KBB - October 2014 - 16

BUSINESS STRATEGY

How Small Companies Succeed
Tips and must-have skills for small-volume dealers and independent designers
force for a successful business. Someone who has had a really good experience with you will tell friends, and you will gain business from that. Our
personal and professional networks provide more than 50 percent of our
project leads.

K+BB: What sort of skills are must-haves for small business
owners?
LP: People should do what they do best - be it the design, the business operations or the marketing and promotion. Smart business owners
should outsource to the best people they can find before hiring someone
full time. In this case, they are likely to get a higher skill set and only need
to purchase the time that is used versus the expense of a full-time employee and all of the management issues that come with that.

K+BB: How do negative customer reviews affect business
success? And how can a dealer or designer avoid those?

Lloyd Princeton is a business consultant and motivational speaker
devoted to interior design and architecture. K+BB spoke with Princeton
recently to get his success tips for small business owners in the kitchen
and bath industry.

K+BB: What are your tips for succeeding as a small business
owner in this industry?
Lloyd Princeton: It's very important for everyone to develop their personal and professional networks. In terms of dealers with one showroom,
they have an advantage because they have real estate. They need to
get people into their space by hosting events and making it available to
community organizations or any group they want to influence - business
or personal.They already have fixed real estate costs, so it is less expensive
for them to hold their own events and easier to do over time.
As far as independent designers with no retail store or studio, you
need to get out and network. My number one source of referrals has been
through people I have actually had a meal with. This allows enough time
for a potential client or influencer to decide if they like me, if they trust me
and to fully understand who I am. We do business with people who we
like. Over the course of a meal, I have gotten to know people who have
given me the best referrals.
Now this is good news and bad. The good news is that this approach
works and is sustainable - it will create relationships that last the test of
time. The bad news is that it takes time to meet with people and to wait
until they have the opportunity to refer you. But it does work, and it does
eventually lead to billings.
I truly believe that referrals and good word of mouth are the driving

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K BB

LP: In terms of customer reviews, I have not once in my career ever
heard of an online review that has negatively impacted a design firm. Or a
retail store for that matter.This is not to say someone has read a review and
chosen not to do business with a particular dealer or designer, but when
I look at online reviews, it is not out of the ordinary for a negative review to
be isolated and/or old. As an informed consumer, I know to read between
the lines, and there could be many reasons the client had a negative experience - it's not anything to get too bent out of shape about.
For professional services, I add a confidentiality clause that states that
we are not going to discuss the terms of our agreement or our experience
working together. This discourages spurious comments or negative online
postings. But at the end of the day, you need to do what you say you are
going to do - the right people will be attracted to and referred to you.
If something does go awry during a project or a visit, correct the problem before it gets out of hand - acknowledge it and fix it as best as
you can. There should also be a contingency plan with five percent of
the project budget set aside for mistakes so that when something does
go wrong, it is corrected. And there is no need to spend excess energy
worrying about the unreasonable client - everyone business owner out
there has experienced this.

K+BB: What's your advice on closing a sale?
LP: It's not so much about "closing" something that happens at the
end, but more about what you do beforehand. If you thoroughly interview
people and learn how to read between the lines by asking them probing questions that are outside of the regular intake you might conduct,
you will learn more about them and what they truly need. Therefore, you
will be able to suggest more appropriate solutions and pricing for their
project. By the end of this process, the client will already be sold on your
product or services. n
- By Chelsie Butler. For more information, visit www.Dmcnyc.com.

October 2014 / www.kbbonline.com / The Official Sponsor of KBIS www.kbis.com

http://www.Dmcnyc.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

KBB - October 2014

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