How many people in our profession consider themselves experts? And are you one of them?
I used to think of myself as a specialist. I met the requirements. I received many degrees at an accredited college. I passed tests to become a qualified member of NCIDQ. I earned the appellations CMKBD and CAPS.
But in some clients’ minds, I wasn’t more qualified than a neighbor or family member who gave them advice. I had to ask myself why? Why did somebody else’s suggestions seem better for them than mine?
Is it because family and friends knew them better? Maybe. But these people aren’t familiar with codes and industry guidelines, as well as products and design elements that will make their lives easier and more functional. Clients need our expertise to make sure the work is done right.
Proving Your Worth
It’s important to remind our clients why they chose us through how we do our jobs. There was probably nothing in what they saw about us that mentioned our education or how long we’d been a designer. It was something they saw in pictures of our work that probably inspired them to call us. The truth is, they don’t care how we obtained the knowledge and experience to show everything that appeals to them. Furthermore, they don’t care about the hundreds of hours we’ve spent in classes and seminars to gain the expertise we have to help them now.
There’s a wonderful quote often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt that says it perfectly: “Nobody cares about how much you know until they know about how much you care.” We all know how important it is to achieve homeowners’ goals. But how do we remind them about our education and experience while we show them how much we care?
Years ago, I spent hours creating a survey to help homeowners focus on their preferences. I sent or gave a copy of the survey to them, telling them that it would help them make decisions. But, after a while I realized that this was a cold way of getting information from them. Instead, I needed to discover what was most important to them and talk about that first. I used the survey as a tool to talk with them, and that helped prove how much I cared about helping them.
I learned to ask my clients to look at pictures in online magazines and pick five that appealed to them. Many homeowners provided pictures from House Beautiful, Interior Design, Elle Decor or Traditional Home that showed how they wanted their remodeled home to look. I’d also visit their home so they could tell me what they wanted to change. And then we went shopping at showrooms.
The goal wasn’t to copy the pictures, since no two environments are the same. But I could use another designer’s creativity as inspiration to open the door, and incorporate similar aspects to make my clients happy. During the design process, we drilled down to the similar aspects between the pictures and talked about how the features would fit in their home. That allowed me to share my education and experience with codes and guidelines without being heavy-handed.
I’d prepare plans and virtual-reality perspectives that led to discussions. If our meetings were online, I could show them changes in real time and send results in an email attachment.
Understanding Your Value
Unfortunately, you do receive input now and then from the well-meaning but annoying non-professional. In fact, it felt like a slap in the face when one client discounted my expertise. I heard, “Our friend Sally suggested that we should move the cooktop next to the double ovens.” Instead of relaying my instinctive negative reaction, however, I allowed the comment to open a conversation. I reminded them about my experience with other clients, and about my achievements. When I related the experience later to a friend, she asked, exasperated, “Then why did you go to school and get all those letters after your name?”
Why? That’s a good question to ask of ourselves periodically. Why did we choose our career path? For most of us, it has been to help others. The focus is on them, not us. Everything we do is to help our clients achieve their goals. And, while we’re helping them, we’re achieving our goals.
As professionals, degrees and certificates are important and they help us build our reputation as a designer. In truth, we cannot practice kitchen and bath design or interior architecture unless we have specific expertise. We have to learn all aspects of the business and take examinations to become certified. We have to market ourselves and compete with qualified rivals, stay on top of new information, read shelter magazines and attend meetings, webinars and industry shows.
But, once you have the degrees, certificates and reputation, what does this mean to our clients? In the end, it means we can help them achieve their goals, help them find the products and finishes they want and make their home look and feel good, within the budget they’ve established. We know how to pull together all the products and colors our clients want that will achieve their goals. That’s expertise.
And the best way to prove our expertise? It’s not through advertising how great we are. Instead, it’s best done third-person. Being featured in magazines. Winning awards. Being interviewed on radio and television. These provide us and our businesses publicity. They’re a hook because there’s often a picture of a design to grab readers’ attention.
In addition, an up-to-date website will help our expertise shine through, and provide a hook. That website should highlight our background and experience, and include design photos showing how we have helped others achieve their dream spaces.
Hooks result in prospective clients calling, emailing or texting for more information. And that’s when we can talk to them about their project and their goals. You can show how much you care by asking relevant questions in conversations about them. What they want. When they want it. How much they’re willing to invest. It’s important to show how much you care about their remodeling goals and dreams. ▪
Diane Plesset, CMKBD, CAPS, NCIDQ is the principal of D.P. Design in Oregon City, OR and has over 35 years of experience as a kitchen and bath designer. She is the author of the award-winning book, THE Survival Guide: Home Remodeling, and is the recipient of numerous design awards. Named a 2019 KBDN Innovator, Plesset has taught Western design to students of the Machida Academy in Japan and has a podcast, “Today’s Home.”