much would you charge?" We'd love to hear it below!