FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NANCY BY VISITING HER WEBSITE HERE

GRAB HER FREE RESOURCES FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS HERE

JOIN HER FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

SIGN UP FOR MY UPCOMING WEBINAR, RESPECTED AND PROFITABLE: THE KEY TO LEADING PROFITABLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ON DECEMBER 5TH AT 12:30 PM EST / 9:30 AM PST

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

WHAT MAKES A PROFITABLE BUSINESS

SURPRISING STATISTICS IN OUR INDUSTRY

HOW TO MARKET LOCALLY AND ONLINE

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If you’ve ever wondered if local marketing could make or break your business, today’s episode is for you!

Today, my guest, Nancy Ganzekaufer, shares valuable insights on marketing your interior design business both locally and online, reveals surprising industry statistics you might not know, and explains how to build a thriving business while enjoying a balanced and fulfilling personal life.

Nancy Ganzekaufer is a sought-after Business and Life Coach, Body Language Trainer, Speaker, and Author. Previously named one of New York’s top coaches, Nancy specializes in coaching interior designers with a focus on marketing and sales strategies, helping them maximize their profitability while identifying and serving their ideal clients with confidence.  

Nancy guides her clients to develop the most straightforward path to higher profitability, visibility, and scalability through confident decision making, efficient systems development, and effective communication. She enjoys rolling up her sleeves and helping her interior design clients tackle the tough challenges in life and work, transforming them into happier, healthier, focused professionals. 

With her no-nonsense coaching style, Nancy has empowered thousands to know and charge their worth and position themselves in their market with authority and authenticity. 

I find that when designers get into this business, it’s not just about design or construction; it’s about profitability.

That includes money in, money out, your vendors, and developing your vendors, but it’s also about your branding and your marketing. 

Nancy says, that out of all the service-based entrepreneurs she has coached, interior design is the hardest due to all the moving parts and all the relationships you’re trying to maintain while trying to create new ones. Traffic to your website or traffic to yourself, closing the deals, pricing them right. You do need help sometimes with bookkeeping, a coach, learning, and so how do you do that if you’re not making enough money? 

“So, how I coach, my first session always starts with pricing. Because that first deal you’re going to close is going to be at the right price, not continue at the wrong price while you’re figuring everything else out. Then we get back into all the other things you need to know. And now you have enough money to start using it to grow your business and get to a level that you’re happy with,” shares Nancy

Nancy’s motto is all about working with the proper ideal client, saying no to the ones who aren’t, and doing it right with your process. Less clients and more money with exemplary service. This is us working IN our business as opposed to us working ON our business. 

You also need to work in order to enjoy your life. So often, designers work so many hours they’re not enjoying their personal lives. So the idea is to get the clients in the door. Understand how to screen them for your business. Have service models that you love to do at the right price which makes you love to do it even more. Then, you have the ability to grow your business and pay for services that aren’t your superpower, and that’s where you really get that sweet spot.

Surprising Statistics

Nancy shares some statistics that not everybody will probably know:

“73% of people who look for an interior design business look for people who show up in the Google, and in the Google Maps listing. It’s estimated that only 65-70% of interior designers even have a Google Business profile, and only 40% of them have optimized profiles. So for someone to say that yes, they’re on Google, they’re verified, but they’re not using it properly and verifying it – just because you show up on the Google Business profile doesn’t mean you’re going to show up on the top. You want to be on that top page, and you can do that by working on it regularly, getting it optimized, and getting it out there. Because remember, 73% of people find their interior designers from Google,” says Nancy

Updating all of your platforms, including your website, Facebook, and Instagram, is key. 

There ARE quick and easy ways to do this. Most of what holds people back is that they’ll say it’s time, but it’s actually fear. And they’ll fill their time with everything else. Fear of putting yourself out there, your business, your name, your face, Is it valuable? Are people going to make fun of me? You get all those naysayers in your head, and then suddenly you’re frozen, and you can’t even do the simple things like put up a Google Profile and just post there once a week or once a month. 

Local marketing

Everywhere you go in your local area is a potential to create a relationship. Get out in your local community and be a part of it. 

Go to a local networking event. Approach high-end luxury stores and say, I’d love to do a presentation here, anything that can get you more exposure to the local market. Possibly join the local business bureau in your area, a charity event, or a charitable organization so people get to know you, see the dedication you’re putting into a charitable event and want to hire you. 

In the interior design industry, people want to know who is walking into their house. They want to know your face and what you stand for, and already feel like they have a connection with you, even based on your style, personality, etc. 

“Sharing your life, yourself, the real you, is hard, but it’s very connective and important,” says Nancy

Local Tips

Nancy wants her students to always be in one charity, be in one industry networking group, and get out from behind their computers in order to get out in their local area. Say yes to things. Talk to people. Talk to moms outside the school. Learn to talk about your business in a non-sales way, and you won’t believe how much it can bring you back, as well as optimizing your personal Facebook profile, your business profile on FB, your IG, LinkedIn, and absolutely your Google Business Profile—optimized and updated regularly. 

Nancy has a free resource that shows you how to craft an awesome interior design elevator pitch, which you can grab here.

Marketing tips

We also talk about how marketing includes niching down and getting your pricing right, and that also includes changing your mindset from “I hope they pick me” to “Do I want to work with them?”  This helps you know who you are as a business owner – and it can change as the years go by, but for now, how do you want to present yourself? Let’s get you there confidently and then let’s put you out into your local market as well as your social media market and start talking to who you want to hire you. You have to talk directly to who you want to hire you. 

Running a business is a different skill than interior design, but both can be learned.

If you’re confident in interior design, you can learn to run a business. If you’re pricing yourself right, you can hire someone who is your manager behind the scenes, handling all the tasks you don’t want to deal with. Nancy has a business manager who runs her entire business. She shows up to coach, do marketing, do podcasts, show up live at speaking events, and say yes or no to different things that people are coming up with on my team. I don’t have to do all the nitty gritty anymore. 

 “I’ve set it up, and it did take me years, and I didn’t always do it right. I had to hire and fire, and there’ve been ups and downs, but I finally got that person who, and a whole team now that’s worked with me for years, that stick with me through the ups and downs, but it’s a journey, but you do have to learn to run your business properly if you’re ever going to just feel happy,” says Nancy

Hopefully, you can avoid some of the mistakes Nancy and I have made along the way due to this connectivity that is now available to us all, which simply didn’t exist when we were starting our businesses!