This may seem logical and you may do this all the time, but many designers I have seen presenting their work do not always present with excitement and positivity. Some people speak to their clients with an attitude of apathy.
Your client’s decision to buy is based on their overall experience with you, their trust in you, and how compelled they are to disrupt the status quo and transform their space.
It has been proven that a large purchase is an emotional decision that is justified logically in your client’s mind later. Do you think that they will feel compelled to buy if you present to them with a hum-drum attitude? As a kitchen designer, you may have designed hundreds or even thousands of spaces for clients, and this particular design project may not excite you. The project you are currently presenting may even bore you, or even more difficult, you may entirely dislike the style that your client prefers for their new space.
You may not be particularly excited about the project, but if you allow that to come through in the tone of your voice, your facial expressions and your overall attitude, what do you think your client might be thinking during their experience with you?
Your client could have thoughts such as:
- This person does not seem very confident in their work
- Our designer doesn’t seem very passionate about our project
- This designer doesn’t really seem to enjoy their job
Should any one of these ideas be floating around in your client’s head, it may make them decide to ditch their plans with you and seek out a new designer or studio to do business with.
If you don’t present your ideas and thoughts on the project in an excited and positive manner, how do you expect your client to be excited enough to spend their money with you?
Keep in mind, I am not suggesting that you be overly excited, either. This can easily come across as being phony, and you may have experienced this sort of fake enthusiasm from a salesperson you have dealt with in the past. The feeling you may have gotten from this is that you just didn’t trust the salesperson and that they might be trying to hide something.
When you greet, and present to your client, be positive, smile and be welcoming. This sometimes can be difficult when you have a very demanding client, but don’t let this shake you. The moment you give your client signals that you don’t enjoy working with them, they may do a 180 and leave you, also bad-mouthing you to others.
At some point, you will be sitting down with your client to do an overall presentation of their project. It is so important here to be positive, maybe even throw in a little humor, as long as it is tasteful. If you are showing your client a new idea that they possibly were not expecting and you want them to like, lean in slightly to express how excited you are about this idea and present it with the utmost confidence.
If you are in a meeting to show your client your final designs for their project, I would also suggest that you sit next to them at the table. This way they will feel that this is a partnership, like a friend sitting down with them at their kitchen table. When you sit across the table from them, you can easily create a feeling that you are in charge and are dictating the terms of their project, rather than this being a true collaboration.
Since purchasing a new kitchen or bath remodel is an emotional decision, you must do everything you can to be sure your client has the most positive experience possible. This will help to compel your client to buy and also ensure that they give you referrals in the future.
Thanks for reading, subscribing and sharing. As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome!