How To Love Selling Your Design Services

If I had $1 for every designer who said to me “I’m just not salesy”  I would by now have a very large pile of cash. 

And I get it.  We’ve all been sold to in a way that felt intrusive. We’ve all experienced lazy, sleazy salespeople who make you want to run a mile and there is no way in a million years you’d give them your money. 

But you own a business. (The definition of which is to sell products and services for a profit)

So believing that “Selling just isn’t me” is going to make this hard for you. 

That doesn’t mean you need to dust down the shiny suit and 45-page telesales script, but you do need to learn why people buy and have a sales strategy that works.

It’s something I feel super passionate about because when I first started my interior design business I spent an uncomfortable year making other people feel equally uncomfortable with my awkward, nervous pitching and needy energy. 

I felt so weird about “selling” - like I’d gone from being this empowered grown-up who worked in a shiny office and hired the best consultants in the world, to becoming this needy, desperate person who had to persuade clients to hire them. 

I hated it (and my clients probably hated it too).

Which is why I went on a mission to overturn things by learning everything I could about sales psychology and creating a selling strategy for my business that is based entirely on how I like to be sold to.  

Which, at its core, is a process where the seller… 

• Is interested in me and where I’m at. 
• Demonstrates a deep knowledge of the problem I have and offers a solution that it’s clear they are qualified and capable of delivering.
• Is clear and straightforward about the price. 
• Creates the space for me to pause and consider, whilst also providing the nudge I need to take action. 

That’s the sales process I developed for my studio and it’s the process I use in my coaching business now, which has supported me in creating a thriving six-figure business by designing services that I know change lives, and selling them in a way that reflects how I want to treat people.

And this is why the strategy I give my clients has absolutely nothing to do with high-pressure tactics, rigid scripts, false urgency or anxiously dropping your price when the client asks you to. 

What I teach my clients is that the best selling is about leading your client through an empowered process where you take a genuine interest in them, understand whether you can help them, share what that help would look like and the value they will get from working with you, and allow them to check off the following (very reasonable) questions they are likely to want answered before they hire you - 

🤷‍♀️ What do I get?

❓How will it solve my problem?

👀 Can I trust you?

💸 How much?

Allowing your client to see your experience and expertise.

Encouraging them to realise the transformation they’ll get by working with you. 

Helping them to sense the creative journey you’re about to go on together.

Letting them understand how they will personally benefit from working with you (hint - this isn’t just about adding tangible value to their property, this is about the peace of mind they’ll have from working with an expert; the time and stress they’ll save by not attempting to do it all themselves, etc.)

Showing them the bigger picture - the potential cost of keeping things as they are, the risk of going with the cheaper option, the immeasurable benefits of a beautiful space filled with details and items they love.

And remembering that there are so many reasons why people will hire you or not. Most of which you have zero control over.  So really, your only job is to - 

• Be visible
• Let people know what you can do for them.
• Celebrate the clients who do say ‘yes’ because you know they’ve just made the best decision.
• Make it mean nothing when people say ‘no’.  Move on.
• Invest in yourself the way you want other people to invest in you.

Because when you focus on your own leadership and the things you can control, you stop noticing what other people are or aren’t doing. You’re doing you. However it just so happens that this confident leadership and detachment is exactly what attracts people and leads to more sales 🚀

So, if ‘being salesy’ is something you’re struggling with… 

This is your invitation to create a sales process that feels AMAZING. 

This is your permission to let go of all those beliefs that are not serving you…

• The belief that selling makes people feel uncomfortable.
• The belief that you’re no good at it (and so you’re not even going to bother learning)
• The belief you need to hide your price until the last minute in case your client is put off by your fees.
• The belief you need to give away tons of expertise before you’re being paid a penny, just to secure the project.
• The belief that you need to make friends with your clients. Yes, they need to like and trust you but professionals don’t gossip, over-share or compliment every little thing about their clients just to court favour.

This is your permission to let go of that desperate energy around a client who seemed keen but has now gone quiet. 

To let go of checking your inbox every 5 minutes and losing so much energy to worrying whether they’re going to sign your letter of agreement or not. Maybe they will tomorrow. Maybe they’re doing it right now. Maybe they won’t at all. It doesn’t matter. You’re not desperate.  Remember, every “no” opens up space for a more aligned “yes”. 

LET IT ALL GO.

Here’s the thing.

I attract the most incredible designers into my world and whilst I sometimes hear “I can’t afford it right now” no one has ever told me my services are too expensive. My clients see the value. 

I approach selling as an act of service. There is zero pressure. I listen, I invite, they decide. 

I believe that my services are the absolute best services that exist for my clients, which is why my selling always comes from a place of passion, integrity and solution.

I know that when I show up in my power, present my services and create an invitation, my next dream client is right around the corner, ready and excited to work with me. No desperate energy required. 

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Katy x

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