Dear Sean,

I don’t have a personal or professional network of high-net-worth people to tap for new business. Without that built-in source of referrals, how do I start to attract the right clients?

Sincerely,
Social Networking

Dear Social Networking,

My strength as a consultant is in transforming what happens when the right client knocks on your proverbial door—as in, who answers it, or what version of your business the prospect experiences. There are many amazing professionals in public relations, marketing or social media marketing who can work with you to craft your public persona in order to attract the right clients. However, before you go down that road, I think it is important to first know what projects you actually want. Or, more simply, I question what you mean by “high-net-worth people.”

For example: Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, could eat at any restaurant for breakfast, drive any car and live anywhere in the world. Instead, he eats at McDonald’s, drives a 12-year-old Cadillac, and has lived in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska, for nearly 70 years. Rather than looking at the size of someone’s wallet, how about focusing on why you will be worth the investment?

I think it bears repeating over and over (and over) again: All design businesses, especially those primarily working on residential projects, are incredibly niche businesses. I do not know many designers who seek 100 projects—or even 10—per year. So the question really should be less about finding high-net-worth people and more about: Who would want to invest in your business, and why? Expertise is assumed. The ability to imagine and manifest your designs in a manner that you would stake your reputation on, as if it was your last project ever—that’s table stakes. That should be a given every single time, no exceptions. Selling what ought to be a matter of course will feel like an uphill battle, and rightly so.

On the flip side: Who do you seek to serve, and why? Sure, identify your ideal client, but not for the reasons that are typically given. Demographics are only a part of it. Ethos and intention are what really matter. How you seek to create with your clients is just as important, if not more so, than their budget. For instance, if you need to create floor plans before anything else, and your prospective client only wants to talk about color and light, that’s a nonstarter. How exactly will they know the importance of floor plans and why it is so important to you as a designer and a business? It is truly up to you to tell them. You go first. Instead of asking, “What is your budget?” try telling them: “My design typically costs $150 to $175 per square foot, not including my fees, taxes, shipping and other expenses. Here is how my firm will best figure out how to spend your money.”

Ethos and intention is the definition of why a client will invest in your business and support why you do things the way that you do. To help you get there, what are three words that will make your ethos and intention paramount? As an example, here is but one word that might fit your firm: considered. Everything you do is considered—each moment or item relates to the next. You feel that the way each piece fits in the puzzle matters as much as the finished puzzle. If that sounds like you, imagine building your business with “considered” driving it all.

I loathe how quick so many designers are to say that what they do is “not brain surgery.” How dismissive, patronizing and ultimately self-defeating that is. Yes, it takes incredible skill, education and experience to earn the right to cut into someone’s head—and hopefully the impact will be profound: The patient will live better because of the operation. However, if your work means you are informing how someone wakes up in the morning, makes their coffee, eats with their family, entertains, and makes their way back to bed each and every day, how exactly is that any less meaningful? Whatever it is that you create, your aim must be for your impact to be profound—and the journey to get there should feel even more so.

For me, your ultimate aim needs to be: You are not for everyone, but to those who choose to work with you, you’re the only one. Start with ethos and intention, and then those you need to find you will.

____________

Sean Low is the go-to business coach for interior designers. His clients have included Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Vicente Wolf, Barry Dixon, Kevin Isbell and McGrath II. Low earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and as founder-president of The Business of Being Creative, he has long consulted for design businesses. In his Business Advice column for BOH, he answers designers’ most pressing questions. Have a dilemma? Send us an email—and don’t worry, we can keep your details anonymous.