The beautiful thing about setting expectations is letting your clients know what to expect, which naturally puts them at ease. The unknown is a terrible thing for many people and for most when dealing with a personal space as well as a substantial amount of money.
Read MoreThe better you can set and manage clients’ expectations - the smoother the project will be. But often those things that designers should set expectations around - many feel a little uncomfortable bringing them up to clients - things like money or handling problems. Here is how to talk about it.
Read MoreThis past month we had someone come by the house to quote a built-in bookshelf. He told me that he’d get a quote to me that evening. A few days later another message telling me that he’d been very busy and would get the quote later that day. Haven’t heard from him. Someone else is building the bookshelf.
Why do I tell you this story?
Read More“My own business is still young and the thing I feel like I struggle with the most is the very first client consultation. My struggle is this: how to get the client without giving away too many ideas. Clients all want to hear your ideas of their space or your inspirations but sometimes I feel like they take your initial suggestions and run away with it without me. How do I inspire confidence and trust with out giving too much away and getting the client to sign that contract?”
Thanks! Kaitlyn
Something came up last night during our local designer’s dinner that I wanted to share with you. One of the designers had created a package option in which she did all the shopping and none of the procurement, almost like a local e-design.
She shared that she doesn’t provide options for that package, just the single design plan, and was considering doing the same for her full-service clients as well.
We were all shocked
Read MoreMost of the time, the only reason we are unhappy or disappointed is the result of unmet expectations. Take a minute to think about that. Think back on the past few days on the things that caused these feeling to arise. Go ahead, I promise it has to do with running an interior design business.
Having expectations leads to disappointments.
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