How Contractors Can Help Customers Avoid Design Mistakes
You’ve met with your new clients and have developed a plan for their new home or home improvement project. They know exactly what they want, but you can’t help but notice some things they might later come to regret.
After all, you’re the expert. You’ve seen this happen before, and you want to make sure your customers are happy for years to come. But how do you steer them away from what they have their hearts set on? Use these tips for how contractors can help customers avoid design mistakes.
Help Customers Who are Ignoring Function
Your clients have seen a Pinterest-perfect image online and are set on that look. But will that living room still be perfect when they try and fit their extended family for Sunday dinners? Make sure they consider their goal for the space and ensure that the design they’re looking for will accommodate it.
You can help customers by pointing out potential scenarios that they might not have considered. One way you, as a contractor, can help customers avoid this design mistake is by leading them to come up with a more functional design on their own. Everyone likes an idea better when it’s their own, even those tough customers.
Stick With the Style for Actual Home Improvement
Your client adores the look of a craftsman-style home and wants their family room remodeled to reflect it. However, the rest of their home has more of a mid-century modern style. Identify which elements, in particular, they love about craftsman-style homes. Then, see what parts you can incorporate into the design that will keep it in line with the overall mid-century look.
When you’re faced with this particular scenario as a home improvement contractor, it can help customers to consider resale value. Present those customers with the information they need to consider when it comes to sticking with one cohesive style.
On Trend Isn’t Forever
Another way you, as a home improvement contractor, can help customers avoid design mistakes is by avoiding trends. Anyone who has looked for a home can spot the homeowners who went all in on a specific trend. While they look amazing at the time they’re built, in ten years, you can easily identify a home that was built in the “modern farmhouse” era.
This is another opportunity to encourage your clients to consider resale value and to lean toward components that are more classic. They can incorporate current trends into their interior design that can be easily updated later on instead, like light fixtures or paint colors. That way, they won’t be stuck with a trend that’s no longer trendy.
Help Customers Consider Kitchen Workflow
Have your clients take a good look at the kitchen layout they’ve requested. Ask them to imagine cooking Thanksgiving dinner in that kitchen. Will they have enough space for relatives to lend a helping hand without being in one another’s way?
Spending time on the front end thinking through the design of their new space will help avoid those “uh oh” moments later in the building process. Gently help customers see your expertise as their home improvement contractor by pointing out situations you’ve come across before.
Quality of Materials Matter
And finally, everyone loves a good deal. That’s especially true when building a home or doing a home renovation project. If your clients are leaning toward cheaper materials to save money, take a moment to point them in another direction and help customers understand why.
Sure, inexpensive flooring is great for the bottom line of your project budget. But will that flooring hold up after years of heavy traffic? Make sure their choices will last for years to come, and encourage them to invest in good, quality materials.
HFS Financial for Perfectly Designed Renovations
As a home improvement contractor, you’ve got a lot to take care of as you help customers avoid design mistakes. One thing you don’t need to take care of is figuring out how to offer financing to your customers without our experts at HFS Financial.
Let HFS Financial pair your clients with the right loan for them. Give us a call at 1-800-254-9560 to partner with us. We will help you ensure all your clients have the funding for virtually any home improvement project. With HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It.”