Positioning Your Company for a Prosperous 2011 with Kelly Guinaugh

By: Andrea Schuch

This week I'm talking with Kelly Guinaugh, owner of Interior Enhancement Group. Kelly has consistantly been one of our top ten designers for several years now and has operated her design business out of Inverness, Illinois for 12 years. What a great resource for designers growing their business to hear and learn from! Her insight is sure to be inspiration for designers that already have a thriving business to start looking at their company in a new light as well. Kelly will talk with us about her business success in the past, her goals going forward and how she positions her company to ensure future success.

AS: What steps have you taken to ensure success for your company in 2011?
KG: In 2010 we worked to develop processes and procedures so that we are doing things in the most efficient and effective manner. We are still in process in aspects of this and I believe as we continue implementing, tweaking, and improving we will be in a very good position to continue our growth in a sustainable manner.
We have set goals for 2011 in terms of our marketing plan, the new clients we want in terms of the size of their projects and the type of project, and of course, revenue goals. I strongly believe that goals need to be written down and be measureable so that you can see if you are on track and can make necessary changes along the way.


AS: What do you feel is most important to focus on in this economy?
KG: In my opinion the most important thing to focus on is adding value to your clients. That is true regardless of the economy. What can I do to enhance their living environment in the most impactful way so that they will enjoy their space(s) in new and greater ways. This means solving their problems and sometimes that doesn’t immediately translate into sales but they will follow.

AS: What are your thoughts on the ratio of quotes to actual sales and how do you justify the amount of quotes to the amount of sales you get? Do you find that doing quotes a specific way gets the sales closed at a higher rate? Do you find that smaller sales vs. larger sales get closed faster?
KG: This question relates back to the previous one in terms of having goals. You need to know your closing ratio. Once you determine your closing ratio you will know how many quotes you need to generate to meet your sales goals. If your closing ratio is not where you want it to be I would question if you are working with the right clients. Designers are a luxury service and we need to be sure that we are working with qualified prospects and clients.
My design options are always quoted and provided during the design presentation. This is more work up front, however, I have found that it provides our clients with complete information and they don’t need to wait to make a decision. They are able to sign the contract during that meeting and move on with other things in their lives knowing the design is underway.
We also typically do not show more than three options and that also helps our clients to make their decisions. They have hired us for your expertise and part of that is paring down the decisions for them. If we provide too many choices it becomes more difficult to make a decision.

AS: Do you find yourself focusing more on commercial or residential work, etc?
KG: In 2010 our projects were nearly all residential and this was a change from the years prior which was economy driven. I enjoy a mix of both and will make sure that we are marketing ourselves to both sides of the business in 2011.

AS: Is there any business advice that you have found invaluable going into 2011?
KG: Besides what I have mentioned in previous questions I would also add the importance of partnerships with our vendors. Partnering with vendors, sub contractors, etc. that you trust, that follow through in a timely manner and help you provide the best service to your clients is critical. We play an important part in these relationships being successful by respecting our agreements with them. When we do this we are all in a win-win.

AS: As one of our consistent top ten designers, what do you attribute your business success to?
KG: First and foremost, you must provide great design and that goes without saying. To me that means really listening to your clients and gaining understanding so that we can provide them with the best design solutions. Your existing client base is your best referral base as well as revenue source for future business so stay in close touch and do all you can to make sure the experience is very positive.
Another important factor is investing in your business by staying up on technology advances and learning new efficiencies. This keeps you fresh and helps you relate with your clients.
Last, know where you want to go in terms of your business and track your success. This means creating a written plan which includes measureable goals.

Watch for next weeks post to give you ideas on setting goals for your company: what kind of goals to set and what to do once you have goals set.... Tune in!

You can see more about Kelly's firm on her website, facebook, or her blog.