|
|
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Here are some important tips from Will Franco's class, "How Designers Can Increase Profits & Save Time with Technology"
75% of interior designers do NOT have a website! Yikes! If nothing else, you must get a blog! No web presence = no business.
A website is a social validation tool. Add testimonials and before & after photos, and you will see results.
You need to connect and stay on top of prospects minds. How can you do this? With an Ezine.
Designers should be on Twitter.
Video emails allow you to connect with your clients and prospects. The more you can do to establish a relationship - allow your prospects to KNOW you, the more likely you will create a customer for life.
For more information about launching a profitable ezine campaign, visit:
Today's post gives you a summary of notes from Debbie Green's class, "It's All About Attitude"
"A good attitude is the foundation for a successful design business."
The more you ACT happy, the more you FEEL happy.
Attitude Improvers: - create and stick to a budget for your business
- clean your desk
- smile
You must earn a prospect's trust before you can ever expect to get a sale. Even after you earn someone's trust, they may not buy from you. But if you don't start with creating a trusting relationship, there will NEVER be a sale.
How to earn trust: - Never violate your integrity
- Always be on time
- Share your knowledge
- Send a regular ezine
Do what you say you will do. Deliver what you promise. This seems obvious, right? Unfortunately, it's not often done! (If you go beyond this, you really stand out.)
Thanks for an uplifting class, Debbie!
Debbie Green is the founder of Minutes Matter design software. You can find out more about Debbie and her products at www.minutesmatterstudio.com
For the next few weeks, I am going to post inspiration from the Interior Design Summit. Using just ONE of these ideas will boost your design business. If you implement a whole bunch, you will be so far ahead of the pack!
We had 12 amazing experts sharing powerful, valuable ideas for skyrocketing your design business in this market. What I loved is that there were many commonalities. When you hear the same thing from so many experts, you know it's gold!
The Most Important Success Strategies for Designers:
1. Blog, blog, blog. You MUST have a blog. Even if you don't have a website, please go start a blog. It is free. It is easy. Do it now!
Then make sure you post at least twice a week. Search engines love updated material, so the more you blog, the more potential clients will find you.
2. Marketing is all about connections and relationships. Don't try to promote yourself or sell your products. Just join a conversation online, share valuable information, or help someone out. It's amazing how much better this works to boost your bottom line!
3. (to be continued...)
You may have heard my voice at my site (www.wealthydecorators.com). I use this audio in many places on the web, and it really helps me get more leads for my business because of the added connection it creates with web browsers. This article shows you how you can gain more leads and sales by using audio.
How to Use Audio on the Internet
The simple fact is - most people now look online when researching which companies to use for anything. Your website and your business email correspondence must reflect your professionalism and personal style. They also need to stand out from the competition. And they need to make a connection with your viewers.
WAIT! Is it actually possible to make a personal connection and establish a relationship with a total stranger on the Internet?
Yes, it is. And one of my favorite techniques is using audio.
A prospect needs to like you and trust you if they are going to give you their business. Consumers are more likely to trust you if they see and hear you. By including your photo and your personal voice greeting, you transform a normally impersonal medium (the web) into a friendlier, more welcoming place.
So how can you use audio to create a stronger connection with your prospects and clients (thus increasing your calls, sales, and resales)?
Here are three fun ideas:
- Greet visitors on your home web page
Your audio "welcome" will build rapport with prospects much quicker than typed words alone.
- Boost the impact of your testimonials
Written testimonials are good. But audio testimonials are even more powerful. Have your customers record their testimonials - in their own words - and put them on your website with their names and photos.
If you email your sketches, photos, and estimates to a prospect, include an audio explaining everything and describing your design with emotion. This is not only more exciting and modern, but it is that personal connection that will encourage prospects to hire you.
Want to know the easiest way to get audio on your site and emails? I use a program called Audio Generator. For a small monthly fee, it allows me to post my voice messages on as many web pages as I want, and I can send unlimited audio emails. It is so simple - all I do is call a phone number, record my message, and hang up. Immediately, my recording is available to use.
Do you ever have these types of thoughts? - I wish I didn't have so many challenging customers.
- Why can't I find higher-end clients?
- My customers don't spend that kind of money.
- The market is really slow right now.
"What you focus on... expands."
When you instead start feeling gratitude for the business you NOW have, you will start to attract more of those things you are grateful for.
Do you have clients who pay you (even if it seems like a small amount)? Be grateful for them.
Are you able to arrange your schedule to have a little quality time with your loved ones? Feel gratitude for this blessing.
Are you doing what you love for a living? Remember to feel thankful everyday for this opportunity.
"The daily practice of gratitude
is one of the conduits by which
your wealth will come to you."
- Wallace Wattles, author of The Science of Getting Rich
Earlier this year, I created a Gratitude Experiment for my clients and ezine readers. For seven days, participants wrote down 5 things they felt grateful for. After just a few days, we got comments like:- "It's amazing how well it works and how much inspiration there is in this simple exercise."
- "This exercise has taught me to be appreciative of all things, regardless of how small they may seem."
- "I feel a warm fuzzy and think this is a great way to end the day or begin it!"
- "This is the best exercise, I am feeling so happy! Let's not stop."
***Well, after seeing how powerful Twitter is for bringing conscious, happy, helpful people together, I decided I should bring this Gratitude Experiment to my tweeps. If you want to see some miracles occur in your life, join in. Just post what you are grateful for at least once a day, using the hash #gratX.
Looking forward to sharing in your happiness, appreciation, and gratitude.
I'm grateful for you!
Let me give you a little-known secret for protecting your income - no matter what the economic climate: multiple streams of income.Let's face it. If you have income coming in from various sources, you are less likely to suffer when one or two of them is slow. As designers, most of us have ONE source of income: working with clients. Yes, we do many things for them and sell various products, but THEY are our only way to make money. Without clients who are willing to hire and pay us, we have no business. But it doesn't have to be that way! Designers are finally learning that they can make money from other sources. And I do NOT mean getting another job working for someone else or starting a completely new business. All of your streams of income can be design related. This is one thing that sets apart the designers who are thriving (and truly confusedabout why everyone is whining) and those who are buying into the overwhelming complaining about how "bad" the economy is. One of my favorite things to do when I coach designers is look at their current income stream (working one-on-one with clients), and then talk about what they really love about it. Then I help them figure out other outlets for creating income, taking into account their passions and talents. This not only helps guarantee more money for them (even in "tough" times), but they start enjoying what they are doing more than ever. For the purpose of this article, I'll share 3 examples of additional streams of income for your interior design business. 1. Writing: Put your expertise down on paper. You don't have to be a five-star writer to profit from writing. There are many possibilities for income when you write about design. Newspapers and magazines are often looking for a steady columnist. If you are ambitious, publish your own book! The quickest way to make money this way is to create an e-book and sell it on line. 2. Teaching: Even when homeowners aren't spending as much on decorating, they still want to know how to make their homes beautiful. Since you know a lot of tricks of the trade, why don't you share some of them? You can teach live classes at a local college or in your showroom. Or you can make it even easier, and use my favorite way to teach - as a teleseminar. 3. Membership Programs: Large stores have been profiting from this stream of income for many years, and it's time for you to join the bandwagon. What can you offer your clients and prospects as a wonderful convenience? Customers pay you monthly or yearly to receive certain benefits, like upholstery cleaning when needed, service calls on motorized window treatments, carpet freshening, pillow fluffing, etc.
For designers, sources of income are really unlimited. I'll keep sharing more ideas in upcoming ezines. But please get started. Add an additional stream of income now! Seriously folks. You can sit around complaining (and watch what you are focusing on become a reality in your life), or you can join me and create more streams of income. What is your choice?
How To Do a Teleseminar to Build Your Design Business, Gain Expert Status, and Make Money
You know that giving classes and seminars is a great marketing strategy, but you want the easiest way to do it. Teleseminars are a fabulous way to gain expert status and make money - without leaving your house (I often do them in my PJ's!).
And your seminar attendees can also listen in from their homes - which means you're more likely to get a big crowd.
In this information-packed, 90-minute class, you will learn: - How to choose a topic for your class
- How to get sign-ups
- Whether to charge or use your seminar to get leads
- How to get a FREE bridge line for your call
- How to use your seminar to build your design business
- What are the best days to hold a teleseminar
- How to record your teleseminar without purchasing any equipment
|
