Business Practices – Dealer and Designer Priorities to Make Life Easier
Among all the possible business practices to choose from, what is your Number One: either your greatest headache or your greatest joy?
It should go without saying that for interior designers and luxury furnishing dealers, helping their clients reimagine and realize a space brings them the most satisfaction. Yet, there are so many other aspects to running a business that make doing so possible. That is, the business practices and procedures specific to your needs that cannot be ignored by any business owner to be successful.
To illustrate just a few of these, our Hero and Mentor Ted offers a short list of things to consider:
Hiring/recruiting the right talent for the right position and fit
Systematizing and Creating manuals for each part of the business
Creating strong relationships with reps and vendors
Software for workflow
Rates and how much to charge as well as how to justify it
Oh yeah, these look like fun! And remember, this is Ted’s shortlist!
Practice Building Value in Your Goods and Services
For as long as people have exchanged goods and services, whether by barter or coin, a basic truism has existed: Price is what you pay while value is what you receive.
Whether it happens regularly or just occasionally, if you have clients questioning your interior design rates or furniture pricing, you’ve failed to convey the value of what you have to offer. Now, while it’s true that some folks simply enjoy negotiating the cost of everything, overwhelmingly the above is true. In other words, it is up to you to convince them of the value they will receive from doing business with you.
To make the sale, the value must exceed the price, or they simply won’t buy. Stated even more simply, you must address their Number One concern by answering the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Frankly, if you can make a client or prospect understand the value of your reputation and the quality of the work you do, as well as the quality durability, and style of the furnishings you are recommending, you should receive little or no resistance to the cost of a project.
Designers Who Stress Value to Justify Their Rates
We found further insight into this question in an article at BusinessOfHome.com. Titled “4 ways to respond to a client questioning your rates”, and written by BOH contributor Marina Felix, two of the four designers she spoke with stressed their value specifically, while the other two did so implicitly.
For example, “If a potential client is trying to haggle, they probably can’t afford my rates or the additional furniture, décor, and contracting, either, and that is a preview of a rough client relationship. I also want to work with clients [who] don’t just love my work, but also see my value and respect what I bring to the table. That means paying my rates. The price is the price. Period.” - Amber Guyton, Blessed Little Bungalow, Atlanta
She also emphasized her willingness to say "No" to a potentially difficult client: “Once you have the experience and confidence to stand your ground, you’re OK telling those potential clients no, asking them to consider executing their design in phases to meet their budget or just wishing them well [and moving on].”
The same is true for Melinda Trembly of Rincon Road Design Studio in Carpinteria, CA, who shared her thoughts thusly: “I typically run into two types of clients: those that value what I bring to the table and trust me to be the expert – those [who] are happy to pay for high-level services and product – and those [who] second-guess themselves at every decision. They don’t trust themselves enough to trust me, which inevitably runs into extra time and costs. Those are the clients who tend to come to me with unrealistic expectations, including pricing.”
Learn More from Ted Fall
Virtually every interior designer, as well as luxury furnishing dealers, will experience questions about the cost of a remodel, furniture, floor coverings, and wall coverings. If you’re struggling to answer such questions or with building the value intrinsic to your work, Ted can help.
Simply… Contact TD Fall todayfor professional business consulting to the trade.