In Blog One, we start with the mindset required to cure free fever.
In Blog Two, you are going to learn specific scripts and words that effortlessly sell an LCC (low-cost consultation) consistently, even if everyone else in your market does this work for free.
In Blog Three, you will see the breakdown of a specific pre-design service that is very easy to sell, increases your chances of getting the design work and also guarantees the project you run is the best organised ever.
You’ve heard me say this before:
- No free advice!
- No free site visit!
- No free drawings!
You agree, you are a professional. No surgeon would give a price for surgery or agree to operate without a thoroughly paid diagnosis first.
So in principle you are with me…but old habits are hard to break.
The phone rings, you tell them what you can do to help. Now you have to break the news that their site visit comes with a fee attached.
How do you feel at this moment?
If you are like many architects, you are tense. Worried they will say ‘no’ or tell you that your fee is not worth it, or that other architects will do a site visit for free.
Some clients will agree to your fee, and others will balk.
You hope the next time you quote fees your tension will reduce, but it doesn’t, the fever gets worse. It gets worse because deep down you may also believe that your fees for a site visit are ‘high,’ and you project that feeling to the client.
What is the solution?
You can give away your time for free like the old days so that uneasy feeling goes away. But then you are losing the architects war by taking the easy way out.
Hey, if you believe your fees are too high…they are too high!
You know the outcomes you produce better than anyone else. If you are not sold on your value then why should anyone else be?
But if you know you can transform lives with the spaces you design…then you should be able to look the client in the eye, quote your fee and know they’d be a darn fool to turn you down.
What’s that? You know your fees are fair, but the client won’t understand. Then you need to do a better job of educating them – that is called selling.
How about we put together a package that is OBVIOUSLY far more valuable than a free site visit.
Remember success in business has two parts:
Selling architecture services.
Delivering architecture services.
How do you ‘SELL’ pre-design advice? We will cover this deeper in Blog Two but for now here is a teaser:
You like to tell stories don’t you? Great, then you will love this.
First we need a few lists.
- We need to list the BENEFITS (outcomes) of receiving the 3-5 things you are going to deliver.
- We need to list the potential COSTS of not receiving the 3-5 things you are going to deliver.
- We need to list what they will be able to DO immediately upon receiving the valuable advice.
- We need to list what they will be able to DO later upon receiving the valuable advice.
- We need to tell them a couple of horror stories of people who skipped this step and how their lives will never be the same.
Now convert your lists into stories because…
“Whoever tells the best story wins.”
Don’t hold back. Tell them what could happen if they don’t pay for pre-design advice.
Give them both barrels, right between the eyes.
Tell stories about other people who tried to do the research themselves, hired the wrong architect, or waited too long, and suffered the consequences.
And then tell them success stories of clients you’ve helped get the benefits you offer.
Sales is about the transference of belief. If you believe in the value of what you do, and you transfer that belief to your prospective clients, you’ll sign up more of them and never get fee fever.
Click here to watch the full webinar training on this topic
Remember in Blog Two you are going to learn specific scripts and words that sell an LCC (low-cost consultation) almost every time.
“Give them both barrels, right between the eyes.”
How’s that for a confidence booster?! Love it!
You guys never stop amazing me.
I had to do some brainstorming to list what i think are very small but importante aspects that make all the difference.
Although i’ve done it before with clientes but i couldn’t get most of them to the explanation phase because they are just too rude.
But i gotta keep trying.
Thanks for sharing
Good insights.
Thanks Richard