If you are like most Kitchen and Bath Designers right now, you are getting slammed with business and are having a challenging time keeping up. Of course, this is a good problem to have, but it is also something that our industry is grappling with right now. Nearly all aspects of the home improvement industry are facing product delays as well as labor shortages and dramatically increased timelines on projects.

The last thing you want right now is to invest hours of time and effort into your client’s project, only to have them tell you that they are going to wait until things get closer to normal, whatever that means these days.

There is no crystal ball that you can look into to predict anything.

You cannot prepare your prospect too early for the reality of what is happening right now. This way, they know exactly what they might be dealing with regarding delays, labor, etc. Be careful not to sugarcoat it. Explain to them that things are rapidly changing and there may be delays or hiccups that are completely unpredictable right now. There is no crystal ball that you can look into to predict anything. This is the reality of our current world. If your prospect insists that they must receive their ordered product prior to what you know to be realistically possible, do not even give them the wildest idea that you might be able to accomplish this. You are the one that they will be angry at and will demand a refund from when their project goes awry. 

If they give you a hard time or, claim that a competitor can provide for them in a faster timeframe, this is the prospect you probably do not want to have right now. You can’t afford it.

By doing this, you hopefully will not waste your time working on a project that your prospect will decide not to purchase due to timeframe. You don’t have the time for that.

By setting the proper expectations right from the beginning, your client will know the challenges that we all face right now in executing these projects.