Michelle Lynne 0:02
Welcome to design for the creative mind, a podcast for interior designers and creative entrepreneurs to run their business with purpose, efficiency and passion. Because, well, every design is different, the process should remain the same. Prepare yourself for some good conversations with amazing guests, a dash of Jesus and a touch of the woowoo. And probably a swear word or two. If you're ready to stop trading your time for money, and enjoy your interior design business. You are in the right place. I'm your host, Michelle Lynn.
Hey, y'all, it's Michelle Lynn, back here at the design for the creative mind podcast, a business podcast specifically created for interior designers, and creative business owners like you. So I appreciate you being here. This is going to be an episode that wasn't really pre planned, but is real life training, something my husband and I just experienced, and I wanted to pass it on to you. So I'm going to tell you the story. And then I'm going to tell you how it applies to our businesses and what we do and what can be done differently. So with that little bit of a caveat in mind. Here's the story. Snowmageddon recently happened here in Texas. We had for those of you who are not aware we had multiple days when we were in negative numbers, y'all I'm in Dallas, we are not born and bred for this. Well, technically, I wasn't born in Dallas, but I'm still not bred for weather below zero for multiple days. And then it snowed again. So we had like seven days of extremely cold weather. And then all of a sudden it warmed up, and everything melted. Well as everything melted and everything warmed up, one of our windows cracked. So thankfully, we have some tint on it. And I think that's what's held it together. Once we determined, or once we noticed that we had this busted window. It was our first, obviously it was our first priority to get it fixed. So with the new house that we have, and if you're not familiar with it, which you're probably not because I've never mentioned it here on the podcast, but if you follow me on Instagram, you can do hashtag the clubhouse on the creek. That's a house that we bought last year, we weren't even looking to move. But we walked in just to get out of the house one day for a an open house, fell in love with it decided we had to have it. And that's a whole other story. But it's a very special very unique house. So I figured we'd have to call a higher end luxury service window company. So I called one nationwide, you would probably recognize the name if you're in the industry. And thought, Okay, I know the quality of this. They've been in multimillion dollar homes that my builders have worked with my clients have had them. They're just they're good windows. So we called scheduled an appointment with the local rep. And I think she came over one day during the week, because my daughter Genevieve wasn't around Gigi. So we had a couple of hours together. So free visit. She's the designer. Okay, so she's the designer who works on the styles, the colors, the details of the aesthetics for the window, just just remember that she's the designer. Okay, so the way this meeting starts, she introduces herself, she tells us she's the designer. And then she proceeds to tell us that she's also the top, top and sales in the region, that she's really good at our job that she's won all sorts of accolades that she just sold a big old number of a big ol number of windows in this house. And just, she went on for five to seven minutes about how good she was. And I thought, Okay, that's great. So that's her sales pitch. Wonderful. Just move on. I just care about the windows. I'm glad. I'm glad you're proud of yourself. And some to some people, that's a sales tactic. I've definitely described the benefits of working with us through ml interiors group, but we go about it in a way of how it benefits the client, not why we're badass is. So the next step was she showed us a video, like okay, this will be cool. I'd like to see a video of some of the windows some of the different options. Well, this video that she showed us was actually of a client of hers standing in front of a small window in the backyard and maybe a sliding door and just giving a thumbs up. Speaking of thumbs up the salesperson or whoever took the video. Their finger was halfway over the camera, so it wasn't even a quality video. There wasn't any q&a there. is no similarities to our house to our style to the color. There was no relevancy. So my husband and I were just like, okay, that's fine. Show us what you got for us. So she went into the process. And we said, our first priorities is broken window. So she's like, okay, and then what else is there? So we said, we have a couple of other ideas that we want to look at. So of course, she went to those because they were bigger projects. Now I'm in business, I get it, too, you want this one window replaced, or you want to replace this like 1-234-567-8910 10 with like giant pane windows, and three doors, and up in the studio, and then in our, in our master. So she was looking at this as a giant project, I get it. That's what we do. So we get through the whole process, she explained some different options. She tries to upsell and some other rooms. And we're like, we're not even interested in that. She gets to the point of leaving. And we're like, Excuse me, don't forget about the broken window. That's what you're here for. And she's like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So she goes in, she takes the measurements. And then she says, Oh, you know what I forgot to call. And we're like, Who do you need to call? So she calls an installer? And it seems like it's like she's she already knows she can do it. We're already interested, we need to set up a time to have it specifically measured. But she calls and gets this, this, the expert, the installer, whatever, on the phone, and tells us what she's already told us. So there's another 10 minutes out of the visit poor guy, it was no, it was a Saturday, because he was out with his family. So no need for this. This is just a waste of everybody's time. She leaves. She texts us back and later and says, Hey, I'd like to bring my installer out on Monday. I'm like, okay, Monday is not going to work. And so she said, How about Thursday, I said, I can do Thursday at two, or anytime thereafter. So then on Tuesday, she's text back and she says, hey, great. We'll see you guys Wednesday at 12 o'clock. And I'm like, Okay, well hold on just a second. Thursday was the day we decided, oh, sorry. I'm driving. Yes, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Or I'll see you Thursday at eight o'clock. And I'm like, if you guys could see me right now I know that you're listening to me, but I'm really rolling my eyes and putting my hand in my or my head in my hand and just shaking it. So I'm like, Okay, fine. Let me see if my husband is available to meet you at eight o'clock. Because I'm not available until the afternoon. My husband pipes in, he's available, she shows up, they go through they measure the professional installer was not the one that she talked to on the phone, but was another guy. She said, What was this about her best guy, but the one she called was also the best guy. So this whole thing, you're just kind of going okay, I don't care about the salesperson, I don't have to like this person or the designer, whoever she is, I don't have to like her to want the windows, I just want this problem solved. Let me interrupt myself to take a quick moment to thank satin off Insurance Agency for sponsoring this episode of The designed for the creative mind podcast. Their support and understanding of the interior design, decorating and home staging industries is unrivaled. Satin off understands what our businesses do. And they provide insurance that lets me sleep at night. Yep, this is the firm that I use. And they will do the same for your sleep habits. And your business too. They're more than an insurance agency. They're an extension of my business. They take care of the worry, because they are the experts, which allows me and my team breathing room to do what we do best design beautiful spaces. You can find their contact information below in the shownotes. Give them a call today. So we're moving forward, we're moving forward, we're moving forward, we get the measurements, hey, don't forget the broken window. Is there any way we can get that expedited? Because it's in a precarious location. And I don't want this glass falling on anybody's head. So she says yes. He says maybe we're not given an answer. She puts together a very detailed scope of work, which is fantastic. We get pictures, we get images, we get details and so forth. I look at it as the wrong color, like the interior color is the wrong color. So I reached out to her and I'm like, Hey, I know we might have discussed this, but this is what we decided on. And she's like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so she goes through and she, I guess, feeling the angst that I'm feeling in my heart right now. Yeah, sorry, sidenote, so she corrects everything she gets, I want to charcoal on the inside. She had some sort of mahogany on the inside. And then we were going to do like an iron ore on the exterior which matches what we currently have. So it would be a nice seamless transition for the most part because the iron ore is not available on handside long story long, everything's fine. She sends us the contract. She sends us the contract electronically, we're
ready to go through it. She texts us, okay, this is like the 99th text, we've had all of the transactions were done via text. I think she emailed us the scope of work. She says, Oh, she goes to Texas, this before you sign the contract, I just found out that charcoal is not available for the doors that you want to put in. It's available for the windows. So what color do you want to do the doors? So my first thought is, I want them all the same. Like, think about it, designers, you've got windows, and then on either side of a sliding door that are going to be charcoal, what color do you want the sliding door, you want a charcoal at this point, I was like, bring over the black sample. And let's just see if we want to put black all the way inside the house, doors, windows, whatever she gets here she brings it she goes, Oh, I don't think this is the exact same black. At this point. We're like fine, whatever, we can do black. She said, let me go make some changes on the contract. I'll get back to you. End of story. My husband and I agreed that night that this was the worst customer service for a luxury brand that we had ever imagined. So I'm going to tell you that the original quote on everything was almost $200,000 worth of windows and doors and all of this stuff that needs to be done. Most of it is handled via text. The designer doesn't know her product. Like the doors don't come in charcoal. How do you how do you not know that there's like, I know there's a lot of products. But if you've been with a company for five years, and you're one of the supposedly top salespeople or whatever, you know your product, like you know your product, or you double check it before you agree to putting it on a scope of work. Sorry, I needed to take a drink. It's only water, um, all worked up. Oh, so that was our experience. I sent her a text on Saturday saying, Hey, we're going to just put this project on pause for just for just a bit. Thanks. Thanks so much for your time. And I didn't tell her that we were saying no, because I kind of wanted to see if she was going to be smart enough to figure out that she was getting fired or not. My husband and I had a wager on when she was going to respond. We thought she'd be responding Tuesday. I'm recording this on a Monday, she's already responded, Hey, are you guys ready to sign the contract? So I had to tell her Nope, we're going in a different direction. Thanks for your time. This is just not going to be for us. So that's where we stand. What is the lesson to this? Well, the lesson is, I reached out to some of my contractors to say hey, who would you use for my house? Some of them but over here. That's one is go to your trusted trusted resources. So as soon as I'm done recording this, I'm going to make that phone call. Secondly, is y'all we are in a luxury service. Not everybody can afford us not everybody can afford brand new windows from a luxury provider. Okay. But if you're in interior design, it is a luxury service. I don't care how long you've been in business, I don't care what size houses you are providing your services to. Not everybody can afford you. That's okay. But if they can't afford you, and you're giving them a luxury service, you need to treat them with the luxury hand holding that will set you aside. What do I mean by this? I mean by simply Professional Communication, let's do emails or phone calls at a scheduled time if it's a phone call, and not just texting back and forth, like I understand service for business, I really do. And right now, because we're busy, she's probably really hungry to get as much business as she possibly can make a small bucket of money before the market dries up, which here in Dallas, it doesn't look like it's going to be drying up anytime soon. But I can't fault her for that from a business standpoint, go ahead and text me at nine o'clock at night. Those are your boundaries, not mine. I choose not to do that in business by the way, but that's fine. But everything's done via text. Nothing is well presented. As a designer. It's imperative that you have your presentations. They don't have to be professionally branded like if you're not at a point in your business where you can brand your you can give your brand and identity and you can have a set color pattern set this that in the other like I have an episode coming up soon with Nicolette who talks about branding or maybe it was just the last one. I need to take a look at that. But anyway, watch out for Nicolette and how How to elevate your brand how to elevate through branding. My point is, and I'm so worked up about this, I'm going around in circles. My point is, is that professionals buy from professionals, you need to ensure that when you show up that you hand a business card, that you shake their hand, that you pay attention to what their priorities are, don't forget about the broken window that got you out there to begin with, in this particular instance, you need to make sure that you are listening to them and not telling them what they need to do. She kept telling us what we needed to do and why we needed to do it when we weren't ready to replace some of the windows that she wanted the business for it. It started to feel like we were simply just a number. And what I have told hundreds, if not 1000s of people. And this goes all the way back from when I first got out of college and I was immediately a restaurant manager I looked I was as young as the hostess, but I was the restaurant manager, what I would teach the server's what I would teach my sales staff in another industry. And what I teach interior designers now is don't look at the checkbook. Look at the person. Don't look at the tip, don't look at the commission, don't look at the revenue, look at the person do the right thing. And the money will come. So now I know what it felt like to be on the opposite end of that she was just wanting a good sale. But it's also up to us to create an experience that is in line with the money they're paying. And I'm saying that $20,000 is a lot of money. I'm saying that close to $200,000 for freaking Windows is a hell of a lot of money. I expect to be treated with a luxury brand luxury service. When I had my Mercedes, I would go into the Mercedes dealership while I was just getting my oil change. And I would wait. And there would be like designer coffee there would be gourmet snacks there would be some calming music piped in there would be placed for me to put my laptop that was private. There'd be a place where I could get my shoes polished if I wanted to. You know you go into a luxury brand you expect to have the luxury surroundings? Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. I don't need to be treated like I'm a princess. But if I'm paying something, I want something, if I'm paying for something, I want something, I wouldn't expect that level of service. If I was going in for a a non luxury brand car. Okay, if you're going in to get serviced, and you're just going to, you know, speedy jet lube or whatever, you're not getting that type of service. You're getting it, you're getting it fast, you're getting it cheap, but you're not getting the best. We were waiting and getting the best. But we weren't being treated like it. So always focus on the person and what they need and do the right thing. She just lost. I'm not saying that we're her biggest clients. I mean, for sure. We're not the y'all. We like to spend money, but we're very practical with it. Which is why we said Nope, this just doesn't feel right. I'm sure there's something else out there, we're gonna keep looking. Don't be that person to your client. Y'all, this podcast episode was made possible in part by foyer, a lightning fast interior design software that creates photorealistic renderings. I'm not kidding, you can barely tell that it's not a real room. So why leave your beautiful designs up to the imagination of your client, when you can show them what their space is going to look like. You will sign more clients and get more approvals with the software. It's powered by artificial intelligence. And oh vouch for its ease, because if I can do it, anybody can. Because y'all know that my design team are the ones who do all the work, find [email protected] as well as in the show notes.
Here's some ideas that you can do in your interior design business to make them feel special. The first time you meet them, bring them something whether it is ask them if they want a cup of coffee on your way in and by then you might already know what their favorite cup of coffee is because you've already got their initial visit questionnaire and you put it on there, show up with a snack for their dogs. Show up with a branded candle or something show up with just a house plant something small. If you don't get the business you don't want to spend a bucket of money on your first visit. So there's that. Then along the process when they sign the contract. Maybe you give them a bottle of champagne. If you can have it private labeled, okay. And then as you go forward, when you go to their house, it's the same thing. Bring them bring their dogs, some treats, stop buying, get some coffee, bring them some fresh flowers, little things like that, that makes them feel special, does not eat into your profits so much that you won't be remembered as providing an experience. When they sign the contract, if you don't want to do a bottle of champagne, order a welcome mat. These are all things that we do for our clients. If they're doing a kitchen renovation, maybe when they're finished, you leave them a casserole using their new oven. I'll be honest, I usually get mine from a local market. I don't make it anymore. I used it, but it was the time for that. But these are the types of things that you lead them up, you're courting them, it's like you're dating, you always put your best foot forward when you're dating. But then you don't just let it go loose. As soon as somebody signs the contract, you still need to keep that experience. So I overall point you provide a luxury service, treat your clients as if they are luxury. It didn't sound quite as eloquent as I'd hoped to close this podcast, but I think you get the point. So again, if you haven't heard, I do have a free Facebook group where I hop in once a week with some free training. But I'll go on a rant quite like I did today, it's 15 to 20 minutes worth of content, sometimes it's a little bit less just depends on how many people are interacting and how many questions we have. But I happen there at noon central standard time. Every Wednesday, it's called the interior designers business Launchpad. It's free. It's an amazing community, I'm so proud of some of the people that are in there and how they're just kicking ass and taking names. And the trainings are recorded. So if you can't make it at that time, because you're so busy, then it's worth it to go back and listen. So if you get the chance head on over there. And oh, don't forget, wherever you're listening to this podcast, if you get the chance to leave a review, share it with a friend, anything, it's very much appreciated. We're still a small business. So word of mouth is definitely the way we get most of our clients, listeners, students, etc, etc. So anyway, thank you for listening to that rant. That was just such a learning experience I had my expectations were a lot higher. So exceed your clients expectations. exceed them. I will leave you with that. That is somewhat eloquent. So until next time. Hey, y'all. If you love the show and find it useful, I would really appreciate it if you would share with your friends and followers. And if you like what you're hearing, want to put a face with a name and get even more business advice. Then join me in my Facebook group, the interior designers business launch pad. Yeah, I know it's Facebook, but just come on in for the training and then leave without scrolling your feet. It's fine. I promise you'll enjoy it. And finally, I hear it's good for business to get ratings on your podcast. So please drop yours on whatever platform you use to listen to this. We're all about community over competition. So let's work on elevating our industry, one designer at a time. See you next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
