The Process that Supports the Price
If you are an interior decorator or designer, you’ve had this conversation before, probably dozens of time. What to charge? How to charge? And how on earth do some firms bring in 7 or even 8 figures while others can’t push past 5?
So many designers are working hard, long hours, and not bringing in the income they should be. And yet they are afraid to raise their rates. They feel stuck. They know their current market can’t support higher fees, and they’ll probably lose clients if they try.
But look at it this way: You’re running a business, and it needs to be viable. The clients who can’t afford to pay you are not the ones who will get you to the next level. So do you really want those clients? Sure, they may be lovely people, but from a business perspective they’re holding you back. Low-paying clients drain a lot of time, and a lot of bandwidth, without much return.
Higher rates, on the other hand, attract higher level clients.
But higher fees also change what clients expect. They change the level of scrutiny. They change how quickly clients notice gaps in leadership, communication, and process. High-level clients don’t just pay for design or the final outcome. They pay for certainty. They pay for leadership. They pay for an experience that makes them feel held, guided and secure.
So when you raise your rates, you’re not only raising the number. You’re raising the standard clients expect to experience. You’re making a promise that your process and client experience need to fulfill. When they don’t, that’s when clients push back. That’s when they negotiate, second-guess, and hover. So to confidently raise your rates, you also need to level-up your client experience.
Building a Client Experience that Supports the Promise
Take a close look at your client experience. Is it structured and repeatable, or do you just go with the flow and improvise? Most of us improvise. We send nice gifts, we behave professionally, we listen, and respond thoughtfully. But we’re we’re making it up as we go along with every project. There’s no real system in place.
A client experience that supports higher fees is purposeful and designed. It has a structure that is repeatable, clear, and consistent. It’s one that says “my process and my firm meet a higher standard, and I can charge accordingly.” It shows clients how their time, money and piece of mind will be protected. A premium client experience is a set of standards you design that hold throughout every project. These are the four most important ones:
1. Structure: This is not your internal process or workflow. This is structure clients can actually feel. It’s a system you create so your clients always have clarity, and you always stay in the driver’s seat. It’s about having defined phases and decision points, and how you lead clients from one to the next so they always know where they are in the process and what’s coming up.
If structure is missing clients start feeling insecure. If it feels like you’re winging it, they start looking for constant reassurance, or worse, they start micro-managing.
2. Communication: This is about being predictable and consistent. It’s not about you being available to answer emails 24/7. It means there is a set rhythm and a defined channel for how and when clients receive information from you, and how and when you respond to them. It’s also about how you talk to them on the phone, how your emails are structured, how your meetings play out, and how next steps are confirmed.
Inconsistent communication creates gaps that clients fill with assumptions (usually inaccurate ones), leading to anxiety and friction for both of you.
3. Boundaries: Some designers feel nervous about setting and enforcing boundaries because they think they feel unfriendly or rigid, or that they undermine customer service. They don’t. They feel professional.
Boundaries signal that the project is controlled. There are guardrails, so the scope, budget or timeline won’t spiral. There’s a professional system for changes, access, and decisions, and you operate within those systems. Everything is well-managed so the the project, your time and your process are protected.
4. Exepctations: Setting expectations, early and often, means clients understand what success looks like, and what it takes to get the results they want. It eliminates assumptions, like fantasy timelines and inadequate budgets, that cause disappointment and conflict.
Expectations create a shared reality, so you and the client are working from the same definition of what success looks like, what quality looks like, and what decisions, investment and time commitments are required to achieve that success. Setting expectations also normalizes the realities of the process, like construction and procurement delays, or the trade-offs between budget, timeline and scope.
How to Talk About Your Fees
Elevating your standards is the first step towards confidently raising your fees, but you also need to talk about your fees with confidence. The value needs to be built into your brand messaging, so it’s clear your higher fees are matched by the standards you provide. And, of course, you need to do it without sounding salesy or defensive.
This can be the hardest part, especially if you are tying the value your firm provides to your own sense of value. That’s where imposter syndrome creeps in and you get in your own way. That’s when you waiver.
But it’s easy to do if you flip the script and think about it from the perspective of the business. Remove yourself from the equation, and the discussion about fees becomes about a business transaction rather than a personal assessment. Higher fees are supported by the higher standard your firm provides (even if it’s a firm of one) — a client experience that feels led, clear, contained, and consistent.
And when that’s true, the conversation completely changes. Your mindset about it completely changes. It stops feeling scary, and starts feeling like a reflection of how you run your firm. Suddenly you can talk about how you charge with confidence all day long. You can charge for all the work you do, and you won’t back down on your fees because you won’t be asked to. The right clients will understand the value. They’ll get it, and will happily pay for it.
If you’re next question is, how do I level up my standards to create the value that supports higher fees?, I’m so glad you asked! That’s just part of the work we do in Inside the Studio, my mentorship program for interior design entrepreneurs. Want to learn more? Click here. I’d love to support you on your journey!
