How to get more interior design clients (it’s not what you think!)
In this post I share some insights on how you can attract more clients in your design or creative business.
The secret isn’t about selling services or products, it’s about selling a transformation and understanding your client's needs better than they do.
Understanding your clients
The first step to creating a successful design business is understanding your clients' wants, needs and desired outcomes better than they understand them. This means you need to be able to understand and articulate their inner concerns, challenges and worries - the things that keep them up at night (in relation to what you’re able to help them with).
In most cases when you meet a client they will give you a list of wants or needs that they think they need help with.
These might include sourcing new furniture, renovating a bathroom or help with soft furnishings. But your job is to go deeper than that and really understand what their inner needs and wants are.
Let’s break it down with an example…
A client might approach you saying they need help designing their new kitchen, choosing paint colours, sourcing new furniture or designing joinery/millwork.
But what are their real needs? what do they really want? what aren’t they saying out loud?
Maybe it’s….
A functional space for their family to cook in and be together
Support and validation in selecting new colours because they lack confidence to do it themselves
A home they can be proud of and show off when friends come over
A more functional, organised home free from clutter
An experienced professional who will guide them through the stress of renovating
To understand these underlying needs you need to ask yourself questions like:
Are they embarrassed by how messy and disorganised their home is at the moment?
What lifestyle improvements are they after?
Do they lack confidence to do this themselves?
Are they looking for validation that they are on the right track with their ideas?
Are they stressed, anxious, or nervous about the process and want someone experienced to help them?
The answers to these questions will help you get to the heart of what the inner problem is for the client.
[Note: these are questions to ask yourself as you meet with a client - not to ask the clients outright!!]
Offer the right solutions…
When you shift from thinking about the 'services' you are selling to the 'outcomes' you will be providing to your clients, you will surprise your clients at how well you understand them.
This is where you will create a connection that in turn will result in winning more work.
This isn't about trickery. It's about deeply understanding and connecting with your clients so they come away wondering how you could possibly understand all those things about them.
Give this way of thinking and speaking with your clients a try and see how it works for your business.
Remember, stop selling features and start selling a transformation!
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
