Now that the first three months are behind us, consider this: What’s it going to take to make the next quarter better?

Good answers to some basic questions.

You don’t need super social media skills or slick advertising or a glitzy new web site or trendy new product lines to make this your “career year.”

You need answers. Answers to questions about goals, what’s working, and what needs to work better with your design business.

Many interior design professionals never consider the kinds of issues raised below. That’s why they’re so unfocused and unprofitable.

What Do You Want to Be when you Grow up?

No-Service-Just-Online-Design.com? Home Depot? Under A Buck Blinds? If not, stop trying to act like or compete with them.   Create your own unique message. Target your own market. You make a great you, but a lousy somebody else.

Why you?

Competition has never been tougher. It’s never been easier to buy elsewhere the design services and products that you sell.   What do you offer that your competitors — especially the lower priced ones — don’t?  Don’t say “good customer service.” Every other design professional in your area talks about the same thing.

Who’s Lovin’ Ya, Baby?

Kojak, the TV cop, raised a key question there. Who are your blue chip clients? How have you built rapport with them? How do you stay in touch with and generate additional business from them?

How Do You Find the Fatcats?

Where and when do you get your best clients? What marketing strategies work best for you? What are you MVP (Most Valuable and Productive)promotational activities?

What’s Makin’ Ya Money?

What are they buying? What’s your most lucrative product or service? How much of your income comes from your design consultations? From product sales? What percentage of your sales comes from residential clients? From commercial clients?

Who’s on Your Team?

Who do you turn to for help when the going gets tough, as it did last year?   Do you have–or can you create–an advisory board with a financial advisor, a lawyer, a business coach? Who are your mentors? Are you aligning yourself with top clients and/or allied professionals?

Fred Berns is a trainer and coach for interior design professionals around the world.

That’s a question I ask interior design professionals, and all too often the answer is “No.”

Too often the sites don’t generate the “buzz” and the business that they could. And should.

I’ve reviewed hundreds of industry websites, and have provided Website reviews and rewrites for dozens of interior design professionals worldwide.

My conclusion: the value of a site can be determined by answering 12 questions.

I/ Does it Speak to your Specialness?

What makes you different?

2/ Does Your Home Page “Rock?”

It needs to, considering that 50% of the visitors to your site never go beyond this page.

3/ Do Your Bios Sell You?

First and foremost you’re not selling furniture and fabrics. You’re selling yourselves.

4/ Does Your Services Page Tell All?

Brevity is normally best, but here’s one section that should be all-inclusive.

5/ Does It Boost Your Benefits?

How, exactly, do you enhance the value of my space, and save me time, money and stress?

6/ Does It Create Credibility?

Does it include a blog, article, etc. that establishes your industry expertise?

7/ Does it Include a Call to Action?

What next step should I take?

8/ Does it Explain What’s New About You?

What’s new, now and newsworthy about your design firm?

9/ Is it Easy to Navigate?

Is it simple to surf from one section to another?

10/ Are the Photos Ph-antastic?

And do you explain what your showing – and why?

11/ Does it Build a Buzz?

Will Jack say to Jill: “Ya gotta check this site out!”

12/ Does it Pass the 4/2 Test?

The average visit to a website is 4 seconds and 2 clicks. Will I get it – and you – in that time frame?

Fred Berns provides website copywriting and coaching for interior design professionals worldwide.

Teach designers how to sell your stuff.

Been there, done that, you say.

After all, your sales reps talk and text and tweet with designers all the time. And you put on those training events. And you show up at the right social events.

That’s not good enough

If you’re serious – really serious—about sales, you have to survey your stars.

Your stars are those design professionals who sell more of your furnishings and fabrics and  formica than anyone else.

They have the answers.

That’s what Hunter Douglas discovered a while back when they hired me to survey the top 100 North American dealers of Luminette Privacy Sheers. I then shared their strategies in a series of best practices webinars.

Those dealers, we found, simply did the little things better. Like displaying Luminettes  prominently in their showrooms, and presenting them with enthusiasm and confidence. And cross-selling them with furniture and carpeting.

And offering 24/7 customer service and extended showroom hours. And following up quickly and regularly with customers. And asking for referrals. And promoting Luminettes in brochures and home shows.

And why was it that one dealer sold so many more motorized luminettes than anyone else? That’s all he discussed and presented, that’s why.

Little things. Big sales.

Surveying your stars is one of  the strategies  I cover in my new training program for design industry partners. That program is called: “9 Steps to Closing the Deal with Designers.”

Fred Berns is a sales trainer and coach for interior design professionals and design industry partners.

You’re face to face with a Powerful Prospect.

“So, how big’s your firm?” he asks.

“Four other designers and myself,” you say.

Wrong answer.

It makes your design firm sound small. And small firms don’t usually land large projects. Or get large fees.

Why not talk about your team?   Prospects need to know there’s more to your team than just designers.

Your team includes flooring specialists. And kitchen and bath professionals. And window fashion experts. And painters, faux finishers, artisans, electricians, heating and cooling pros, installers, landscape architects, and all sorts of other contractors and craftsmen.

Then, too, the team includes your vendors and suppliers. Like furniture companies, fabric manufacturers, wall covering firms, drapery workrooms, appliance retailers and other providers of everything from cabinetry to carpeting.

No, don’t say “small” to the Powerful Prospect.   Say “big enough to provide a full range of services.”

Your marketing materials don’t say it all if they make you look small.

Take your website, for example.

Is the section called “About Us” about … all … of us?   Does it merely promote the principals, or does it also feature the allied professionals with whom you align?

Does it speak to the collective excellence and expertise of the whole team?   Promote your team by touting your teammates.

Include their bios and info about their:

+ experience

+ awards

+ affiliations

+ clients

+ products

Have them post your information in their materials, and link to your website.

Fred Berns is a marketing coach and copywriter for interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

“Got a Life?”

That’s the question I pose to interior design professionals around the country who tell me about their “around the clock” working schedule.

They’re the one’s whose “workday” never ends. They’re still going at it late into the night — and into the weekend.

How can you find time for family, friends and fun when you spend all your time working?

There’s no reason why design professionals should have to put in those kind of hours. I know lots of designers, decorators, window fashion pros, kitchen and bath specialists, retailers and others who earn big, big money working normal hours.

Or less.

You can, too, if you manage your time more effectively.

That means focusing on the 3-5 tasks each day that are most likely to increase your profits. It means determining which of your design services will generate the most income in the least amount of time.

And it means reaching out to those clients who can most easily afford those services.

Big Effort, Small Results
Working too hard for too little?

According to the Work Less, Earn More audio program, that  could mean you…

Waste your time. You’re “busy,” but you’re not profitable.

Give away your time. You don’t bill for all of your time, all of the time.

Charge too little. You don’t attach enough value to what you do.

Look for love in all the wrong places. You work with clients who can’t afford to pay what you need to earn.

Don’t know your business. You’re unaware of what brings in the most money.

Don’t control your business. You’re more apt to play “Let’s Make a Deal” than say: “This is how I charge.”

Don’t delegate. You don’t call on others to do what’s too menial — or too difficult — for you.

Don’t “maximize” appointments. You’re sacrificing income by not asking enough upselling questions.

Good idea.

Problem is, so does every other designer within a 500 mile radius. What to do?

Well, you can do what those others do. You can hang out at local HBA meetings, and pass out business cards.

Or, you can get a list of local builders, and start smilin’, dialin’ and leavin’ — lots of messages.

Then again, you can do something which makes a lot more sense: invite builders over for breakfast.

I’ve helped several designers create “Builders for Breakfast” events.

Invite a select group to a “builders networking event” at your showroom, or a nice local restaurant. Let ‘em munch and meet. Give a 15 minute presentation. Offer your design services. And then, send ‘em on their way

Promote it the right way, and you’ll be surprised how many builders show, and how many relationships you can develop.

Some Builders for Breakfast ideas to get you started:

+ Create a 20 minute presentation on how area builders can increase sales (sample topic: “How to Add Magic to Your Model Homes”

+ Promote your “builders networking event” and your presentation with personalized invitations.

+ Have the event catered. Or, select an upscale local restaurant to host it.

+ Include a simple handout, such as a tip list, and include your contact info and bio.

+  Announce your plans to partner with a few local builders, and offer yourself as a design resource for them.

+ Send handwritten thank you notes following the event.

Fred Berns coaches interior design professionals on how to increase their business by connecting with builders and developers.

Think of  early-January as “Show and Tell” Time.

It’s a time to connect with those you seek to influence, show them what you got, and tell them what to do:  check out this website, download that service list, call for a consultation, etc.

It’s a time to check in and check out. Check in with current, past and prospective clients, and help them to check out all the new stuff you’re planning for 2012.

Many interior design professionals  use this approach as part of  rate increase campaigns.

In recent weeks, I’ve helped several design pros craft January rate hike letters.

Their new pricing plans don’t appear until the final paragraph of these letters. Prior to that, the focus is on how clients will benefit from the changes planned for 2012.

Examples:  In the coming year, we’ll….

+ revise our website to make it more interactive, so you can quickly get answers to  pressing design questions

+ reach out to new vendors, so that you’ll  have access to more product lines

+ launch a new blog, to educate you about trends, design do’s and don’t's, and what’s hot and what’s not

+ expand our commercial design services, so you can hire us to redo your offices and waiting rooms.

+ add staging, to help you get the most money in the quickest amount of time when you’re ready to sell

+ hire a designer and administrative assistant,  to enhance our  service to you.

Interested in distributing a rate hike letter to your clients? Check out the samples in the Big Splash, Little Cash Marketing Materials Manual, or download the audio program entitled Twice the Price: Double Your Dollars as a Design Professional.

Fred Berns is a sales  and marketing coach and copywriter for interior design professionals worldwide.

Peggy Morgans used to have a boring website bio.

Very boring…

It formerly opened this way: “Peggy Morgans is the owner of Parkway Window Works. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.”

But check out the new, more dynamic version I created for her.

Here’s how the opening paragraph reads now:

“Peggy Morgans is the only award-winning workroom professional in upstate New York who offers interior designers a complete line of services and educational resources to help them increase profits and save time.”

“I love the new bio,” Peggy told me. “I wish I had you do this months ago.”

The bio is a design professional’s most critical marketing tool.

It differentiates and brands you,  and does the bragging for you online so you don’t have to do it in person.

Peggy Morgans’ new bio will help her get bigger projects from better clients.

Why? Because it attaches value to what she does, spells out her “Only’s,” and explains how and who she helps.

Does your promotional bio do all that?

Or, does it undersell you and dis-qualify, rather than qualify you from the kind of clients and projects you want and need.

I have time this Fall to work with three design professionals on their bios. Interested? Contact me at Fred@FredBerns.com.

Fred Berns is a marketing coach and copywriter for interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

If you change your business model, adopt a “Brand Do” as well as “Can Do” attitude.

Has there ever been a time when so many interior design professionals are reinventing themselves?

Not that I can remember.

The uncertain economy and the construction slump have transformed some interior designers into home stagers, some architects into remodeling specialists, and some builders into commercial consultants.

It’s all well and good to reposition yourself to adapt to changing – and challenging — times.

Just make sure you rebrand yourself in the process.

When you sell new services, sell yourself in new ways.

Go beyond the new job title. Tell who and how you help. Spell out your specialness in your new specialty.

And spread the news, Suze.

Share new insights and start new conversations on Facebook and Twitter. Join new LinkedIn groups.

Write on, and Speak up.

Pinpoint the pain, and recommend yourself as the remedy.

If, for example, you repackage yourself as a window fashion specialist, discuss how local homeowners waste thousands of dollars on unnecessary energy costs.

And explain how your blinds can reduce energy loss and UV damage.

When you reinvent yourself, you must promote yourself more than before.

You must stand up, and stand out.

You must say it loud, and say it proud.

And you must Stand by Your Brand.

When you reposition yourself, don’t disregard your previous credentials.

Just repackage them.

Some examples of new branding phrases I created recently for coaching clients who are changing their focus:

+ (Name) is the region’s only home stager with experience and a degree in landscape architecture.

+ (Name) is the only area window fashion dealer who operated her own drapery workroom for 15 years.

+ (Name) is the only local showroom manager who formerly ran an interior design firm.

It’s by choice, not chance that each of these phrases contains the million dollar marketing word: Only.

As you roll out your new business, don’t tell me you’re different because you care about your customers.

Or because you turn design dreams into reality. Or because you have a flair for color.

Been there. Done that.

I don’t want your platitudes. I want you word.

I want your “only.”

Tell me what’s unique to you, and I’ll hire only you.

Fred Berns is a branding coach for interior design businesses worldwide.

Some of the most powerful promotion costs you nothing at all.

How to do million dollar marketing on a shoestring budget is the theme of one of my seminars on Sept. 8 at the conference in Louisville, KY.
of the Window Coverings Assn. of America.

The seminar is entitled Market Smart: Make a Big Splash for Little Cash, and it’s scheduled for 10:15-11:30 a.m. at the Inspire 2011 conference.

How to take the “price” out of your promotion is the  focus of the presentation, which covers everything from Facebook to free publicity, from websites to webinars, from social media to seminars, and from email to voicemail.

If you’re spending lots of time and money on marketing, you’re probably wasting it.

You can implement each of strategies I’ll cover in Louisville in 45 minutes or less, for $25 or less.

I invite you to join me for this program, and my presentation at 3:15 on the same day. The name of that presentation: “Supersize Your Success! 7 Steps to Peak Profits in Challenging Times.”

For Inspire 2011 information, visit: www.WCAA.org.

Fred Berns is a business coach and trainer for window covering specialists and other interior design professionals.