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

Trellis News
The newsletter for Garden Designers

Welcome to Trellis News, the ezine that aims to help you expand your community and your business.

2003 promises overall to be a successful year for the garden design and horticultural industries, according to predictions made by a leading Feng Shui consultant, Diane Elsey. This is because, according to the Chinese calendar, 2003 is a water and earth year, which favours gardening - it unfortunately does not favour clear thinking in politicians' minds!

Fortune will also not favour all of the companies in our industry similarly - over the coming weeks, Diane will be giving us pointers as to how to get Lady Luck to shine on you this year!

The Letters Page below gives you the chance to ask for recommendations and sources of equipment, suppliers etc - is there a great new book you'ld recommend, or a testimonial you'ld like to give for exceptional service? It's your space, please use it.

To be successful with our clients, one of the skills we need to master, and are seldom taught, is that of listening to what they say they want - and to what they really mean by that. This edition's article gives suggestions for honing this skill.

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

Sally Hopkinson, Design & Landscape Director, Fallhill Landscapes writes:

Regarding comments on garden design fees in Edition 4 of Trellis News. The Society of Garden Designers has been talking about producing a suggested scale of fees for garden designers for as long as I remember. This would be an invaluable guide for designers and would enable us to point a potential client towards the SGD website so they could see for themselves what the professional guidelines are. Hopefully this would encourage new designers to base their fees on a more realistic scale and, in time, discourage the £100 garden design syndrome. It would also raise public awareness and encourage the more blinkered amongst them to view garden design as a serious profession.

If designers out there feel this scale of fees would be useful as I do I suggest they e-mail the SGD and ask when it is going to be published. They can be reached on sgd@assocmanagement.co.uk

A request from Andrew Stanley, Contracts Manager, Fallhill Landscapes:

I am looking for an up to date and user friendly computer software programme for job quotations in a bid to speed up the process. Can anyone help me?

To respond to Andrew's request, please email me at and I'll forward the replies straight on to him, and will then publish them (or a compilation if necessary) in the next edition of Trellis News - due out in a fortnight's time, 6th Feb 2003.

How to hear what your clients really want!
by Annie Meachem

We're all born with two ears and only one mouth - what does this tell us about where we should be putting our emphasis when communicating?

Once our clients have agreed to us working for them, I would suggest that we need to stop talking about what we can do for them, and really start listening to what they are telling us they want. By really listening to all that they say they want, and by being aware of what is not being said, you will be able to turn their dreams into reality even more effectively.

Listening is not the same as hearing -
For those of us who can hear, it's an automatic process. Listening however is more complicated, and needs us to be committed to doing it - I can remember sitting through lectures where I could hear the voices but I definitely wasn't listening!

Stop talking -
If you're talking, you just can't hear all that they're saying.

Really focus in on their words -
and don't try and multitask. If your mind starts to wander off to your own thoughts, drag it back.

Ask good questions -
your client questionnaire should cover everything you might need to know, so that you can relax and know that you haven't forgotten anything.

Be patient -
Wait for them to finish their reply to your first question before writing down their answers, and before looking at your second question. If your mind starts to think about that second question whilst they're still talking about the first, you'll miss something.

Also allow a small silence before moving on to your next question. Often in the silence, the client expands on the answer they've just given you, and tells you much more.

Show them you're listening to them-
By nodding, and smiling, and with small 'aha's, or whatever form of verbal encouragement you're comfortable with, the client feels that they're being listened to, which helps build their trust in you.

Summarise what they said -
By saying back to your client what you think you've heard, you not only reassure them that you really are listening to them, it also allows you to check you've got it right. It also lets them hear what they said to you, and gives them the chance to reflect whether that really was what they meant - better to do this now than after you've spent time drawing up initial sketches.

Watch their body language -
By observing all the non-verbal signals that your client is giving you, you can get a sense of whether they are saying what they really want. Something like 75% of all communication is non-verbal, so unless you've had special training in listening skills, can you afford to rely on just 25% of the information?

What are they not saying? -
Developing your intuition will help you pick up when the client is not saying all that they mean. Trust in your instincts and ask them that extra question.

Coaching Exercise:
Next time you're with a partner or friend, notice how well you listen.

- Which of the areas above could you improve on?
- What changes do you need to make to become a better listener? - How will you do that?
- What support do you need?

"The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting."
Fran Lebowitz (1951- ), U.S. journalist

End piece

Trellis News is growing organically, through your recommendation - if you enjoyed it, please forward it on to colleagues, and ask them to subscribe by sending a blank email to .

Coaching can also support you and your business to grow - to find out more, do contact me for an informal chat.

Best Wishes

Annie Meachem

Trellis Coaching
+44 (0) 1243 545010
email

"Supporting Personal & Business Growth"

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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.