Client indecision can bring a project to a standstill, and a small delay can throw off both the schedule and budget. Custom Builder editor Pauline Hammerbeck spoke with three designers about why clients get stuck and what project teams can do about it.

Jennifer Davis is owner and principal designer of Davis Interiors in Minneapolis. Mae Reedy, a designer and licensed contractor, is founder and principal of Mae Reedy Build + Design in Dallas. And Laura Sullivan, a licensed general contractor and certified aging-in-place specialist, is founder and principal designer of ID.ology Interiors & Design in Asheville, N.C.

This is an edited and condensed conversation from the "When Clients Can't Decide" session at our Women in Residential Construction Conference. Register to watch the full session on demand. 

Selections and Timing

Mae, let's start with you. Tell us about a project that made you change how you handle selections, and what you did in your business to master that.

Mae Reedy: There have been a handful of times, in the past, where we'd been putting off some of the hardest decisions, particularly with cabinetry. People have a really hard time imagining where they're going to put everything. It seems to be just a big stumbling block.

We have redefined our philosophy on how to ask questions with clients because we could see their struggle, and the struggle was happening a little too late in the game. Those difficulties informed a new process we've been using for about two and a half years now, and it has been very smooth. 

We are always going to look at decisions from macro to micro. I want to know the through path. What is the domino effect? If they start to have an issue, I don't want it to throw everything else off. I want every session with a client to be a smaller and smaller risk of other decisions it could impact down the line. 

Jennifer, when some of those decisions are delayed, or changed, do you bill for that change? How do you work through those decisions?

Jennifer Davis: We do bill hourly when we're working on construction projects because things like this do come up. Obviously, it costs more. Any change costs more, which is why, to Mae's point, you want to figure all this out on the front end. You should have a design team in place before you get started.

Decision Fatigue

Laura, you're a designer who also has a showroom. You probably see someone walk in and buy a sofa in 20 minutes, but then spend three weeks deciding on a cabinet pull. What's different about those decisions?

Laura Sullivan: Particular clients feel insecure about their decision and they are fearful about making the wrong decision. We found it's much better to have conversations with clients up front and be proactive in asking deeper questions around what causes them to be hesitant. Is it budget? Is it fear of something you'll be living with for a long time? And then resolving those fears up front is key.

Which decisions do you filter? Are certain decisions more important for clients to make and others that you might take off their plate?

Laura Sullivan: Every client is a little different. Some like to be hands-off because they're busy professionals. Others may have time and love to be involved in every decision. So you have to discern which type of client you're working with and how to be effective with that client.

Asking them micro-permissions is really helpful. Something along the lines of, "Would it be okay if I took this decision myself to take it off your plate, because I know you have this other item you're more focused on at the moment?" They are more likely to go forward with your recommendation when you get their permission first.

Mae, you've developed a specific process. Did you give some thought to whether decisions we're asking clients to make are just simply "we've always done it this way?"

Mae Reedy: We really did a reframing. We found that so many of our clients were very busy professionals. The consistent theme we saw was just fear of the unknown, and we wanted them to feel like they were in really good hands and they could relax. 

We used to put a lot together and present it and be like, "Do you like it?" And maybe parts of it wouldn't resonate, and they might dismiss the entire design because one or two things didn't hit well.

We decided we wanted them to feel like they were collaboratively building with us and not on a jury. So we [now] write a syllabus for each client. I want them to be able to look at this paper and know exactly what's going to happen. They know from the very beginning that we're going to hit paint in session eight, we're going to be making our recommendations for specific trims in session nine, so they can see that it's all there. They can relax. 

There are also a lot of decisions we don't throw their way. Something as simple as, "We noted that this is the predominant trim profile in your home. We're going to match it." I'm not going to ask them, "Do you want to match it?" I'm trying to limit how many things are a statement and how many things are an actual question.

If something comes up where they're questioning a different finish, we're like, "That's great. That's three sessions from now. During that week, we'll bring this full circle for you," so that we can keep them focused on the task at hand.

Allowances

Allowances are one way that the industry deals with this. Jennifer, what's your take on allowances? How do they fit into your work?

Jennifer Davis: As a designer, sometimes the allowances are a little bit tricky when we start with a new contractor, because we find their allowances and our allowances are very different.

We'll start with a design discovery meeting with clients so that we can hone in on the style they're looking for. If we start to see a lot of millwork, we know their millwork budget is going to be higher, perhaps, than the builder initially had said.

Once we get through that meeting, we'll put together a feasibility report, and we'll send it to the contractor so the contractor can give them a more realistic bid or allowances for each category. In a perfect world, I would love to meet with the client first and help direct what those allowances are so that they're accurate.

Laura, you have your interiors business, but you also are partnered with a custom home builder who happens to be your husband. Tell me how that impacts allowances from your end. 

Laura Sullivan: When clients come to us through our design-build firm, with us as a partner for design, we're incorporated into the pre-construction design and planning. That means we're involved in creating the estimate with the build company, and we review each line item, knowing what our clients' desired style and amenities are in the project. Then that gets priced for the client to review the budget and then approve it and move forward.

There is a balance between not inflating the allowances too much, to where it's not feasible with the client investment, and not allowing the allowances to be so small that when it comes time to actually build what's designed, it's not feasible.

Filtering Choices

Mae, production builders handle client selections differently. They have design centers, finish packages, a limited number of options. Is there something smaller firms can learn from this approach?

Mae Reedy: For the client that knows a little bit more of what's out there, which is a lot of people these days, walking into a design center for a production home can feel underwhelming. But I don't ever encourage my clients to just go out and hit a bunch of showrooms. It's too much.

We like to strike a healthy balance. We have a great consultation with the client on site at the home, or if it hasn't been built yet, getting with them to get a really good sense for the level of finishes they're expecting.

We do like for our client to send ample inspiration before we even start, so that I know the range of what they are interested in. And then we want to establish trust, that they know I will be the first filter. There are 970 million beautiful backsplash tiles. I'm going to narrow that down substantially.

Jennifer, tell me about the client who does not necessarily want that filter. They want a say in everything. Is there a way you can dial them back? 

Jennifer Davis: I think there are two different clients that fit that. There's the client who's built before, and they do have a good taste level, and they want a lot of input. I think our job is to guide and make sure that what they're doing makes sense and is feasible. But then there's the other client. They want to be hands-on, and they want to see everything. Maybe they want to see all the hardware, and they want to go to all the hardware showrooms, and that's not our ideal client. My hope is that [with] our screening process, we didn't end up with that client. But, in all honesty, we all end up with that client at some point, no matter how good we are or how long we've been doing it. Sometimes we just miss the signs.

Samples and Renderings

Laura, what do you do to help clients visualize? What tangible things do you put in front of them?

Laura Sullivan: We start with design concepts. We take their inspiration images and pull selections of materials, fixtures, and finishes into a presentation, review it with them, and make sure we're on the right track before moving forward with actual selections.

Different screens can show colors differently, so it's imperative to see samples in person and get approvals and sign-offs in person. We start with visuals that are more high-level, then get into the actual selections and renderings of their space.

Mae, what about you? Where do you land on the physical versus digital?

Mae Reedy: There's a time and a place for each of them. Much like Laura, we start out very conceptual. We get into actuals after that, and there's always the very exciting day where they get to come into the studio and we have their materials presentation.

It's so important for them to see the color in real life. Sometimes you don't appreciate the tonality or the texture until you can get your hands on it. That session to touch and play is very important.

We also use renders and mockups, as well as technical line drawings, because the space planning is just as important as the aesthetic throughout the process. We can try on a few different options when we're torn between a few different pendant lights or cabinet color schemes.

Client Intake

A couple of you alluded to the idea of [a] filtering process with your client intake as a solution here. Laura, what does your intake process look like? What are you looking for in finding compatibility with clients?

Laura Sullivan: It's very important to have one-on-one in-person meetings, to get a feel for what they are looking for in the design process.

Some of the questions I do like to ask [are] if they've worked with an interior designer before. If they have, what went well? What did not go well? You will learn a lot about the client, and if they're a red-flag client, based on previous experiences they've had.

You can even ask them questions such as, "Are you a decisive person? Do you need to see all the options?" and just gauge how they respond to those. Because if they're like, "I love to see all the options and narrow it down," you may want to reconsider how you're billing, so if it's square-foot fee, fixed fee, versus hourly.

Mae, what about you? Have you ever taken on a client that you found out quickly wasn't a fit? How did that affect your future intake process?

Mae Reedy: We've gotten pickier and pickier, and I think it's normal. We need to normalize that the red flags do sneak through, and as you progress in your career, hopefully it's like a gate, that it's closing a little more and more each time you learn what the red flags are. You learn what does and does not work for your process.

I think where I'm at right now in my career is that we have defined exactly how we want to do it, and so anyone that comes along and is requesting for me to alter my process, to change how I bill, to change when I bill, and especially those that are in a rush, I'm like, "If you can't wait for me, then you're not my client."

Recently, we had a project that did not advance to construction. The project came to a screeching halt the weekend before the dream kitchen project was to break ground. We had set very clear boundaries on our collaboration and communication standards, aka a behavior contract for clients, and I'm so glad we did that. It was very hard to end that project, but I think it's very fair that I advocate for my team, that, "No, I don't want you to text me at 2 o'clock in the morning because you're freaking out about one of the cabinet sections." That's actually really inappropriate.

So we've learned that we're going to be very picky in that pre-qualification, and then we're going to also educate the clients how we would like to work with them. We have to set those boundaries, and it feels really good to be able to circle back to a document and remind people gently that this is part of our standards and why, so that clients who started out green, who might be turning a little yellow or red, have the opportunity to become a green-flag client again.

If they are unwilling to cooperate and meet you with a simple request for how you'd like to proceed and how you'd like to work together, then you know that relationship has come to a close. Closing that chapter is going to be the best thing you do for your business. You need to fire fast.