Betcha I tasted more varieties of peanut butter in 20 minutes last week than you have in a month.

I was one of 100 participants in a peanut butter taste test sponsored by a Boulder, CO.-based organic food company.

But munching on creamy and crunchy samples was the easy part. I had to rate each on its appearance, texture, taste, aroma, and overall appeal.

Why go to the trouble and expense of promoting and staging an event like this?

“It takes the guesswork out of selling new products,” a company representative explained.

Have you “tested” your customers recently?

Have you sought their opinions about your design services and products?

Have you invited them into your showroom to give their input on your newest product lines?

If you haven’t, you should.

Your best clients are your best allies. They have the answers to some of your most important questions.

They can give you feedback, and referrals and insights about your competitors. They can, and they will, because  they know you, they like you, they respect you, and they want you to succeed.

Whether you meet with your customers collectively, or individually, it’s a great way to take the “guesswork” out of your business.

Call it a “focus group session,” a “client advisory board meeting” or even a “taste test.”

Call it whatever you want.

I call it smart.

“Interior designers have a way of screwing things up.”

It was a local builder talking, at a party I attended recently.

For 25 minutes I listened to him bellyache about how designers foil his efforts, spoil his work and “ruin the integrity” of the new homes he builds here in Colorado.

He added that he’s “never met and probably never will”  a designer with any kind of integrity, professionalism or expertise.

Should designers care about brutal words from one bitter builder?

Of course not.

But what concerns me is how many times I’ve heard other builders express similiar sentiments, in more diplomatic terms.

As “The Boss” remarked in the movie Cool Hand Luke:  “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

If builders don’t “get it, ” if they don’t understand the value that designers bring to the table, that’s not their fault. It’s the fault of designers for not educating them about that value.

If you’re an interior designer, it’s not your mission in life to keep builders happy. But it doesn’t hurt to be on good terms with at least the better ones in your area.

I know a number of designers whose success resulted from their decision to align themselves with high end builders.

Do the right kind of local builders say the right kinds of things about you? What, if anything, do they think about when they think about you?

Perhaps it’s time to look beyond residential and commercial clients in your marketing. Perhaps it’s time to promote yourself and your services to allied professionals.

Perhaps it’s time to do breakfast with a builder.

I gotta problem with the photos on your website. A serious problem.

Assuming you post the kinds of photos that other design firms, manufacturers or showrooms do, we gotta talk.

The photos may be pretty, but they aren’t meaningful. They’re a waste of my time and your money.

That’s because you don’t explain what you’re showing me — and why.

 Let’s go site surfing.

First stop:  the interior designer’s website.

Look, here’s a photo of a Marina del Rey Peninsula condominum. There’s one of a Coral Gables residence. And, another of a Vail vacation home.

Now I see a picture of a fireplace. And there’s a living room. And a law office waiting room.

Any idea why she’s showing us these photos? I don’t have a clue. Maybe she doesn’t either.

Let’s check out the website of the decorative hardware manufacturer. What’s with the photos?

15 shots of doorknobs, 14 drapery finials, 12 drawer pulls.

I don’t get it. What’s the message here?  Yeah, it’s nice stuff, but everyone’s got nice stuff.

Finally, the multiline showroom website.

Lots of words here about all the nice furniture, textile, lighting and accessories.

But, why are the photos so small? And, why should I care about these images of Chapman lighting and Jim Thompson Thai Silk?

My first question about  your website photos is: Why? 

Why show me these? What’s your point? What do these pictures prove?
Remember, the average visit to a website is four seconds and two clicks. Given that time restraint, do those who see the photos on  your site really “get” what makes you special?

Or, do your photos disqualify, rather than qualify you for the kinds of clients you want?

Don’t just give me images. Give me help.

Your website photos will have greater impact if you give me:

Your Greatest. Quality matters. Quantity doesn’t.

Your Latest.  Show me new, show me now. Update often.

Guidance. A little caption can say a lot.

Perspective. Small photos of big rooms don’t work. Large photos of small details do.

Size. Let me click onto larger versions.

Variety. Show me all that you can do.

Direction.  An index or category list, please.

Links.  I like what I see. Where can I learn more?

A Way Out. Get me back to your home page easily.

A Taste.  Whet my appetite, but don’t overdo it.

“Do you want cheese with that?”

“Do you want fries with that?”

“Do you want to biggysize your order?”

McDonalds and Wendy’s and Burger King make millions of extra dollars each year by asking those questions after their customers place their orders.

There’s a lot design professionals can learn from the add-on selling techniques they hear at the drive-though windows. 

Too bad so many of those design pros forget or simply choose not to ask upselling questions. By doing so, they leave thousands of dollars on the table.

One group that has mastered the art of the upsell is the nation’s leading window fashion professionals. By asking customers about everything from lift controls to finer
fabrics to decorative hardware, they generate outstanding additional revenue.

As Bruce Knott sees it, the key to add-on sales is selling “convenience, ease of operation, style and fashion.”

“It’s easy to sell the bells and whistles if you talk solutions and benefits, rather than price,” says Knott, the former sales training manager for Springs Window Fashions. “Clients will upgrade to cordless shades, for example, if you mention the child safety issue.”

LaVelle Pinder, one of America’s leading window fashion specialists, uses  the “touch and sell” approach to maximize her sales.

“Once I put expensive fabrics and trims in customers’ hands, they buy them,” she points out.

Pinder, like other top pros, focuses on “the look” rather than individual products in her discussions with clients. She regularly includes bedding, lamps and other items in
that look.

“If I add fancy pillows to the sketch of a client’s bed, I know she won’t take them out,” she says.

Deb Barrett, an award winning designer and a Window Fashions Magazine columnist, also believes in selling her expertise rather than itemizing her products.

“I automatically quote higher priced drapes and other items, rather than give options,” she notes.

Can clients afford more expensive window treatments?

Jamie Gibbs, a designer whose work has been featured in books, magazines and newspapers worldwide, looks at it this way: “If someone can spend $800,000 on a piece of junk house, they can afford us.”
 

I just returned from speaking in Las Vegas at Surfaces, the world’s largest conference of floor covering professionals.

There I was, one of 40,000 attendees walking through 500,000 square feet worth of flooring exhibits.

And there they were, 1,000 exhibitors showing off the latest in carpet, hardwood, tile, marble,  laminate, rugs, accessories and a whole lot more.

I could only wonder how many of those exhibitors would follow up on the contacts they made.

More than half of the companies that exhibit at other design trade shows — High Point, Neocon, the International Window Covering Expo and the others — fail to adequately follow up when the shows are over.

Crazy, don’t you think? Millions  of dollars and thousands of hours go into preparation for these events.

Hundreds of business cards are collected on the show floor. Yet, most company reps drop the ball when it comes to recontacting prospects in a timely fashion.

Exhibitors should recontact each top trade show prospect within two days after meeting them. Often it pays to send a followup package, with a cover letter, additional marketing materials and product samples.

Trade show exhibitors can make mega deals with and sales to key prospects after the show.  But they leave big money on the table when they fail to follow up when and how they should.

How you present your fees can be as important to clients as what you charge.

Stumble and bumble when you present those fees, and you may well run into price resistance. Communicate with confidence, and you probably won’t.

Present your prices with polish is by sharing reasons why you’re worth your design or consultation fee, margin, mark up, etc.

Fee “justifiers” can include things like your…

+ Experience
+ Design specialties and expertise
+ Awards and other recognition
+ Clients: who you serve, and how
+ Educational background

You can also justify your fee by explaining how you save your clients time, money and headaches, how you manage the entire project, etc.

Another way to avoid price hassles: present your prospects with personal marketing materials that educate them as to your value. Examples: bio sheets, testimonial letters and lists of your products and services.