So things are moving along smoothly with your clients. You
listen closely, you explain to them how you work, and you
deliver your services and exceed their expectations. But you
start to get that little uncomfortable feeling again, and
after some time, you are able to put your finger on it. Yes,
you are giving your clients what they want, but are you
educating them on your other services that they also may
want?
One of my clients found and hired me after reading several
articles that I had written for our local newspaper. She
said she enjoyed my writing and felt that the things I had
to say about design made a lot of sense to her.
We started working together, and she made it very clear that
she was a hands-on person. She wanted to decorate on her own
and use me as a consultant to help validate and confirm her
decisions while working her way through her projects. Or so
I thought.
We spent several months working together – she would explore
options for decorating, and we would meet and discuss the
things she had done and what she wanted to do next. I gave
guidance to her projects and pointed out things that were
working well and other things that I thought might be
getting off track of the overall design concept.
After several months our appointments grew and further and
further apart and eventually tapered off all together. The
relationship ended amicably enough; I would run into her on
occasion around town and we always had pleasant
conversations. But sometime later I learned she had hired
another designer. And not only that, but they had done tons
of new and exciting things in her home, like painted
ceilings with a faux finish and custom window treatments
with tons of embellishments!
I was confused. I was so sure that I had done exactly as my
client wanted – I had guided her through her projects and
kept her from going wrong. Isn’t that just what she asked
for? Well, apparently not. Somewhere along the line –
whether she was aware of it or not – she wanted more design
help than just guidance. She wanted someone to not only
guide her project, but to actually lead the project. To take
her ideas and grow them into new ideas, some of which she
wanted to have done for her, rather than doing herself.
And if there was one thing I wasn’t doing, it was suggesting
new and different services that I offer. I couldn’t even
remember the last time that I had suggested a service to her
that was within the design project but beyond her own hands
own approach. If I had occasionally suggested to her other
services that I offer, I could have given her the
opportunity to let me help her more than I already was. And
because I didn’t, she found someone else who would.
Copyright © 2006 Mary Larsen Designs, GrowYourDesignBiz.com
Do you want to use this article on your website or in your
newsletter? If so, you must use the following bio info: Mary
Larsen is the founder of
www.MaryLarsenDesigns.com
and
www.GrowYourDesignBiz.com
– where she helps you design your home
– or design and grow! - your business. She has been featured
on ABCs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and is cited as an
expert in small business and design in various media
sources.
