FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

THE STEPS AND STRATEGIES I USE IN MY OWN BUSINESS TO ATTRACT THE CLIENTS I AM LOOKING FOR

THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAR MESSAGING ON ALL YOUR CHANNELS

HOW TO POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENTICE THE CLIENTS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

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We all need to showcase our services, whether you have extensive background in construction management or are dipping your toe in for the first time, you need to establish a good way to showcase you expertise so that the clients you’re looking for can easily find you and understand the level of service that you can provide. 

I hear from designers asking how to highlight their work without giving too much away. More importantly, for many designers, it’s how to establish a balance between showcasing their finished spaces, which are beautiful and impeccably decorated, and the realities of the construction process that went on behind the scenes.

Why showcasing construction expertise is critical to your business and professional growth

The reality is that more and more clients are looking for a streamlined experience. They don’t want to hire a designer for one part of the project and then manage the contractor, the timeline, and the details themselves. They honestly want one person that they know, like, and trust, who can guide them through the entire process. That means from creating the design vision, to making sure that it’s executed flawlessly. 

For clients to be calling you about construction, you are going to have to showcase your expertise. You have to position yourself as the one stop shop for those clients who truly want beautifully designed homes and a well managed project. This not only makes you more valuable to your clients, but it also allows you to charge appropriate fees because you are offering more than just a service, you are truly offering peace of mind. Additionally, construction management projects add a lucrative revenue stream to our decorating work, which is good for your business model and profitability. 

How to start

Many of you may have heard your clients talk about a project or two yet don’t really understand how you can insert yourself into the conversation. I totally understand that insecurity and that worry about feeling like you’re overstepping or you’re overselling. And I don’t enjoy selling my services. I don’t do it by choice but I have chosen to master it because it is critical for my business. I have learned through trial and error, through practicing my pitch, refining my pitch when I didn’t feel it landed the way I wanted it to. I added all the things we do for our decorating work into my repertoire for construction management services. That skill set and experience grew that side of my business. 

How I started talking about my services on social media as well as my other content.

I’d love to say that I started out strategically, but that would be a lie – I did trial and error. Which is what I’m hoping you can avoid by listening to some of the tips I share in today’s episode!

I understand this can be intimidating. I have been intimated of being seen as salesly, but yet it can also be intimidating to be seen solely as a decorator. Nobody likes change, good or bad. Not only for you, but it’s also hard for your clients to see you in a new light, even if you have been doing this for years and they didn’t know about it. So, the goal in all of this is to strike the right balance. 

First, think about how you’re presenting your projects today. You’re likely posting stunning before and after photos of your decorating work. And that’s what people are used to seeing–your clients, friends, everybody. 

So now, why don’t you show a bit of the journey that got you to that beautifully finished room? It could be something as simple as adding a photo of the demo day with a caption of how that’s the first step towards that beautiful result. 

Or maybe it’s a shot of you on-site, walking through the project with a contractor. You’re showing you are involved in every phase of the project, not just the finishing process. This certainly doesn’t have to be a novel, you are just trying to give your followers insight to the behind the scenes problem-solving that goes into your average construction project. But you don’t want to overwhelm them with too many technical details. You want to show your expertise and how you can solve a pain point of theirs. 

Another way to incorporate construction into your content is by telling the story behind your project.

Everybody loves a behind-the-scenes. We all love to know the story. It is not just the clients and what their hopes and dreams are but also the designers’ thoughts and processes behind the design. You could do a post or short video reel explaining how you dealt with the construction. Maybe there was an unexpected structural issue or material delay. This showcases your expertise and builds trust because clients see that you handle the unexpected with ease. Any client that has done any project on their own before knows that there are unexpected issues and that they are very hard for a homeowner to in the moment, resolve efficiently and effectively. 

By showing your people that that’s what you do, you’re automatically jumping to the top of the list of the people that they want to help them with their next project.

So, this is all about educating your audience. This allows you to showcase your expertise without giving it all away, leaving them feeling like they can do it on their own. Your goal is not to share DIY videos. Your goal is to be the one that does this work for the client.

Another thing I hear designers say is, “Well, Renee, I don’t want to lose my identity as a creative designer by focusing too much on construction.”

I have three different businesses that run concurrently, so I understand that fear and have struggled with that balance, as well as not losing my identities. This doesn’t have to be all or nothing. But doing nothing doesn’t move the needle forward for you. You have to start and just jump in and probably struggle a little bit. But putting something of value out there is more than nothing. So, I want you to move beyond the paralysis of all or nothing. 

I want you to see construction and decorating as a unit. You don’t need to give up decorating to do construction management. I’ve heard from designers in the past that they do not want to give up decorating. Good. I don’t either, and I don’t have to. I decorate every single space I am managing the construction of. 

The reason is two-fold. One, my clients know, like and trust me. They are thrilled that there is one person that they have to raech out to from the very start of the project all the way to fluffing pillows at the end. 

Secondly, it’s the continuity of fees. They know exactly what they are paying from the start to the finish. Those two are a badass combination. 

Another tip is to not always post just the pretty picture first in a carousel.

We all love a before and after. But I started noticing people wouldn’t swipe when I was only posting the after picture first. So, I started alternating. Sometimes, I would post the demo picture or the framing in the picture. If it’s a bathroom, maybe it’s framed, but the tub is sitting there. Then they will always go to look for the finished photo because that’s what homeowners want to see – what will my room look like in the end? As you play around with this, you will start to see what’s resonating with your audience. 

If you’re thinking, well, I don’t have these big projects, that’s ok! We all have our firsts. Whether that is our first project, new build, new whatever, there’s always going to be a first. Highlighting the work you’re doing now shows your level of experience, and you can always be aspirational about where it’s going to go. 

Websites

You must be checking your websites regularly. I know in the past I didn’t. I was just so relieved to have something up that I just let it sit. When you all reach out to me, the very first place I go is your website. And if you reach out to me, it’s about construction management, so I am going to your website and looking specifically for that service. 

You have to make sure your messaging is clear across anything that’s promoting you and your business, whether that’s Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, your website, or all the other available channels out there, because you can never know where a prospective client or industry partner will go looking for you. 

As always, if this episode leaves you with more questions than answers, please feel free to reach out to me at hello@devignierdesign.com or shoot me a dm on social media!