We all want to work with our version of a premium client, but before we do so, we need to establish a premium approach. Working with premium clients demands a premium approach, and in this episode, I’m sharing how to do exactly that!
This episode shares examples of what kind of client this person actually is and what they expect. One spoiler I’ll give away is that a premium client doesn’t always equate to “premium money”.
I share a few questions to ask yourself to help you create a good first impression, stand by your boundaries, and include unique personal touches in the entire experience. I dive into some examples of how I learned this lesson the hard way and use some “Rebecca tough love” to encourage you to ensure your clients feel safe, secure, and can relax trusting that you’ve got their best interests at heart.
Episode Highlights
- What Defines a Premium Client? — Discover the key difference between a premium client and a high-budget client, and learn why not all wealthy clients value your expertise.
- First Impressions Matter — Learn how to position yourself as a top-tier designer from the first touchpoint, from discovery calls to consultations, to attract your dream clients.
- Set Boundaries Like a Pro — Tough-love advice on creating boundaries, maintaining professional communication, and showing up as the expert your premium clients expect.
Episode Resources
Read the Full Transcript ⬇️
00;00;00;00 – 00;00;29;25
Rebecca Hay
The expectation by a premium client is that you are going to show up as a professional and that you are going to have exactly what they’re looking for. Stop making them do the work. All right. I’m Rebecca Hay, and I’ve built a successful interior design business by trial and error, podcasts, online courses and so many freaking books. Over the last decade, I’ve grown from an insecure student to having false starts to careers.
00;00;30;02 – 00;00;59;03
Rebecca Hay
And now I’m finally in the place where I want to be. Throughout my journey, it’s been pretty obvious that I’m passionate about business and helping other entrepreneurs do the same. Each week, I’ll share tangible takeaways from my own experience and the experiences of other badass women to help you build your confidence and change your business. Hey hey hey, it’s Rebecca and you are listening to Resilient by Design.
00;00;59;05 – 00;01;26;01
Rebecca Hay
Today, I wanted to pop on here to talk about this idea of premium clients. What does that even mean? And what do they expect from their interior designer? Because I think oftentimes as designers, we want high end clients. We want dream clients. But when we aren’t sure how to get them, we’re not sure how to attract them. And so I thought this would be a great place to start this conversation.
00;01;26;04 – 00;01;48;10
Rebecca Hay
As you know, I’m about to host my very first bootcamp where I’m diving into two weeks. It’s like a boot camp where I’m going to show up and I’m going to train you in all the things that you can do to set up your inquiry process. The very first steps in your business when you are meeting with potential clients, and how do you attract those premium clients?
00;01;48;10 – 00;02;08;22
Rebecca Hay
So do you guys love this episode? You’re going to want to go check out the boot camp – rebeccahay.com/bootcamp. But I want to dive into this idea right now here today, because I think there’s a misconception of what we need to do to attract premium clients. Premium clients? What does that even mean? Well, I’ll be honest with you.
00;02;08;22 – 00;02;33;07
Rebecca Hay
It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I could say really, that it starts off with a client who truly values your expertise, they value your professionalism, and they want a seamless experience. They are a client who is used to having things taken care of professionally. They are likely someone who hires other professionals.
00;02;33;10 – 00;03;06;16
Rebecca Hay
They are someone who values time for money, meaning that they would rather pay more money to you then take the time themselves to do it. That is a key distinction. A lot of us, when we’re starting out, end up with clients who maybe can’t afford a designer, but they want a luxury designer because they’ve seen HGTV and their friend and so-and-so, and they really they know that they can’t do it themselves, but they kind of maybe either fancy themselves a designer, or even if they don’t, they’re tight with finances.
00;03;06;16 – 00;03;27;15
Rebecca Hay
And so they’re trying to find ways to, like, squeeze out what they can from their designer in a combination with their own, like, time. So they’ll take their time to, like, shop, whether it’s shopping online or going to the store, or they want you to take them places and they want to be involved, and they want to be a part of it because their time isn’t as valuable as a premium client.
00;03;27;15 – 00;03;50;04
Rebecca Hay
It’s not that it isn’t as valuable. Sorry. Scratch that, their time is valuable. But what I mean is they aren’t making as much money in their job or their business for their time necessarily, as somebody else. And so they don’t see the trade off. Right? So like those clients in the early years, even if they’re making a lot of money, they don’t really value the expertise to the same extent.
00;03;50;04 – 00;04;11;01
Rebecca Hay
So they’re like, well, I’ll just spend some time and do it because why would I pay? Or if it’s a premium client, you get clients saying, like, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I am so busy running my life and doing my job, I would much prefer to just pay for you to get it done well, so I don’t have to worry about it.
00;04;11;03 – 00;04;32;01
Rebecca Hay
I want to be clear that just because a client makes a lot of money, or has a lot of money, that does not qualify them as a premium client and this is where sometimes we get caught off guard. I know I’ve been in that situation where I’m like, oh my God, this client is so wealthy, this is going to be the best job.
00;04;32;03 – 00;04;56;23
Rebecca Hay
They have so much money to spend. But guess what? They were actually super tight with their finances, and didn’t fully value my expertise because they kind of fancied themselves a designer. And let’s face it, it wasn’t a great experience. It was not the premium client experience for me, and I don’t think it was for them either. So a premium client, in my opinion, is someone who values expertise.
00;04;56;25 – 00;05;25;05
Rebecca Hay
They value professionalism and a seamless experience. They don’t want to micromanage, right? They are used to hiring professionals they trust. They’re more focused on results than price. So this is a clear distinction because sometimes you might find a really great client who is lovely to work with, but they’re really just so price conscious that even though they trust your esthetic, they keep asking you to reselect.
00;05;25;05 – 00;05;45;12
Rebecca Hay
Or can we find a cheaper one? And it’s not that they don’t value what you do, they just don’t have deep pockets. So it’s this combination between people who are willing to invest and they might stretch themselves. Like when you go shopping for a pair of jeans, maybe you’ve budgeted $200, which is so crazy, by the way. Like I remember when $200 jeans were like Gucci.
00;05;45;14 – 00;06;07;01
Rebecca Hay
Anyways, I digress and you try on a bunch of jeans, but the jeans that look the best on you that are such good quality, that feel so good, they look amazing are $400. What do you do? Do you say fuck it, I’m going to invest in the $400 jeans because I will have these for life and they make me look amazing.
00;06;07;04 – 00;06;35;26
Rebecca Hay
Or will you say nope, I didn’t budget that. I am happy with a lesser quality product because it fits in my budget. Which one are you? You might pick A or B regardless of how much money is in your bank account, because you value quality clothing. How you look, showing up, feeling professional in your fancy denim, you might stretch yourself to spend the $400.
00;06;35;29 – 00;07;03;10
Rebecca Hay
So what we’re talking about today is that client, whether they’re stretching themselves or not, but that values that premium service. I hope I didn’t just confuse you. I feel like I confuse myself a little bit there. And that’s what I wanted to dive into, is a lot of the mistakes that a lot of us, many of us designers make in those early years, and we’re trying to find our footing, is that we don’t have a very clear sense of who that client is.
00;07;03;13 – 00;07;35;09
Rebecca Hay
And our positioning is not super clear. So our brand doesn’t reflect premium services, right? Our marketing that we’re doing, our conversation that we’re having is not reflecting that of a premium service. So let’s dive into this idea. Let’s talk about the premium client expectations. First impressions. What does it look like when a new potential client first reaches out to you?
00;07;35;11 – 00;08;01;16
Rebecca Hay
What does that look like? What is their experience like? How are you communicating? How are you handling yourself in a discovery call? How are you showing up at the consultation? You need to stand out from the other designers right from the get go, and you’re going to have to decide what that is for you. But what is that first impression?
00;08;01;16 – 00;08;19;20
Rebecca Hay
And I want you to just take a minute and really reflect. And, you know, this is something we’re going to work on inside the boot camp. But like really reflecting on how you are showing up, what is it that you’re doing to attract the people who are coming to you because they’re coming to you for a reason? What is the first impression?
00;08;19;20 – 00;08;47;22
Rebecca Hay
What is your first impression? I’m super friendly, but I’m casual. Is your first impression more aloof? What is your first impression? Wow, she does high end projects. Is their first impression. Holy heck, she’s organized. What is it because your first impression is really your bargaining chip? That is what is going to make you stand out. And it’s really hard to come back from a bad first impression.
00;08;47;22 – 00;09;18;01
Rebecca Hay
We know this. We see this in the world. It’s like dating, right? I mean, I don’t really remember, but, you know, you meet someone for the first time. Yeah. They could grow on you. Absolutely. But when you are competing against other designers, because let’s face it, a lot of these premium clients will be looking at different design firms and trying to figure out which one’s the best fit for them, because they notice and they value that not everyone is for them.
00;09;18;03 – 00;09;37;24
Rebecca Hay
A client that’s not premium is just going to take a designer as long as they fit in their price range. Do you see that distinction? Often in the early years, I would have people come to me honestly. They were referred to me by a past client or a friend. They had not looked up other designers. I was not in competition with anyone at the time.
00;09;37;24 – 00;09;56;08
Rebecca Hay
I thought, oh, this is so great. Like they just love me and they want me. They’re not even going to look around. But actually I realized that they just needed a designer, which was not the dream for me. Not to say that some people just know that they want you and they reach out to you. Obviously that’s going to happen, but you have to be wary of that.
00;09;56;08 – 00;10;14;04
Rebecca Hay
So what is your first impression? First impressions count. What does it look like when they first reach out to you? Do you need to make some tweaks to how you show up? The expectation by a premium client is that you are going to show up as a professional, and that you are going to have exactly what they’re looking for.
00;10;14;07 – 00;10;37;00
Rebecca Hay
I just had an interview with an executive assistant who I’m considering bringing on to help me manage my life and keep me organized, and I created a list before I had the call with her, and it was literally all the things that I really thought I needed help with. And then in the call, every single thing that I need help with is her area of expertise and her experience.
00;10;37;03 – 00;10;54;27
Rebecca Hay
And so for me, I was like, boom, this seems like the perfect alignment. She doesn’t have other experience in other areas, but that’s not important to me for this role. It’s no different than when a design client comes to you and wants to make sure that you have the skill set, but also the knowledge and the professionalism. Okay, first impressions.
00;10;54;29 – 00;11;19;20
Rebecca Hay
The second area that I think is important to recognize that premium clients are expecting is communication and boundaries. Premium clients expect that you will hold boundaries because you’re professional, and you won’t let people step all over you. When you over communicate, make yourself overly available evenings and weekends. Texting. Those are not boundaries. They do not make you look professional.
00;11;19;25 – 00;11;41;10
Rebecca Hay
I’m sorry. This is tough love. Rebecca. Come on out here. She comes out from time to time. Guys, if I’m tough love about something, it’s because I learned it the hard way. It’s because I did these things like Frick. Truthfully, I thought the customer was always right. Make myself available. Respond to the text messages at 11:00 at night, even though I’m bawling my eyes out, how am I going to respond to them?
00;11;41;10 – 00;12;05;08
Rebecca Hay
Like I just didn’t have boundaries? It wasn’t professional. Also, how you communicate with those clients on a regular basis is going to be important to them. Their expectation is that they are going to have a regular cadence to hear from you, not just Piggly Wiggly here and there. One week they get three emails and then the next week nothing.
00;12;05;11 – 00;12;25;01
Rebecca Hay
You need to have a regular cadence to your updates. There needs to be a regular frequency, whether it’s manual or automated. I actually don’t think it matters. I think a lot of us get caught up in this, you know, digital age where we think we need to have like a calendly link to book, and we need to have automated reminders, and we need to have client portals.
00;12;25;03 – 00;13;00;28
Rebecca Hay
In my experience, a premium client doesn’t care as much about that as you think. What they do care more about is a personal touch and regular communication. What you can do from the get go is set that communication plan in front of them. So before they’ve even hired you, I think it is a leveraging point that you can use to stand up professionally to say we communicate between the hours of 9 to 5, Monday to Friday email is best and blah, blah, blah, whatever your protocols are.
00;13;01;01 – 00;13;27;15
Rebecca Hay
I recently hired a graphic designer. We’re working on a rebrand, a first when she sent the email. Their work operating hours are Monday through. I think it’s Monday through Thursday from like 9 to 4. And I was like, oh, that’s ballsy. But then I thought, okay, good for her. Shoot. She’s clearly professional. She has structure in place. She’s got a team, obviously to support her whether she does or not.
00;13;27;15 – 00;13;43;25
Rebecca Hay
I don’t know. I’ll just have to make sure that I send her emails on those days. That works for her. It might be different if you’re managing a job site. I’m just giving you an example. All I will say about the automation piece and then I’ll move on from this is that calendly links and things like that are fun and they’re good.
00;13;43;25 – 00;14;12;12
Rebecca Hay
And sending digital questionnaires feels like they’re professional. And I can see how on one side they are professional. They do look like your organizer using the digital world. But I’m going to give you a little spoiler here, something that took me a while to learn. Premium clients don’t want to do any work. What does that mean? That means they don’t want to take the time to fill out your design questionnaire.
00;14;12;14 – 00;14;31;17
Rebecca Hay
It’s a pain in the ass. They don’t want to take the time to click on the calendar link. Look at your calendar. Then they got to open up their calendar to match it and see, like are those days? Do they? Stop making them do the work. Premium clients are hiring you to do it, whether you’re full service or not.
00;14;31;22 – 00;14;53;15
Rebecca Hay
If you want someone to pay top dollar, even if all you do is you design, make sure you’re making it easy for them. Stop making them do the work. Does that make sense? I actually had a client. This is how I learned this before the pandemic, or just right around the pandemic. Actually, we had a decorating project. An older couple definitely like an ideal client.
00;14;53;15 – 00;15;11;20
Rebecca Hay
It seemed upfront. Anyhow, I sent them the questionnaire. I used to have a design style questionnaire. It wasn’t necessarily just design style, it was just like a client questionnaire just to get to know, like what were they looking for in their kitchen. I had like a million questions like, do you like a single bowl sink versus a double bowl?
00;15;11;20 – 00;15;32;20
Rebecca Hay
Like it was a lot of things. And it was before. I think it was before I went to the consultation. Or maybe it was before Trade Day. I don’t remember at what point during my process I sent it to them. But I do remember that when I asked him and reminded him to fill it out like the husband, he wrote back and said, I don’t have time to fill this out.
00;15;32;22 – 00;15;55;01
Rebecca Hay
Can you ask me these questions when we meet? I’d be happy to discuss it. And to me, it was like a light bulb moment. I’m like, oh my God, I’m asking them to do my job for me. It helps me, but it’s actually not helping them as much as I thought it was. And then lastly, premium clients expect their interior designer to be the expert.
00;15;55;03 – 00;16;19;25
Rebecca Hay
I feel like this goes without saying, but I think it’s important to position yourself as the expert at the beginning. Everything happens at the beginning, guys. Yes, later on you need to serve them with your process. That’s why I have power of process. But at the very beginning, just to get the right clients into you, you need to show up as the expert and show them you’re the expert, that you’re not going to drop the ball, that they are in good hands.
00;16;19;28 – 00;16;53;08
Rebecca Hay
Part of this is having that proven process right. When you have a proven process, it shows them. This is my first kick at the can. I know how to run a successful design project from A to Z, so what can you do to show them you’re the expert? Is it imagery of your past projects? I share how I run my consultation with designers, and a lot of what I teach in there helps to position me to my clients as an expert, and it’s subtle tweaks and things that you can do because it’s great to be friendly and it’s great to be a people person, and it’s great to be talented.
00;16;53;14 – 00;17;15;10
Rebecca Hay
But that is not enough to reassure your premium client that you’ve got this. This is a bit of tough love. Didn’t mean for it to be so tough? Tough? Okay, wow. I hope that just gets your brain firing off a little bit. Thinking about ideas, thinking about wait, is there something I’m doing that’s not professional or am I not showing up?
00;17;15;10 – 00;17;34;01
Rebecca Hay
Or am I not holding boundaries? Like, what are those small tweaks I can make? And if you guys really like this topic, and you want to get a better sense of how you can actually bring in those premium clients into your design business to actually turn them into projects, you definitely want to join my boot camp. It is a two week boot camp.
00;17;34;06 – 00;17;53;07
Rebecca Hay
We’ve got ten week days. I’m going to be doing weekday mindset sessions in the morning. I’m going to be showing up for live trainings. I’m going to walk you through key strategies that have really helped me, and they helped me in the early years, transition my business and grow to seven figures literally in under five years, major shifts that I did.
00;17;53;10 – 00;18;08;08
Rebecca Hay
And we’re going to have a private pop up Facebook group, so you can talk with each other, you can share your wins. You can share what you’re going through. There’s a welcome party and all the things I think you guys are going to love it. I’ve never done this before. It starts February 18th, so that’s coming up. Tuesday, February 18th.
00;18;08;08 – 00;18;33;29
Rebecca Hay
We will open the doors to the boot camp, so go check it out rebecca.com/bootcamp and let me know if this episode was helpful. Was it too much tough love? Do you like the tough love Rebecca? Send me a DM on Instagram. And of course, please, please please. I would love to hear your review of our podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast so that we can get more designers in our community listening and learning and growing.
00;18;34;02 – 00;18;59;24
Rebecca Hay
All right, have a great day and I’ll see you soon.
