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Ask Us Anything: Alison Giese on how to streamline your design presentation
00:42:10
San Antonio, Texas–based designer Alison Giese on the value of providing clients with curated choices, how to hone powers of observation during the intake process, and why whole-home presentations help convey continuity—and give designers a chance to build confidence and salesmanship skills.
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Caitlin Peterson
Hi, I'm Caitlin Peterson, the editor in chief of Business of Home. Welcome to Ask Us Anything where we're tapping your favorite trade deals guests to answer all of your questions about building
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Kaitlyn Peterson
a better design business.
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Caitlin Peterson
Some weeks we'll be workshopping a crisis. In others, we'll take a step back to talk about the big picture. Things like embracing change, hiring, or how to level up. No question is out of bounds. No question is too large or too small. And we're keeping it confidential so that this is always a safe space to air your frustrations and share your fears. Two weeks ago, we heard from a designer with a question about how to fine tune her systems.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
She had been in the audience of
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Caitlin Peterson
a panel I hosted last fall where three designers told me about how they usher clients through the design process. And as she was sitting there, one designer's approach really stuck with her.
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Designer with the question
They onboard the client and then they said something about waiting multiple weeks. I can't remember how long it was. And then they present the whole house. And I was like, oh my gosh, I can't imagine operating that way.
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Caitlin Peterson
I thought her disbelief that this way of designing can work deserved a closer look. As our conversation unfolded, our question asker explained that she typically invites client approval and feedback at multiple points throughout the design process, sometimes even item by item. But now she's interested in a more hands off relationship and curious about the kinds of changes she'd need to make in her presentation approach to help her get there.
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Designer with the question
That was the other question that I had is like, what have they agreed on with the client before they've started designing the whole house? Have they created a palette? Have they created like sort of a texture library for the house? I'm sure there's a questionnaire. I have a questionnaire too. But like, at what point does the client give you the okay to just go ahead and create one or two designs of the entire house to present to them to? Okay. Like, I can't even fathom presenting an entire house to somebody without them coming back with a thousand edits.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
You suggested a lot of things that I think some firms do. That idea of having kind of a mood board to establish direction and really going back and forth on that a little bit and then, you know, designing the whole house with that as sort of the North Star. Is that a piece of your process right now or are you doing that sort of vibe check as you start the actual sourcing for the project?
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Designer with the question
At the very beginning, I have a questionnaire. We talk a lot about inspiration. Pinterest plays a huge role in that process. Once you've looked at their inspiration, established a budget and then a floor plan, then it kind of starts to come together a lot more easily. But I have yet to have a client who's somewhat hands off.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
Yeah, and do you like that about the process that this is someone who really wants to be along for the journey?
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Designer with the question
I do. But I have thought recently it might be kind of nice to have someone that says, you know what, just do it. I trust you.
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Caitlin Peterson
I quickly realized that what this question asker really needed was proof that you can indeed take this leap of faith and that with the right scaffolding in place to create trust in the process, it is totally doable to present your vision for an entire project and encounter minimal second guessing from the client. As we ended our call, I knew just who to connect with for those insights. Someone whose whole home approach is designed to foster that trust with clients and push her own creativity forward. All that and more in just a moment. Today's question is all about strengthening your presentation skills, but it's also helping about trust. It's about the client's confidence in your recommendations as well as your confidence in the direction of the project to find the furnishings that bring your ideas to life. It's time to start shopping at Four Hands. With thousands of products in its catalog, including more than 500 new arrivals across living room, dining room, bedroom, office bath and outdoor, fourhands offers solutions for every corner of your floor plan with pieces featuring the kind of thoughtful and unexpected details that clients fall for instantly. If you're headed to High Point Market later this month, make sure you stop by the Four Hands showroom on the fourth floor of Showplace, where you'll be the first to experience the new spring launch. And you can always discover great new pieces and explore the benefits of shopping with Four Hands for your next project at fourhands.com/tradetales. Today I'm joined by Allison Giese as a guest on Trade Tales. She shared how she maintains an airtight design process, one that includes communicating to clients that there is little room for revision, but also a process that builds the trust needed to back that policy up. I thought she'd be the perfect person to answer today's question.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so great to have you back on Trade Tales. You were the 10th ever guest on this show back when it first launched, which means that listeners heard from you here in the summer of 2021. Which is wild to me.
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Allison Giese
It is wild to me too, because we had basically just moved to San Antonio or not been here very long for sure.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
So much has changed since then. I mean, in the industry, I'm imagining in your business too, what is the biggest leap that you feel like you've made since then, or what feels the most different?
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Allison Giese
The thing that feels the most different to me is really focusing, really finding a love of working with top tier architects and builders and really wanting to focus my business on that. You know, some designers don't care for the building process, but I actually really love it and I really love learning as much as I can. So I am really honored to be a part of, you know, those even beginning conversations that are just at architectural level. So that's been my focus. I've had the wonderful opportunities to work on a couple different projects with fantastic architects, and it really just made me realize this is where I feel like I shine with super strong team. So that's where I'm focusing my efforts, my outreach efforts as well.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
How did you have to change what you said yes and no, to, to really make that pivot happen for yourself?
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Allison Giese
Well, first of all, it was saying yes to those original projects and not really knowing anything about them and even having to, in my mind, sort of underbid them. I came into a very different market than I had been that I had established my business in Northern Virginia, kind of D.C. area. So, you know, I had to understand that. And just to be able to have that opportunity to work with such a strong team, I had to modify my approach a little bit, but it was absolutely worth it. The experience and the growth just from a couple of projects were exponential. And I think letting them know that I do care about those things and I want to work with them, I'm not just the designer coming in asking for crazy stuff and don't care about how they make it happen. I think that collaborativeness means a lot. And, you know, after doing a couple of those projects, one of the builders was kind enough to leave us a review and said something along the lines of, you know, Allison is a builder's designer. And that was one of the greatest compliments I could receive because it just meant that they know that I respect what they do, they respect what I do, and that I'm not just the fluff.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
What else is going on in the firm these days? What are you most excited about when you walk into work?
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Allison Giese
I am most excited about, honestly, over the last few years, we went through kind of a big operational revamp, and I worked with a fractional firm that Helped us really kind of establish some operational systems that needed to be tweaked and it gave me a ton of insight. So it was extremely expensive and, you know, I don't know that I needed it as long as I kept it. But now I come in feeling much more like at any given time with a new hire or, you know, communicating the system is boom, boom, boom in place. And I can refer to, you know, staff people to. Okay, go to. I mean, in this case we use ClickUp as our, you know, process template. It's all there. So I feel just more confident in processes systems and knowing that I can step away a little bit more and the information is there.
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Caitlin Peterson
How big is your team today?
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Allison Giese
It's very, very small. I have one associate designer in house. I've got a virtual assistant and I've got a bookkeeper cpa and you know, I will outsource some, some design drawings as needed, but we're just keeping it really lean.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
That's awesome.
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Caitlin Peterson
Are you ready to give some advice?
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Allison Giese
Sure.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
So this week we are fielding a question from a designer who is looking for a fresh perspective on the presentation process. When you heard her call, what was the first thing that was top of mind for you?
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Allison Giese
I thought this is extremely perfect timing to talk about this because I just went through a lot of these questions from a potential client. So we did discovery call, went to do an on site consultation and these people are just about to wrap up building about a 6,000 square foot custom home. And they had worked with the designer for the finishes and weren't real crazy about the process that she had and felt like she just sort of affirmed their selections. But they didn't feel like she brought any of her own ideas or anything really to the table, that the client was driving most of it and the designer was just holding her hand during that process. So they're looking to make a move to a different designer for furnishings. And you know, so already that little, the little red flag goes off with, right.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
Like is this really the designer holding your hand or is this you, the client? Right.
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Allison Giese
So I really had her walk me through. I had the potential client walk me through. Well, what was it about that? Tell me a little bit more about that. That didn't resonate, but. And she did walk through the so called process and it was well, we would pick out a light and then we'd pick out some tile and we'd pick out a faucet. And I thought, okay, I'm going to have to be really, really transparent that that sounds like hell to me. I don't say it that way, obviously, but it was very important because I could tell this client, I mean, the house is amazing. If the client was the person that drove the decision, she did a great job. So I could already see she has a very strong, you know, point of view. She knows what she likes. She's very, very detail oriented. One tile pattern. She said it took them nine months to get correct because she was directing it and they were hand cutting stone pieces. So getting a real clear picture of, okay, this, this, you know, the demands that this particular client, you know, may have. But I thought the most important thing was to talk about our process and how different that would be. And, you know, that we, we don't shop, we collect a lot of information up front and including a questionnaire. And we go over images and we talk about what they like in those images and, and we talk about, you know, where they like to travel, favorite hotels, really get a sense of their lifestyle in general. And then we do tuck away to develop a concept which is, you know, we'll do the furniture, floor plan, come up with more or less a palette and maybe do two or three, depending on the size of the project. Actual selections, like this is the actual sofa, we're thinking, and these are some actual fabrics. And then do, you know, a fairly brief concept presentation. Are we on the right track? Does this floor plan feel right? Let us know. Now if this is feeling in the right direction, then we do the tuck away and do the whole house. And when I was explaining that to these potential clients, you could tell their mind was kind of blown. And he said, the husband said, well, how do you, how do you know kind of like what this question was? How do you know what we like or what, you know, that you're going to get this right? And I just said, well, you know, I've collected a lot of information and I've been doing this for 10 years, so, you know, I've learned to really listen and hopefully, you know, take away what I need. Now, if you don't tell me, can I read your mind? No, if you tell me I need to have a spot for the kids to drop their things every day when they come home. This is how a day in the life is for us. If you don't tell me that, of course I can't read your mind. But you could tell that that really gave them pause because of their past experience. And one of the things I mentioned was, in my experience, this is how most designers work, that they are presenting A whole house, because you have to be able to see the continuity of the spaces together. And I think part of what she experienced with frustration, with feeling like things weren't connected in her house, is because it was done piecemeal, because they weren't thinking about the whole house when selections were being made for the finishes. So it was easier to kind of illustrate that. And they were still missing some fixtures because they hadn't made that trip to the lighting showroom or whatever. So I think that it's, you know, obviously you do all the information collecting, but at some point in your career, I think you have to say, my time is extremely valuable and I am doing my best work for the client. If I can take their information and be able to tuck away and get into that creative space that you can't just jump into on a onesie twosie basis.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
Is there a baby step into that of saying, we're going to do a room at a time, or we're going to do a floor of the house at a time? Or is it really like, whole house or bust?
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Allison Giese
No, I think that's absolutely legitimate. And even, like with these clients, because these potential clients, I said that, like, look, if we need to do a first room, then we can do that to kind of further test the waters or, you know, it's not like I'm rigid about it. I just want to have those conversations up front. And kind of the same thing with options. I mean, the question sounded like the question during the panel that she heard the designer say, they come back with two options. We don't really even come back with two options. At least not for everything. You know, I always tell a client what we present to you is our best. That is what, you know, our editing and our culling and our going through all these things, we felt like this is the absolute best option. Having said that, if you know, you're someone who wants to have choices, perfectly fine. We'll bring you, you know, option B, option C, lamp, or whatever. Knowing that anything we present to them is going to be something that we're okay with. We're never going to present something that we don't believe would ultimately work. It may not be our first choice, but if they feel like it works best, it's always still going to work with the design.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
When do you decide, you know, oh, this deserves an option? Or this is a category where people tend to need options, or how do you sort of decide when to have those things in your back pocket?
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Allison Giese
If a client has expressed that they. I just Love lighting. Okay. I don't know that there's any rhyme or reason to what we would present option on. You know, the most obvious one would be we couldn't decide. Like, there's. There's two fabrics that are going to go on this chair frame. We love them both equally, and I can't decide. Let's. Let's let the client make the final decision on that. We usually do not do choices in. In frame styles, for example, because that starts getting. You have too many factors. Then, okay, well, take this frame and fit this fabric on this frame. Well, that's. That's designing. That's our job.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
Right.
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Allison Giese
So it really just depends on, you know, kind of what we've come across as we're doing the design. And if there's something that it's really too close to call, then let's just roll it out there with the client.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
I know when I was talking to this designer, you know, we got a little bit more depth into what her process is, and one of the things she said was that, you know, she really likes this sort of. I don't want to call it chatty, but this sort of collaborative back and forth with the client making these selections. Or I found this. What do you think? Like, that sort of energy. Do you think that if she were able to pivot to this way of presenting, she could still find that connection and joy in the process?
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Allison Giese
I think so. I think that sort of ideating phase is where a lot of clients, if they have any design savvy or design interest at all, they want to be a part of that. And that's totally legit, I think. I mean, I've got clients who we are well past ideation. We're well past even presentation. We're into procurement, and they're still sending ideas, and you just kind of humor it, and it's a connection. You both. You enjoy seeing things, but it's not necessarily, oh, I want to change to this. It's just an enjoyment, a shared love of things. So, you know, but my. My question would also be, you know, why would a designer feel like they need to change their process if they really love that part of it? Is it just because they heard a designer say that they work a different way and they feel like they're doing it wrong? Because if that's something that truly brings her joy and she feels like she does her best work with that type of super collaborative, hey, do you like this? Do you like this? Then why change it?
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Kaitlyn Peterson
She mentioned to me that she feels like she might be wasting time. So I think there's like some pluses and minuses to this approach.
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Allison Giese
I think it probably, at least for us, it becomes also a function of the number of projects you're juggling. When you have a certain amount of time allotted for a project, for the design phase, you really don't have that luxury of doing all the back and forth. So in a lot of ways, the number of projects we had forced us into more of that process. But I think you can do a little bit of that, but maybe just put time parameters around it. You can do, you know, more of the back and forth. Hey, for a couple of weeks we're going to play, so to speak, like, you know, maybe we go to look at some things together, we have more texting. But then I, you know, allow X amount of time to just kind of take all that information and buckle down to get that design put together.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
How are you thinking about both the questionnaire piece, but also sort of the visual litmus test piece to understand both the function and also kind of the design style that, that will resonate with this client?
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Allison Giese
I do think it's really important to ask them about pain points. You know, if it's, if it's a remodel, pain points, what's driving this change, you know, this house change. Let's talk about a day in the life. You really have to understand their lifestyle. Is their family growing? Do they expect more children? Do they have kids leaving the house and they're going to convert, you know, bedrooms to studies or that sort of thing? It really is an understanding of where they are in their life, you know, to understand that functionality, part of it and be able to anticipate what they may need. You know, I'm at a phase in my life where I've got kids going off to school, but I've still got some in middle school. So I kind of can bridge remembering what the really young childhood needs were, but then also what life's starting to look like as you have a little more space in the house and that sort of thing. And I do think that, you know, it really does help to have been in those shoes in, in ways and be able to anticipate what they may see or may want. And then, you know, with the style aspect of it, it. It is a lot of observation. It is, what do they wear, what do they. How do they shop, what do they, what do they drive? I mean, and then I tell people what they want. What three words do they want their house to convey? And that says A lot. Some people will just say, cozy, warm, kick off your shoes. Some people will say, I want to be impressed by it. I want others to be impressed by it. So it really helps curate the priorities in the design, style and function.
- [21:37]
Caitlin Peterson
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- [22:38]
Kaitlyn Peterson
What is the moment where you think, I know enough to feel confident going back and really creating this entire space for this family?
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Allison Giese
I mean, it's not like you can't ever go back and, you know, and that's the thing. It's not like it's a, a one and done. If there's something where I thought, oh, I need to double check about that, you know, you just go back and say, you know what, I want to, I need to flesh this out a little bit more with you. We got some great information, but it's not like you're, I mean, we kind of use the words we tuck away, but it's not like we are, you know, on an island somewhere. Yeah, like, you know, so I feel confident when the questionnaire is a lot. And every time we send a questionnaire, we inevitably add a question to it. Oh, I wish we had asked this last time. But powers of observation and listening are so key. I think it's easy as a designer, especially if it's like a fantastic project to just, your mind just starts going with, oh, it could be this and this and this. But you, you really, really have to listen to, you know, what these clients are saying. And if they're saying, hey, this is going to be the kids room, I'm buying off the rack, whatever, because they're going to trash it. Even if we're coming from the point of view of like, oh, you know, I don't know about disposable furniture mentality, you still have to listen to that they are telegraphing to you what they're willing to invest in or what is a priority to them. And it's not our job to necessarily change that. We can give them the information. So I feel confident if. I feel like I have truly listened, listened to everything. Not just what they say, but their body language, their, you know, just the nuances. I think it's so much a human eq. Like, there's so much EQ involved in what we do. And especially in those early phases when
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Kaitlyn Peterson
you have sort of that first layer of presentation. And I love the way you talked about that, that this is sort of part palette and mood, part floor plan and then a few pieces. How much feedback do you want from the client at that phase? Or what is the. What does that presentation actually look like? What are you bringing? How are the clients reacting? Are they seeing it with you for the first time or have you sent it to them beforehand? Like, how does that actually unfold?
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Allison Giese
It depends on the location of the project. If it's a remote project, we're doing that via Zoom now. I may send them some samples and stuff ahead of time. So in that case, they may have seen sneak peeks. Sometimes we say, wait till we can walk through it with you. But, you know, if they open it, they open it. If it's a local project, we will often do that in person. You know, they'll come to the studio and it's extremely casual. It is very much just a conversation. It is, it is nothing formal. It is for them to feel really comfortable telling us. I like this. I don't know about this. I'm willing to let you push a little bit more on this, but, you know, I need to feel safe in, in this selection. So it is my goal to really get them to just feel like they can talk. We can just talk. It is not anything that they feel like is a rebuttal, so to speak.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
I like that this, to me for this question asker feels like the moment to really have those conversations that she enjoys a lot.
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Allison Giese
Yeah, absolutely. It could be over coffee. It can be, you know, it. It really just needs to be. It needs to feel like a meeting with friends, I think. And I always try to put that into perspective. You know, we get to know people really well. Often we're in their home. Some of these projects are years in the making. We always want to be friendly. But you don't have. You don't have to be friends, so. And I think that sometimes that there's a blur in that but this really is a time where you want people to feel comfortable and you want them to know that they're. They're in good hands and that they feel safe saying, eh, not so sure about that.
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Kaitlyn Peterson
How do you take the feedback from that meeting and sort of go back to the office to finish the whole house? Does that feel ever like a big leap, or do you feel like you have all the information you need at that point?
- [26:57]
Allison Giese
Sometimes it feels like a big leap. If there's questions, say, about, like, floor plan, where sometimes it really helps to, you know, like, we'll pull up the screen and actually walk through how we, you know, came to this is why we're thinking this furniture arrangement makes the most sense. We'll talk about walkways and flow and all of that and talk about what they, you know, kids are going to come running through this, you know, space. Chairs are going to be left out from under the table. You know, walk them through how we arrived at that. And I think that goes a long way to. At that point, you're talking about why is it that we went in this direction? And if it's not just like, oh, because we think it's the prettiest. It's what you said, you know, you said durability was really important to you. So that's why we were heading the direction of, of this. It's never going to not be a little intimidating to, to do someone's whole house. But that's, that's part of the challenge and part of the growth is can we take what we've learned about this client in a fairly short amount of time and turn it into something that they, they feel really good living with for a long time. I don't know if you ever get past those nerves. I mean, I put it this way. If I'm. If I'm so confident at that point that I'm like, oh, I can do this in my sleep, then I'm not pushing myself enough.
- [28:16]
Kaitlyn Peterson
Can you talk to me a little bit about your workflow moving through selections for an entire home? Because I wonder if sometimes just the immense number of things that have to coalesce together at one time is part of what's so intimidating here. It's not presenting it to the client. It's the actual doing all the work at once. I don't know. I'm projecting. But what does that look like for you? How do you start to work your way through the selections for a whole house?
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Allison Giese
It's usually the big pieces first, anchor pieces. So if it's A big room, rugs, sofas, big, big, commanding pieces usually come first. And, you know, those are obviously dictated by. By the floor plan and, you know, kind of work our way down to the smaller pieces. But also, I'm not afraid to leave gaps in the design for that exact reason. And I'll tell a client that because we especially. Because we love putting some antiques and vintage in, and sometimes we just don't have that. Like, we haven't found the piece yet. So I will very much put that disclaimer out to a client that we purposely leave gaps for finding. Like the one if we haven't found it at the time we're doing the rest of the design development or just to allow or, you know, if. I know it's a client that loves to shop and they go to France or they go, you know, to Round Top or whatever, to leave that breathing room. Like, hey, we haven't found the. The ottoman that we absolutely love. You know, we're just keeping an eye out. You know, maybe you come across something
- [29:53]
Kaitlyn Peterson
and like, here's the rules, here's the dimensions. Here's what.
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Allison Giese
Fitz. Yeah, I mean, I do have. I don't. I wouldn't necessarily say I do that with every client. With clients that I've worked with for more than one project, I. We have that rapport and we have that. That comfort. But I think some of that pressure to find every single thing is aleved when you say, like, I may not find the actual side table that I think is going to be perfect for this spot because I want it to be unique. Okay, put that aside for a bit. We'll come back to it. We just. We keep a. We keep a running list of things that, like, hey, we still need to
- [30:27]
Kaitlyn Peterson
source this and would you possibly present the entire house? But say, hey, this is, you know, we're still waiting for the right one here.
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Allison Giese
Yeah, absolutely. And sometimes we'll do a concept image. Like, this is more or less what we're looking for, is this kind of piece. Yeah, this is what we envision, but we just haven't found the right one at the right dimensions yet. But, hey, we're going to High Point in a couple of months. We're going to keep an eye out there. Absolutely.
- [30:49]
Kaitlyn Peterson
How do you organize internally all of the selections you've made?
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Allison Giese
We keep. So we primarily work in Google workspace as far as imagery and that sort of thing, because I do still have to see all of the images together. So we keep a slide deck and we're constantly dropping everything into the slide deck. And that way you can just like duplicate a slide. Okay, sub in this chair, you know, on this slide. Although everything else stays the same. So we kind of see different versions of things as we're going that way. And we also do all our procurement sheets in Google sheets as well. So, you know, all the schedules are done that way. Everything is kind of plugged in. What I'm hoping, you know, there's a. It feels like right now there's maybe some data duplication as far as like data entry. Taking the image from in the links from the slide deck and make sure they're getting into the procurement sheets. So I'm working on my assistant to see if we can get some AI workflows going on that can pull those links, those products from the sheets and get them dropped into, excuse me, from the slide deck, from the visuals and get them put into like procurement sheets. And so far we haven't figured out how to do that, but that seems like it could be a big time saver.
- [32:08]
Kaitlyn Peterson
Talk to me a little bit about taking that slide deck to the client. Is that meeting always in person? Can that be over? Zoom. What does the final presentation look like for you?
- [32:20]
Allison Giese
I feel like that needs to be in person. Absolutely. And you know, we do. Both clients will come to us and we'll have everything if it's, if it's a huge presentation, like to the degree where we may need an intermission. Right, yeah, you know, take a break sort of thing. We all, you know, we'll have refreshments. Let's take a break. Let's step back for, for a bit, and we'll kind of like do it in phases. So two story house. We may do first floor, you know, for a bit, talk about that, and then move the samples and, and printed sheets off and replace them while everybody's taking a break with the second floor stuff, that sort of thing. But it is a little bit more formal in that we try to create an atmosphere. I do want it to feel like they get a sense of what the space is going to be, whether that be colors or candles or music that we have playing in the background. It really is to set a mood, to get them to be able to envision what we're doing, because we are creating atmospheres, not just sofas and rugs and that sort of thing.
- [33:22]
Kaitlyn Peterson
What is the goal at the end of that meeting? Like what percentage of the project should be complete when the client leaves your office or leaves that meeting?
- [33:30]
Allison Giese
I would say probably 90% of the selections should be made. And the goal is for them to leave feeling positive and good and that most of what they seen they like. But I also know they haven't had time to digest it. I know that even if they have some questions, they're probably not going to bring them up there because it would slow the flow of the presentation for one thing. And I always just allow them the time to take that home, digest it, go over it with your partner if you need to, go over it with your kids if it involves some of their spaces, get a feel for it before feeling like they have to give any feedback either way. But you know, I'm, I'm really trying to read the mood like and, and I'll do some check ins as we're doing presentation like does this, does this feel pretty good or how does, how does this, you know, is there something in, in the presentation you've seen so far that you're really gravitating towards? Sometimes you don't have to ask. They'll pick up the picture and really like what? Like yeah, yeah, really love this. Really, you know, they'll hold onto the fabric for a while and you, you know, that's the beauty of having hands on deck with you is they can be the, the, the observers while I'm having to really do the actual be on and do the presentation. We do not talk numbers at design presentation. I don't ever want the number of something a to stop the flow of the presentation. How much is that sofa? And I don't want that to be the decision factor. I want them to fall in love with what they've seen or ask for a reselection on something but it not to be based on the cost. If we've, you know, we've already had the budget conversation and as long as we have come back within their budget parameters and that's not broken down by item that is like a global, global budget, then it really shouldn't matter how it, how it broke down. So it's not until we've gotten that feedback and done revisions or whatever that we really start then that we go with the number and we, and we show them the actual proposal with the, with the numbers on it.
- [35:38]
Kaitlyn Peterson
When the clients go home, they digest, they think about what they've seen. How quickly do they come back to you and what kind of feedback do you expect at that point?
- [35:49]
Allison Giese
Depends on the size of the project. If it's a, you know, 5,000 or more square foot house, they need at least a week because chances are, you know, they're running kids around to sports during the week. Like, they're not. They're not even probably going to get to it and to the next weekend at the earliest. So week to two weeks, depending on size of the project. And they may just say, hey, we're on spring break for the next week. We're not going to touch it. So in that case, it may be three weeks before I actually hear from them. And when we do hear from them, I mean, we have been really, really fortunate that clients have really not really not broken apart our design. It is rare that they'll come back and say, really don't like this. They may come back and say, you know, I'd love to see a different fabric for this maybe. But it. The feedback is, is. Is usually pretty minimal. Like I said, we've been really fortunate that way. And, you know, knock on wood.
- [36:47]
Kaitlyn Peterson
Yeah.
- [36:49]
Allison Giese
I don't know if that's a matter of us, you know, really getting it right and being confident in. In presenting it. Probably both.
- [36:56]
Caitlin Peterson
That's great.
- [36:58]
Kaitlyn Peterson
One thing this question asker said to me, I'm in New York City. These people are so busy. Like, you know, a lot of this is on text or email because, like, who has time to meet? But you're really expecting, you know, this is an investment. This is a process these clients have embarked on. They're taking the morning or the day off work to come meet with you for this, right?
- [37:19]
Allison Giese
Yeah.
- [37:19]
Kaitlyn Peterson
Like, this is in business hours. This is them prioritizing the design of their home. Is that a fair thing to say?
- [37:26]
Allison Giese
Absolutely. And if it means us going to them, if that saves them some time, Absolutely. We've done that. We've presented in ugly office conference rooms before that. You really didn't get to create that atmosphere that I like. But the decision makers needed to be there, and that was what was most convenient for them. It's interesting because I find that the back and forth texting and emailing is more time draining. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, and certainly as far as tracking your time as a designer, I find that so difficult because there have been days where, and I know we're all supposed to say we don't text with our clients. That is not realistic. As much as I would love to have that boundary, it's just not. But there have been days where I've gotten dozens of texts from a client, and each individual text may take me 30 seconds or less to reply to, but that doesn't take into account the stop and the flow. You know, how do you clock that time. So to me, it's more disruptive. And if it's more disruptive for me as a busy person, to me, it could potentially be more disruptive to a client if I'm the one doing that. Like, hey, I'm out and about and here's a lamp. So, yes, it may take a bigger chunk of their time and maybe a little bit more planning of their time. But to me, if you give someone two or three weeks notice of like, hey, this is our presentation day, then like you said, it's their home, it's their investment. That's not too much to ask.
- [38:59]
Kaitlyn Peterson
As we wrap up, is there anything else about the presentation process that we haven't talked about that just feels essential to the success of a project to you?
- [39:10]
Allison Giese
For me, it is that. It is that confidence. It is where we have to put our salesman hat on, because we have been in the thick of it for weeks and clients have not. There's a huge amount of anticipation for that. You know, they've been waiting. And yes, we want to wow them, but we also have to be able to convey that visual to them. And, you know, we always say the hardest thing is for people to be able to visualize. So we have to be able to create that visual for them, and so they can see themselves with. Within what we're presenting. They can see themselves living with those things. And that does require the confidence. And like, hey, we've already thought through every concern that you've listed to us and arrived at that for this. I think that that's definitely most critical for us is getting. Getting your headspace right. Feeling really good that this is the best version of what we could put together for them.
- [40:13]
Caitlin Peterson
Before I let you go, I wanted to ask you, what is the best
- [40:17]
Kaitlyn Peterson
piece of advice you've ever received?
- [40:20]
Allison Giese
Oh, my gosh, this is hard. It's the being mindful of where you are in your business and that that's where you're supposed to be and not necessarily gauging milestones of others with yours. And, you know, I mentioned earlier that, you know, I. My answer to a potential client about, how do you know what you're doing basically, and you're doing it right. And my answer was, well, I've got 10 years under my belt of doing it. And for some people, that's like, well, wow, 10 years. Shouldn't you be here, here and here? Shouldn't you have a team of X or whatever? And I've done that to myself, but I always bring myself back to you. My path was different and you know, from the get go my path was different and I always am where I am supposed to be. So like I said, that's just something I've read somewhere, saw somewhere, maybe I heard it and I just always think about that, that we are where we're supposed to be.
- [41:23]
Kaitlyn Peterson
That's our show for today. Thank you so much for being here
- [41:26]
Caitlin Peterson
and for everyone listening with a question of your own. I'd love for you to ask us anything. Don't worry, we'll keep it anonymous. Please start the conversation by sending me
- [41:36]
Kaitlyn Peterson
an email@tradetalesusinessofhome.com if you're enjoying Trade Tales,
- [41:41]
Caitlin Peterson
please leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help others discover the show. And if you're looking for even more
- [41:46]
Kaitlyn Peterson
great business advice, head on over to
- [41:49]
Caitlin Peterson
businessofhome.com Trade Tales is produced by me,
- [41:52]
Kaitlyn Peterson
Kaitlyn Peterson and Caroline Burke. This episode was edited by Caroline Burke and Michael Castaneda. Our theme music is by Kyle Scott Wilson. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you here next week.