# 80 | 8 Problem Solving Strategies for Interior Designers When Things Go Wrong

Interior design BusinessMindset2-Establishing3-Scaling1-Launching

May 2

“It can be really hard not to take things personally, or feel like your character or your integrity is being challenged. It's just the truth, but you have to separate yourself from the claim versus your intention.”

Have you ever had a client who is questioning your most recent invoice, they want to do something outside of your contract terms, or they misunderstood information? So what can you do to salvage the relationships?

In today's episode, I tackle a listener question on how to handle challenging client situations. I'm sharing 8 strategies that can help you in ANY sticky situation and hopefully bring a resolution without sacrificing your dignity or your income.

Dear Kate,

I recently faced a challenge with a client and I feel like I totally botched my response. long story short, I selected and then sourced wallpaper for my client for three rooms. The paper for two rooms ended up needing to be returned. One was our fault from the measure, and another because the client didn't like an aspect of the design that you couldn't see on the CFA. Now I'm holding the bag on a $4100 credit with Phillip Jeffries. I even had to pay the client at the end of the job instead of the other way around! GAH! How can I handle this better in the future? - Lisa

If you haven't yet faced a challenging client situation, you simply haven't been in business long enough. Certainly, these situations are minimized with the more experience you have because you know what to look for, and how to circumvent issues that arise, and you have more confidence to take the wheel on projects.

But even the most successful and established designers are bound to face client challenges from time to time.

When you're dealing with a problem it can feel massive. Anxiety sets in. Imposter syndrom rears it's ugly head. And it can be easy to spiral and feel like you want to burn the barn down. In other words give up and throw in the towel.

I've personally dealt with my fair share of challenges over the years and I know what an icky feeling it can be. Sometimes it feels like your dignity, your credibility, and your character are being attacked.

But I've learned some things over the years that have helped me face inevitable challenges with more clarity and grace while maintaining the client relationship.

8 Problem Solving Strategies

1 - Buy yourself some time

In a stressful situation, your brain has an initial stress response (fight/flight/freeze) and this triggers your body's physiological response (think sweating, heart beating faster, throat tightening, stomach in knots). The amygdala (part of brain responsible for survival) is activated and pumps hormone adrenaline into your bloodstream. When you are in this heightened state, it can be difficult to communicate, think rationally, and maintain control of your emotions. Before responding to a client or addressing the problem, you want to give yourself time to calm your brain so you can have clarity of mind.

In these situations, I usually provide an immediate response acknowledging that I have received their message and schedule time within 24 hours to discuss in person or by phone. I do not advise getting into a text or email conversation with high-stakes.

2 - Focus on the Facts

It's important to focus on the facts in the situation and take out the story and the emotion. Think about what the facts are here and now such as:

"I understand that you are concerned about the cost of the cabinetry" NOT "I told you that the original pricing was an estimate not a quote"

It's not important to get fully into the details of how you got here, there will be time for that later.

3 - Activate Empathy

Remember that it's best to view any problems that arise with empathy. Where are your clients coming from in this situation? Take the time to listen to them and pick up on clues about how they are feeling. It's important to be honest with yourself and try to see where they are coming from. An example of what this may look like could be:

"I understand that your budget is real and I want to help be a good steward of you investment"

4 - Claim your intentions

Honesty is always best so make sure to share your honest intentions with your clients which can help them to see you as a human.

- Related -

5 - Normalize don't Catastrophize

When it comes to interior design and the design process, sometimes clients don't understand what is normal in a design process and what is a more significant problem. For example, if an item arrives damaged, delayed or back ordered, you can take the time to let them know that things like this happen all the time in projects and you're fully equipped to handle issues such as this when they arise.

6 - Frame your Clients Best Interest in Center Stage

Make sure you let your clients know that you want what's best for them and want to create and or find a solution that is best for them. For example, when a client may wish to expedite your process to meet their deadline:

Instead of: "I can't do that b/c my kids are on spring break next week, and then I'm going to Highpoint" (Even if it's true - your client doesn't care)

Try: "I understand you are eager to move this project along. We have a tried and true process that we've used to successfully help 100's of clients. In my experience, whenever we try to rush or abbreviate our design process, it doesn't go well. We want to approach your project with the same care and attention to detail clients have come to expect from us. When we do you can be confident the end result will exceed your expectations"

7 - Accountability is not the same as Blame

Radical Accountability is one of our core values. This can be hard when you find yourself entangled with a toxic client and you were the one that decided to work with them. You may have missed the signs or ignored the red flags. You can start to diffuse a situation when you take on accountability and it's not the same as taking the blame. It does help to open the space to move into creative problem solving.

8 - Flexibility is your Friend

When it comes to problem-solving being overly rigid will diminish your clients trust in you. Try to look for ways to be flexible and agile without compromising your dignity or income such as coming up with payment terms, finding a way to expedite ONE aspect of your process, etc. Learning to be agile and flexible can help you develop more creative solutions that help re-establish trust in your client relationship so you can all move on.

Running into challenges is an inevitable part of running an interior design business. It can be hard not to take things personally or feel like your character/integrity is being challenged but you have to separate yourself from the claim vs your intention.

After utilizing these strategies, you may occasionally realize a project/client doesn't have room to move forward and that's also okay. If you employ these strategies you can feel good that you did the best you could to come up with a viable solution. If they are inflexible, it's better to establish it now and cut ties instead of trying to force something that will never get easier.

Resources mentioned in this episode: