How does hiring a professional interior designer impact the appeal of your workspace?  As a designer learns about your corporate culture and mission, he or she will be able to show how design can help achieve corporate goals. A businesslike approach to workplace design means getting key decision-makers to think about how a workplace can reflect the organization’s brand, image and vision.  Interior designers today are actually part designer and part management consultants.

To meet employees’ needs for a stimulating, energizing workplace that enhances productivity, efficiency and satisfaction, integrate interior design into strategic planning.  Hire a professional designer to reflect or help change your company’s culture, environment and work habits.  A designer can help clients turn their offices into tools that will yield long-term benefits including happy employees and ultimately increased profits.

By:  Brenda L. Brady, ASID

BRENDA BRADY DESIGN LLC

http://www.brendabradydesign.com

It wasn’t until I actually worked in a design firm that I started to become more aware of design.  Design is defined as:

1a. To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent: design a good excuse for not attending the conference.b. To formulate a plan for; devise: designed a marketing strategy for the new product.
2. To plan out in systematic, usually graphic form: design a building; design a computer program.
3. To create or contrive for a particular purpose or effect: a game designed to appeal to all ages.
4. To have as a goal or purpose; intend.
5. To create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner

When I started learning about design I began to ask questions about how design impacts business.  If I took a little from each definition above, I could say design means,

“To conceive in the mind, to formulate a plan systematically for a particular purpose, with a goal in mind, in a highly skilled manner.”

Then I began to think about how design impacts the customer development process.  In other words, how can an entrepreneur or business owner design a process to increase sales.  So I spoke with my director of research, Fran Ray and he set out to learn what the best minds in the country think about this subject.  His white paper is a bit esoteric, but the impact that design has on business and how leaders set plans and execute them is clearly evident.  Email me if you’d like a copy.

So my curiosity continues.  Soon I’ll share with you, what another designer friend of mine thinks about the business of commercial interior design.

Without a doubt, referrals are the best source of qualified leads.  When friends, business associates or clients recommend you and your company to someone they know, your odds of bringing home the bacon increase.

When you receive a referral you have pre-approved authority to conduct business with the person referred to you.  It’s a matter of commonality and endorsement and you are operating on a higher level of trust and the prospect-turned-client and a stronger sense of loyalty from the get-go.  It’s a third party recommendation.

Many salespeople don’t capitalize on the power of referrals simply because they either are afraid to ask for them or feel that asking is pushing and are uncomfortable making the request.

The real key to getting referrals is to ask for them at the appropriate time in the sales scenario.  Once the customer sees value in what you’re proposing, whether they buy or not, is the time to pop the question

What do you have to lose?

William F. Kendy – TBS

Sales people are constantly searching for ways to maximize their opportunities to increase their sales.  In 2005 I had the great pleasure to work with a sales coach on my team named Kevin Patrick.  He has since moved into a new position as Sales Manager with a successful company.  Kevin wrote a little booklet to assist our clients and staff highlighting 16 natural opportunities to win or lose a sale.  I keep that small booklet handy and refer to it from time to time to check my own process to make sure I’m conscious of these opportunities and incorporate them into my daily work as a business coach, sales trainer and sale person.  These are great action steps.
Here’s a shortened outline of those 16 opportunities.

Natural Opportunity 1
Turning your suspect into a prospect through qualifying questions.

Natural Opportunity 2
Determine the true decision maker.

Natural Opportunity 3
Send the first letter branding you as a source of information not necessarily available to the prospect

Natural Opportunity 4
Send a second piece of information adding additional proof of how hard you will work, just to get the appointment, which translates to the prospect how hard your company will work, once you make the sale.

Natural Opportunity 5
Send a third piece of information noting that you have empathy for your prospects busy schedule, challenges and time.  This demonstrates your professionalism, show’s respect for your prospect’s time and your time.

Natural Opportunity 6
Dial the phone.  Use effective voice mail scripts in your messages and have a communication strategy to demonstrate your understanding of their business and the potential value you will bring to them in helping them solve their challenges.

Natural Opportunity 7
Contacting the Decision Maker.  Make sure you’re investing your time to connect with the person who can say “yes” to your proposal or who is the chief influencer of the decision maker.

Natural Opportunity 8
Book the appointment.

Natural Opportunity 9
Confirm the appointment and plan for the meeting.

Natural Opportunity 10
Complete the first appointment.

Natural Opportunity 11
Book the customer needs analysis.

Natural Opportunity 12
Complete the customer needs analysis.

Natural Opportunity 13
Book the proposal presentation.

Natural Opportunity 14
Write the proposal.

Natural Opportunity 15
Present the proposal.

Natural Opportunity 16
Confirm the sale

Over my 30+ years in sales, sales management and sales training, I’ve developed a different understanding about how timing affects the sales process and individual response.  I remember times when I simply could not understand why someone would not return my call, agree to my proposal or why someone would cancel our sales agreement.  In my youth I struggled with my own demons on why things went awry.  I wondered, “what did I do wrong?”  “What’s wrong with my product?”

When I began to learn more specifically from my customers on what actually lead to their decisions to change, modify or cancel our contracts, I found out that in fact, it was rarely if ever anything that I did or that my company did or that our product failed to work.  Almost across the board, something had changed inside their world that caused them to require a change.

Then later in my career, when I began to consult with companies and manage the various relationships with media and sales people, I quickly learned that the inner world of the business owner was almost always greatly affected by the timing that a variety of factors and issues presented.  All these timing issues affect all business decisions.

The truth is, it’s rarely about you.  It’s almost always about circumstances within the company you’re calling on that have nothing to do with you.

Where do you start?            With yourself!

Things Leaders Do – General Electric Jeff Immelt on 10 keys to great leadership.

1. Take Personal Responsibility
Build teams and place others first.  It’s not about you.

2. Simplify Constantly
Clearly explain the top three things you’re working on.

3. Understand Breadth, Depth and Context
How do you fit and respond?

4. The importance of alignment and time management
Set priorities, measure outcomes and communicate to others.

5. Leaders learn constantly and also have time to teach
Teach others of your value and ability.  Share what you’ve learned.

6. Stay true to your own style
Become self-aware.  Every morning ask, what three things could I have done better yesterday?

7. Manage by setting boundaries with freedom in the middle
Commitment, passion, trust and teamwork are boundaries.  Protect them.

8. Stay disciplined and detailed
Personally intervene on things that are important to you, your customers, your team and your company.

9. Leave a few things unsaid
Sometimes being an active listener is more effective than a personal position.
What’s best for the team?

10. Like people
You have chosen to be here.  Understand others, be fair and put your best effort forward.

“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, learn about them or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable.  Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.”  Denis Waitley

Have a specific goal and have a specific plan for reaching that goal.

Set your prospecting anxiety on the shelf.

Exactly what do you intend to accomplish in terms of increased numbers of new:
-Clients
-Product sales
-Service sales

How many hours on what specific days?
How many and what kind of direct approach actions do you propose to invest in reaching those goals?

Know thyself.  People don’t run a marathon after five years of sitting on the couch.

Can you ask every single customer you know for an introduction, not a referral, an introduction?

The key is to make progress.  Commit to making effort.  Make multiple attempts.  You can’t control the outcomes, but you can control your level of commitment, and dedication to making numerous attempts to open new conversations in person.

Focus on inputs first, outcomes second.    Keep score of both.

Start small with small victories for the first two weeks.  Measure your actions and add a little bit every week, building your prospecting stamina, working towards your goals.

People fail in attaining their goals because they try to do too much all at once and don’t work into a specific plan with small steps, each leading to bigger steps and better outcomes along the way on your journey to reaching your goals and your own personal and professional development.

Whatever It Takes!

• You alone are responsible for the quality of your work and the quality of your life.
• Give yourself the freedom to grow and expand.  Say YES to your own potential.
• Dream big and use the power of your imagination.
• Without action, your dream, your goal or plan has little meaning in the world.

Writing Your Goals

Clearly describe the results (goals) of what you want that you can control and write them down.

Define why these results are important to you.  Be certain of your desire to achieve these goals and focus on the solution rather than the problem.

List the likely obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve the results and identify where you can get help.  Reach out for help today!

List the realistic capabilities, strategies and knowledge you will need to achieve these results.

Write a specific, measurable action plan, defining each step to achieve the results.  Express your goals in terms of specific events and actions.

Create accountability by specifying a timeline to achieve your goals.

Progress = Milestones

How you spend your time everyday matters.

Persevere

Stay positive

Pay attention to details and prepare your action plan.

Build your own network of advocates, your personal promoter network.

“Like all of us, you are spending the minutes, hours, and days of your life in the pursuit of something and your are buying it with your very life.  Have you inspected the package?  Are you chasing what you really want?”

“Pursue your goals with ferocity and singularity of purpose.  When you choose a goal to pursue, do you ask, “Is this a mountain I’m willing to die on?”  Roy H. Williams

Take Action Today!
Write down your goals, put the steps necessary to reach your goal in your planner and set a date by which you will have made progress towards achieving those goals.

It’s the holiday season and after a long day of pounding the pavement and making sales presentations you finally get home.  After hanging up your coat, you pour yourself a little bit of holiday cheer, sit down and go through your mail.  Lo and behold you find a Christmas card from someone you hadn’t even thought of sending one to.  You probably feel bad and guilty for ignoring them and will pop one in the mail to them ASAP.

That’s reciprocity.  How does it work in sales?

You’ve scheduled three appointments with a prospect and he has begged off on all of them.  While the reasons for breaking those meetings may be legitimate ones, the meetings were cancelled nonetheless.  You’re starting to wonder if it’s worth the time and effort to keep pursuing this person and if anything will ever come of it.  Maybe it’s time to walk.

Don’t.

The prospect is fully cognizant that he’s been putting you off and deep down inside he knows that probably one of those appointments could have been kept. That means when you do meet he’s going to feel obligated to be a more attentive.

Take advantage. Be more aggressive.  Spend a little more time asking questions to uncover needs.  Suggest some options that you may not have felt comfortable bringing up on one of the “kept” meetings.  Dare to do some trail closes or even take a stab at cross selling.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to utilize the rule of reciprocity.  I heard a sales consultant tell the story of when he first started selling insurance he was having a hard time closing.  A mentor told him that the problem was that he was accepting compliments at the end of his presentation and this allowed prospects to discharge their obligation and get off the hook.  The advice was when faced with the “You did a great presentation and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me but…” comment to reply with, “If I did such a great presentation why aren’t you going to buy this policy?” By not accepting the complement, the prospect still owed him, which meant he could re-open the sales cycle which increased the closing ratio.

William F. Kendy – TBS