Flower Sale or Fail? BY TIM HUCKABEE TURN PERFORMANCE INTO PAY


> Is your sales staff motivated to in- crease your shop’s average order value for Mother’s Day? If AOV growth feels hit-or-miss, the issue may not be skill — it may be focus. Here’s the truth. Money motivates


— and rewarding your employees for a job well done doesn’t have to cost you. Incentive programs create awareness. Awareness of productivity and oppor- tunity. Awareness that working smarter can put more money in their pocket. Before you dismiss incentives as


complicated or expensive, hear me out. Incentives should be straightforward and should never cost you money. When incentives are done right, they become a win-win. Your team earns more, and the additional sales generated by the program pay for the incentives — and add to your bottom line.


Start with a Clear Benchmark The good news is that if you’re using a POS system, you already have every- thing you need to develop a simple but rewarding incentive plan to increase AOV. The first thing to determine is a baseline. Pull a report from your POS covering the last 30 to 60 days and determine your AOV. That number is your benchmark and helps you set goals. This alone is powerful. When your team sees a real number tied to real perfor- mance, it changes how they think about every conversation at the counter or on the phone.


Incentivize Improvement, Not Perfection One of the biggest mistakes owners make with incentive plans is setting goals that feel unreachable. Incentives should reward progress, not perfection. Here’s how to build an incentive


plan that can work exceptionally well for sales teams: 


Determine how long the incentive will be in place





Determine your goals. For instance, perhaps you want to increase AOV by $8





Determine how much your sales staff will earn per order if the AOV hits and/ or surpasses the goal within the allotted time frame


Another benefit of this approach is


that everyone can participate. A newer employee might consistently hit the first tier, while a seasoned seller aims higher. More importantly, it shifts the focus


from “selling more stuff” to how to sell more, such as moving away from yes or no questions to suggesting a thought- ful add-on or offering an upgrade with confidence. (Trust me, customers don’t cancel orders because you offered an upgrade. They either accept it or they don’t. But over time, those small upsells add up fast.)


Track and Explain If your incentive plan requires spread- sheets, weekly meetings or complicated math, it won’t last. The best plans are


easy to explain in under five minutes, easy for staff to understand and track, and easy for management to administer. POS reports can show AOV by


employee or shift. Review results weekly or biweekly. It’s also important to celebrate wins publicly and keep the program visible. When incentives dis- appear into the background, motivation does too.


Build Better Teams Well-designed incentive plans do more than boost sales. They teach staff how their actions affect the business. That awareness builds confidence, ownership and engagement. Instead of hearing “we need to sell more,” your team hears, “Here’s how you can earn more by doing what you already do, just a little better.” That’s empowering. And when the additional revenue


generated by the program covers the payout, everyone wins. The shop grows. The team earns more. And perfor- mance becomes measurable instead of emotional. That’s not just motivation. That’s


smart management.


Tim Huckabee, founder of The Profitable Florist, works with florists to develop practical incentive plans for designers, delivery drivers and other shop roles. He has trained more than 100,000 florists worldwide through remote and on-site education focused on everyday business practices. He can be reached at hello@ theprofitableflorist.com, or learn more at www.theprofitableflorist.com.


14 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | Mar/Apr 2026 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


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