Whether or not you spent hours in the madding crowds on Black Friday, Cyber Monday beckons to everyone from the convenience of your lap, your desk or your iPhone. U.S. retailers are expecting their online sales to jump by at least 15% this year over last holiday season, and even more surprisingly, online shopping today will surpass in-store shopping, this according to a poll conducted by Consumer Reports.  And shhhh, don’t tell the boss, but almost 60% of those online shopping trips happen during normal work hours!

Now these gems are what’s on the list for the interior design savvy cyber-shopper, or if you want a new home for the holidays, a few to be considered…

credit: 1st dibs

A late 19th c. Neoclassical charmer from Hollywood at Home through 1st dibs.

credit: Brinca Dada

The Emerson House designed by Tim Boyle and available through Brinca Dada, is environmentally friendly and beautifully contemporary.

credit: Brinca Dada

Also designed by Tim Boyle, through Brinca Dada, the Bennet House was influenced by the De Stijl movement of the early 20th c., but a century ahead of its time!

credit: Brinca Dada

And to be able to fill 7 rooms for $199, unheard of!  The Classic Contemporary group from Brinca Dada, as well.

credit: PRD

Paris Renfroe Design, has a miniatures division, PRD Miniatures, where they recreate their custom furnishings and shipping container homes into the smallest scale.

What’s on your wish list?

I can already hear the rumblings of controversy based purely on this title.  Over the past few months, our social media division at Gibson Design Management and our subsidiary media company, OttoPilot Media, have been discussing objective ways to measure our social media efforts for our clients.  This has included discussion of customized metrics for each of our clients based on business and marketing goals.

I’m going to say it, so argue away: having more people “like” your Facebook business page is better.  This does not mean that you can just stop there.  You still need engaging content and someone consistently monitoring and responding so that it is a conversational platform.

When I first graduated from college and worked in sales and marketing for NVR, we were taught that a large part of sales is a numbers game.  If you don’t speak to anyone, and you don’t set any appointments, and then you don’t write any contracts, you’re not going to make any sales.  However, the (qualified) leads that you generated and the more appointments that you had meant that statistically you would be more likely to achieve your sales goals.

Don’t get me wrong- it did matter that these leads were qualified and that I was good at my job.  I wasn’t sitting down with 15 year olds who wanted to buy an $800,000 home.  However, these interactions were one-on-one.  It does not cost you any extra money on Facebook to reach 100 or 1,000 additional people via your page.

With Facebook, every time that you post, the number of people that post reaches is purely the number of people who “like” your page.  If that number is larger, you have a greater reach and reach is an important metric.  If your objective is brand awareness, having more people know about and like your brand is important.  If your objective is more sales, you are more likely to sell something with a greater audience.

3D renderings are still a very strong tool to use in client and potential client presentations.  However, for those design firms that truly want to set themselves apart, Gibson Design Management recently started offering animated walkthroughs.  This is a true “Wow” factor for your clients.  They are not inexpensive, but they are very powerful.  As we rolled out this new service, I took a step back and put myself in the design firms’ shoes.  I asked myself, “How can this help our members’ and clients’ businesses?”

Rendering by Gibson Design Management

Here are three main ways:

1. Sell emotion. When your client is able to see what their space is going to look like before it is even built or remodeled, they are going to bond.  They will bond with the space.  That bond will extend to their bond with you as the design firm.  Often it is difficult to communicate a visual to a client using words.  Eliminate the need for words and show them exactly what you mean. (more…)

Thank you so much to Todd Wickersty at Business Bullpen for inviting me to guest post on their blog today.  See the full post on their blog by clicking “read more” below!

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Those who are not active on Twitter (or have never signed up) frequently ask: “What’s the point?” or “Is this really going to help my business?”

The short answer is: yes.  I know that it works because it has worked for our business in 6 very distinct ways.  The holy grail of social media still leaves the question of how to effectively analyze social media efforts.  It seems that John Lovett and Jeremiah Owyang, from Web Analytics Demystified and the Altimeter Group, are on the right track for creating a framework.  Until then, the list of 6 will have to be statistics free.

Creating leads. Twitter helps foster relationships if used properly.  It’s a way to engage in conversation and offer answers when asked—without expecting anything in return.

Click here to read more…

We work with many design firms that utilize 3D photorealistic renderings to show clients their design vision.  This is a great way to communicate and sell your vision through imagery instead of words, but why not use renderings in your business for other purposes as well?

Design by Gibson Design Group | Rendering for Upcoming Charity House Show

Here are 3 ideas for using 3D renderings that you might not have thought about previously:

1. Work backwards. If you have a great project in your portfolio that you have already completed and photographed, why not render that project as well.  This will beef up your portfolio by showing potential clients what they can expect as a “before” (the rendering) and “after” (the photograph).  The similarities will be astounding to the potential client.
2. Project never built, but design done. Unfortunately, given the economy over the past two years, many large projects never got off the ground.  However, you may have done great design work for these spaces.  If you have a project that was not ever completed, or the client pulled the plug for budgetary reasons, why not render your vision and add that to your portfolio?
3. Substitute for traditional photography. While professionally photographing your best work is extremely important for your portfolio, there are some projects that might not be quite worth the thousands of dollars to photograph.  As a less expensive alternative, you can take photos of the spaces with a point and click camera and then have photorealistic renderings done to mimic them.  This is also an opportunity to add the window treatments, art, accessories, or additional pieces that were part of the design, but not purchased by the client.

Conventional or non-conventional uses aside, utilizing photorealistic 3D renderings in your portfolio is a great way to win that next client, and set yourself apart from your competitors.

Gail Doby, Chief Vision Officer of Design Success University, and Nika Stewart, The Designers’ Success Coach, are co-hosting an exciting event that you don’t want to miss–The Interior Design Summit on October 28, 29, & 30.

Click here to learn more

This three-day event is unlike anything that has been done for the interior design industry to date. They are interviewing 11 speakers (so far) that are top-selling authors, business consultants and agents to celebrity designers, and other amazing guests that are sure to help you grow your interior design business.

What is unique about this event is that you can listen to this from the comfort of your office or home during these three days. No travel expenses, just a nominal fee for the event and you will receive recordings so you can listen again at your convenience.

Here are some of the things you will learn:

How to book yourself solid

How to market so you don’t have to “sell” to get clients

How to build amazing referral partners that send affluent clients to you

How to create your marketing plan to get a steady flow of business

How to work with the ultra-affluent clients – how to get them and how to serve them…learn what they are looking for in an interior designer

How to use newsletters to stay connected with your prospects and clients …without having to write!

How to use social networking to create an online portfolio especially if you don’t have a website

How to build your personal brand so prospects and clients immediately know who you are and what your business represents

How to build a great team and manage your staff effectively

How to streamline the parts of your business that you don’t enjoy

And much more…

Save the dates and plan to make this an event in your office by bringing in lunch and having a discussion (with yourself if you work solo, or with your staff) to create a winning plan to take your business to the next level.

Click here to learn more about the event