My 7 step workflow and interior design process with clients
When I was still working with design clients my projects typically moved through seven stages.
In this post I’m sharing what each of those stages involved and what my workflow looked like with clients.
1: INITIAL CONSULTATION
What:
All my projects, no matter how big or small, started with a PAID initial design consultation. I always charged for this initial meeting and I explain why in this blog post here if you’re interested.
I funnelled every client through an initial design consultation because:
having one way to start a project is the easiest way for clients to understand how to get started working with you (don’t make clients have to think too hard by offering lots of service options on your website)
this was a chance for me to see what the client was like and whether I was interested in taking on their project (a luxury that comes later on in business when you have a choice of work - when you’re first starting out you generally will take whatever work comes your way, which is completely fine)
this was a chance for my clients to interview me and see if I would be a good fit for them to work with
it was a simple way for clients to start working with me that didn’t feel like a huge leap on their part - which made the sales process of getting to the first step with a client really easy. Remember in sales that what you’re trying to do is always move a client to the next step of your sales funnel - not try and sell them the entire process in one hit.
How:
Here’s how I would book and run an initial design consultation
Book the consultation (incl. sending initial emails, collecting pre-payment, sending pre-consultation questionnaire) - Get all my email scripts here
Prepare for the consult - this blog post explains my preparation process
Run the consult - this blog post will give you tips for improving your consultation and getting more sales
Decide your project fees - you can take my Pricing Course for Designers if you need help with this
Develop a fee proposal after the consult if the client had more work they needed help with (this was most clients). Get my Fee Proposal template here
2: ONBOARDING
What:
For clients that moved forward with more work, which for me was probably around 90% of people I met at an initial consultation, the next step in my process was onboarding the client.
The aim during onboarding is to get your client set up in a way that makes them feel excited about what's to come!
A Client Welcome Pack is an amazing resource to have ready to send clients for onboarding. This will immediately upgrade the professionalism of what you’re doing with your clients and make a great first impression.
If you need help quickly and easily building your own client welcome pack then check out my template and get this implemented today.
How:
Send a welcome video or a personal message that they aren’t expecting and makes them feel excited to work with you. Most people don’t do this and it will be unexpected.
Work through your Client Onboarding checklist - if you don’t have one then you will find my Client Project Tracker helpful as I have my full checklist in there
Send your Client Welcome Pack by email
Do your administrative/back end systems set up - My Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) database for designers will help you with this if needed
Set kick off meeting and site measure with the client (full details of how to run this is in my SOP database)
3: CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
What:
This phase of the project involved creating the initial design concept for the client.
My concept documentation was a mix of drawings created in SketchUp and Layout - which were then presented in a Design Concept (get my template here).
How:
Send kick off invoice/get paid - do not start any work until you have at least a partial up front payment!
Prepare initial concept documentation in SketchUp (see here for examples of what I would send)
Create your Design Concept (get my template here)
Proof read + edit your documentation for errors - this is really important as if you have errors in your documentation your clients will start to question what else might be going wrong with their project (even if nothing else is going wrong).
Send regular email updates to client as you go - get my email script templates here if you need them.
Send concept documentation and arrange to meet with the client once they are ready to discuss (or arrange a zoom meeting instead - whatever works best for your business model)
Get paid after completion of concept phase + sign off before moving to the next phase of work
4: DOCUMENTATION
What:
Develop detailed design documentation.
To see examples of what I created and included at this phase of a project check out this blog post.
This was by far the longest part of the design process as it involved a lot of detailed work and time spent documenting the finer details of joinery/cabinetry design, bathroom elevations, scaled plans, drawing packages etc. This was also the phase of a project that had the largest fee attached as well.
How:
Invoice client/get paid before starting any work!
Create design documentation + FF&E schedule (normally the longest part of the design process for me) - get my drag and drop FF&E template here
Send regular email updates to client as you go (email scripts here)
Check documentation for errors (as above)
Send documentation to client and/or meet with client
Invoice client/get paid after sign off
5: CONSTRUCTION
What:
Some projects halter at the documentation phase. Clients decide it’s too hard, too expensive or circumstances just change. But most projects will move on to the construction phase after a tendering process has been completed.
My involvement in the construction phase of a project varied from project to project.
Sometimes I was heavily involved and other times the clients were happy to go ahead without too much involvement from me. I was fine with either option really - although I did tend to find that design intent was much more closely adhered to when I was more heavily involved during construction so I would definitely try and be involved if the client was happy for this.
How:
Set regular site visit meetings with trades/clients (or as needed depending on your involvement at this phase)
Send regular email updates to client during this phase (get my email scripts here)
Invoice client weekly or monthly with hours worked. I would often work on a retainer model during this phase of a project as it gave me some certainty and also helped my clients budget for design fees.
Make sure you don’t overstep your role during construction - many designers take on a project management role when they aren’t qualified, licensed or insured to do so. So be careful!
6: INSTALL/STYLING
What:
This is the phase of the project that involves the install of furniture, styling, accessories. It’s also where you will hand the project back over to the client.
How:
Invoice client/get paid before starting!
Develop furniture/styling package (if not completed in earlier phases) - get my Furniture Schedule Template here
Work through your install checklist and ensure you have everything ready for install day (my full checklist is included in my Client Project Tracker or you can find something in my Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) database as well - if you need help with this).
On install day work through your install day checklist and make sure everything is completed on your list.
Hand project over to clients and prepare a client handover pack - get my Client Handover Pack template here
Post install follow up + defecting
7: PROJECT COMPLETION
What:
The final phase of my projects was the formal completion phase and an important step for getting reviews, case studies and images of your project to share as social proof in your marketing. Don’t skip this step!
How:
Send final invoice + get paid!
Professional photography of project - or sometimes I would just take my own photos, especially in the beginning when I didn’t have much budget for this. I share some tips for this in this blog post.
Send check in emails to clients for a few weeks post-project to check all is OK
Request a review/referral from clients - get my email scripts here
Add reminders to your diary for regular checkins/stay in touch with clients
And that’s my workflow!
Some projects would include all these steps. Some would only involve some. It really depended on the size of the project and what my clients needed help with. As my business grew and I got more work the size and quality of my projects improved and I was able to pick and choose the types of projects I wanted to work on so towards the end I was only really working on larger projects that involved all of these steps. In the early days I obviously took whatever types of projects came my way so that I could focus on generating revenue and getting my business off the ground.
If you’re just getting started then a focus on revenue is what you should be concentrating on as well.
Also, during that early period I had no idea what I was doing (from a business perspective) and had to learn so much about how to run a successful project by trial and error. So I hope by sharing some of what I’ve learned over the years helps you develop a process and workflow with clients that suits you and your style of working.
But remember - your business is YOUR business. Run it how you want.
The most important thing is to provide an exceptional and high quality client experience and project outcomes that your clients are thrilled about.
If you need more help with upgrading your client experience - take my short course on this
There are lots of different ways to get to that point and no right or wrong way to go about it.
So do what works for you and have fun with what you’re doing.
I hope this has been helpful! :)
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
