Kitchen & Bath Business November/December 2022 - 14

INDUS TR Y
CHALLENGE S
Be in Charge
Don't be afraid to set proper design fees; your projects and clients will thank you
IGNORANCE IS NOT A STATE of being I want
to be in, but when I began my business 22 years
ago, I had not worked in the industry for anyone
else. So I did not know what I did not know and
never dreamed most of my colleagues did not
charge design fees when they sold cabinetry and
other items needed to complete a kitchen or bath
design. Say what? You do not charge fees to meet
with a new client or to create the design?
I was not getting into real estate or contracting
where they are betting on the big payout. I
was doing the work to deliver a comprehensive
and well-thought-out design to meet my client's
needs. To do so necessitated knowing the
material specifi cs and what could and could
not be done, so it only made sense the cabinetry
acquisition and ancillary products would
be under my domain and control. It's amazing
what you can accomplish when you ignore
what everyone else is doing and do what makes
sense to you.
" CHANGE " CAN BE A GOOD THING
I am on a mission to amend the dynamic
of design fees being relegated to part of the
cabinetry sale. It does not serve the design
industry well and does nothing to elevate the
blood, sweat and tears so many kitchen and
bath designers exude every week when creating
award-winning spaces for their clients.
To me, kitchen and bath design - with all the
bells and whistles, not just a simple layout for
cabinetry - is a premium service.
Why do we devalue our creativity in this
manner? Because it is the way it has always been
done? Or I hear these a lot in coaching, " Everyone
in my area gives out free design or rolls it
into the price " or " Th at's the way we secure the
cabinetry/countertops/materials sale. "
Challenging the status quo is hard. It is easier
and way safer to conform to what everyone else
is doing and not have to do the work to properly
position our fi rms in the minds of consumers.
Look, I sell product too. Without doing so, we
would be hard pressed to survive on fees alone
14
/ NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022
for a team of nine. However, how we get people in the door is with our
abilities to do it all - design, procure and manage. Elevating design to the
stature it deserves heads off a multitude of problems that can come up later
in the process.
KNOW YOUR WORTH
You bring value to the transaction, hence the need to charge a proper fee
for your work. You have the creativity of an original thinker and the vision
for results; you interpret the wants and needs of your clients, and then
you translate those for ideal functionality; and you alleviate fears with
proper drawings. You anticipate requests before they materialize, you
communicate eff ectively with your team, and you have the organization
skills to complete a project with many moving parts. You are dedicated
to the details and have the wisdom of experience. You troubleshoot all
the small things that come up during a project that the client never even
realizes, and your caring and kindness make a typically arduous process
more palatable.
Now, how do we get everyone on board with this and show the value we
bring to the table? One designer at a time.
Cheryl Kees Clendenon is owner and lead designer of In Detail Interiors in
Pensacola, Fla., Indetailinteriors.com

Designers' Feedback on Design Fee Coaching Services
" I was charging hourly fees, but [they were] terribly low and inconsistent. Adopting Cheryl's
visual proposal is what gave me the client-facing confi dence. When I put that big number
in front of the potential client, it's now presented in a way that conveys professionalism and
expertise. It gives them confi dence that this fee will be worth it, and I've not gotten much
pushback at all. " - Monika Merchant, Monika Merchant Design Studio
" I think it is important for all kitchen and bath designers to understand their value, as these
rooms are complex and what we do is so specialized. I am no longer pricing blindly and am
landing projects with larger budgets since working with Cheryl. I have more confi dence in
what I am offering and at what price point. " - Rachel Hutchens, Maven Home Interiors
" As a design-build fi rm, we called it a 'free service' to entice people to use us, but after
hearing Cheryl and others in our group talk about this topic incessantly, we now charge an
initial consultation fee and sometimes charge design fees separate from the product sales.
I am a work in progress, but even the initial consultation fee helps weed out people who
are not serious, and if they do not go with my fi rm, I get my time compensated. " - Steven
Kampfer, Maumee Bay Kitchen & Bath

http://www.Indetailinteriors.com

Kitchen & Bath Business November/December 2022

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