New Publishing Group

There is a new publishing group for our industry. They are looking for exceptional books that will enhance our businesses. If you have been thinking about writing a book, have an outline of what you would like to write about, contact Southwest Publishing Group at their email address: Southwest@charter.net

Happy Tuesday Gang!

DIALING FOR DOLLARS

Need more work? Need more QUALITY work?

Time to pull out the phone book & DIAL FOR DOLLARS!

Thursdays or Fridays are my favorite days to give local designers a call. These are the days, in my area, when they are the least busy & might have time to talk a little.

If I set my goal at making 10 phone calls, that's easy! My first question to a designer is to ask THEM what they may need from a workroom. Then I try to fill it. If they need pillows completed, then I set an appointment to show them pillow samples the next week or if they are in dire straits, then the next day!

If you can show your client QUALITY, they will come!

WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD....

WORKROOMS!

We want YOU! We want you if you are proud of your Workroom to attach your .com to this site.

There are SO many decorators & designers out there looking for GOOD WORKROOMS & I'd like to push them towards YOU'ALL.

Please email me your .com & we'll start attaching you to this site for new & exciting marketing adventure......

What makes an EXCEPTIONAL Workroom?

First, having been in the Home Furnishings & Interior Design biz for 30 years, I have watched MANY workrooms, the level of expertise and their pricing.

My Opinion: There seems to be 3 levels of expertise in the workroom field, & possibly in the interior design field also.

1. Mechanic -- follows directions reasonably well. New to business. Not a lot of expertise in actually manufacturing treatments.

2. Journeyman-- Commercial Workrooms & many home based or small workrooms -- You get what you ask for, if you know what to ask for.....some bells or whistles.

3. Master-- Couture Quality, Exceptional Quality, Top-0f-the-Line! Someone with years in the business, can assist with fabric selection (knows there is a differnce between how sheers & velvets hang...a story for another time), always pattern-matches! Sets high standards for any item that leaves. Educated.

Workrooms are only as good as their designers.....

Sunday Thoughts

It's almost Christmas & hopefully you are almost finished with your sewing & installations!

Between Christmas & New Years, do you set goals for the next year? Do all the paperwork that has piled up on your desk?

My goal for next year is to only work 60 hours per week! Now I'll go back to sewing & thinking about how I'll accomplish that!

Happy Sunday All!

Marketing Thought

This is the first post on the Workroom Connection blog. We are dedicated to raising the bar on the quality of workmanship coming from our workrooms as well as creating artistic, exceptionally designed window treatments and soft furnishings.

Did you know that your biz is attached to housing starts and most people wait until they have been in a new home for almost 2 years before starting the decorating process? After moving into a new home, the first investment, if not included in the mortgage, is hard window treatments for privacy. The second big investment is for landscaping.

So, if you are selling hard treatments, you should begin rolling neighborhoods while the homes are in the stick stage. Get to know the builders, carpet salespeople, realtors and be ready to jump as soon as the house sells.

Then about 12 months after you have installed the hard treatments, start making return calls to the area to see if your happy customers are ready to add draperies, bed linens and finishing touches.

It's about face time: the more your face is in front of potential clients, the better chance you will be taking care of their needs when they make their next buying decision.

Respectfully Submitted,
Martha SEWnatorius