Don’t you just love the sense of accomplishment after finishing a large project? It’s important to enjoy the gratification of completing a big job, but more important to make sure you and your client don’t become detached. Always leave something with your client to make them think about the next step. This could be an accessory you give them as a house warming gift or a tear sheet of that perfect console to fill the void in the hallway.

Recently I was hit with this client experience when picking up invitations from a stationary store. In the bag with my invitation boxes were cute monogrammed cups, a note pad, and match book. Naturally, the next task to check off my event to-do list was ordering favors. What a great way to hook me in as a client, encouraging me to do repeat business or refer the store to a friend.

There are many ways you can incorporate this strategy into your business.  For example, if you and a client just completed the living room and master bedroom, you could leave them with a stunning dining room centerpiece or an accessory that would look great in the study.

I will definitely use Paper on the Avenue again. It was a great finishing touch and lasting impression that I will remember for a long time.

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:

1. Revenue producing:  an item on the to-do list that will bring money into the company
2. Service-related:  an item on the to-do list that will make our members or clients lives and businesses better
3. 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:

1. Revenue production
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking
3. Service

Determine some examples of what each category would entail.  For example, I would use the following examples for our company:

1. Revenue production: sales calls, creating letters of agreement, invoicing, etc.  For your firm, this might also be billable hours or creating proposals.
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking:  arranging presentations at design centers, writing blog posts, staying connected with my professional network, etc.
3. 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?

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.

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This is the second part of a multi-part series of lessons learned from Inc. Magazine’s GrowCo conference. These lessons have been translated and applied to the interior design industry for relevance.

Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell–listed by Inc. Magazine as one of the 26 most fascinating entrepreneurs in 2005, author of multiple books including Hug Your Customers, and former CEO of family-run clothing stores Mitchells and Richards—argues that we need to relate to our clients and to personalize EVERY encounter. While many argue that clients should be kept at an arm’s length and should be viewed as business associates solely, I disagree and subscribe to Mitchell’s way of business.

1. People do business with people they like. Be likable.
2. Clients are not transactions, they are people. Build relationships.
3. Give people great, personalized service. Your first priority should not be the products, it should be the service and the experience.

I am not a big hugger—literally. However, I do believe that the metaphorical hug is of utmost importance to running a successful business. You must also ensure that you empower your team to “hug” your clients. Hire a great team and treat them like you want them to treat your clients; your clients will feel good about doing business with you and will come back for every project. They will refer you. It seems simple but chances are your competition is not doing a good job. All the more reason to lead the bandwagon.

To see Jack Mitchell on The Today Show, take a look at this video:

We recently had a less than ideal experience with the length of time it took to ship 3 dressers from San Francisco for one of our design firms in Manhattan.  Sadly, our industry is full of these less than ideal experiences; nothing surprises me now.  I am often surprised when I receive normal customer service–I am exceedingly surprised when I receive something out of the ordinary.

Kudos to Jiun Ho for their proactivity in customer service.  I did not expect anything like this but was so pleasantly surprised that I felt compelled to blog.  Below is the letter that I received.  The letter was accompanied by a beautiful box of Mini Mosaics chocolates.

Needless to say, an “I’m Sorry” note and a box of chocolates go a long way with this girl.