The to-do list can be a daunting document. For every one item you check off, you probably add two. For many of us, it is far longer than the number of hours that we each have in our days. The question then is: “how can we set up a strategy to prioritize the to-do list so that you are best utilizing your time”? Think about ROI (return on investment) as your ROT (return on time).
Too Familiar?
Here is a new system that we created within our company. I suggest that everyone have the same 3 categories across the team, but that the prioritization is role-specific.
Determine your 3 categories that all of your actions fall under (or should fall under). In our company, I determined the following as our 3 categories:
Revenue producing: an item on the to-do list that will bring money into the company
Service-related: an item on the to-do list that will make our members or clients lives and businesses better
Brand awareness and networking: actions that will help build our brand throughout the industry and beyond
Based on your list, prioritize your categories. My particular role in our company is bringing in new business and also long-term strategy. If my role was to service our clients and members more directly, I would prioritize the categories differently. Therefore, my category prioritization is as follows:
Revenue production
Brand awareness, strategy, and networking
Service
Determine some examples of what each category would entail. For example, I would use the following examples for our company:
Revenue production: sales calls, creating letters of agreement, invoicing, etc. For your firm, this might also be billable hours or creating proposals.
Brand awareness, strategy, and networking: arranging presentations at design centers, writing blog posts, staying connected with my professional network, etc.
Service: adding functionality to the website that would improve the client experience, monthly member calls, etc.
A few more ideas:
Establish a “D” category. There will naturally be things that fall into the “Other” category. We call those category “D” items. These will still need to get done but in the prioritization exercise, they will be the items that are least important to your business.
Every time you add something to your to-do list, make sure that you put a letter next to it or color code it. This will show you where you need to be prioritizing and what items can be downgraded.
For more great techniques to work smarter, I suggest Gina Trapani’s columns at FastCompany.com. What systems do you use to prioritize your laundry list of to-dos?
Sometimes, receiving confirmation that you’re taking the right steps for your business is all it takes to push you ahead even further. Success is closely linked to communication, which is why it can be particularly advantageous to talk to someone, ask questions, and discuss any possible ideas you hope to incorporate into your business structure. This is exactly where Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services comes in for our Gibson Design Management members. Martha provides immeasurable assistance to clients through monthly “sounding board” calls, where she lends an ear and her thoughts, helping members sort through any inquiries or ideas regarding their business’ success.
This is a service offered to all members (and included in the price of monthly membership!), and one that has played a particularly important role within our clients’ businesses—allowing clients to fine-tune new ventures, determine how to effectively use their Gibson Design Management membership, and mold personalized strategies for branding, marketing, expansion and more. Here’s what members have said about the importance of conversation and sounding board calls:
“I think of Gibson Design Management as a very capable employee that I have on call at all times. Whether it’s product sourcing, CAD drawings or advice that I need, Gibson is always there to save me!” — Marlene Oliphant, Marlene Oliphant Designs LLC
“I love working with Gibson Design Management! Although technically a solo-entrepreneur, I have a team of knowledge, support and creativity on my side at all times. Monthly member calls with Martha remind me that I never need to “go it alone”!” – Sarah Devaney-O’Neil, Storibook Designs, Inc.
“The monthly mentor calls with Martha Kirkpatrick have been very helpful. Martha always immediately finds the answers to my questions and reports back to me within 24 hours, if not sooner. I know that in Martha I have someone to go to if I ever have a question or a need and that it will be taken care of.” — Randy Trainor, C. Randolph Trainor, LLC
“For the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in monthly coaching calls with Martha Kirkpatrick. As the owner of a small interior design firm, I have found the calls to be both productive and motivating. Martha has listened to challenges and helped brainstorm solutions for a variety of business topics. These calls have become, without a doubt, one of the greatest benefits of my membership with Gibson Design Management.” — Vicky Serany, Southern Studio Interior Design
If you are a Gibson Design Management member and have not yet taken advantage of the sounding board calls, please email Martha to schedule. If you are not a member, and you would like to find out more about becoming a member, please email Alexandra Gibson.
Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management
Last fall we had the fortunate opportunity to work with Schelfe and Associates, an interior design firm from Raleigh, NC, on a project located 90 minutes outside of Hong Kong, China. The project consisted of converting an existing villa into a high-end boutique hotel, that, when built, will have 6 guest rooms, an owner’s suite, a cinema room, a game room, a karaoke room, a golf simulator room, multiple lounge areas, and more.
Gibson Design Management created four renderings for Schelfe and Associates to present to their clients, helping to better their understanding of the design concept through the renderings and an interpreter. Tim Schelfe, principal at Schelfe and Associates, took our renderings, a plethora of fabric samples and tear sheets, and more for the presentation to his new Chinese client. Upon return, Tim said that the renderings were a hit—they greatly helped bridge the language barrier between his team and the client. The client even said, “I want more pictures!”
Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management
Tim wrote the following testimonial about the process:
“Gibson Design Management was instrumental in allowing our firm to organize the creative vision of the project without getting bogged down on preparing our own interior renderings or color boards. With the renderings provided by Gibson I was able to present my client a very clear and precise vision of the finished interior. Our client was ecstatic with our presentation and signed off on our design as presented.”
Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management
What happens when you and your client both speak the same language? Should you still use renderings? There are countless times when a client will express his or her wishes using incorrect terms such as “I like modern” when what they actually like is “transitional.” Utilizing renderings can help combat these misunderstandings and ensure that you and your client are on the same page before the room is installed. Furthermore, the level of trust that is instilled once a client sees the renderings is immense—instead of just listening to your description, they can actually see what you mean.
A picture, or in this case a rendering, is worth a thousand words.
If you are an interior designer, you’ve probably been asked this question. Or you’ve at least had to correct someone who thinks that your job consists of picking out fabric and paint colors (solely). If you are not an interior designer, you might actually wonder what it is that these creative interior designers do?
The good people at Beasley and Henley Interior Design wrote a great post on their blog about the day in the life of an interior designer. I found it helpful to hone my message, and I actually know what designers do.
Interior designers- how do you educate your clients on what a designer does? If you’re not an interior designer- what misconceptions do you think there are about interior designers?
For those of you who think that you just need to have a Facebook page, tweet, and do some blogging, think again. You actually need to use them as tools to get results. Ramon DeLeon, owner of 7 Domino’s Pizzas, is the king of monitoring what people are saying about his brand. He doesn’t just listen though, he answers and he makes things right if they’re not already, often in very memorable ways.
Why? Here are our top 10 reasons (but trust us, there are many more):
Credibility – Having a website gives credibility to your design firm. It gives you an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the field.
Portfolio – An online gallery of your work is important for any business in a design related industry. A website is the easiest way to display examples of your work. Your portfolio can speak the most about who you are as a designer.
Feedback – Your website is the easiest and most efficient place for your clients and the design community to find you and contact you with feedback. Good feedback and testimonials are a great way to establish credibility.
Around‐the‐Clock Access – A websites makes your information available to clients and potentials 24/7. Even when you’re not working, your website is still working for you!
Recently our design firm ordered a few light fixtures for a project from Unilight out of Montreal, Canada. The project was under renovation so the fixtures needed to arrive before the contractor left to avoid extra charges. Two bathroom sconces shipped, one lacked a back plate.
After contacting Unilight to get a back plate shipped, it took them ONE WEEK to ship us a plate that probably cost 50 cents. The reason? Our contact said that they had to meet about why a piece was not shipped (to figure out what went wrong in THEIR process) and she had to get a replacement plate approved. From a business perspective, this does not fly.
In your business, you should empower your people to make something right for your clients. What this requires from you is
1. Trust in your team’s decision-making,
2. The ability to not get mad if your people do something that you would not have done,
3. Becoming comfortable enough to let your people solve a problem from start to finish without necessarily involving you.
In order to empower people to make things right, you have to trust their good judgment. By punishing people for
Luxury hotel brands like Ritz Carlton do a good job of entrusting their employees to do the right thing for the client.
making a decision, you are sending mixed messages. If you feel more comfortable, set a limit of $100 or $200 cost before they have to check in with you or the team about the decision. If it’s going to make a happier client to overnight the pillows that are already late so they will be there in time for a party, and it will cost you an extra $50, your team should feel like they can fulfill that without asking. Furthermore, if you can get your team to a place where they do this without the client asking, you are exceeding expectations (but that’s for another post).
The last thing a client wants when she calls with a grievance that can be easily and quickly solved (such as a back plate shipped) is to hear that it will have to go before committee to make a decision.
Once the error on your part is made, and your client is made happy, then it is time to study your process and fix what went wrong. That should never be your client’s problem or concern, and should never be a reason for delay on fixing her problem.
This is the BARE MINIMUM that your company should be doing. We’ll talk more later about how further empowering your team can bring the WOW factor…think Zappos WOW.
When is comes to purchase order management, one of the key components for success lies in the hands of the receiving warehouse. If you are embarking on a new design project in an unfamiliar area here are some things to look for and consider when choosing a receiver.
1.) What kind of inventory system do they utilize? Does the warehouse have the technology to use photographs in their receiving reports? Do they an accurate record of quantities of items from each vendor?
2.) What are the hours of operation? When you’re contacting the company do you speak with a live person or a switchboard? Good communication with representatives within the warehouse is key. Avoid warehouses with limited customer services hours.
3.) Are they flexible and can they schedule last minute deliveries? I recently encountered a situation where an office desk and credenza were delivered early to a hotel and needed immediate installation. I was in a pinch, so I immediately called the warehouse we are using for the project to see if they could send an installer the next day. Although it was last minute they were able to find someone that was available. This was a win-win situation for both the client and for me. Make certain you understand the warehouse’s delivery policy before you schedule an installation.
Talk to showrooms and designers in the area and feel out your options. Build a personable relationship with your warehouse customer service team early on in the project. They are there to help you run your project seamlessly.
Last Friday night I received multiple calls on my cell phone from a local number that I did not recognize. I was out to dinner for a friend’s birthday so I decided not to answer. However, after the 4th call (at 8:30 pm), I decided that I should answer in case of emergency.
It was a robot recording from the dermatologist’s office calling to confirm my appointment for the following Tuesday.
While we love systems and technologies as much as (or probably more than) the next guy, this was over the top. Once my blood pressure lowered, I thought, “What should be our litmus test on whether or not to implement a system or technology?”
Before implementing a new system or technology ask, “Will this system compromise the warm and fuzzy feeling that our clients or our employees feel about our company?” If the answer is “Yes”, don’t do it, despite the efficiencies gained.
Needless to say, I did not feel warm and fuzzy about my dermatologist. In fact, I felt like I would probably be put on a conveyor belt and inspected and stamped by #43 (while still paying the full service price).
As small companies, our most limited resource is our time. Therefore, it is not surprising that the question arises, “Why should my business be on Twitter?”
1. It’s one of the least expensive ways to perform research and development. Once you have even a few hundred followers, you have a great sample size to extend business questions. Wondering whether people would be interested in a certain new service? Put it out to the Twitterverse. The worst thing that can happen is that no one answers. The best thing that can happen is that you receive several responses and have valuable information about how to proceed. This could save you a tremendous amount of time and money.
2. Someone may be talking about you. Whether it be positive or negative, someone on Twitter may be talking about your business. How will you respond if you are not there to listen? I recently tweeted that a restaurant I frequent in Charlottesville always has terrible service. This received a huge response from my Charlottesville following (15+ tweets back and forth about the pros and cons of the restaurant). Crickets from the restaurant (even though they are on Twitter- this actually makes the silence worse). This could have been a perfect opportunity for the restaurant to make happy customers. [See a video here about how P.F. Chang's is on the cutting edge of using Twitter to make customers happy].
3. You are able to show your company’s true personality. By showing your true personality, you will attract more of your ideal clients.
4. You never know who you are going to meet. Just like you can’t expect your phone to ring if you never leave the house and network, Twitter is an opportunity to network and engage with people on an even broader scale. I have not only met people across the world (we seem to click well with Toronto twitterers for some reason) but have also met some great people in our area who I may never have met otherwise. This has translated to real life connections and business referrals.
5. Become a better educated businessperson. Twitter is full of tweets with resources for business. It is also a great place to pose a question like, “Are there less expensive alternatives to Photoshop?” Then just wait for your following to chime in on its experiences and knowledge.
This would not be a complete blog post if I did not mention that I posed this question to my Twitter following and received the following responses.
Question:
Received these answers from some of my great followers:
If your business is already on Twitter, what are some of your success stories? What have you found to be the greatest benefit of Twitter?
If you are an interior designer, you’ve probably been asked this question. Or you’ve at least had to correct someone who thinks that your job 
Credibility – Having a website gives credibility to your design firm. It gives you an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the field.
receiving warehouse. If you are embarking on a new design project in an unfamiliar area here are some things to look for and consider when choosing a receiver.
As small companies, our most limited resource is our time. Therefore, it is not surprising that the question arises, “Why should my business be on 
