Let’s stand up, join hands and recite, in unison, the following:

“May the People with Taste Find Money, and May the People with Money find Taste.”

 I don’t know who first uttered those words, but I do know this: he, or she, must have had design professionals in mind.

You know that hot shot, high end prospect you’re trying to impress?

The one with all that money, and the multiple homes and/or all that commercial office space?

Well, he — or she — is subjected to 1250 sales messages a day. And he — or she– ponders 60,000 thoughts a day.

So why should he — or she — think about, or buy from you?

You have 21 seconds to make a favorable first impression on that prospect, after which you’ve lost his/her attention forever.

So what are you going to do and say in that time to distinguish yourself? To differentiate yourself? To knock their socks off?

Here’s where you need that killer commercial.

My commercial: I’m the only coach, speaker and author who for nearly 20 years has helped design professionals worldwide double their income.

That works for me.

What works for you? What do you say when others ask what you do? What’s your “elevator speech?”

If you don’t have one, create one. Make it brief, make it punchy, make it powerful.

Sharing an effective commercial  isn’t just a good way for design professionals to promote themselves in these challenging times. It’s among the best ways.

 ”If the thought of hiring a pricey interior designer gives you the hives, consider an online design service.”

That’s the suggestion included in a recent Denver Post article headlined: “Online Design a Push in the Right Direction.”

The article, by a nationally-syndicated columnist, extolls the price, pace and budget benefits of a service called designerathome.com.

“You pick a room you want to decorate, answer a short online questionnaire…, and send in room measurements, photos and $250,” columnist Marni Jameson writes. “Two weeks later, you get a design scheme like paint-by-numbers for your room. You take it from there.”

The article describes online design as an affordable alternative to hiring designers.

“Interior designers are bad for my marriage,” Jameson notes. “Mention interior designer, and my husband turns into Steve Martin in ‘Father of the Bride.’ He hyperventilates, then freezes the bank accounts.”

Jameson applauds the “exceptional credentials” of the designerathome.com team, and salutes the service for letting users go at their own pace, for using furniture the users already have, and for saving users money because of its relationship with a leading designer fabric house.

But designerathome.com does have its downside,  she points out. Like the fact that details, headaches and risks are up to the user. Then, too, she adds, the service “doesn’t provide the custom touches that designers…can.”

Is your website working?

Is it getting traffic?

Is it generating sales?

Is it making you — rather than just costing you — money?

If you’re having website problems, you’ll find remedies in the Oct. 9 tele-seminar entitled 21 Keys to a Killer Website.

The tele-seminar is scheduled for 11 a.m. - noon Eastern time (10 a.m. Central, 9 a.m. Mountain, 8 a.m. Pacific) on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007. The investment is $30.

You don’t have to spend big money or time to produce big profits from your website. Nor do you have to be a techie.

All you have to do is master the simple yet vital ideas in this program.

Give me one hour of your time on Oct. 9, and I’ll give you what you need to get your site right.

You’ll walk away with insights on how to wow ‘em with your website and build your business in the process.

You won’t have to leave your home, office or showroom to find out how to create a super site.

All you’ll need to do is dial in and enter your pin number.  For more information and registration details, click here: http://fredberns.com/TeleseminarWebSite.html

Don’t just raise your fee. Double it.

That was a key theme of my “Dare to Be Different!” keynote presentation at the recent Business of Design conference in Las Vegas.

Fees are the great “differentiator,”  I told the audience of more than 200 design professionals. And, few things would set you apart more than charging twice your current price.

Only one person is holding you back from earning the kind of income you want and deserve. It’s not some skilled competitor. It’s not some client from Hell.

It’s you. That’s because you haven’t given yourself permission to charge what you’re worth.

Please don’t tell me your clients would balk at the idea of paying twice as much.

I don’t care.

And don’t tell me homeowners and companies  in your area aren’t used to paying that kind of money to design professionals.

I don’t care.

And don’t tell me that you might get nervous quoting the higher fee.

I don’t care.

No, I don’t care about any of that…and neither should you.  Don’t focus on all the reasons you can’t double your fee. Focus, instead, on the reasons you can.

Share your “only’s,” and cite all the ways you differ from lower priced competitors. Discuss how your clients benefit from your expertise, and your years of experience.

And explain how you save people headaches. And heartaches. And time. And money.

Doubling  your fees may well be the daring step you’ve ever taken with your business.

It also may be the most sensible.

How can you turn current clients into long term ones?

Or, put another way, how can you turn one night stands into lasting relationships?

Important questions, considering that increasing your repeat business by 40 per cent can help you double your income in a year.

Developing long term relationships means adopting an “in it for the long run” attitude. 

That means providing a client with ideas, suggestions and recommendations on future directions the initial project might take.

It means sharing expertise about design trends, what’s hot and what’s not, and what’s in and what’s out. And it means citing design challenges and problems confronting the client that go beyond that initial project.

If you’re not getting enough repeat business and building enough long term relationships, it’s not your clients’ fault.

It’s your fault.

Maybe you’re not fulfilling their needs, and providing adequate customer service.

Maybe you’re not educating them about all of your design services and capabilities.

Maybe you’re not sharing enough of your expertise and insights on how they can make better use of their space.

Maybe you’re not asking enough upselling questions.

As you ponder those issues, ponder this: many clients are as interested in forging lasting partnerships as you are. Perhaps more so.

They’re looking for a design professional they know and trust to handle their future design challenges.  They know it’s less time consuming and expensive to develop a lasting relationship with a single firm.

It’s in their best interest, as well as yours, to develop long term relationships.

Put down those binoculars you use to search for new prospects, and reach for the microscope. Focus on your current clients, and determine ways you can serve them better, and longer.