I started my design business during the worst of times – The Great Recession of 2008.

AND…while my treasured hubs was caught in his own industry implosion which means his opportunities became few, and, paid less than what we’d been used to.

Yet, despite starting my business during the worst of times – through many biz bruises and scrapes, I created the best of businesses: A 7-figure, multi-award-winning one that I love running. And today I also coach design entrepreneurs to step into their own CEO shoes to rock their business profit.

I tell you this only to say:  I’ve struggled with all you struggle with, my friend.

Why isn’t your pipeline fuller? Or filled with the right clients?

In Part I of this blog series, we laid out the #1 mission critical thing your design business is missing, that will thwart all other marketing activity:

Defaulting on the same, commonly used me-too marketing and sales lingo used by every other designer in town.

It’s flowery lingo. It’s generic. You sound like everyone else.

If you missed #1 Interior Designs Biz-Pipeline-Filling Skill Nobody Teaches Right Part I, click here. It’s juicy and has meaty takeaway, which I’m about to build upon.

You now know that you don’t design for a living. You Sell Design for A Living.

You now know that the way you speak about your offerings has to get out of “Generic Land”.

But how?

This confounds endless design entrepreneurs because nobody teaches it well…or you’d be rocking it by now.

Well, buckle up, my friend.

It’s starts by identifying your point of difference. Wait! Read on.

I used to get crabby when marketing gurus tossed this one out – I thought it was a bunch of crap…but read on.

You DO have a point of difference. You are just looking past it, because you are in it, or you take it for granted and can’t see it.

The easiest way to identify your juicy, point-of-difference? Answer this:

What is your specialty? What do you do reeealllly well?

If the brand statement, “We do beautiful design that makes you feel wonderful”, is Generic, “Me-Too” Romance lingo, which I explain in Part I  ….And, while this is much larger lesson I cover inside Module 1 of my Successful Design Biz Academy that truly lights up our designers and blows their beautiful minds, I’ll shorthand it here to get you moving.

Below are a few examples of hugely effective, very specific and effective marketing language.

To teach you, I’m intentionally stating each example using the phrase “Specializing in”….though you don’t have to include it.

“Specializing in mid-century modern renovation that scratches your mid-century itch”.

“Specializing in glam spaces that deliver truly livable daily sparkle”.

“Specializing in innovative kitchen design for space-pressed kitchens”.

Each of these fantastic brand statements has the following in common:

1. They are all benefit driven. They clearly tell a prospect the benefit they’ll get – the deliverable at the end – when they hire YOU versus “Jane Doe Designs.”

For example – Add that romance lingo type to any of the above very clear, benefit-driven examples. But the statements above are specific, tell a story and demonstrate a benefit.

For example – In that mid-century modern example above:

1. Like all clients, this one wants great looking design (!), but here this prospective client is also searching for:
   1. *Mid-century skill
   2. *Renovation Skill
   3. *Spaces that will fit their desires.

This could be a wise brand statement in a market where mid-century modern reno is a hot category, like Austin, TX, but a terrible one in a rural New England town where farmhouse and traditional is largely desired. Be careful to align your branding statement with your market.

2. Each excellent brand/service statement above is simple, clear, short AND, tells the prospective client WHAT THE DELIVERABLE IS!

   • Hire me/my team and you’ll enjoy/receive “X”. You’ll get a mid-century renovation. Nothing less.

Powerful AND Effective marketing lingo defines your specialty – OR – ONE of your specialties. You can have more than one, to include smaller service packages. That is another eye-opening lesson I teach my design entrepreneurs inside my Academy.

BTW: This is also what coaches mean when they say speak of your “superpower” – jargon for “what do YOU do really well and that clients need?” They just usually drop the ball from there in teaching it! 

 Like I said, I mastered this in another career/industry entirely… and it has paid huge profit dividends in ours.

Master this lesson and you’ll gain tremendous benefits:

1. You’ll have instant and evocative lingo for your social media, for blogs, for your website, and importantly, for your earliest conversation with prospective clients.
2. You’ll have easy talking points in all networking activities.
3. You’ll have specific, benefit-driven and effective marketing lingo that instantly defines you and separates you from your competitors.

I’m cheering you on, my friend!

Xo! D

For more support in creating and running your most successful interior design business, grab a copy of my free, in-depth free checklist: The Successful Design Biz Checklist. It is a safety net for any design business, and yours as my gift! 

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