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5 Tips for Attracting the Homeowners and Projects You Want
Learn how to zero in on your ideal client profile and showcase the types of projects you want
Annie Thornton
6 July 2021
Houzz Editorial Staff
As a renovating or building pro, you reach a point where you know which types of projects and clients energise and inspire you and will lead to a successful outcome for all parties. If you’re lucky (and strategic), eventually all your projects and clients fall into this category.
We recently spoke with pros about how they attract their ideal clients and projects and how that’s led to higher job satisfaction, consistent quality work and client contentment, and a more successful business. Read on to find out what they said.
We recently spoke with pros about how they attract their ideal clients and projects and how that’s led to higher job satisfaction, consistent quality work and client contentment, and a more successful business. Read on to find out what they said.
1. Identify the types of projects and clients you want
Knowing which types of jobs and clients you’d prefer to take on is the first step. For the team at Bearded Builders in Baltimore, USA, identifying its ideal customer has helped the company better screen prospects as well as target marketing efforts to attract the ideal client profile. “Once you figure that out, that is what you start sharing and advertising,” says Janet Price, head of marketing and communications at the firm.
“At first I didn’t know,” says designer Wendy Glaister of identifying her ideal client. “When everyone is starting off, they don’t know. That’s the great thing about Houzz. You can work for lots of different types of people. As you grow in your professional experience as a designer, you also grow as a human. You start to learn which types of people give you energy and get you excited and which types of people don’t.”
Knowing which types of jobs and clients you’d prefer to take on is the first step. For the team at Bearded Builders in Baltimore, USA, identifying its ideal customer has helped the company better screen prospects as well as target marketing efforts to attract the ideal client profile. “Once you figure that out, that is what you start sharing and advertising,” says Janet Price, head of marketing and communications at the firm.
“At first I didn’t know,” says designer Wendy Glaister of identifying her ideal client. “When everyone is starting off, they don’t know. That’s the great thing about Houzz. You can work for lots of different types of people. As you grow in your professional experience as a designer, you also grow as a human. You start to learn which types of people give you energy and get you excited and which types of people don’t.”
Glaister, who is based in California, USA, pays attention to how projects and clients make her feel. “If you can’t be excited and energised by the project and the people, you will not serve them well and they will not be happy,” she says. “I have one four-star review on Houzz and it drives me nuts. [One of the clients] and I never really clicked. I didn’t want to work for them, and I did it because I care about [the other client]. In the end, the transformation was amazing. [The client] gave me a four-star review. I knew better and I worked with them anyway. It was a really good lesson.”
You can more easily stay on top of your project leads and keep communication organised through Houzz Pro, business management software built specifically for renovation professionals.
Find out about Houzz Pro software and how it can help you run your business
You can more easily stay on top of your project leads and keep communication organised through Houzz Pro, business management software built specifically for renovation professionals.
Find out about Houzz Pro software and how it can help you run your business
2. Showcase the type of work you want to do
Professional photographs of completed work are important selling points for prospective clients. A strong portfolio can paint a picture of the quality of your work, as well as the project types you can (and want to) do.
For Glaister, that means making sure the top of her Houzz profile always features her firm’s most recently completed high-end projects. “I try to place the projects so that there is a good mix of styles and colours,” she says. This will appeal to the varying tastes of potential clients in her region, and it showcases her range as a designer.
Professional photographs of completed work are important selling points for prospective clients. A strong portfolio can paint a picture of the quality of your work, as well as the project types you can (and want to) do.
For Glaister, that means making sure the top of her Houzz profile always features her firm’s most recently completed high-end projects. “I try to place the projects so that there is a good mix of styles and colours,” she says. This will appeal to the varying tastes of potential clients in her region, and it showcases her range as a designer.
Quality professional photography is key to attracting the luxury clients Glaister prefers. “I can’t stress enough how important it is to have professional images,” she says. “If you don’t have images that show what you can do, people aren’t going to believe you…. Any successful business proposition invests where it counts. And in our profession it’s photography.”
Photography also plays a big role for Bearded Builders. “Every time we finish a project we evaluate the uniqueness of the project and decide if it is worth spending the money for professional photography,” says Price. “All of our newest projects are uploaded to our Houzz profile and moved to the top of our projects page in order to keep our profile new and fresh. We make sure we have a good mix of styles and spaces so as to appeal to a variety of clients.”
Photography also plays a big role for Bearded Builders. “Every time we finish a project we evaluate the uniqueness of the project and decide if it is worth spending the money for professional photography,” says Price. “All of our newest projects are uploaded to our Houzz profile and moved to the top of our projects page in order to keep our profile new and fresh. We make sure we have a good mix of styles and spaces so as to appeal to a variety of clients.”
Colin Flavin of Flavin Architects has carved a local niche for himself around Boston, USA, by almost exclusively designing what he calls “natural modern” custom homes. He largely attributes this success to a decision he made early in his firm’s presence online and on Houzz. “I thought, ‘Since this is the only type of work I want to do, what a perfect time to only put up work we aspire to do’,” he says. “It turned out to be a really great move. As it all took off, our brand kept getting stronger. It would not get diluted with other work.”
3. Win over potential clients with your brand
It’s important to remember that potential clients don’t only look at photos – they’re evaluating the total package. “Everything you put into the world about you and about your work has to be on brand,” says Glaister. “You need to clearly communicate who you are with the images you place on your Houzz profile and the language you use and the tone with which you write about your projects.”
Glaister makes her personality a key part of her brand, which has helped her attract clients she’ll work well with. “Everything I put on my profile is personal,” she says. “The way that I like to work is woven into the story and shows that I value the family and what we put into the house as a solution. That is just me, and that works for me.”
It’s important to remember that potential clients don’t only look at photos – they’re evaluating the total package. “Everything you put into the world about you and about your work has to be on brand,” says Glaister. “You need to clearly communicate who you are with the images you place on your Houzz profile and the language you use and the tone with which you write about your projects.”
Glaister makes her personality a key part of her brand, which has helped her attract clients she’ll work well with. “Everything I put on my profile is personal,” she says. “The way that I like to work is woven into the story and shows that I value the family and what we put into the house as a solution. That is just me, and that works for me.”
The team at Bearded Builders follows a similar model, sharing on all its marketing channels the company’s values and what clients can expect during the renovation process. “We even try to be vulnerable and transparent about the ugly side of [renovating]. We want people to get to know us so they know who and what they are getting when they hire us,” says Price. “The brand we have created hopefully reflects our values and company culture, which should attract people who believe in the same things.”
Flavin Architects adds visual treats to its website and Houzz profile, including freehand artistic design sketches, to reinforce its natural modern brand and set it apart from other firms. “It’s a handmade quality. It’s approachable for people. It’s becoming a much rarer skill,” says Flavin. “The key is to attract work from clients who have bought into your vision. They naturally are going to allow you to lead the design process.”
Flavin Architects adds visual treats to its website and Houzz profile, including freehand artistic design sketches, to reinforce its natural modern brand and set it apart from other firms. “It’s a handmade quality. It’s approachable for people. It’s becoming a much rarer skill,” says Flavin. “The key is to attract work from clients who have bought into your vision. They naturally are going to allow you to lead the design process.”
For Flavin, attracting the right clients through a strong brand has not only brought a steady stream of leads, but also greater job satisfaction and a more rewarding career. “It sounds so obvious, but we spend so much of a career building a reputation,” he says. “There’s nothing more pleasing than having someone ask for one of your houses. To have that recognition by potential clients.”
Follow, network with and see the latest work from other pros on Houzz
Follow, network with and see the latest work from other pros on Houzz
4. Make yourself visible online and off
It’s also key to make yourself easy to find online by the clients you want to attract. “We’ve really focused on our keywords, thinking that would be important for search results,” says Flavin. His firm adds keywords to its photographs he uploads to Houzz, which relate to the style and project types it specialises in, as well as the search terms that target homeowners enter online. For example, when potential clients in Boston “search online or search on Houzz for ‘modern’ or ‘natural modern’, Flavin Architects comes up,” says Flavin.
It’s also key to make yourself easy to find online by the clients you want to attract. “We’ve really focused on our keywords, thinking that would be important for search results,” says Flavin. His firm adds keywords to its photographs he uploads to Houzz, which relate to the style and project types it specialises in, as well as the search terms that target homeowners enter online. For example, when potential clients in Boston “search online or search on Houzz for ‘modern’ or ‘natural modern’, Flavin Architects comes up,” says Flavin.
Glaister takes this process one step further: She checks in with her Houzz Pro Client Success Manager every time she uploads a new project to make sure she is using appropriate keywords and descriptions so homeowners looking for inspiration and a designer will find her profile and her work. “They have the analytics right there. There is a science behind it you can access,” she says.
The team at Bearded Builders casts a wide net, both online and in real life, to get in front of its ideal clients. “We participate in a local Fourth of July parade in a neighbourhood where we get a lot of work. If [people in that neighbourhood] haven’t seen our trucks yet or if they haven’t heard about us from their neighbours, they will know about us now,” says Price. “Part of what sets us apart from other companies is our company culture and fun personalities. Sometimes it’s hard to get that from the internet, so doing fun things in the community is a fun way to introduce ourselves.”
The team at Bearded Builders casts a wide net, both online and in real life, to get in front of its ideal clients. “We participate in a local Fourth of July parade in a neighbourhood where we get a lot of work. If [people in that neighbourhood] haven’t seen our trucks yet or if they haven’t heard about us from their neighbours, they will know about us now,” says Price. “Part of what sets us apart from other companies is our company culture and fun personalities. Sometimes it’s hard to get that from the internet, so doing fun things in the community is a fun way to introduce ourselves.”
5. Use other qualifying criteria
In addition to their marketing efforts, the pros we spoke with rely on other filters and preliminary vetting practices to ensure they attract clients and projects they want.
Landscape designer Catherine Bosler of Bosler Earth Design in Los Angeles, USA, asks potential clients to do a little homework before the first meeting. “Before we visit the site, we ask them to send us photos of the property. We ask them for their address and what the desire [for the project] is,” she says. “If they cannot take the time to send the photo and the address, that speaks that it might not be a good fit.”
In addition to their marketing efforts, the pros we spoke with rely on other filters and preliminary vetting practices to ensure they attract clients and projects they want.
Landscape designer Catherine Bosler of Bosler Earth Design in Los Angeles, USA, asks potential clients to do a little homework before the first meeting. “Before we visit the site, we ask them to send us photos of the property. We ask them for their address and what the desire [for the project] is,” she says. “If they cannot take the time to send the photo and the address, that speaks that it might not be a good fit.”
Glaister likes to handle all of her firm’s initial phone calls with potential clients herself to get a feel for the homeowner and the project. “If they baulk at the fee for the initial consultation or they don’t want to wait a month, then that’s a red flag right away. I don’t think that comes across in an email,” she says.
Your turn
How do you attract the clients and projects you want? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation
More
Read more stories for design and renovation professionals
Your turn
How do you attract the clients and projects you want? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation
More
Read more stories for design and renovation professionals
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