Good idea.

Problem is, so does every other designer within a 500 mile radius. What to do?

Well, you can do what those others do. You can hang out at local HBA meetings, and pass out business cards.

Or, you can get a list of local builders, and start smilin’, dialin’ and leavin’ — lots of messages.

Then again, you can do something which makes a lot more sense: invite builders over for breakfast.

I’ve helped several designers create “Builders for Breakfast” events.

Invite a select group to a “builders networking event” at your showroom, or a nice local restaurant. Let ‘em munch and meet. Give a 15 minute presentation. Offer your design services. And then, send ‘em on their way

Promote it the right way, and you’ll be surprised how many builders show, and how many relationships you can develop.

Some Builders for Breakfast ideas to get you started:

+ Create a 20 minute presentation on how area builders can increase sales (sample topic: “How to Add Magic to Your Model Homes”

+ Promote your “builders networking event” and your presentation with personalized invitations.

+ Have the event catered. Or, select an upscale local restaurant to host it.

+ Include a simple handout, such as a tip list, and include your contact info and bio.

+  Announce your plans to partner with a few local builders, and offer yourself as a design resource for them.

+ Send handwritten thank you notes following the event.

Fred Berns coaches interior design professionals on how to increase their business by connecting with builders and developers.

Think of  early-January as “Show and Tell” Time.

It’s a time to connect with those you seek to influence, show them what you got, and tell them what to do:  check out this website, download that service list, call for a consultation, etc.

It’s a time to check in and check out. Check in with current, past and prospective clients, and help them to check out all the new stuff you’re planning for 2012.

Many interior design professionals  use this approach as part of  rate increase campaigns.

In recent weeks, I’ve helped several design pros craft January rate hike letters.

Their new pricing plans don’t appear until the final paragraph of these letters. Prior to that, the focus is on how clients will benefit from the changes planned for 2012.

Examples:  In the coming year, we’ll….

+ revise our website to make it more interactive, so you can quickly get answers to  pressing design questions

+ reach out to new vendors, so that you’ll  have access to more product lines

+ launch a new blog, to educate you about trends, design do’s and don’t's, and what’s hot and what’s not

+ expand our commercial design services, so you can hire us to redo your offices and waiting rooms.

+ add staging, to help you get the most money in the quickest amount of time when you’re ready to sell

+ hire a designer and administrative assistant,  to enhance our  service to you.

Interested in distributing a rate hike letter to your clients? Check out the samples in the Big Splash, Little Cash Marketing Materials Manual, or download the audio program entitled Twice the Price: Double Your Dollars as a Design Professional.

Fred Berns is a sales  and marketing coach and copywriter for interior design professionals worldwide.

Peggy Morgans used to have a boring website bio.

Very boring…

It formerly opened this way: “Peggy Morgans is the owner of Parkway Window Works. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.”

But check out the new, more dynamic version I created for her.

Here’s how the opening paragraph reads now:

“Peggy Morgans is the only award-winning workroom professional in upstate New York who offers interior designers a complete line of services and educational resources to help them increase profits and save time.”

“I love the new bio,” Peggy told me. “I wish I had you do this months ago.”

The bio is a design professional’s most critical marketing tool.

It differentiates and brands you,  and does the bragging for you online so you don’t have to do it in person.

Peggy Morgans’ new bio will help her get bigger projects from better clients.

Why? Because it attaches value to what she does, spells out her “Only’s,” and explains how and who she helps.

Does your promotional bio do all that?

Or, does it undersell you and dis-qualify, rather than qualify you from the kind of clients and projects you want and need.

I have time this Fall to work with three design professionals on their bios. Interested? Contact me at Fred@FredBerns.com.

Fred Berns is a marketing coach and copywriter for interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

If you change your business model, adopt a “Brand Do” as well as “Can Do” attitude.

Has there ever been a time when so many interior design professionals are reinventing themselves?

Not that I can remember.

The uncertain economy and the construction slump have transformed some interior designers into home stagers, some architects into remodeling specialists, and some builders into commercial consultants.

It’s all well and good to reposition yourself to adapt to changing – and challenging — times.

Just make sure you rebrand yourself in the process.

When you sell new services, sell yourself in new ways.

Go beyond the new job title. Tell who and how you help. Spell out your specialness in your new specialty.

And spread the news, Suze.

Share new insights and start new conversations on Facebook and Twitter. Join new LinkedIn groups.

Write on, and Speak up.

Pinpoint the pain, and recommend yourself as the remedy.

If, for example, you repackage yourself as a window fashion specialist, discuss how local homeowners waste thousands of dollars on unnecessary energy costs.

And explain how your blinds can reduce energy loss and UV damage.

When you reinvent yourself, you must promote yourself more than before.

You must stand up, and stand out.

You must say it loud, and say it proud.

And you must Stand by Your Brand.

When you reposition yourself, don’t disregard your previous credentials.

Just repackage them.

Some examples of new branding phrases I created recently for coaching clients who are changing their focus:

+ (Name) is the region’s only home stager with experience and a degree in landscape architecture.

+ (Name) is the only area window fashion dealer who operated her own drapery workroom for 15 years.

+ (Name) is the only local showroom manager who formerly ran an interior design firm.

It’s by choice, not chance that each of these phrases contains the million dollar marketing word: Only.

As you roll out your new business, don’t tell me you’re different because you care about your customers.

Or because you turn design dreams into reality. Or because you have a flair for color.

Been there. Done that.

I don’t want your platitudes. I want you word.

I want your “only.”

Tell me what’s unique to you, and I’ll hire only you.

Fred Berns is a branding coach for interior design businesses worldwide.

Some of the most powerful promotion costs you nothing at all.

How to do million dollar marketing on a shoestring budget is the theme of one of my seminars on Sept. 8 at the conference in Louisville, KY.
of the Window Coverings Assn. of America.

The seminar is entitled Market Smart: Make a Big Splash for Little Cash, and it’s scheduled for 10:15-11:30 a.m. at the Inspire 2011 conference.

How to take the “price” out of your promotion is the  focus of the presentation, which covers everything from Facebook to free publicity, from websites to webinars, from social media to seminars, and from email to voicemail.

If you’re spending lots of time and money on marketing, you’re probably wasting it.

You can implement each of strategies I’ll cover in Louisville in 45 minutes or less, for $25 or less.

I invite you to join me for this program, and my presentation at 3:15 on the same day. The name of that presentation: “Supersize Your Success! 7 Steps to Peak Profits in Challenging Times.”

For Inspire 2011 information, visit: www.WCAA.org.

Fred Berns is a business coach and trainer for window covering specialists and other interior design professionals.

I bet you do.

Do you want to invest the time, energy and headaches in writing and rewriting and revising them yourself?

I bet you don’t.

That’s why I’ve created the new Master Marketing Program.

For one investment, I’ll create your bios and profiles, an article, a news release and other critical marketing materials.

And I’ll coach you on where, how and when to use them.

And I’ll revise and rewrite your website copy.

And I’ll be available to you over a 45-day follow up period.

The Master Marketing Program is the most comprehensive, done-for-you promotion package available to interior design professionals and design industry partners.

Aren’t you supposed to do what you do best, and delegate the rest?

What you do best is interior design.

What I do best is help design industry professionals earn more money and recognition by promoting themselves more effectively.

What say we team up for your success?

To learn more about the new Master Marketing Program, click here: http://interiordesignbusiness.net/mastery/

Fred Berns  provides marketing copywriting services for interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

There were dozens of vendors when I arrived Saturday at the local farmers’ market, but only one was doing good business.

In fact, he was doing all the business.

He was the only farmer offering the special fill-a-bag-for-$10 sale. Customers could buy for $10 all the cantaloupe, peaches, strawberries, corn and other produce they could stuff into the plastic bags he distributed during the final half hour.

And customers were lined up three-deep for the opportunity to feed the farmer their $10 bills, and start stuffing.

The victorious vendor did more than just promote his bargain bag sale.

He said “yes” when others might say “no.” He welcomed, and charged the same price to  the customer who showed  up with a cloth bag twice the size of a plastic bag.

Why? Because he knew she would return in the future, and perhaps bring friends with her.

Meanwhile, all the other vendors could only watch and wish, and start packing up their unsold and perishable produce.

There’s a lesson to be learned from the fortunate fruit farmer: simple and smart sales succeed.

Is there a special offer that would motivate prospects to work with you in these final weeks of summer?

What’s your equivalent  of a fill-a-bag sale?

How about a package deal on window treatments or fabrics? Or a remodeling sale in which offer bargain basement prices for rooms other than the kitchen? Or free shipping and/or installation?

Take it from the farmer: a good sales gets people talking…and buying.

Fred Berns is an interior design industry marketing and sales coach.

Or do they think of your interior design services as a “frill” in these uncertain economic times?

Now, more than ever, you need to be a necessity.

How to make yourself a priority in these challenging times is a major focus of the Platinum Package, a collection of books, manuals, audio programs and other materials on sale through Fri., Sept 15.

Now you can get the “hard copy” version of the Platinum Package for  less than half the regular price, and less than half the price of the digital downloads. And you get FREE SHIPPING. Order by Labor Day (Sept. 5) and receive two free bonuses.

Details: http://www.interiordesignbusiness.net/platinum/

Fred Berns is a business coach for interior design professionals and design industry partners.

It’s should remind you that your biggest challenge in this challenging economy isn’t just to get customers to buy.

It’s to get them to buy now.

You simply can’t afford to let prospects stand by, to think about it, to hold off for now, to shop around a bit. It’s dangerous to let them play the waiting game.

You can’t afford to let them use “This Economy” as an excuse not to buy now.

You can’t sell when they sit. When they snooze, you lose.

Their procrastination is your poison.

Maybe your competitors are willing to fall for the stall, settle for “someday,” and let prospects walk out of their showroom — and out of their lives.

You can’t. Not if you want to thrive, rather than just survive in 2011.

“Why you?” used to be the question foremost on a prospect’s mind.

Now there’s a second one: “Why now?”

Here’s where you have to create immediacy.

Here’s where you must convince them that this isn’t just a good time to invest in your design services and products, it’s the BEST time.

Procrastination is a kind of price objection — and the feel-felt-found strategy is one good way to overcome it.

Say: “I understand how you feel: the idea of buying a new kitchen now IS scary, because it’s expensive.”

“Other clients felt that, too. But they found that buying now helped them immediately reduce energy costs, lock in lower prices on materials and labor, and enhance the value — and eventual resale value — of their homes.”

Your best strategy now is to use the economic downturn to your advantage.

How? By explaining why it’s exactly why a prospect should buy from you now.

Say, someone tells you that this economy is why they can’t afford your design services now.

Your response?

“This economy is precisely why you should invest in our services now.”

“Financial gurus say your home is your most important asset, your ‘safest haven’ in times like these. Well, we can help you increase your home’s value and prepare it for resale.”

Other ways to use this turnabout technique:

This is exactly the time to invest in our design services because we can help you…

… install more energy-efficient window treatments in your lobbies.

… make more efficient use of space in your corporate offices, now that you’re downsizing.

… update your models, so that you can move the condos more quickly.

… modify your kitchen and bathrooms so that you can save on water bills.

… finish the basement, and add a bedroom that you can rent out.

…save money now, rather than pay higher prices in the future on things like furniture and fabrics.

Those design professionals most adept at addressing “this economy” will be the most successful this year.

Fred Berns is a business coach for interior design professionals and interior design industry partners nationwide.

Your business.

I’m offering 1-on-1, in-person coaching sessions Sept. 1-3 in Chicago, and Oct. 19-21 in New York to interior design professionals and design industry partners. I’ll be in both cities on other business.

So what’s in it for you?

A two hour, face-to-face discussion of your design business and career, your financial and other goals, your challenges — and/or any other topics you want to cover. All that, plus you’ll get a 30-day follow up period.

Do you have questions about the business of your interior design industry business? I have answers.

I’ve heard, and addressed a wide range of sales/marketing/pricing/ staffing/customer relations and other issues during my 25+ year career coaching interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

Are you committed to bigger sales, better clients and greater profitability this Fall and beyond?

If so, then commit to this live coaching experience near Chicago or New York.

For details about this fully-guaranteed personal coaching opportunity, contact me at Fred@FredBerns.com, or 303-665-6688.

Fred Berns is a business coach for interior design professionals and design industry partners.

Wednesday is your last chance to save BIG on a coaching session designed to help you work less and earn more this summer.

Register by this Wednesday, and you’ll pay only $249 for the 90 minute telephone coaching session, and the one-week follow up. After Wednesday, the investment for the Summer Coach Call will be $299.

Once you register, you can schedule the Coach Call for any time this Summer.

How to substantially increase your profits before Labor Day — and spend less time doing it — is the focus of this coaching program.

You’ll learn no cost, no sweat ways to build your business over the summer months.

And I’ll show how you how to substantially increase sales in one hour a day.

You’ll walk away with what you need to know to connect with lots more promising prospects.

You’ll also find out how to double your database while you sleep.

And we can use this 1-on-1 session to review your design business goals and challenges.

The investment is $249 if you register by Wed., June 22, or $299 thereafter.

Once you register, you can schedule the Coach Call for any time this Summer.

Register now by contacting me at 303-589-3013, or Fred@FredBerns.com.

Fred Berns provides business success coaching for leading interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

You can’t get the business unless you ask for it.

And you’re unlikely to get other benefits without asking for them.

Referrals, for example.  And the OK to do Phase II.

And coverage in leading design publication. And deeper vendor discounts.

You won’t get everything you ask for. But, you may get not get anything that you don’t ask for.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll receive positive responses. But you miss 100 per cent of the shots you never take.

Are you taking enough shots?

Not if your interior design business isn’t where it should be. Or could be.

Better outcomes may be only a question away.

Ask for:
+ the appointment

+ the sale

+ the contract

+ higher fees

+ payment up front

+ referrals

+ letters of introduction

+ testimonials

+ Phase II of the project

+ financial support

+ better terms

+ better rates

+ other discounts

+ media coverage

+ speaking opportunities

+ the job

+ the promotion

+ the raise

XXXXX

Let’s talk about you, and let’s talk about summer.

Let’s discuss how you can work less and earn more between now and Labor Day.

Give me 90 minutes of your time on the phone for a Summer Coach Call, and I’ll give you no cost, no sweat ways to build your business over the summer months.

And I’ll show how you how to substantially increase sales in one hour a day.

You’ll walk away with what you need to know to connect with lots more promising prospects.

You’ll also find out how to double your database while you sleep.

And we can use this 1-on-1 session to review your design business goals and challenges.

Included in your moneyback guaranteed investment is a one week follow up period.

The investment is $249 if you register by Wed., June 22, or $299 thereafter.

Once you register, you can schedule the Coach Call for any time this Summer.

Register now by contacting me at 303-589-3013, or Fred@FredBerns.com.

XXXXX

That empty seat in First Class sure looked inviting.

The flight from Dubai, U.A.E. back to Washington, D.C. was going to be long: 15 hours, or so.

And I was plenty tired.

I had spent the week presenting seminars and serving as the emcee in Dubai at the conference of the International Federation of Interior Architects and Designers.

“Can I sit in that seat?” I asked the flight attendant as I boarded the plane.

“No, she replied. “You have an economy ticket.

“But the seat’s empty.”

“Why should I give you a free upgrade instead of anyone else?”

“Because I’m the only one who asked.”

“Hmmmm,”  she said. “You have a point there.”

And, within minutes, I had a First Class seat there. At no extra charge.

Ask the right question, and you get the right answer.

Fred Berns provides business success coaching for leading interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

Your prospects don’t. Your website visitors don’t. Even your clients don’t.

That’s because, if you’re like most interior design professionals, your promotional bio is a bust.

Chances are your printed bio sheet and your website “About Us” section undersell you. As a result, those you seek to influence don’t know all that you do, have done, and can do.

This is not to say you’re unqualified, or lacking in interior design talent and skill.

It is to say that you don’t adequately share that information on your website, and in your marketing materials.

Your personal bio is your most important on-line and print marketing piece.

Is yours boosting or blocking you?

The beginning tells a bundle. A sure sign your bio doesn’t work is if it starts by saying that you “launched your company seven years ago.”

Or that you’re a New York native. Or that you received your design degree in 1999. Or that you belong to an association.

Nor am I impressed when you tell me that you “search beyond typical design solutions.”

Or that you “believe that your home interior reflects your lifestyle.” Or that you feel that “good design enhances the quality of life.”

Oh, pul – eease!

Skip the baloney, and give me benefits.

Tell me how you can enhance my home value or increase my workplace productivity, and how you can save me time, money and headaches.

And tell me how you differ from your competitors.

Bio Boosters

What goes into a good bio?

The Superstar Selling System for Design Professionals recommends that you include your:

+ “Only” phrase (” ____ is the area’s only designer who…)
+ Awards and other honors
+ Design specialities
+ Experience
+ Accomplishments
+ Skills and capabilities
+ Other qualifications
+ Unique services and products
+ Publication history (where/how you’ve been published)
+ Client profile (who you serve and how)
+ Resources (vendors, contractors, etc.)
+ Affiliations
+ Educational background

Get it Written Right

If you’re up to creating a killer bio, go for it.

If you’re not, don’t.

You can spend long hours writing and rewriting, and polishing and perfecting your personal promotion piece.

Or I could write it for you.

Aren’t you supposed to do what you do best, and delegate the rest? What you do best is interior design.

What I do best is help design professionals earn lots more money and recognition by promoting themselves more effectively.

Give me an hour on the phone to interview you, and I’ll give you within three weeks the most powerful bio you’ve ever had.

“Hiring out” your bio isn’t cheap.

But, then again, what’s your current bio costing you in lost sales, projects and revenue?

Can you afford to continue using a bio that undersells you and disqualifies, rather than qualifies you for the kind of clients you want and need?

I can create for you your most vital personal promotion tool.

I have time this Summer to work with three design professionals on their bios. If you’re interested, contact me at Fred@FredBerns.com, or 303-665-6688.

Fred Berns is a business trainer and coach for interior design professionals worldwide.

Ask current clients about future needs.

The Question
“What about….?”

No question leads to more sales than one with those two words.

As in: “What about the kitchen?”

Or: “What about new furniture for the regional offices, too?”

Or: “What about redesigning all your hotel lobbies?

How to easily generate additional income will be a key theme of the May 17 *FREE Tele-Seminar, Summer Survival Strategies: 10 Ways to Boost Your Business by September.

Click here to register: http://www.fredberns.com/summer-survival/

The program is sponsored by Luxe Home LLC,  a company that offers merchandising, marketing and business services for independent interior designers.

Many clients have other needs. What they don’t have is knowledge that you can handle them.

They may be clueless that you also work on entertainment centers, or landscapes, or corporate offices.

Tell them when you pose those “what about” questions.

And tell them as you ask about “Phase II” of the current project. Or about upgrades.

“What abouts” work wonders.

One of the most successful window covering dealers I know is, primarily, a floor covering dealer.

When measuring for carpeting, he asks: “What about the windows?”

He sells a lot of window treatments that way.

Save BIG: “Summer Survival Strategies” Audio
If you can’t tune in to Tuesday’s Summer Survival Strategies Tele-Seminar, you can get an audio download — at a discount.

Order the audio now, and you’ll pay only $59. After Tuesday, the cost will be $79.

The Summer Survival Strategies audio download will be available within 48 hours after the program.

To pre-order the audio program at the $59 earlybird price, click here: http://bit.ly/summersurvival

Diamonds in Your Database
The idea of working more with current clients brings to mind the book Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell.

It recounts the ancient tale of a Persian farmer so desperate to find diamonds that he sells his property and goes off in futile search for them.

Ultimately he spends all his money, and becomes so despondent that he drowns himself in the ocean.

Meanwhile, the man to whom he sold his home discovers a rich diamond mine — on the property.

Are there diamonds in your backyard?

Before seeking prospects for your design services, consider what else to offer your clients.

They’re the ones who know you.

They’re the ones who trust you.

They’re the ones who value you.

And they’re the ones who will respond favorably to your “What about…?” questions.

Fred Berns speaks on sales and marketing topics at interior design events worldwide.

Market smart, and sell like a star.

Wanna learn how?

Invest in the two best digital marketing and sales tools for interior design professionals for the price of one.

Order by Sat., April 30 the Big Splash, Little Cash Marketing Materials Manual for $97, and receive the Superstar Selling System for Design Professionals absolutely FREE.

We’re talking, here, about two outstanding business tools for one great price.

Big Splash, Little Cash Marketing lets you download the most effective marketing forms used by the most financially successful design professionals.

Superstar Selling offers “how to’s” and insights on what it takes double your sales.

Here’s your chance to download, at a discount, practical, yet powerful information on how to make this your career year. Your banner year. Your best year.

Here’s your chance to learn how to make a maximum marketing impact for a minimal investment of time and money. And how to close more sales, seal more deals and get higher fees.

But hurry.

You have until Sat., April 30 to order these two outstanding training tools for the price of one.

Click here for information: http://www.fredberns.com/2for1

Fred Berns is an interior design industry business coach and trainer.

Or, you’re a showroom manager who sells furniture that “connects people, technology and space.”

So what?

Bully for you, but what’s in it for me?

That’s the question that all prospects ask, all of the time.

And that’s the question that so many design professionals and industry partners forget to answer on their websites, in their social working profiles, in their brochures and elsewhere.

Your marketing words aren’t working if they force others to ask:

“And your point is…?”

Sorry, Charlie, but your prospects could care less that you have a “passion for design,” or that your company “specializes in an integrated approach to project delivery.”

What they care about is how you can save them money and time and headaches.

Or how your lighting systems can help them increase their productivity and sales.

Go ahead.

Talk all you want about your “innovative color schemes” or how you “offer a new vision of space and it’s enhancement.”

Then, ask yourself: do others get what that means?

Do you?

So What?” is one of the two “Make You, or Break You” questions for your business.

“Why?” is the other.

Address the “why” in your every call to action.

Say: Make an appointment, and we’ll give you ideas on how to increase the value of your home.

or, Check out our website, for an article on the ten most common mistakes doctors make in furnishing waiting rooms.

or, Buy our cabinets, because they carry the best guarantee in this area.

or, Hire us because we’re the only local firm with 27 years experience providing “eco-friendly” design solutions for vacation homes.

or, Send us a referral, and we’ll send you a check for $150 when they place their first order.

Fred Berns is the world’s leading sales and marketing trainer for interior design professionals and industry partners.

That’s my conclusion after interviewing hundreds of design professionals  nationwide on what motivates them to do business with certain showrooms and avoid others.

The consensus among those I interviewed: showrooms generally do a lousy job of reaching out to and aligning with designers.

That, despite the fact that those designers say they’re willing to work regularly – and, often, exclusively – with showrooms that help them build their business.

How good is your showroom at partnering with designers? Take this quiz, and find out:

Partnership Profile

True or False: You…

1/Conduct weekly “smile and dial” campaigns, in which you check in by phone with current, past and prospective clients

2/ Publish an ezine and/or blog, on which you share business–building tips with your designer clients.

3/ Hold regular focus group sessions at which designers give you feedback on your showroom

4/ Offer a business book and tape library where designers can review resources on how to increase sales and market themselves more effectively.

5/ Speak at industry events sponsored by organizations such as ASID, NKBA, IFDA and others.

6/ Teach classes at design schools as a way to connect with future employees and clients.

7/ Order in lunch and accommodate designers in other ways when they’re meeting with clients in your showroom.

8/ Host “bottom line” events – Offer programs on how high end designers can boost sales, increase fees, overcome price objections, get published, write better contracts, etc.

9/ Write and get written about – Articles by or about you in industry publications provide the best advertising that your showroom can’t buy.

10/ Show an Attitude of Gratitude to top customers by sending handwritten thank you notes, hosting customer appreciation events, distributing holiday gifts, etc.

Partnership Profile Report Card

# of times you answered “True” …

8 or more                                          Powerful Partner
6-7                                                    Promising Partner
5-6                                                    Potential Partner
3-4                                                    Passive Partner
2 or fewer                                         Pitiful Partner

Showrooms and design professionals need one another; neither can succeed without the other.

The most successful showroom managers have discovered the power of this partnership, and they maintain and expand it at their every opportunity.

What’s it take for showrooms to substantially boost their bottom line with designers?

Super customer service, solid sales and marketing, and a commitment to align with those designers in any way they can.

Fred Berns is a coach and trainer for interior design industry partners and design professionals worldwide.

Times like these, for example.

It’s when we have the most time on our hands that we often make choices that profoundly affect our future.

This certainly qualifies as one of those slower times, thanks to the holiday season and the uncertain economy.

As a result, you have been given a gift — the gift of time.

Use that gift wisely.  Analyze your business and career, and figure out what worked and what didn’t during this past year.

Look back, and determine which of your design services and products, and what types of clients have been most profitable for you.

Look ahead, and develop a sales and marketing plan for 2011.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: our industry will never be the same once the economy bounces back.

Competition will intensify, and clients will be more demanding.

Those design firms that thrive as well as merely survive in the future will have to excel at sales and marketing.

When it comes to the business of design,  “good enough” will no longer be good enough.

So where does that leave you? Are you prepared for the challenges ahead — or is it time to consider other alternatives, and careers?

Some weighty questions there; the kind that you’ll need time to answer.

I recall confronting some wrenching questions of my own nearly 10 years ago,  in the aftermath of 9/11.

At the time, I was speaking and coaching in a wide variety of industries, of which interior design was one.

Within a few days after the attacks, I lost 13 speaking engagements and coaching contracts.  Suddenly, I had no business.

All I had was time.

I used that time to do some serious soul searching.  I sought answers to the question: what’s worked best for me, and which industry has been best to and for me?

The answer came to me late one afternoon: the interior design industry.

I realized that my best, most loyal and most lucrative clients were interior design professionals.

In that slowest of times, I made my biggest of decisions: to offer my coaching and speaking services exclusively in the interior design industry.

Fred Berns is a trainer, coach and speaker in the interior design industry.

Tell me what you’re pondering, and I’ll tell you if you’re profiting. Your focus says a lot about your financials.

If you’re concentrating on lucrative projects, better clients, and higher margins, you’re attracting prosperity.

If you’re concentrating on obstacles rather than opportunities in this economy, you’re attracting poverty.

No magic, here, just mind control.

Think about big payoffs, and you’ll get them. Think, instead, about big problems, and you’ll get them.

What you think about expands.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

The most financially successful design professionals I know are the best time — and mind – managers.

They focus their day on the most productive tasks.

They focus their thoughts on abundance.

And they focus their attention on NOW.

Adopt that kind of focus, and notice how destructive feelings go out of focus.

Your fears, worries and regrets will go away.

Will you find financial success or scarcity this Fall?

You have a choice, you know.

It’s as easy to attain one as the other. All you have to do is put your mind to it. All you have to do is decide.

Too many design professionals make that decision without even realizing it.

They choose to lose.

They choose to charge too little. And give away their time and expertise. And work with low budget clients. And cave
into price objections.

They choose to struggle, rather than succeed.

They have every right to make that choice, of course. So do you.

If you choose to think impoverished thoughts, you’ll get impoverished results.

If, on the other hand, you practice prosperity thinking, abundance will flow into your design career.

Fred Berns is a business trainer and coach for interior design professionals and design industry partners worldwide.

There’s no better time than now to abandon habits that hinder more than help you.

Want to be more profitable? Then STOP…

+ selling only “stuff.” Clients can get nice cabinets elsewhere, but they can’t get you elsewhere.

Promote your service and yourself.

The most important sale you’ll ever make is the personal one.

+ qualifying. Why waste time – yours and your prospect’s – asking questions that you hope will determine if they can afford you?

Inform them, instead, that they should look elsewhere if they’re seeking the cheapest fabrics or furniture.

But they should hire you if they’d like to work with, say, a home automation specialist with 20 years experience serving a variety of clients with a variety of budgets.

+ asking about “budget.” Prospects don’t have one.

They don’t have a clue what design professionals do, or how they work, so how can you expect them to have a realistic idea about what they want to spend on your service?

Focus instead on their wants, needs and priorities, then let them know your cost for fulfilling them. That will help them determine how they’ll invest their money.

+ closing deals. Your goal, instead, should be to open long term relationships.

Your best customers are your current ones. It’s easier, and more lucrative to do repeat business with a few good clients, then to close single sales with lots of individual customers.

+ resisting price objections. View them as opportunities rather than obstacles. They enable you to differentiate yourself from competitors who charge less.

And, they’re buying signals. Studies show your chances of closing a sale are substantially higher when price objections are raised.

+ apologizing for your price. You’re a unique, one-of-a-kind design professional who saves clients money, time and headaches. You should be compensated accordingly.

Fred Berns offers personal coaching services for interior designers and design industry partners worldwide.