My 7 step workflow and interior design process with clients

When I was still working with design clients my projects typically moved through seven stages.

In this post I’m sharing what each of those stages involved and what my workflow looked like with clients.

 
My full workflow + process with interior design clients
 

1: INITIAL CONSULTATION

What:

All my projects, no matter how big or small, started with a PAID initial design consultation. I always charged for this initial meeting and I explain why in this blog post here if you’re interested.

I funnelled every client through an initial design consultation because:

  • having one way to start a project is the easiest way for clients to understand how to get started working with you (don’t make clients have to think too hard by offering lots of service options on your website)

  • this was a chance for me to see what the client was like and whether I was interested in taking on their project (a luxury that comes later on in business when you have a choice of work - when you’re first starting out you generally will take whatever work comes your way, which is completely fine)

  • this was a chance for my clients to interview me and see if I would be a good fit for them to work with

  • it was a simple way for clients to start working with me that didn’t feel like a huge leap on their part - which made the sales process of getting to the first step with a client really easy. Remember in sales that what you’re trying to do is always move a client to the next step of your sales funnel - not try and sell them the entire process in one hit.

How:

Here’s how I would book and run an initial design consultation

2: ONBOARDING

What:

For clients that moved forward with more work, which for me was probably around 90% of people I met at an initial consultation, the next step in my process was onboarding the client.

The aim during onboarding is to get your client set up in a way that makes them feel excited about what's to come!

A Client Welcome Pack is an amazing resource to have ready to send clients for onboarding. This will immediately upgrade the professionalism of what you’re doing with your clients and make a great first impression.

If you need help quickly and easily building your own client welcome pack then check out my template and get this implemented today.

How:

3: CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

What:

This phase of the project involved creating the initial design concept for the client.

My concept documentation was a mix of drawings created in SketchUp and Layout - which were then presented in a Design Concept (get my template here).

How:

  • Send kick off invoice/get paid - do not start any work until you have at least a partial up front payment!

  • Prepare initial concept documentation in SketchUp (see here for examples of what I would send)

  • Create your Design Concept (get my template here)

  • Proof read + edit your documentation for errors - this is really important as if you have errors in your documentation your clients will start to question what else might be going wrong with their project (even if nothing else is going wrong).

  • Send regular email updates to client as you go - get my email script templates here if you need them.

  • Send concept documentation and arrange to meet with the client once they are ready to discuss (or arrange a zoom meeting instead - whatever works best for your business model)

  • Get paid after completion of concept phase + sign off before moving to the next phase of work

4: DOCUMENTATION

What:

Develop detailed design documentation.

To see examples of what I created and included at this phase of a project check out this blog post.

This was by far the longest part of the design process as it involved a lot of detailed work and time spent documenting the finer details of joinery/cabinetry design, bathroom elevations, scaled plans, drawing packages etc. This was also the phase of a project that had the largest fee attached as well.

How:

  • Invoice client/get paid before starting any work!

  • Create design documentation + FF&E schedule (normally the longest part of the design process for me) - get my drag and drop FF&E template here

  • Send regular email updates to client as you go (email scripts here)

  • Check documentation for errors (as above)

  • Send documentation to client and/or meet with client

  • Invoice client/get paid after sign off

5: CONSTRUCTION

What:

Some projects halter at the documentation phase. Clients decide it’s too hard, too expensive or circumstances just change. But most projects will move on to the construction phase after a tendering process has been completed.

My involvement in the construction phase of a project varied from project to project.

Sometimes I was heavily involved and other times the clients were happy to go ahead without too much involvement from me. I was fine with either option really - although I did tend to find that design intent was much more closely adhered to when I was more heavily involved during construction so I would definitely try and be involved if the client was happy for this.

How:

  • Set regular site visit meetings with trades/clients (or as needed depending on your involvement at this phase)

  • Send regular email updates to client during this phase (get my email scripts here)

  • Invoice client weekly or monthly with hours worked. I would often work on a retainer model during this phase of a project as it gave me some certainty and also helped my clients budget for design fees.

  • Make sure you don’t overstep your role during construction - many designers take on a project management role when they aren’t qualified, licensed or insured to do so. So be careful!

6: INSTALL/STYLING

What:

This is the phase of the project that involves the install of furniture, styling, accessories. It’s also where you will hand the project back over to the client.

How:

7: PROJECT COMPLETION

What:

The final phase of my projects was the formal completion phase and an important step for getting reviews, case studies and images of your project to share as social proof in your marketing. Don’t skip this step!

How:

  • Send final invoice + get paid!

  • Professional photography of project - or sometimes I would just take my own photos, especially in the beginning when I didn’t have much budget for this. I share some tips for this in this blog post.

  • Send check in emails to clients for a few weeks post-project to check all is OK

  • Request a review/referral from clients - get my email scripts here

  • Add reminders to your diary for regular checkins/stay in touch with clients

And that’s my workflow!

Some projects would include all these steps. Some would only involve some. It really depended on the size of the project and what my clients needed help with. As my business grew and I got more work the size and quality of my projects improved and I was able to pick and choose the types of projects I wanted to work on so towards the end I was only really working on larger projects that involved all of these steps. In the early days I obviously took whatever types of projects came my way so that I could focus on generating revenue and getting my business off the ground.

If you’re just getting started then a focus on revenue is what you should be concentrating on as well.

Also, during that early period I had no idea what I was doing (from a business perspective) and had to learn so much about how to run a successful project by trial and error. So I hope by sharing some of what I’ve learned over the years helps you develop a process and workflow with clients that suits you and your style of working.

But remember - your business is YOUR business. Run it how you want.

The most important thing is to provide an exceptional and high quality client experience and project outcomes that your clients are thrilled about.

If you need more help with upgrading your client experience - take my short course on this

There are lots of different ways to get to that point and no right or wrong way to go about it.

So do what works for you and have fun with what you’re doing.

I hope this has been helpful! :)


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.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Clare x

Dr Clare Le Roy

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