High-ticket professional services, including architecture and interior design, have a fundamental need to convey credibility. In addition to the client work that needs to meet the highest expectations, you also need to find time for continuous learning and keep up with trends and technology development. You will soon realize that the work-life balance is only an unattainable dream.
That’s why you need to invest in tools with the highest leverage potential: they can give you the maximum return on your investment, be it time, money, or resources.
I used to take projects on the side, in addition to working full-time in architecture studios, and let me tell you: looking back and knowing what I know now, I could have done so much better.
This blog post is all about sharing with you tools and resources that can make a difference in your professional and personal life.
In fact, as far as I learned lately, there is no such thing as professional and personal life. If you are unhappy with your “professional” life, your personal life will also take a toll.
Let’s dive into it:
1. Be clear about what kind of projects you want to work on and for what kind of clients
Clarity is essential. When I moved from architecture and started my web design business, the best thing I did was to get clear on what kind of projects I wanted to work on and for whom.
I have a solid background in architecture – over 7 years of practice in studios in the Netherlands, Georgia, and the Czech Republic, a master’s degree, and numerous projects developed on the side.
I knew that I wanted to work with people whom I understand. I knew what their struggles were, what pains they were experiencing, and what would make their lives easier.
A clear picture or a customer avatar is the foundation for consistent marketing and website strategy.
Be honest and be bold. If you want to work on high-end luxury interior design projects where budget is not an issue – great! say so. If you want to work on sustainability-driven projects that will impact the planet’s future – great! say so. The type of projects you want to work on should be closely related to your internal values.
That’s something you can’t find on Pinterest or ask ChatGPT to generate for you.
For example, I knew that I wanted to work with clients who are creative, detail-oriented, innovative, strategic thinkers, and have an aesthetic sense. Best fit? you guessed it right: architects.
The next step was to identify the type of projects I wanted to work on. Just beautiful portfolio brochures? Being a strategic thinker myself and then learning all about brand positioning, marketing, and storytelling, I’ve figured that I could do better: I wanted to use the knowledge and tools to help my ideal clients build strong professional and personal brand presence, grow their business with ease and stay competitive in the long run.
Obviously, it’s not for everyone and I do not have the bandwidth and capacity to serve everyone either, but becoming clear on what I am doing and for whom helped me attract my tribe. It will help you too.
Here is a great example of what it might look like:
2. What is your marketing strategy?
This is crucial. Answering his question is the cornerstone not only for acquiring new leads but also for developing brand messaging and strategy to convert those leads into customers.
There is a misconception that if you rely on word-of-mouth referrals, you don’t need a marketing strategy, but you are missing out on a lot of potential.
First of all, having a marketing strategy also means having a plan to generate word-of-mouth referrals. For example, instead of just waiting, develop an incentivized system to motivate your former clients to refer you to their network.
Secondly, even if you rely on word-of-mouth referrals to generate leads, potential clients are still going to check your website to verify the referral. They are also going to google and check out what’s out there (your competitors), compare your brand standing to theirs, and make an informed decision.
Is not it what we all do?
Whether you rely on organic social media, paid ads, SEO, or word-of-mouth referrals, you need a platform that strategically converts leads into engaged leads and eventually to customers.
Defining the client acquisition strategy is essential not only for getting new leads but also for what’s coming next: the messaging and content on your website.
Depending on how your visitors end up on your website, you should talk to them differently. Let me give you an example: the way you talk to a person varies depending on how much they know about you, i.e. how familiar you are.
There are four stages of the customer journey: problem-unaware, problem-aware, solution-aware, and brand-aware, but it’s a topic for a whole new post.
3. Have consistent branding in place
Once you are clear about the strategy, it’s time to develop a brand identity. It consists of two main layers:
- messaging: this includes not only the content itself but also the tone. That’s why it’s critical to identify whom you are talking to (your ideal client). Your messaging does not need to be salesy. It needs to be relatable.
- Visual identity: colors, images, typography, graphics, layout. The visual identity should be aligned with the strategy, so that together with the messaging it creates a strong emotional connection with your clients without them even being able to put a finger on what exactly attracted them.
Your website is a combination of both aspects and that’s why it’s so important to get it right.
Having a website that is not strategically designed, i.e. either messaging or the visual side is off, is like having a bucket with holes. No matter how much traffic you redirect from paid ads, organic social, or word-of-mouth referrals, those leads will not become customers.
4. Invest in elevated client experience
First impressions matter, and they matter even more for high-ticket services such as architecture or interior design.
I did not understand how important this was until I left architecture and started my web design business.
The second best thing I did was to use the Notion client portal. From my end, I overview the progress and deliverables of the projects in one space, and from the client’s end – they get an all-in-one space where they can check the project progress, submit materials, sign contracts, download and securely pay invoices.
If your goal is to attract high-end clients, then this kind of system is a no-brainer. You probably already know that the amount of work and deliverables are pretty much the same for low-budget and high-budget clients. What makes the difference is the client experience.
That’s how I get referrals and that’s how you can get too.
I have a complete step-by-step list of tasks one after another that needs to be checked off for each and every project – SOP and I follow it diligently. I have templates of emails that I can copy, paste, modify, and send for each and every occasion, and templates to streamline my design and content creation processes.
Here is a sneak peek of my Notion portal.
And a screenshot from my client portal:
If you do not have time to develop your own system, then I recently stumbled upon this Notion Client portal specifically created for architects by an architect.
Conclusion
Meeting client’s high expectations and keeping a work-life balance as an architect might seem impossible. However, with the right tools and systems in place, you can automate part of the process and let it work for you 24/7.
Hope this helps, and if you have any questions, comment on this post!
