Floriculture Study Questions

For FFA Floriculture Contest

This can tell you a lot about the health of your business, how much you own, how much you owe, and how much is owed to you.

General Ledger

What is a Balance Sheet?

Shows the financial specifics for your business at a single moment in time.

What are Assets?

Things your company owns (Buildings, vehicles, etc.)

What are Liabilities?

What you owe

COGS represents what?

Cost of Goods Sold

Income is?

Money the company takes in sales.

Expenses are?

The cost of dong business that are not directly related to a given sale / Includes rent, payroll, vehicle expense, utilities, etc.

What is included in Non Product Sales?

Service Charges on outgoing wire orders /Commissions on outgoing wire orders/Delivery Charges

What are included in product sales?

Silk/Dried and loose flowers/Arrangements/Green Plants, Blooming Plants and Gifts

Outgoing wire-service orders are non-product sales because:

The sending shop has no COGS relating to these sales

This helps you plan for sales peaks and lows ahead of time, gives you solid information about potential monthly sales, and helps with product purchase amounts and timing.

Sales Forecast

The Three Major costs of a floral business are:

Payroll, facilities expense, Cost of Goods Sold

If you are a flower shop owner & designer one of your not so favorite but a must to keep business going is?

Bookkeeping

_____________are costs of doing business that aren't directly related to a given sale

Expenses

This shows profit or loss for a period of company operations, generally one month, one quarter or one year

Income Statement

What are common materials used to clean floral containers?

Bleach, hot water & a detergent

The best water temperature for conditioning fresh flowers is?

100 - 110 degrees F

Sodium ions in ______ water are generally worse for flowers than _____ water

Softened; hard

What does the abbreviation TDS stand for?

Total dissolved solids

The TDS rating of water for fresh flowers should be ________ 200 ppm

Less than

What do air bubbles do to fresh flower water uptake?

Causes blockage and slows water uptake

Why should fruits and vegetables not be stored with flowers?

They could produce ethylene damage

Floral preservatives increase vase live up to _____ percent.

200

Ideal Humidity in a display unit should be between ___ and ___ %.

90; 95

Ideal pH of water for fresh flowers and greens is ____.

3.5 - 4.5

Stems should be cut

Diagonal/Underwater/with sharp instruments

Foliage below the water line should be

Removed

The Primary Purpose of floral preservatives is to:

Provide a source of food

What does ppm stand for?

Parts per million

_________ least expensive and most effective means of purifying water, This method is most often used in the floral industry..

Deionization

Containers for cut flowers and greens should not be metal due to

Metal Rusts/Metal reacts with elemets in the water supply/metal may react with preservatives

Exotic flowers will become damaged when stored at temperatures below

45 to 50 degrees

The ideal temperature of a floral cooler should be

34-36 degrees F

What is the first thing that should be done upon receiving fresh flowers?

Inspect for damage and accuracy

Which of these aspects of light influence plant growth:

Light Intensity/Duration/Quality

Which of these aspects of light influence plant growth:

spindly growth/requires less water/grows slowly

Excessive light may cause:

Sun scorch

Which soil component holds the Most water

Clay

A growing medium should be kept in what pH range

6.2 to 6.8

This pest may cause leaves to turn bronze and die. One sign of these pests are fine webs on the undersides of leaves.

Two-spotted Spider Mite

These cause minor damage to the roots of the plant. They are found in unsterilized soil and look like small black flies?

Fungus Gnats

This pest causes plants to become weak deformed and pale. These are snow-white insects, which can lay up to 100 eggs per month. The eggs can be found on the underside of leaves

Whiteflies

This pest causes the foliage of a plant to appear stunted or curled. The pest secrets honeydew, and can be found in a wide variety of colors.

Aphids

This pest can cause a plant to turn white and show signs of black secretions. The eggs of this pest are injected into plant tissue, and the damage is caused by the shredding of the leaf

Thrips

This pest causes plants to exhibit stunted growth, and a telltale sign is the brown raised shell of the adult.

Scale

What causes roots to rot?

Fungi

Plant diseases can be caused by?

fungi/viruses/bacteria

By adding floral preservatives to the water, you do this for the flowers?

provide a food source/aid in water uptake/help kill bacteria

What is light duration?

The amount of time a plant receives light

Which of the following are needed in large amounts for plant growth?

Macronutrients

An ideal growing medium should consist of

25% airspace, 50% solid, 25% water

The best way to control insects is?

Prevention

What is the most common mistake people make in plant care

Over watering

Genus and species are in what language?

Latin

In binomial nomenclature, plants are identified by two names. The first of these is called the:

Genus

Packaged of Fertilizer labeled 10-15-10 contains:

10% nitrogen 15% phosphorous 10% potassium

A complete flower contains which of the following parts:

Stamen, Pistil, Sepal, Petal

How is the salesperson supposed to perceive each new customer?

As their new boss

What does a salesperson need in order to be successful?

A Core Value

What is the number one reason that customers take their business elsewhere?

Attitude of indifference from an employee or owner

Most dissatisfied customers just never return; expect to hear complaints from about ____%

4

What is the primary goal of a flower shop?

To help people share their feelings through flowers

What advantage would a customer have in going to a boutique instead of a warehouse?

Quality customer service

A warehouse is a business that

buys and sells in quantity/has a no frills approach/has a low price approach

What are good characteristics of a salesperson's appearance?

well dressed and polite/appropriate body language/smiling

What is Not an important aspect of a salespersons speech habits?

Nemo' Rules of Speech

Communication is said to be

10% words, 40% voice tone and 50% body language

Good sales techniques include:

Clear and accurate communication

Good advice to salespeople is 'Don't people, help them"

Sell / buy

The customers' behavior is ______________ if they aren't in a rush to close the sale.

Responsive

Effective techniques for greeting customers include:

smiling/unsing the customers name/allowing person space between you and the customer

This type of customer is reserved, cautious, and detailed, you use logic and reasoning to sell your product's advantages to a customer, also needs things in writing, you are probably dealing with a _________________ .

Thinker

A customer who is responsive behavior and indirect information management, is shy, easy to please hard to make decisions, discuss options rationally, don't rush give time decide is likely which customer type?

Relater

A hurried customer who mostly controls the sales presentation is a __________________ customer type.

director

The customer who gets along with everyone! Spontaneous, quite fast paced, details are not important. Fit in suggestions to his needs.

Socializer

A greeting should occurs with in the first ____________

5 seconds

A technique called ______________________ allows the salesperson to relate the product features and benefits within the sales pitch that help fit the customer's needs.

Suggestive Selling

The customer who manages information________will likey control the conversation with you.

Directly

The most important thing to determine when identifying customer needs is:

The occasion, style of the sender and recipient

Descriptive selling technique is most likely done:

Telephone sales

The best thing to do with a complaint is to:

Welcome it

Welcome any complaint, it will bring consumer___________.

Loyalty

What type of close are you using if you ask many small questions to get a big answer?

Minor and major close

This type of close is often used when money is an issue. It usually involves selecting a price between the highest and the lowest price.

Compromise close

After you have the customer's commitment to the purchase your product, the sale does not have to end. The part of the sale that comes up while you write up the order is known as?

Add-on sales

Wrap-up contains major components, they are:

Education and Reassurance

What is the most important thing you can do when taking a wire order

Listen

What kind of complaint should be welcome?

All complaints

What can be good about customer complaints?

they point out areas that need improvement/give a second chance to provide a great service/give an opportunity to strengthen customer loyalty

A close technique that takes a series of minor questions that equal up to one major question is

Minor and Major Close

Examples of add-on sale items include which of the following

Plush Items/Cards/Containers

Sales that are best done by appointments in a relaxed, thoughtful manner are

Special Events

A selling style that is sympathetic and low keyed is used for which of the following events?

Sympathy

When accepting personal checks make sure:"

numbers match written amount on check/verify that the person writing the check and make sure that the check is signed/make sure check is made out to your store

Veteran salespeople know objections are just requests for more_____________.

Information

Each successful sale will have seven tasks for you to accomplish they are all Except:

Get to manager to approve of sale.

As the salesperson at a flower shop the customer is your___________.

Boss

There are four main types of buying styles of customer you can cater to... they are all Except:

Assumptive

All of the following is a guideline to handling a complaint except:

Ignore the "dumb" complaints

What kind of information would be on a delivery log?

time of delivery/signature line for customer or neighbor to sign/date of delivery