DesignBiz Rx Weblog

Designer Definitions

9 July 2008

One of the most frequent topics of discussion to come up whenever Deb and I run a seminar or presentation regards identity and definitions.

In some states, of course, the phrase interior designer can only be used by a licensed professional, so many believe, by default, that interior decorator is a “lesser” choice. I’d like to point out, however, that many of our best known, most praised design talents in the U.S. were (and are) proud to be know as decorators… reaching back to Dorothy Draper, Billy Baldwin, Sister Parish, Mario Buatta, Charlotte Moss, etc. 

But this concern over “what to call myself” is usually a cover debate for “how can I charge”, meaning does a designer have a greater perceived value to the client than a decorator? If you’ve ever found yourself having this discussion with yourself, your staff, etc. you’ve allowed yourself to become distracted from the key issue by semantics. 

And what is the key issue? You need to ask how you perceive yourself. Are you a color specialist? Are you a fantastic resource? Are you a good listener? Are you a problem-solver? Are you a space strategist? It all goes back to how you present yourself to your clients and what value you bring to them.

So our response to the designer/decorator debate? It doesn’t really matter that much. Get yourself out of the design-world bubble and start thinking bigger. Who gets called in when there’s an issue that can’t be solved  internally? Who gets paid the big bucks to advise, research, strategize and plan? Consultants!

You don’t have to call yourself a design consultant, but you do need to think of yourself that way. Why? Well, how about this really, really brief summary of Alan Weiss’ book Million Dollar Consulting.

* Focus on the value you deliver.
* Never count hours or charge by the hour.
* Make a case for what you can deliver. Once you’ve got your client on board, present your “fee” as an given.

According to Weiss, the client will almost always bite.

As always, we welcome your thoughts on this!

Entry Filed under: Client Relations,Marketing,Pricing. Tags: Client Relations, Marketing, Pricing.