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| Issue #76 - Become A Priority |
Design professionals in several countries are many things
to many people – but a “priority” isn’t one of them.
THIS MONTH:
+ Become a Necessity
+ Free to "Fee"
+ Become a Necessity
Dubai, U.A.E. -- They're interior architects and space
planners and specifiers and project managers. But they’re
not recipients of priority treatment.
Yet.
You know you’re not a priority when clients cut back on
their interior budget. And put projects on hold. And
constantly bicker about your price. And wait 90 days, or
more to pay you.
Those are the challenges facing many design professionals
here in the Middle East, and elsewhere in Asia and Europe.
They're the same challenges confronting interior designers
in the U.S. and Canada.
How to make yourself a priority was a major focus of my
seminar here at the conference of the International
Federation of Interior Architects and Designers(IFI).
I touched on the same theme a few days later in my
presentation at INDEX,
the Middle East’s largest interiors trade show.
Getting more respect, recognition and income in this
uncertain economy involves attaching more value to
yourself and your design services and products.
How?
By explaining how you make your clients money, and save
them money and time.
Point out, for example, how you supply office furniture
and lighting that will make their employees more
productive.
Explain, too, how you provide the expertise and personnel
to get projects done more quickly and efficiently.
You make yourself a priority when you identify the "pain"
and problems clients have with their interiors – and
then propose remedies.
And when you differentiate yourself from competitors, and
establish yourself as a uniquely-qualified, one-of-a-kind
expert in your field.
And when you share success stories and testimonials from
satisfied clients.
Among the speakers at the IFI conference was Ross
Lovegrove.
He's the award-winning industrial designer credited for
creating the walkman for Sony, computers for Apple, and
other products for companies ranging from Airbus
Industries to Motorola.
He told the audience that he travels around the world, and
clients gladly pay whatever he charges for his products...
"because they're mine."
Here's a guy who believes in himself and, as a result, his
clients do, too.
He's made himself a priority.
+ Free to "Fee"
An interior designer from Nigeria emerged from my
IFI "Supersize Your Success" program determined to
start charging for her advice and expertise.
It was music to my ears.
Titi Ogufere, the director of a design association in her
country, told of getting flooded with requests for
free information on design resources and solutions.
She's overun with queries at all hours of the day and
night from individuals seeking
outlets for everything from flooring to furniture. Lots of
questions come from other designers.
"I get all of these questions about how to get into
interior design, and how to run a design business and how
to charge," she explains.
She's given away dozens, maybe hundreds of hours of
free advice. But not any longer. Now she intends to charge
for her time and advice.
Great idea.
Once she starts "valuing" her time, her callers will too.
They'll pay for that time because they'll view it -- and
her -- as a priority.
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© 2006 Fred Berns
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