AC: removed photos
Finding a Middle GroundFor pros who land somewhere between asking for a fee or offering free consultations, a favorable solution may be somewhere in the middle: a shorter meeting for free that doesn’t include the in-depth coverage of a full consultation. This style of meeting helps reassure clients that they won’t be wasting money and also ensures that the pro’s time is well spent. During this meeting, the pro does not share design ideas or information, but clients can determine whether they want to move forward. Theresa Guthals of Pikes Peak Interiors in Colorado Springs, Colorado, says she offers potential clients the option of coming to her office for a free 30-minute consultation. About 50 percent of the people who take her up on the offer end up hiring her, Guthals says.
Offering Consultations for Free On the flip side, many professionals feel that offering a free consultation may result in more business. It allows potential clients to get to know the professional without fearing that they’ll spend money on a pro who isn’t right for their needs. “There is no hour or two of your time worth the the lost opportunity for multiples of thousands in profits, which is why I Iong ago abandoned that fee,” says Jan Moyer, an interior designer in Rochester, New York. Others feel free consultations are just part of the business and an opportunity to learn whether the project is a good fit or not. Finding a Middle GroundFor pros who land somewhere between asking for a fee or offering free consultations, a favorable solution may be somewhere in the middle: a shorter meeting for free that doesn’t include the in-depth coverage of a full consultation. This style of meeting helps reassure clients that they won’t be wasting money and also ensures that the pro’s time is well spent. During this meeting, the pro does not share design ideas or information, but clients can determine whether they want to move forward. Theresa Guthals of Pikes Peak Interiors in Colorado Spr...
Charging for the consultation is a way for pros to be compensated for sharing their hard-earned knowledge and experience. “During my consultations, I’m offering the client ideas and suggestions. They can either take those ideas and use them on their own, or they can hire me to implement [them] after that meeting,” says Maria Kovach of Simply Stated Interiors in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. “Either way, they have received the information they needed from a qualified professional, and I have been compensated for my time and ideas.”Before clients agree to a consultation, pros can help justify the fee by explaining to clients what they will get out of the consultation. Are they paying for the ability to ask you questions for an hour? Will they walk away with specific product ideas or a few mock layouts of their room? Whatever you decide to offer, establishing the expectations before the consultation will help ensure the customer is happy, increasing the chances that the client will continue with the project.Many pros find that charging a consultation fee is the first step in determining whether the client is a good fit. “There is a very low probability that I will get a project” if a custom...
Q