E-Design: How to Develop Your Pitch, Process & Price
Last week, we talked about when it comes to E-Design, you can’t compete on price. You can’t be profitable if you try to compete with the agency model of E-Design who offers cheap room “design”. I also shared the 3 things you should compete on instead. If you haven’t read it, you can go check it out here.
My guess is by now, you’ve either decided to add E-Design to your service offerings or you’re ready to upgrade your existing offering. And now you’ve got to sell it. 😳
Don’t stress friend. Stick with me.
If you are going to offer (and successfully sell) premium E-Design services, you need to have these 3 things in order...
Your:
Pitch - How you’re going to sell it
Process - How you’re going to deliver it
Price - How you’re going to charge for it
My recommendation is to get out a pen & paper or fresh google doc and write out your decisions to these 3 key components.
PITCH
Your Pitch is your Unique Value Proposition. What is the ONE thing you have that no one else has? Why would Mrs. Smith hire you over the girl next door? Why would she pay you $1000’s to design one room when she could go to the web and get a whole room for $99?
The answer is simple.
They are paying for YOU. And you are worth Every. 👏Damn.👏 Penny. 👏
I already think you are special, but I need you to tell me why. So what makes you special? Go ahead...brag a little. Spend some time thinking about what sets you/your brand apart from your competitors. EVERY brand has this. You are a brand and need to be able to talk about how you are special. This exercise is for your whole brand, not just about E-Design specifically, and you’ll need this when you’re selling any service.
PROCESS
What does your E-Design Process look like? How does it compare to your Full-service? How does it compare to the agency-model of E-Design? Write this out in excruciating detail (for yourself) from beginning to end. Look at your process through the eyes of your client.
What will they want? What can you give them they don’t expect? What questions will they have? How can you answer them before they even think to ask them? How many touchpoints will you have? What problems will they naturally encounter and how can you help them avoid them? What are some extra touches you can sprinkle in that delights your client? Get creative!
If you can create a streamlined, fun, engaging process for your client that is EASY FOR THEM, you, my friend, will have a client for life.
PRICE
Based on your Process, you’ll develop your pricing strategy. Here are some questions you’ll want to decide on:
Flat-fee or hourly?
Do you offer tiered pricing (i.e. good, better, best)?
Do you offer any add-on services?
What are the hard costs you may incur?
There is no perfect way to develop your pricing. Flat-Fee may be better for one designer, where hourly is preferred for someone else. The biggest problem is underestimating your time or discounting your services. Calculate your time (based on the room type), figure out your hard costs, and determine your pricing structure.
Alright, friend put on your decision-making hat and get to work.
