This month, we’ll look at some forms that we have developed and used over the years that we feel have contributed to our closing ratio and the profitability of our projects.

After you’ve had a successful interview, either you’ll be invited to the prospect’s home, or you’ll be informed that the prospect wants to think things over.

Let’s assume that the initial interview was strong enough that the prospect wants to take the next step. This is where many designers and salespeople get tripped up. Yet by using a design retainer, designers can help to move the process along by getting everyone to commit to the project on paper at the get go.

Design Retainers

While design retainers have been discussed for the past 30 years, there are still many firms that don’t use them. However, a design retainer can help your firm in a number of ways. First, it can be used to qualify your prospects to make sure you’re not wasting time on “tire kickers.” Second, it can help determine the amount of time you should spend with them while trying to give them your best and most useful help.

Many years ago, I sold my first design retainer to a couple. It was for a small kitchen that they wanted me to work on. After meeting with them in the showroom, I felt they were strong prospects, so I went to the home, measured the entire room, continued with my questions, and after doing what I call the “dog and pony show,” I sat down with them and explained what the next step was.

I showed them the short design retainer form I’d made up, which asked for $50 so I could begin work on the design. They wrote the check, and that night I began working on their kitchen.

I finished the first plan, and after I looked it over, I decided that I could do better. After all, they were paying me to do this, so I must do a good job. That was my first retainer and I still recall my obligation to them, and how it really made me become a better designer.

Today we do it a bit differently. I still have a design retainer form, and I believe it is a key part of the system that makes us more professional, and allows customers to decide if we are the type of company they want to work with. However, we now use a two-part system that’s a bit more complex. The first part is the actual design agreement (see Figure 1, above). The second part involves a breakdown sheet with pricing, which lists what will be included in the project (i.e. granite countertops, a solid surface undermount sink, lyptus cabinetry with roll-out storage accessories and undercabinet lighting, business permits, trash haul and dump fees, etc.).

There are two ways to present the design agreement. If you’re worried that asking them to sign something immediately will jeopardize the sale, you can start by showing it to them and explaining it, but then, instead of asking them to sign it right away, suggest that you first go look at the home and make sure it’s what you think it is. You may even want to do a preliminary design for the kitchen or the bath at this time. You go to the home, do your measurements, continue with the questioning, and if you feel everything is in order, then go over the design agreement again, and ask for the deposit you will need to provide information for them.

I realize that some of you feel that you must show them how good you are, but if you do that, when you get a design agreement, I would tell your clients it really is a deposit toward the project.

The design agreement form can be made up 100 different ways. The important thing is that you are comfortable with it and that it represents you and your company in the best light.

Assuming that all has gone well to this point, you have been in the design mode with your customer, you have finalized a design that they love and you are ready to move to the pricing portion of the job. This is where you produce the second breakdown form for them.

It has always been my feeling that, when we present a price to a customer, we should take the initiative to give them options. After all, if the customers knew what they wanted, they wouldn’t need us. So we start with the cabinets, and begin a list of everything they could possibly need or want for their project.

By creating a breakdown sheet, you will be able to illustrate the various options there are for the client to consider. I always want to show clients what they told me they were interested in, but I also like to show them things that maybe they had not considered, but that I think might work for their needs.

I’ve found it’s a good idea to give a high and low estimate, depending on product choices, with the bottom line numbers as far apart as possible. So we put the least expensive items in one column and the most expensive in the other. What happens is that generally the customer will pick the items they like, much like they would on a menu, and in fact will come up with a third price, usually somewhere between the two prices. This estimate can then be added into the design agreement.

For some of you, this may appear to be very time consuming, and yes, it does take time, hence the reason to be paid a design service fee. That fee is for much more than just designing a project; it also covers the time and effort involved in providing a lot of information that must be accurate so the customer can make an informed decision on the project.

It’s important to give your clients services that have real value to them, and to charge a fair price for those services. When you do this, everyone benefits.