by angela todd
The 2009 landscape for home improvement has changed significantly. Don't let anyone tell you this is bad news for an interior designer, decorator, redesigner or staging professional. It isn't true. You have the ability to flourish in this environment if you offer services in alignment with your client's needs.
Let's start by reviewing the 2009 trends for consumers. Gone are the days of borrowing to keep up the Joneses. Bootstrapping and using what you have will be the trend of households. Also gone for the average middle class American is the fascination and need to have all things high end. Mid range quality items are more in Vogue for 2009. Over consumption and eccentric spending is now considered in poor taste and wasteful. Cheap but chic is all the rage. DIY is kind to the environment and your wallet. If it is sustainable, renewed or reused even better.
If a bright light bulb didn't illuminate over your head, please go back and read the last paragraph one more time. My light bulb reads: ‘Redesign is hot, hot, hot’.
Clients can be won over right now simply and easily. Your target homeowner is middle class, 35-65 years of age, owns a home, is probably married, and is time challenged due to work, family obligations or both. Your ideal client's husband is currently telling his wife she has to reduce her spending. He has told her the new sofa she wants will have to wait. He has also told her that the current window treatments are just fine, and that she can't have new kitchen remodel. In the meantime she can't help but continue to complain about every detail she doesn't like in the home. Your ideal client's husband loves his wife and wants to make her happy, but he knows they can't invest thousands in new home furnishings and/or a remodel.
How about giving both of them what they want and need?
Enter you. Redesigner Extraordinare. You explain to your client she will be spending a fraction of the cost of redecorating and remodeling. She will also be green and sustainable using what she already has in her home. She will love the results. Her windows and sofa won't bother her in the same way when you transform the space. (Please do mention you would love to help her purchase that sofa and window treatments down the road when the time comes and this “recession” blows over.)
Her husband? Well, he is really an old softy. I tell my clients that husbands are always just as thrilled when the room is done. My experience is a poorly designed room doesn't bother most men, but when they enter a well designed room they notice immediately how wonderful they feel. Not only that, a satisfied wife makes them happy too.
At the reveal, calculate how much money they saved with not buying new, point out what you reused, and remind them how much they did themselves. Then smile and ask for future referrals.
The 2009 landscape for home improvement has changed significantly. Don't let anyone tell you this is bad news for an interior designer, decorator, redesigner or staging professional. It isn't true. You have the ability to flourish in this environment if you offer services in alignment with your client's needs.
Let's start by reviewing the 2009 trends for consumers. Gone are the days of borrowing to keep up the Joneses. Bootstrapping and using what you have will be the trend of households. Also gone for the average middle class American is the fascination and need to have all things high end. Mid range quality items are more in Vogue for 2009. Over consumption and eccentric spending is now considered in poor taste and wasteful. Cheap but chic is all the rage. DIY is kind to the environment and your wallet. If it is sustainable, renewed or reused even better.
If a bright light bulb didn't illuminate over your head, please go back and read the last paragraph one more time. My light bulb reads: ‘Redesign is hot, hot, hot’.
Clients can be won over right now simply and easily. Your target homeowner is middle class, 35-65 years of age, owns a home, is probably married, and is time challenged due to work, family obligations or both. Your ideal client's husband is currently telling his wife she has to reduce her spending. He has told her the new sofa she wants will have to wait. He has also told her that the current window treatments are just fine, and that she can't have new kitchen remodel. In the meantime she can't help but continue to complain about every detail she doesn't like in the home. Your ideal client's husband loves his wife and wants to make her happy, but he knows they can't invest thousands in new home furnishings and/or a remodel.
How about giving both of them what they want and need?
Enter you. Redesigner Extraordinare. You explain to your client she will be spending a fraction of the cost of redecorating and remodeling. She will also be green and sustainable using what she already has in her home. She will love the results. Her windows and sofa won't bother her in the same way when you transform the space. (Please do mention you would love to help her purchase that sofa and window treatments down the road when the time comes and this “recession” blows over.)
Her husband? Well, he is really an old softy. I tell my clients that husbands are always just as thrilled when the room is done. My experience is a poorly designed room doesn't bother most men, but when they enter a well designed room they notice immediately how wonderful they feel. Not only that, a satisfied wife makes them happy too.
At the reveal, calculate how much money they saved with not buying new, point out what you reused, and remind them how much they did themselves. Then smile and ask for future referrals. Flourish you will. Your ideal client has a few hundred dollars for your services and they will gladly write you a check. I promise.
What do the five question marks stand for in the title of this post? Hint: It rhymes with 2009.
Angela Todd
2 comments:
I love this article Angela and agree with 110%! May