Designer Marketing Tips – Office Remodel Projects

While most interior designers spend the majority of their time working for homeowners, the opportunity presented by remodeling commercial office space can’t be ignored. Expanding your services to include office remodel projects offers a great deal of potential for more work and increased profits to a savvy designer – which is why we offer it as one of our favorite designer marketing tips.While the key to a successful office design is to ensure productivity, how you accomplish this goal can make a huge difference to your client. Offices today are being designed around the way people work and interact, rather than dictating to the occupant. This means the end of cubicles and corner offices, and the beginning of more playful, user-friendly, and fun working atmospheres.Beyond the use of space, comfort, colors, and sound-suppression have become extremely important factors in a successful office remodel.For example…Multiple Meeting PlacesThough some people work best at their desk, others work better in a more relaxed atmosphere. That’s why so many different offices are turning toward more open, playful designs. In this case, casual conversation areas encourage meetings and discussions between employees away from their desks. Boldly colored acoustic beams in the ceiling help ensure these conversations don’t overlap with one another. (KireiUSA.com)Function + Comfort = Increased Productivity

The current human-centered office design trend is all about encouraging movement and engagement. Being stuck at a desk all day doesn’t exactly fit that bill. Give employees options to work in spaces that fit the task at hand. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that human-centered office design strives to recreate that “at home” feel in the office as a way to get the creative juices flowing. (TeamMates.com)Temporary SeclusionWhile open offices have a lot of benefits, one drawback that they may have is the lack of privacy for certain types of meetings. Temporary partitions and sound-proof panels can make an instant, temporary meeting place that can offer privacy and sound absorption that folds up again in an instant when the meeting is over. (KireiUSA.com)Sustainable Office SolutionsUnlike drywall or cubicle walls, the Teknion Altos wall system promotes employee collaboration, enhanced natural office lighting, and presents a flexible, reconfigurable solution to suit the ever-changing needs of any office. Plus, in addition to saving a durable, well-maintained product from the landfill, the overall expense to reuse existing walls is comparable to that of drywall, presenting huge cost savings for a vastly superior alternative that integrated with existing finishes and original design intent. (TeamMates.com)Noise Reduction SolutionsOften open offices and semi-private floor plans are best made in industrial-style office buildings with tall ceilings and concrete floors. Unfortunately, this can lead to echoes and difficulty with keeping conversations private. By hanging acoustic paneling, you can absorb sound and keep the echoes to a minimum no matter how large the room.Commercial office space is always changing to meet the needs and demands of today’s workers. Gone are secluded corner offices and the idea that people must be isolated to get their best work done. With more emphasis being placed on spaces becoming multifunctional, it’s certain that the way people view productivity is soon to change as well. For a clever interior designer, responding to this trend in office design can lead to a strong surge in design projects.Are you looking for more new interior design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Boosting Interior Design Sales - Overcoming Objections

“It’s too expensive!”

“That’s not what we’re looking for.”

“I don’t think you're right about that.”

While the most common objection you’re likely to hear during a presentation will be about cost, there could be many others that a prospect may come up with. The critical thing to remember in any situation like this is – when a prospective client voices and objection, you have not answered all of their questions.Sure, some prospective clients are simply difficult; they may be holding unrealistic expectations or they enjoy being contentious. Such cases however are rare. Basically, when you receive objections to your design proposal, there are either questions you haven’t answered or asked properly to elicit the emotions that allow your client to commit to buying with a sense of comfort.

Client objections indicate that they have doubts

The key to overcoming an objection is to understand that their objection is merely an indication that you haven’t solved their problem for them. Something is lacking in your presentation; either in your preparation, the way you’ve qualified them, or in the solutions you’ve offered. Somehow, despite your best efforts, you’ve created doubt in your client’s mind that you have what it takes to address their needs and wants.There is only one way to resolve this, you must begin again and take a new tack.This is standard procedure in sales training; to be relentless in your pursuit of the sale and to restart your presentation when the client voices and objection. Of course, you must first address – directly – the concern they’ve voiced, even if you don’t believe that is the real reason for their hesitancy to commit (and often, it will not be). Once that particular concern has been talked out and resolved, you can attack your presentation once more: requalify the client, offer your solutions, and…Ask for the sale again!That’s right, you have to close… close… close the sale.Persistence, simply refusing to give up, is often the key to overcoming objections and successfully closing the sale. It may not be a great deal of fun for you, or the most rewarding aspect of the process but, ultimately, it’s your responsibility to discover the client’s needs, present the best solution, and convince them of the benefits of hiring you to be their designer.The reward will come eventually, when the check clears!

Coping with Difficult Client Expectations

There is a long established saying about there being a “perfect tool for every job” and, while this is certainly true, it is also your responsibility as a designer to choose the right products and designs to satisfy the client’s needs.To accomplish this, you must maintain focus on the particular job at hand; the actual challenge presented by the client, without allowing your personal tastes, desires or wishes to influence the work you’ve been hired to perform.For example, let’s imagine for a moment that your client would like you to reimagine and modernize their living room for them. This should not be too difficult, as you question them and make suggestions based upon their answers. However, there is one stipulation which may not be ignored – grandma’s “antique” hand-me-down must remain – creating a challenge that seems impossible to overcome. This piece is going to clash with every design suggestion you’ve made, yet the clients are emphatic that they cannot get rid of it and risk offending grandma.

How to handle “unrealistic expectations”

If you're unable to convince your clients that the piece they need to keep may not mesh with the changes they’re asking you to make, no matter how subtle or insistent you try to be, the challenge for you is to make it fit. That is your job, regardless of how impossible it seems. To help you focus on the task at hand, here are a few things you must remember:

• The space is theirs, not yours – Whether a home or office, the space you're designing for your clients belongs to them. It is your job to ensure that they are comfortable with the choices and changes being made. The fact that you might be uncomfortable in such a space is irrelevant to the task at hand. It is always your job to satisfy the client, not yourself.
• Creative thinking is your greatest asset – In a situation like this, thinking creatively will be the best tool you can use to find a solution to such a challenge. If you can reimagine the item as an accent or conversation piece, you are bound to make your clients happier than if you try to change their minds. Focus on the challenge as it exists, rather than how easy it would be to ignore their wishes – or the piece of furniture in question. Think outside the box: Will the client allow you to refinish the piece? Could you paint it? Can you move the piece to an area that would deemphasize it?
• Understand their dilemma – Empathy is far more useful than sympathy in a case like this one; or trying to convince them to change their minds. While you may not be able to identify with the reasons for their choice, you should be able to understand their need to keep grandma and the rest of the family happy. It’s not your job to psychoanalyze their motivation, but to make their living space comfortable and appealing – to them. If you really want to help them, you must stay focused on what you're doing for them, rather than why they want it done.

Unless the challenge is physically impossible, or when budgetary concerns interfere, there are actually very few “unrealistic expectations” for you to overcome. When tastes differ, as in this case, you must simply set yours aside.Ultimately, you have the choice to decline the job if you believe the task presented by the client is beyond your ability to satisfy. On the other hand, challenging yourself in such a situation may be exactly what you need from time to time, if you hope to grow as an interior designer. It never hurts to stretch yourself, accepting jobs that you might otherwise turn down due to creative differences with the client.Have you ever dealt with a situation like this? How were you able to overcome the challenge of clashing styles in a way that pleased your client?

Boosting Interior Design Sales – Client Qualifying

In virtually every industry and profession you’ll find certain terms that are unique; jargon that is identifiable and particular to the niche involved. Among trained sales professionals, the word “qualify” is ubiquitous. What does it mean? In the simplest of terms, qualifying a client is the process of asking questions, and listening to their answers, in an attempt to find the best solution for them.Qualifying your client is a process of discovery, and it is often as valuable to them as it is to you. Since many clients have no idea what is available or attainable, or how to get there, being questioned by a professional can lead them to a place of discovery they had no idea was possible. Asking the right qualifying questions is critical to this process of discovery – for both you, and them.

Qualifying questions

Your first critical task as an interior designer is to gain an understanding of exactly what your client hopes to achieve through working with you. After all, if you do not understand their goals, how can you help reach them? Knowing your client’s vision for the outcome of the job at hand will be crucial to the successful completion of the job. There are no shortcuts here, and the time you spend on the front end will be invaluable to ensuring their satisfaction.Here are some examples of qualifying questions that must be answered for you to gain insight into what your client truly desires:

• What is the problem you’d like to resolve, or the goal you're trying to achieve? This can encompass many areas, from the relatively simple task of creating more space in a given area to completely reimagining the client’s home (or office). This type of questioning will not only enable you to better understand the client’s needs and wants, it will also present you with the opportunity to explain to them what is possible.
• Why now, and what has prevented you from doing it before now? While the most obvious (and expected) answer here is lack of funds, it may also be true that your prospective client has simply never met a designer with whom they felt comfortable. In that case, you have a distinct advantage over other designers, since they must be at least minimally comfortable with the idea of working with you.
• Have you ever used an interior designer before? If so, the client will have certain expectations, which may change significantly if the answer to this question is “No”. Further, if your clients were unhappy with a previous designer, it’s critical that you understand why, or they may wind up being equally unhappy with the work you do for them.
• What is your hoped-for time frame to complete this? Among all of the most unrealistic expectations a prospective client may have when hiring you, the expected time-frame for completion may be even more unrealistic than cost. You need to be very clear about the amount of time required to complete the job, as well as the extent of disruption to their lives if you're doing a major overhaul of their home.
• What is your budget for this? Again, controlling your client’s expectations is important, perhaps even more important than the value of the work you’ll be doing for them. Explain as much of the cost as necessary, without overdoing it. Most clients will not want every detail of your estimate (though some will), so take the time to outline as much as you need to close the deal. Once they say “Yes”, stop selling!

As mentioned in a previous post, you must be clear on who is the “decider” during your presentation. Your qualifying questions should be directed to that person, while also taking into account the input of others. Why? Because if the “decider’ did not want their opinion, they would likely not be included to see your presentation.Do you have other qualifying questions that have been valuable in closing the sale of an interior design job? If so, please feel free to share them with us in the Comments section.