How to Prevent Clients Asking for Discounts
Interior Designers and “Discounts”
The Designer Discount - an often coveted and elusive “perk” of having a resale license (learn the basics of setting up a trade account and don’t forget sales tax). Everyone wants a deal and everyone wants it quickly and easily. Some clients want to pay what the designer pays. Some designers don’t want to bother with trade accounts and sales tax. Some clients and designers expect free (or cheap) shipping that usually comes with retail purchases. Some clients and designers want it faster and easier than ordering custom to-the-trade. Come clients still want a discount on retail purchases. I have seen many different scenarios around trade discounts with designers and clients. There isn’t a standard to rely upon here.
The retail v. to-the-trade debate is complex. I will tell you my opinion is that if you are an interior designer, most of your client purchases should be to-the-trade (one of our designer superpowers) and maybe 5-15% can be from retail stores. This is a good balance.
For some reason, interior design is one industry that clients feel entitled to receive the designer discount. But it is not the only industry where clients ask for discounts. And let’s get this out of the way, right now, changing your pricing model will not stop pricing issues , like asking for discounts.
Interested in going down this rabbit hole a little more? Check out these articles:
Last week, I gave you a quick fix for when clients ask for a discount, read that article here. This week, the focus is on prevention - so that clients never ask for a discount in the first place. It starts with you.
How to Prevent Clients Asking for Discounts
It is always best to set expectations for your clients before issues arise. It’s much easier to avoid problems and issues before they happen than after. Many times they can be avoided altogether with some great business policies.
So Step One in prevention is to create business policies and have conversations with clients from the very beginning. Here are some tips:
Be transparent. If clients feel like you’re not trustworthy because you’re not clear on your pricing and policies, there will be more pricing issues - like asking for discounts.
Have clear pricing policies that explain how you charge. Including how you handle your designer discount, retail charges, and markup.
Express the importance of a budget. Knowing a client’s accurate budget will help you stay on track and help them feel secure that you are using their investment wisely.
Give clients an example of how buying to-the-trade can benefit their project. This article can get you started: When Clients Want to Buy Retail
Explain to clients that they’re hiring you to create a custom space for them and purchasing items on their own can cause design issues. Often when clients don’t trust you, they’ll go out shopping for themselves thinking they’re reducing costs. You could say something along the lines of: You’ve hired me, a professional, to lead you through this process and create the best possible home based on your family, lifestyle, space, and budget, when you go out shopping on your own it hurts the design vision we created and can take more work to accommodate the new piece or adjust the design plan.
When you’re hired, let clients know that it’s not your job to find the cheapest price. You will likely always be able to find it cheaper somewhere - but at what cost?
Choose the right clients that respect and value you as a professional. Look for red flags that could indicate pricing problems down the road.
Step Two is Refer Back to Policies
After having these conversations with your clients at the beginning (and/or putting them in their welcome packet/contract), it should cut down on discount requests, they should be able to see from the beginning your value as a design professional is not just to get a good deal. And if/when they request a discount you can always refer back to your policies. Consider: To stay in business, it’s our policy to not give discounts outside of the agreed-upon compensation in our contract.
If clients do still ask about discounts, you can also ask, Has something changed in your budget (and you’re always asking for discounts)? Check out last week’s article for more info on this quick fix.
The tip you should take away from this article is this: clients know we get a designer discount on goods, if you share with your clients how you handle the designer discount from the beginning, this should prevent clients from asking during the project.
About The Author
Hi! I’m Capella and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers build their businesses. Forget secrecy and competition, I believe designers should support and uplift each other. By helping and boosting one another, we can elevate the business of interior design together! Hang around a bit and I’ll share all the business “secrets” no one else wants to talk about.