What’s the perfect skill set for a design studio professional? Jane Meagher offers insights and tips for finding the right person for a critical job.

Design studio strategist Jane Meagher explains the benefits of creating curated design selection packages for both homebuyers and builders.

What have we learned from the past 18 months of a global pandemic and its ripple effects on our society and industry, and what does the future look like for new-home design studios? These are questions I frequently hear from builders.

  New Home Sales Tips for 2022 Lasso’s annual much-anticipated blog post Read not just what Jane has to say about design studios, but what industry leaders have to say about their areas of expertise.  Lots of great takeaways...

  Learning to navigate the new normal of design studios with covid-prompted changes, in 2020. BDXtra Podcast Link to...

  Design Studios with Jane Meagher Kevin Oakley’s awesome Market Proof Marketing Podcast https://www.doyouconvert.com/blog/ep-52-design-studios-with-jane-meagher/ Jane’s interview starts at 32 minutes in. This is a fast-paced but chock-full -of-ideas discussion about...

  Increasing Option Sales through Customer Experience with Jane Meagher Building Perspective podcast with Mollie Elkman and Matt Riley at Group Two Advertising...

  Quint Lears interviews Jane on design studios at The Nationals 2019 https://vimeo.com/364132693

Last week, we explored how you can get your team to execute your policies and processes more effectively —
a core element of operational excellence.

In our past few articles, we’ve spoken a lot about policies and “how to” systems in your business working together.
But what about the people responsible for maintaining those systems and executing your policies?

When we ask builders what’s not working in their business and design studio, most can quickly think of several issues that they’d like to fix.

“Oh yeah, we’ve already got something like that…”

When I talk about design studio operations and documentation with builders, “something like that” is a phrase I hear all the time:

I have spoken with many builders who — despite having a range of policies and procedures in place — are still stuck in a “no-win” zone with buyers who complain about policies and team members who make constant exceptions in the name of homebuyer satisfaction.

Does it ever feel like your customers become fixated on price, above all else?

Does it feel like no matter how enticing your options are, how dazzling your presentation is, how smooth your process is… they STILL want the lowest-price option—or resist making a choice at all?

Handling customer objections is a crucial — sometimes difficult — task for design studio consultants. The good news is that objections from customers are almost always gifts in disguise, and a chance to better understand what is in your buyer’s mind.

When you spend over 25 years in an industry, it’s inevitable that you’ll see some interesting patterns appear. I want to share some of those insights with you today, based on my experience in working with builders and their customers for over two decades.

In last week’s article, we explored the importance of investing in the people who work inside the design studio — because although it’s critical to have a great space, great products and great processes… design studio professionals are, in many ways, the lynchpin that hold everything together.

What does it take optimize your design studio to deliver a second-to-none customer experience, increase option sales and maximize overall profitability?

If you came across an opportunity to boost your brand recognition, increase your home sales, raise your customer satisfaction and boost your profitability… would you be interested (if not a little skeptical)?