Let's consider a few aspects of creating a close relationship with new clients. Suppose that the clients are a couple who have been recommended to you by a former client. They call up and say that they admire the job you did in Mrs. Bradford's house, and they would like to talk to you about some work they are considering for their home. Of course, you make an appointment. How should you handle this meeting?
Dress the Part
Look your best. Dress in fashionable, though business-like attire. Present your appearance as the image they can expect of you throughout the process of any work you might do for them. Never apologize for looking stylish, or call attention to it. You are a designer, and whether you are a man or a woman, your clients expect you to exhibit a certain flair. They want to believe that you practically invented chic, and that you thoroughly understand its meaning.
Clients know that they will be spending a considerable amount of money with their interior designer. In fact, statistics show that the amount of money a couple will spend on the interior design of their house or apartment is often the second largest expenditure they will make in their lifetime. The only bigger expenditure will be the purchase of their house. Knowing this, they want to deal with someone who appears - even on the surface - to be a success. The way you dress and groom yourself sets the stage for their confidence in you.
Demonstrate Your Expertise
Whether the clients expect to spend a few thousand dollars, or a few hundred thousand dollars, it's an important amount to them. They take it seriously, and they expect you to do the same. They will, therefore, expect you to demonstrate your expertise.
Of course, it's easy to establish your expertise after you've been in the business for years, have established a brilliant reputation, and have built a mile-long picture file of jobs you've done. If the clients are not already in love with your work, all you have to do is show them a few magazine articles of your best work and, perhaps, some photographs of rooms you've done that you think will be relevant to their job. As we said, it's easy once you reach the top.
The question is, how can you demonstrate expertise when you are starting out? The starting point is to be confident that you can do the job. If you want the job, and if you really think you can do it, tell them that it's a perfect job for your talents. Tell them you're ready to get started - and, tell them with confidence.
If you have any work experience in a related job, even if it was as an apprentice, tell them about it. Show them a picture of the room - especially if it has been published - and explain your role in the job. Don't exaggerate. But don't sell yourself short, either.
What if you've never done a professional job before - not even one? You can't talk about your professional career, nor can you show pictures of clients' rooms that you've decorated. But, you can surmount this by doing a little homework before meeting with your first potential clients.
Create a file of photographs of beautiful rooms by designers whose work you both admire and understand. Sheffield students can use the photographs in the Sheffield Room Reference File for this purpose, or you may cut out pictures from magazines, even books. You may, if you wish, create a portfolio type of presentation of such pictures. If you do this, make sure your portfolio is neat and professional looking. Select photographs of different rooms of the house and different styles and periods, and get to know these rooms as well as if you had, in fact, decorated them. Sheffield graduates will have an entire set of Presentation Boards for three different projects that can form the backbone of a portfolio.
Now, you're prepared to meet with your first potential clients. After discussing their needs with them, pull out relevant photographs and discuss these pictures with a detailed knowledge that demonstrates conclusively that you understand the design business. Explain that photographs of rooms designed by other people are examples of work done by top nationally known decorators and designers. Stress that these photographs include elements that you think may be relevant to the clients' job.
You should be able to discuss these pictures with a confidence that establishes your mastery and authority. To your clients, you should appear as a person who, by merely looking at a tiny square of wallpaper, can envision an entire room covered with it. A person who knows who to make a room look candlelit without a single candle. A person who can blend modern, Oriental, and French furniture to create a highly original look. In short, they should respect your knowledge, your experience and insights, and your aesthetic judgment.
Once your credibility is established, the clients will not question your every move. You may not be the boss, but in their eyes, you certainly know best. In the client-designer relationship, confidence is the key. Their confidence in you, and most importantly, your confidence in yourself!
. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our "