Next Thursday, May 24 at 3:00 Eastern, noon Pacific time, I will be the featured speaker for Interior Design Pros webinar….and the topic “How to Price Yourself Competitively and Profitably” is a peek into the data I am compiling from my recent survey of designers across the U.S. Please join us using the link below to register. Thanks!
https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/600561087
Jody
I am delighted to participate in a showroom training program that delivers on its commitment to building partnerships with designers and helps them to develop and improve their business practices…which in turn help them to close more projects and increase their revenues.
Last Thursday, I was honored to be the speaker at an event at the M-Geough showroom in the Boston Design Center. It was an intimate gathering of designers, showroom salespeople and owners, sharing challenges and best practices – especially in response to the rapidly changing marketplace and end user habits. Some of the topics discussed were asking great questions (try this one – whenever you contact a client and begin a conversation, start it with “What’s changed since we last spoke?”), creating and sticking to design agreements, and innovative marketing strategies to build new business. The listening and ideas were generous and thought provoking, and there was no shortage of conversation!
This event is one of the monthly business development events that M-Geough is offering their designers this year… and a great example of walking the talk of partnership and commitment. Thank you to Jim, Susan, Jim T, Holly, Judy, Wendy and Gary for putting together such a meaningful meeting.
Love,
Jody
There were so many great conversations this week with designers responding to the 30 minute coaching call for Pricing Design 2012, and I just have to share some with you.
Here’s the scenario –
Designer creates an agreement with a new client, and by new I mean new to this designer, new to the design process, and new as in the ‘new client’. There are some aspects of the project that the client wants to source on their own and others that the designer will source. All of this is specifically outlined in the agreement as is the compensation process. And then something happens….the client, while they were sourcing what was on their list, found something that was on the designer’s source list and went and purchased it, and didn’t tell the designer until after the fact. The designer, miffed but silent, continues the process. And, of course, it happens again. Now the designer is more than miffed and says something. How do you think this is going to go…and end up?
See if you can find the first STOP sign. Yes, when the first aberration occurs is when to STOP and address the issue. Address the agreement, address the breach of agreement, address what the compensation is, and address it when it first happens. There are no goodies in getting penalty payments, you want your clients to pay for the products and services they want and receive. As I’ve said before (and someone much smarter said before me) silence implies consent. When you let something go, it’ll happen again….but when it does, there’s more heat in the situation and the ability to have a rational, cool, ‘let’s talk about this’ conversation gets harder to have.
So here is it: when agreements get broken, STOP and talk about it. The first time.
With love,
Jody
