Like so many other interior designer professionals, Faten Alsarraf was her own best-kept secret. That's because Faten, who is based in Dubai, didn't promote herself as well as she could. And should. Her promotional bio -- on her website and in her promotional materials -- used to open as follows: (F
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Interior Design firms are good for the U.S. economy. That's my takeaway from the Small Business Administration(SBA) statistics quoted in the July issue of Success magazine. I base that takeaway on the fact the vast majority of commercial and residential design companies are small, independent firms.
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Too many design industry partners(IPs) spend too much time and money talking to design professionals who aren't listening. That's one of my first impressions from my nationwide survey of the industry's vendors and suppliers. Reps from several companies tell me they're getting very little retu
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Now you can make a lot more sales in a lot less time. Now you can close more sales and seal more deals and get higher fees with much less hassle. That's because now you can download a program on how interior design professionals can excel at selling. Now available is a downloadable learning
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When it come to selling design services, it's no longer good enough to be "good enough." Not in this economy. Interior design may be your passion, and creativity your gift, but salesmanship is your key to success. If you think you're "just a designer, not a salesperson," you're in denial. Chances a
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You could your promote products several times in several ways in coming months to nearly 10,000 leading interior design professionals throughout North America. That’s one of the key benefits you would receive as a co-sponsor of my “Fabulous Finish” Fall tele-seminar. Your company would b
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The problem: you waste too much time presenting your design services to prospects who, you find out, can’t afford them. The solution: raise the price issue before they do. Conventional wisdom is that talking about your fees too soon will force a prospective customer to rule you out before yo
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Is Meg Ryan's Pottery Barn bed a sign of the times -- or, simply, a sign of bad taste? Depends on who you listen to. The June issue of Elle Decor includes an article on the actress' beach house in Martha's Vineyard -- a house that includes a Pottery Barn platform bed in a guestroom. "That tells the
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