Trellis Coaching - Trellis News Garden Design Newsletter & Attraction Marketing Coaching

Trellis News

Welcome to the first edition of Trellis News of 2005, and the first edition for a few months - the reason for this will become apparent further on in the newsletter. Suffice to say, my intention is that Trellis News will now revert to being published monthly. Please do send in your comments and questions to share with your colleagues, I know they're appreciated.

Letters Page -
Your opportunity to have your say, to ask questions, look for resources.

In the last edition,Shila Patel wrote: "I have a client with kids who has a small/medium sized garden which has been previously professionally designed. He now wants a 'kids friendly' redesign in one corner of the garden, and wants to make maximum use of space, so wants to cram into the corner a childrens activity tower combined with a tree house. The location is in a shady corner right next to a neighbour's boundary. The neighbours have just landscaped the other side of the fence a few weeks ago and have previously raised concerns about the height of a possible structure in that area. The client is very assertive, an environmental lawer, and can afford the highest budget. I would probably say, sorry I am not available for this project! All I know is that the height of a fence can legally be 6ft and a structure can be 4M high.

Sally Turner's reply was: I think Shila should walk away from that job. The neighbours will blame her and bad publicity carries more weight than good. Chances are, once the garden is completed, should the situation between the neighbours worsen the clients will end up pushing some of the blame onto Shila as well. Never get between warring factions. Before I became a garden designer I was a police officer so well used to being the ‘piggy in the middle’ when it came to domestics and neighbour disputes. In the end, you become the target even though you were the one they called for help.

Claire Cadoux says: The word 'cram' points me immediately to health and safety implications. Whether that word came from the client or not, it is likely to be generated by the client's desires. I would explain the legal requirements of public playschemes and their spacing, and why, and if they need it rubbing in, direct them to RoSPA. Once they are clearly listening, perhaps show them the Bunny Guinness book on Family Gardens, saying very firmly that any design done by the designer is done with H and S implications to mind and say 'I am sure you wouldn't want otherwise'.

This starting point may also answer the question regarding the comfortable height of viewing over the neighbour's garden. If a tower is constructed at the allowable distance, then surely the side 'overlooking' the neighbour's garden could be 'blind' ie no overlooking point, and planted with a climbing plant to break up the timber look of the surface and encourage it visually blending in with its surroundings. If it's shady all the better, use scented honeysuckles. Either the deisgner or the client could 'sell' the idea to the neighbour of the benefit, aesthetic screen with scent. The client surely doesn't want future trouble with a neighbour, no one in their right minds wants a declarable dispute which could affect the future sale of their property.

Claire also wrote in response to my article in October's Trellis News which aimed to demystify the process of selling, as follows:

I was interested to read this article, as all on your newsletter. I have a question. At what point does the designer give their fees? At no point in this article is money discussed. Further it implies that the designer offers to produce concept work - in two weeks - for nothing.

I know what I do, and it works, but that doesn't appear at all in this article. As a volunteer for the SGD (I co-ordinate workshops for the North East Region of the Society of Garden Designers - www.sgd.org.uk) liaising with a great number of designers, more than I normally would, and having read the coverage on this subject in the Garden Design Journal, I am in the position of hearing how, say, up to 75 designers, run this part. I am now mystified about how a designer could do a brief taking meeting and ask if the client would then like to go ahead for nothing at all.

The article appears to me to imply that the designer goes to a brief taking meeting, without having clarified what that meeting covers which is part of the 'selling' technique allowing potential clients time to raise their confidence, and without clarifying how long it may take and without clarifying what costs are involved. And earning nothing at all.

My personal experience (11 professional years as a garden designer, nearly 300 projects and obviously a higher number of clients/potential clients met as some fall by the wayside) is that the first phone call should include SOME discourse on fees. The designer, I believe, should take the iniative here, to avoid travelling to a client, eg a half hour drive, followed by a 1.5 hr meeting, only to find that the client wants to spend £60 on a plan drawing.

Professionals in most trades charge a call out fee. Some designers balk at this, saying 'the market won't stand it'. Usually I then hear that actually, the designer cannot provide evidence of that reason. They are scared of being rejected.

A designer should not go to a meeting without elaborating on fees openly and clearly and confidently. This, I believe, is also part of selling. My clients feel they are in safe, confident, competent hands. I have the figures above to prove that. I get no work from any advertising, I get all my work from word of mouth via clients or friends or other related professionals. And I am busy and my projects beget more projects and larger projects with much bigger budgets. I would be most interested to hear your comments on the above.

Editor's reply: Thanks for your letter, Claire, and I'm delighted to clarify the points you raise about my article. With regard to the concept work being supplied in two weeks, this was purely a hypothetical example of reassuring the client what the next step would be after they have said yes, i.e have agreed to hiring you, and it would therefore be covered in the fee you have just negotiated with them. I wholeheartedly agree with you that the initial contact with the client should involve a discussion about likely budget and fees, so that expectations aren't raised that are then impossible to meet, on either side. My article refers to an initial meeting which is not that at which the full design brief is taken but a prior one at the point where the client is deciding whether they want to choose you to design their garden and you're deciding whether you would want to work for them.

However I am aware that there is a split amongst garden designers about whether this initial meeting should even exist and whether it is then appropriate to charge a fee for it. I am also aware that the fee issue has recently been discussed through the pages of the Garden Design Journal. Without wishing to deliberately duplicate their work, and knowing that many of our Trellis News subscribers are not Society of Garden Design members, I'd like to ask all our readers their opinion on this topic (see below). Thanks again for your valued comments. Annie Meachem.

So, what do you think about charging a fee for the first meeting with the client? Is there a distinction at work here between those designers who do and those who don't which is based on that of garden design being an art rather than a professional service? An artist is commissioned to take on a project, whilst a service provider may be considered to have to justify why someone should buy their services? Or is that totally irrelevant? I'm sure you'll have strong opinions on this....... Please send your responses to this and any other questions you'd like to raise with your peers by email to annie@trelliscoaching.com for publication in the next edition of Trellis News. Any replies to requests for help that you send are forwarded straight on to the person who asked the question.

Article

How to get free advertising
by Annie Meachem
Yes, you did read that right. How to get free advertising, possibly including a photo of one of your completed garden designs and a lovely testimonial from a satisfied customer. How much would that be worth to your business?

The secret is to use the power of PR, short for Press Relations. Many newspapers, local, regional and even national, are really keen on human interest stories to intersperse amongst all the dire 'news stories' they print. What they won't print is straight adverts, and the fact that you've started a business or won a contract isn't going to be considered very newsworthy, unless you're very lucky and they happen to have a couple of column inches spare with a deadline approaching.

The trick to getting published is to look for the interesting angle - one article I read recently in a regional newspaper was about a woman who had lost her wedding ring fifteen years ago, only for it to be dug up by a garden designer when she had her garden revamped. Cue photo of happy woman, the designer and the completed garden, plus her testimonial for his work and the designer's contact details.

How many of you in these circumstances would have just given the client the ring back and thought no more of it? I've recently taken on an associate coach who has a background in PR and I'm really learning from her outlook, she's looking for the press 'angle', the story, in everything we do.

Once you've found your angle, the actual process of submitting a press release is relatively quick and simple:
1. Decide which newspapers your ideal clients read (I trust you did that a long time ago!)
2. Find out the editor's name and email address, either from the paper's website or by ringing their reception.
3. Type up your press release and email it off to them. Ensure its newsworthy and time relevant (old news is not good news), and that the style of writing is suitable for that publication.
4. Have patience - whether you get published or not will depend partly on what other news happens to be going on at the same time.
5. Phoning the editor either before you send in the article, to run the idea past him first or afterwards to find out why they didn't print it and what you could do differently next time, is helpful but not essential if cold calling isn't for you. The papers will contact you if they want to take the story further and to arrange that photo shoot!

Happy writing!

Announcing the launch of my new book

I'm really proud that my first book has been published (hence no Trellis News for Nov or Dec) - it's called Attraction Marketing: How to Attract All the Perfect Clients You Want and is published by the Lean Marketing Press - you can both read the first two chapters of the book and then buy it directly from their website, www.bookshaker.com where it is currently available as an ebook for £12.99. The paperback version will be published in Feb 2005.

What's it about? Here's the publisher's blurb:

"Imagine being able to attract all the perfect clients you need without having to sell... Leading UK attraction coach, Annie Meachem, shows you how by working on yourself and your business first you can build a profitable and rewarding business that draws clients to you effortlessly. Attraction Marketing shows small-business owners how they can attract the exact number and type of clients they want while still having time to play, learn and grow. It blends proven marketing approaches with practical exercises that draw on the increasingly popular Laws of Attraction. This book is a must-have for anyone who's ever wondered how they're going to get clients when they don't like selling!"

If you're tempted to buy the book, I have a small quantity of 10% discount vouchers available for it - do email me for one.

If you're a budding author, Lean Marketing are still looking for a few more authors for non-fiction books - again, contact me if you'd like an introduction to them.

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Attracting Success

I have also launched a new weekly newsletter called Attracting Success which is written for those people interested in the idea of working with the Laws of Attraction to manifest what they would really love in life. This can range from business success, clients, relationships, financial prosperity, inner peace and joy - the principles remain the same. If you're attracted to receiving a copy, please email me.

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Imagine a constant stream of ideal clients

Would you like to be able to work only with the people you like, doing the projects that you really enjoy? What would that give you? Fulfilment? Job satisfaction? Reputation? Financial success? Would you like to have a constantly full order book?

It is our aim to help you achieve this, and our Attracting Client programmes are designed to enable you to attract all the clients you need.

We have a variety of formats to suit your learning style and your budget, from workshops to individual coaching by telephone. To find out more, please contact us by phone on 0845 456 9382 or by email,

"The Attracting Clients programme clarifies the formless duty of marketing into a magically clear plan, it gets you very clear what you are looking for." Rosie Walford, The Big Stretch

End Piece
Life was very busy writing books and running workshops this autumn, and the New Year arrived in a flash. Just as well that I wasn't spending my time fretting about the lack of progress with our Portuguese rebuild project - the renovation licence came through just this month, four months later than promised, and the builders are supposed to have started work. Can't wait for the house to be habitable, it's a fabulous place for writing and reflecting.

Until next month,

Best Wishes

Annie Meachem, ACC

Trellis Coaching
0845 456 9382
+44 (0) 1243 545010 (from outside UK)
email

"I help designers and entrepreneurs grow their success - who do you know who's serious about being effortlessly successful, and is willing to invest in themselves to achieve their dreams?"

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Copyright © Annie Meachem 2003/4. Copyright in this document is owned by Annie Meachem. All rights are reserved. This document may not be copied or distributed without the prior written consent of the Copyright owner.