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Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
Sprache: Englisch

Beschreibung

Get organized and streamline your workflow with this A-Z accountability system.

Design is only part of an interior designer’s job—you’re also responsible for scheduling client meetings, conducting design surveys, creating drawings and specs, and overseeing installation. Multiply by the number of projects on your plate, and you have a recipe for overwhelming disorganization. The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox helps you juggle multiple projects with ease, with a comprehensive self-management system tailored to the needs of interior designers and decorators.

Features include:

Detailed checklists that highlight weak spots and warn against common pitfalls
Covers residential design, contract design, specifications, and renovations
Best practices for meetings, design surveys, drawings, specifications, and renovations
Customizable online checklists for tracking every phase of your project
Exclusive online budgeting tool for tracking product costs and associated expenses to share with your team and your clients

If you need to get organized and get back to work, you need The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox.

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Seitenzahl: 293

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

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Leseprobe

Acknowledgments

Online Resources on the Companion Website

Introduction and How to Use This Book

Part I: Beginning a Project: Meetings and Surveys

Chapter 1: Meetings

Meeting with Clients

Meeting and Survey Materials

Chapter 2: Residential and Contract Surveys

Introduction

General Room Survey

Bathroom Surveys

Kitchen Surveys

Part II: Drawings

Chapter 3: Residential and Contract Drawings

Introduction

General Room Drawings

Contract General Room Drawings

Residential Bathroom Drawings

ADA Bathroom Drawings

Kitchen Drawings

Custom Cabinetry Drawings

Part III: Specifications

Chapter 4: Residential Specifications

General Notes

Bathroom Specifications

Custom Bedding and Window Treatments Specification

Fabric and Trim Specification

Flooring Specification

Furniture Specification

Kitchen Specification

Lighting Specification

Luxury Spaces Specification

Wall Specification

Chapter 5: Contract Specifications

General Notes

Contract Furniture Specification

Contract Bath Fixture Specification

Contract Flooring Specification

Contract Lighting Specification

Contract Textiles Specification

Contract Wall Specifications

Contract Window Coverings/Shading

Part IV: Renovations

Chapter 6: Residential and Contract Renovations

General Notes

Residential Design—Ordering and Deliveries

Kitchen and Other Cabinetry Installation

Luxury Space Installations

Walls

Window Treatment Installation

Special Considerations for Contract Renovation

Glossary

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Figure 1.1 Residential Sample Letter of Agreement

Figure 1.2 Contract Sample Letter of Agreement

Figure 1.3 Your Toolbox

Figure 3.1 Furniture Plan

Figure 3.2 Electrical Plan

Figure 3.4 Switching Plan

Figure 3.5 Living Room Elevation

Figure 3.3 Reflected Ceiling Plan

Figure 3.6 Construction Plan

Figure 3.8 Architectural, Electric, and Voice/Data Plan

Figure 3.9 Finish Plan

Figure 3.10 Furniture Plan

Figure 3.7 Reflected Ceiling Plan

Figure 3.11 Master Bath—Plan

Figure 3.12 Master Bath—Detailed Plan

Figure 3.13 Master Bath—Electrical Plan

Figure 3.14 Master Bath—Tile Plan

Figure 3.17 Master Bath—Vanity Wall Elevation

Figure 3.18 Master Bath—Window Wall/Water Closet Elevation

Figure 3.19 Master Bath—Window Wall and Shower Elevation

Figure 3.20 Master Bath—Exterior Wall of Water Closet and Front of Shower Elevation

Figure 3.21 Master Bath—Exterior of Storage Cabinet Elevation

Figure 3.22 Master Bath—Vanity Interior and Exterior Elevation

Figure 3.15 Master Bath—Reflected Ceiling Plan

Figure 3.16 Master Bath—Switching Plan

Figure 3.23 ADA Elevation and Plan

Figure 3.25 ADA Considerations for Sink and Mirror

Figure 3.24 ADA Toilet Dimensions

Figure 3.26 Kitchen—Furniture Plan

Figure 3.27 Kitchen—Detailed Furniture Plan

Figure 3.28 Kitchen—Electrical Plan

Figure 3.31 Kitchen—Elevation

Figure 3.32 Kitchen3D Sketch Examples

Figure 3.29 Kitchen—Reflected Ceiling Plan

Figure 3.30 Kitchen—Switching Plan

Figure 3.33 Custom Cabinetry—Plan View

Figure 3.35 Custom Cabinetry—Front Elevation (Cabinet Doors Closed)

Figure 3.36 Custom Cabinetry—Front Elevation (Cabinet Doors Open)

Figure 3.37 Custom Cabinetry—Side Elevation

Figure 3.34 Custom Cabinetry—Switching Plan

Figure 4.1 Paint Schedule

Figure 6.1 Purchase Order Example

Figure 6.2 CFA Example

Figure 6.3 COM Tag Example

Figure 6.4 Architectural Punch List

Figure 6.5 Furniture Punch List

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Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox

Checklists and Best Practices to Manage Your Workflow

Phyllis Harbinger, ASID, CID, NCIDQ

Cover Design: C. Wallace

Cover Images: Fabric Swatches and Office Design Drawing © iStockphoto/DigiClicks;

Wood Samples © iStockphoto/joecicak

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising here from.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Harbinger, Phyllis, 1962-

The interior design productivity toolbox : checklists and best practices to manage your workflow / Phyllis Harbinger.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-68043-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-118-89694-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-89696-9 (ebk.).

1. Interior decoration—Practice—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Interior decoration firms—Management—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

NK2116.H37 2014

729—dc23

2013051308

Acknowledgments

This book would not be possible were it not for the intervention of a wonderful and supportive group of people.

First, I would like to thank my first design business mentor, David Shepard, for being the person who started the evolution of this book by tasking our Best Practices Network with creating an “evergreen” product that would enhance the lives of other professionals in our field. I would also like to thank BPN members Laura Britt and Cathy Davin, my soul sisters and confidantes. You have both held me accountable for creating this book over the past two years.

Thank you to my design colleagues Shannon Leddy, Audra Canfield, Nicole Cavanaugh, and Katie Leede for participating in the early focus group work. To Francine Martini, Jennifer Carnivale-Hollinger, Laura Robertson, Judy Girod, and Annie Coggan who reviewed a great deal of the content of this book and gave me such wonderful notes and feedback, especially on the contract design sections. You are all treasures in my life.

To Fabienne Fredrickson, Donna Cravotta, and Teri Goetz for empowering me and challenging me to take risks and grow and change—I love you!

To all of my family and friends who have waited patiently for me to finish this book so I can be more involved in your lives again—thank you!

To my wonderful and supportive husband, Ross Jurman. You are my love and my life, and I thank you for putting up with the late nights and countless weekends of writing, and for your patience and belief in me. You are my Rock!

I would like to close by acknowledging the greatest contributor to the successful completion of this work. To Charity Turner, my wonderful, beautiful, and über talented colleague and design associate. You have been a true partner in the creation of this book, and I owe you the world for all you have done to help me turn the DCI checklists into a resource that will truly help other designers.

Online Resources on the Companion Website

The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox includes access to interactive, online versions of all of the checklists featured in the book, as well as to an Excel budgeting tool to track project expenses. These resources are fully downloadable and can be customized for your own projects.

To access the online resources, follow these steps:

Navigate your web browser to:

www.wiley.com/go/interiordesigntoolbox

Follow the instructions on the site.

You will arrive at the Companion Site for this book.

If you have any issues or questions, please contact Customer Care at 877-762-2974 or at http://support.wiley.com.

Introduction and How to Use This Book

The business of interior design is so complex. I believe that the design/build industry is crying out for a clear and concise method for procedures and accountability in all phases of a project. To answer this need in the marketplace, I have designed a system of checklists to provide interior designers, architects, and builders, as well as design students, a methodology for facilitating their workflow whether they are just beginning or sustaining their practice.

When I started out in the industry, I really had to fly by the seat of my pants. I had interned for a design firm, but my life circumstances forced me to hang out my shingle much sooner than I would have preferred. I yearned for a manual that would teach me how to run a design business and help me teach new employees what I had learned, while also empowering them to do their jobs more effectively.

Nothing that I have found offered the small firm or the budding interior design student and entrepreneur a foolproof method to carry out operating procedures while providing complete step-by-step guidelines with supporting examples. We all know from our research that you cannot put a price on efficiency, systems, and procedures. This system will help you to document the most important aspects of your projects.

In the design world, some things are common sense and others are not. The methodology provided in this book will help you avoid what could otherwise be costly mistakes and will save you both time and money. It will essentially pay for itself!

This workbook will allow you to keep a watchful eye over important details in your practice while maintaining accountability from your employees as various phases of the project are being completed. Whether your team is surveying a project, creating drawings, or specifying and ordering materials and furnishings, the checklists will help you to avoid missing important items and steps that might otherwise be overlooked.

Using this system of checklists will ease your workflow, as it addresses everyday tasks and protocols of best business practices and allows your team to track the progress at each phase of the project.

Builders and contractors will also benefit! In speaking to a few of my trusted vendors, I’ve found that they are all in need of an accountability system. Think of this book as a way to effectively communicate and maintain protocols and systems when working with architects and designers on a project.

Students will be empowered with the step-by-step guide to drawings and specifications that are hard to access “under one roof.” This workbook gives students who are studying to obtain a degree in interior design the tools they will need to ease the transition from academia to the professional world. It provides an opportunity to up-level individual skill sets and better prepare students for work in an interior design firm, offering a leg up on the competition in this competitive job market. This will be a lifesaver for both students and professors. Having clear systems to follow with accountability at each step, supplemented by visual examples for each topic, allows students to complete drawings and surveys with fewer edits and to understand what exactly is being asked of them.

The Interior Design Productivity Toolbox can change the way a designer runs a business, making both the owner and the staff more efficient and better organized, while also providing clear and concise methodologies to improve and enhance the tasks and workflow.

The book is set up to guide you through the entire design process—from the moment you get a lead to the final punch list. Each section not only has the all-important checklists but also contains valuable information based on my twenty-plus years of experience in the field and in the classroom.

I truly want to share this system that I have created over the years with as many people as possible to streamline your processes and provide you with added accountability and great value. Why should everyone reinvent the wheel? It is said that it takes at least ten thousand hours to master a task. I have spent twenty years doing so and have taken all of this knowledge and created this workbook so that you could benefit from my experience.

The web portal is also the home of our proprietary budget cost estimate system, which we are providing as an additional resource to all who purchase this book. Our budget cost estimate system was developed in response to our clients’ need to understand the budget at each phase of the project.

In most cases, the designer is given an initial budget and a scope of work. We have taken the scope of work and broken it out by the type of space being designed. The system has an overall scope of work cost outline when you open the program. From there, tabs have been created that identify each room/space to be designed; you will also be able to add to this as you see fit. As you specify furniture, fixtures, finishes, and equipment (FFF&E), you and your team will begin to populate the project document. We suggest that you share this document with your clients at least once a week or whenever you have added elements that will affect the overall budget. Our clients have been thrilled with this offering, as it keeps the entire collaborative team “in the know” and allows the client to really have a sense of the expenditure at each phase of the project.

My hope is that each and every one of you gets at least one “nugget” or “aha!” moment from this book, but my true wish for you is that it will provide you with an all-in-one go-to resource for your team’s systems and accountability.

Now let’s get started!

Part IBeginning a Project: Meetings and Surveys

Chapter 1Meetings

Meeting with Clients

How do you meet your ideal client? Many of you who will read and use the material in this book are seasoned professionals, while others are emerging professionals or just now hanging your shingle out for the first time and entering the world of entrepreneurship.

Since 2008, the interior design industry has changed. Clients expect a lot more value for a lot less of an investment. At DCI Studio, we run a luxury design firm and have spent numerous years honing our client attraction skills, learning new ways to preselect our clients, and developing systems that automate the process.

Courting and beginning a relationship with a new client involves certain critical components. First, how do you acquire new business? Does it come from referrals, advertising, the Web, or your networking efforts? Are you tracking the sources of your new business? Doing so is a very good idea. Start an Excel spreadsheet or create a Word document, if you prefer to work that way.

When an e-mail or telephone inquiry comes in from a prospective client, having a protocol in place can help you determine whether this prospect would be an ideal client and a good fit for your firm. We have devised an excellent system for weeding out the “tire kickers” and the less-than-ideal clients.

Whether the inquiry is received via the Internet or by telephone, we have a corporate “signature” e-mail that we personalize and send out to the prospect. We also have fine-tuned a form, which we call the Client Lifestyle Questionnaire (included in this chapter), that addresses the perennial question of the budget. This questionnaire can be e-mailed to prospective clients, or you could create a web-form on a cloud server such as Woofu.com so that the form is evergreen and results are e-mail ed to you directly. Our firm requires a minimum project investment, and we make prospects aware of this before we engage in a phone call or further correspondence. The next step is to ask the prospective client to start a folder(s) on Houzz.com, Pinterest.com, or Evernote.com categorizing the spaces to be designed with annotated notes on each image detailing what the client likes/dislikes so that you get a feel for the client’s style before the “get acquainted” call. Doing this can save you a lot of time.

Now you have a vetted prospect. The prospect has read your introductory materials, done the homework on the Web, and filled out the Lifestyle Questionnaire. Once all of the materials are received, we send an e-mail with a series of available time slots for an initial call. You may use a scheduling app or a Web service, which is even better.

Be very clear that the initial call will last only 15 to 20 minutes, to prevent you from getting involved in a long conversation prior to seeing the space that needs to be designed. During this call with the prospect, outline the requirements and discuss the project approach.

This chapter provides a checklist of questions and notes that we use during the “get acquainted” call. It is very important that you have this list to make sure you cover all the bases. Also, I highly recommend that you take notes on a tablet or on your computer during the call so that you can repeat back to the prospect what he or she is saying. Acknowledging the client’s “pain” with regard to design dilemmas is affirming and can be extraordinarily valuable to them. It shows that you are listening, which is one of the most important skills a designer can develop. In addition, you can share the notes with your team via e-mail and create a file for the prospect to assist in developing other material if he or she does become a client.

After we have established that a prospect is excited to work with us and that the prospect is our ideal client type, we will set up an appointment for an in-home or office consultation.

We always charge a fee for an initial consultation, as it constitutes an expenditure of our time and the sharing of our expertise and intellectual property. If a prospect signs on with us, we credit the consultation fee to the initial design fee. If the prospect does not engage our services, we still get paid for the time we’ve invested.

Next comes the initial client meeting. This meeting is very different from subsequent meetings. It is more of a “getting to know you” meeting—a time to see the space that needs to be designed, assess the client’s body language, ask defining questions, and get a feel for their personalities and how the space is currently used. All decision making parties should be present for this first meeting.

In the event that all parties cannot be present at the first meeting, we advise that you meet one of the clients and request that at the follow-up meeting, where the design services proposal is presented, that all parties be present. I have postponed meetings if both parties cannot make it, as I believe that attendance by all involved parties is critical to my success in landing a project.

After the initial meeting, we come back with a design proposal and review three options with our clients. We go through each option step-by-step and answer any questions the clients may have. Once they have signed the design proposal, we again meet with all decision makers to review the Letter of Engagement, answer any questions, and revise scope where necessary. All parties should sign the Letter of Engagement before moving on to the design phase.

Example Letters of Engagement are provided in this chapter (see Figures 1.1 and 1.2), which you may make your own and use in your practice. You should have your own legal counsel review the document before you send it to a client, as every design firm works differently and different laws, rules, and regulations may be in force where you do business.

Figure 1.1Residential Sample Letter of Agreement

Figure 1.2Contract Sample Letter of Agreement

The following checklists give you the tools you need to travel seamlessly through the process of qualifying and meeting with your clients. To achieve stellar results, please pay special attention to each step of the process.

MEETINGS: NEW PROSPECTIVE CLIENT PROTOCOLS CHECKLIST

BEFORE YOU SET UP A “GET ACQUANTED” CALL

Before you set up a call with a prospective client, make sure you do the following:

Have someone on your staff call the client and say something like the following:

“Hi, (

Prospective Client’s Name

Thank you for your interest in (

Your Company Name

)! My name is (

Your Name

), (

Your Title

) of (

Your Company Name

). Before we set up a “get acquainted” call with you and our principal (if you have staff), we ask that you please visit our website, if you have not done so already, and read through the About Us section as well as our Testimonials page. Can we have your e-mail address so that we can send our New Client Lifestyle Questionnaire? We ask that you complete this so we can learn a little more about you and what you are looking for assistance with on your project.”

If the prospective client does not answer and you go to voice mail, you could conclude by saying: “We look forward to hearing from you! Have a great day!”

Send an e-mail with the Client Lifestyle Questionnaire attached. The e-mail can read:

Dear (

Prospective Client’s Name

I/We hope you have taken the time to log on to our website and read through the About Us section as well as our Testimonials. This should give you a clear idea of how we work with our clients and what to expect during the design process. I/We should also mention that the minimum investment to engage our services on a project is $__________ (

insert your minimum fee

), so you may want to review your budget before we connect.

I/We also ask that all prospective clients begin an idea folder on

Houzz.com

after we set up our call time and invite me/us to view the folder. You can make notes on the images about what you like and the spaces in which you see inspiration. This allows me/us to see your taste and style so that we can have a more informed discussion and make the best use of our time together.

Last, would you kindly fill out the attached Lifestyle Questionnaire and e-mail it back to our team so that I/we can review your style, needs, and wishes for your new project.

If all of this resonates with you, please be back in touch once you have completed the above-referenced items, and we will be happy to set up a “get acquainted” call.

I/We look forward to speaking with you soon, (

Prospective Client’s Name

Spend time looking through the

Houzz.com

folder the prospect has put together.

GET ACQUAINTED CALL

Every “get acquainted” call is different, but the flow loosely follows this outline below:

Introduce yourself and your company.

Discuss exactly what it is that the potential clients are looking for your assistance with: a one-time consultation or a more long-term design solution?

Discuss how you work (what you do on the project, the service packages you offer, how your fees are structured, etc.).

Discuss the budget. You will have prequalified them in the e-mail you sent, but we advise addressing this matter again to be sure they are your ideal client(s).

If you and the potential client(s) seem to have common ground and you feel you are a good fit for each other, then set up a date/time to meet for your first in-person consultation.

MEETINGS: NEW CLIENT QUESTIONNAIRE EXAMPLE

(Your Logo Here)

Client Lifestyle Questionnaire

The purpose of this questionnaire is to help our design team have a better understanding of your goals, desires, and objectives for your project. We also feel that by completing this questionnaire, you will have a clear idea of your needs and you will be able to articulate them more succinctly. If you are uncertain of the answer to a question, simply leave it blank or make a note/ask a question and we will address it when we speak. We ask that you endeavor to be as specific as possible—clear communication will go a long way toward ensuring your vision is achieved.

Contact Information

Project Address

Street Address ____________________________________________________________

City ___________________________ State/Province/Region ________________________

Postal/Zip ________________________________________

Home Phone ______________________________________

Fax ______________________________________________

Client Name #1 _____________________________________________________________

Cell Phone ________________________

E-mail _________________________________________________________________

Client Name #2 _____________________________________________________________

Cell Phone ________________________

E-mail _________________________________________________________________

How would you prefer to be contacted? (Circle one) Home Phone, Cell Phone #1, Cell Phone #2, E-mail

Who is responsible for project decisions? ___________________________________________

Have you ever hired an interior designer? If yes, when did this take place, and were you pleased with the results and experience?

________________________________________________________________________

How did you hear about us? (Circle one) Internet, Houzz.com, Referral, Other

If other, please elaborate here ______________________________________________________

Why are you looking to design or redesign your space now? ______________________________

________________________________________________________________________

About Your Project

Project Type: (Circle all that apply) New Construction, Remodel, Design/Decorating

Project Investment: (Circle one) $20,000–$30,000 (our project minimum), $30,000–$50,000, $50,000–$100,000, $100,000–$250,000, $250,000–$500,000, $500,000+, Other (please elaborate) _________________________

If other, please specify:

Project Square Footage: __________________________________________

What best describes your ideal timeline for your project? (Circle one) Immediately—I’m sitting on boxes!, Within 3 months, 3–6 months, Other

Rooms to be included in your project: (Circle all that apply) Entire Home, Entry Hall/Foyer, Living Room, Dining Room, Family/Great Room, Kitchen, Nook, Office/Study, Laundry Area, Powder Room, Master Bedroom, Guest Bedroom, Master Bathroom, Guest Bathroom, Home Theater/Media Room, Lower Level/Basement, Outdoor Area

Enhancements being considered: (Circle all that apply) Furniture, Reupholstery, Flooring, Window Treatments, Window Replacements or Changes, Appliances, Plumbing Fixtures, Interior Paint, Exterior Paint, Wallcovering, Space Planning, Lighting, Artwork and Accessories

What best describes your style? (Circle all that apply) Traditional, Contemporary, Transitional, Eclectic/Mix, Formal, Casual

Colors you like: __________________________________________________________________

Colors you don’t like: ______________________________________________________

What is your favorite room in your home? ______________________________________

Why? ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What don’t you like about your current home? ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What part of your home do you use the most? _________________________________________

What part of your home do you use the least? _________________________________________

How long do you plan on staying in your home? ________________________________________

Are there any pieces of furniture or collections that must be worked into the new plan? Please explain: ________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Do you need sun control from your window treatments? Please explain: ______________________

________________________________________________________________________

Are there any technical needs associated with your project scope? (Circle all that apply) Computers, Wireless/DSL/cable, Home theater/surround sound, Music, Other

Your Family

List household members and requirements: ___________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Are there any physically challenged or elderly people living in the home? If yes, please explain any special requirements: _______________

________________________________________________________________________

Household Pets and Special Needs: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Your Lifestyle

Our entertaining style is: (Circle one) Formal, Informal, Combination/both

Average number of guests: (Circle one) 1–6, 7–12, More than 12

Average guest age: (Circle one) Adults, Teenagers, Children, All ages

Entertaining preference: (Circle all that apply) Sit-down meals, Buffet-style meals, Watching TV/movies, Games/cards, Music

Do you have any hobbies/interests we should consider when designing your spaces? Do you need an area to accommodate your hobby?

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your input. Please e-mail this questionnaire back to us at ([email protected]). We look forward to speaking with you about your project!

Your Company Name

Your Company Address

Your Company Phone Number

Your Company E-mail Address

MEETINGS: INITIAL CONSULTATION CHECKLIST

The day before the meeting:

Confirm the appointment time and date with the prospect. Ask that he or she respond via e-mail or phone as necessary.

Review the

Houzz.com

files and your call notes to reacquaint yourself with the prospect’s style, scope of work, etc.

Leave extra time to get to the appointment. Do

not

be late!

Be sure to charge all electronic devices.

Typically, the principal of the firm would attend the initial consultation, sometimes with a team member, oftentimes without. Be sure to bring the following to this first meeting:

Camera (or smartphone that takes good-quality photos)

Tablet with portfolio (This works really well when your portfolio is divided into different presentations by category.)

Brochure to leave behind with a list of your services and a business card with all of your contact information

Tape measure (for any quick measurements that you wish to take)

Scale to measure drawings/architectural plans the prospect may have from the builder/architect

Voice recorder (An iPad® can also be used for this and the information transcribed into a note, which makes writing the letter of engagement easier.)

Notepad or tablet for taking notes (A tablet or phone app is a quick and easy way to take notes and immediately transfer them into an e-mail to send to other employees, contractors, etc.)

Fan decks (for any quick references for color families or color consultations)

In the initial meeting, be sure to do the following:

Determine the siting of the home. Where does the sun rise and set?

Check the curb appeal and condition of the exterior before you ring the bell. The exterior can give you valuable information about the prospect’s taste and style, lifestyle habits, etc.

Walk through the entire home/apartment/office. Often, there are clues in areas not within the scope of work that will inform your design approach.

Keep track of your time, especially if you are billing for the consultation.

If you still think the prospect is a good fit, set up a date for your next meeting, to present the formal design proposal.

After the initial meeting:

Write a short thank-you note to the prospect for inviting you into their home/apartment/office. Let the prospect know you will be creating a proposal for the project and that you look forward to meeting again soon.

Transfer all your notes from your tablet to your computer and review them.

Compose the design proposal. Sleep on it, and then review it again. A bit of time and some tweaking results in a more refined proposal. Print multiple copies for all parties to review.

Download all photos from the initial meeting, and share them with your team. Label each photo by room/space.

Get ready for your meeting to review the design proposal.

MEETINGS: PROPOSAL CHECKLIST

The following is a list of elements to include in your proposal:

Date

Prospect name(s)

Current address

Future address (If different from current address)

Write a brief paragraph here describing your mission, what you will do for the prospect, and what the prospect can expect.

Entry Level

Describe what will be included in this package, which might be any of the following:

Construction documents

Drawings

Elevations

Conceptual drawings and sketches

Midrange

Describe this package. You may wish to include all services in the entry-level package and then add to the list using some of the following ideas:

Installation coordination, direction, and supervision

White-glove cleaning services upon completion of the project

Problem resolution

Purchasing management to include the following: Budgets, pricing, proposal, expediting, scheduling

Punch list preparation and oversight

Project coordination and management

Meetings with general contractors and subcontractors

Selection review with clients

Product recommendations and specifications

Selections

Conceptual sketches and drawings

Elevations

Scope of work

Highest Tier:

Here you would include all elements from the entry-level and midrange service offerings but add perhaps turnkey service, art installations, organizer services, and/or host a wine and cheese party. It’s a great networking opportunity and you can give guided tours. Hire help to prepare platters and serve drinks. You may want to include a housecleaning on the day of the party or a cooking lesson for the clients in their home. This is the package where you pull out all the stops.

Outline your terms and conditions and your fee structure.

Be sure to include tax applicable to your services.

Have the clients sign and date the proposal.