How to Decline Bad Fit Interior Design Projects

CLIENT EXPERIENCE

Apr 21

Have you ever been in a position where you knew you should decline a potential interior design project but weren't sure how to do it? Maybe you didn't have capacity, the project wasn't in your wheelhouse, the budget was too small, or your personalities clashed.

Or, maybe your instincts were telling you to RUN and you couldn't quite put your finger on what was off.

As a business owner in ANY industry, saying no and turning away business can be scary. However, I've found it's often MORE costly and damaging to your reputation in the long run when you say YES to projects that aren't a good fit.

In this article, I'll share a few tips for turning down potential clients (and some simple ways to prevent bad-fit clients from making it past step one in your inquiry process). I'll cover:

How to stop bad fit clients in their tracks
How to communicate your services clearly
How to set clear boundaries
How to decline a prospect so they don't backpedal and say, "I'll change! Please! Take me!!"
When to offer alternatives (and when not to!)

NOTE: If you’re a new interior designer, you’ll probably say yes to a variety of projects because i) you don’t know yet what types of projects you do or don’t want, and ii) you aren’t sure what services you’ll enjoy offering. The only way to know this is by saying yes to projects so you can experiment and learn. However, you’ll still want to decline a project if you have that gut instinct that something is not right, if your personality clashes with the potential client, and of course, if they are rude or disrespectful to you or anyone you work with.

How To Prevent Bad-Fit Projects From Even Getting Through to You

There’s a difference between a “bad” client and a bad-fit client. More often than not, I find that clients aren’t “bad”; they just don’t know. They’re not trying to steal from you, hurt you, or annoy the living daylights of you. They simply don’t know the process, aren’t sure what happens next, and base their interactions with you on what they’ve seen on HGTV (which isn’t real). They need you to educate them, set boundaries, and establish expectations so they know the process.

And guess whose job it is to educate, set boundaries, and establish expectations?

YOURS!!

Why? Because you're the expert at getting your clients a beautiful result, and you know how to go from point A to point Z seamlessly and efficiently.

So first, how do you prevent bad fit clients from getting through the gates and booking a phone call or consult with you? How do you build a sustainable business with dreams clients who respect your boundaries, trust you and your process, and let you do your thing?

Well, you need to create a bulldog for your business to prevent bad-fit projects/clients from coming into your pipeline in the first place, and it all starts with the client experience.

01 | COMMUNICATE YOUR SERVICES CLEARLY

If your website lists the 173 things you can do for your clients or has 11 different services your clients can choose from, you might be giving a vibe that you can do anything for anyone.

And guess what? If you can do anything for anyone, EVERYONE will be inquiring to work with you. (Not saying you’ll have hundreds of leads each week. I’m saying the kinds of clients and the types of projects they are inquiring about will be all over the map.)

So, first, make sure your services are well-defined and clearly call out who they are best for. You can do this directly on your website and in your marketing. If you offer more than one service, it should be obvious to a potential client which one is best for them. (TIP: If it’s not obvious to you, then it definitely won’t be obvious to your clients.)

I’m a big proponent of listing prices on your website (at least starting prices) to screen people out. Skip to section two of this article for more ideas on where you can list pricing on your website.

By explaining your services and sharing pricing on your website, you’ll be able to prevent some clients from coming through your pipeline who i) need something other than what you offer or ii) have a different budget than what you require.

But remember: this doesn’t always weed people out. Some people won’t read your website, or will and then still inquire even if they need something totally different because they “just want to see if you offer this other thing at a lower price.”

You, as the business owner, still need to do your part.

TIP #1: If bad fit clients are always booking calls or consults with you, PREVENT that step by removing your phone number from your website and not sharing your discovery call scheduler or consultation scheduler with them until you’ve screened them (you’ll do this after step three below).

TIP #2: If you are always attracting bad fit clients….look at what YOU are doing to always attract them. Is it your marketing language? Is it your portfolio? Is it your pricing?

02 | SEND OUT AN INVESTMENT GUIDE

When an inquiry comes through, send out an investment guide or services guide that details your fees, typical project budgets, and any other information a potential client will need to know about working with you.

This is another tool that will help to screen potential clients in (or out!) because they’ll have a sense of how you work and charge.

Remember, you don’t need to put your discovery call link in here or any sort of guarantee that you will be taking next steps with them. Your initial message can be, “I’ve received your inquiry and will respond with more information in X-X days.” You can elevate your contact form by doing this one simple thing.

03 | KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES, CAPACITY, AND PROJECT PARAMETERS

So you’ve put some boundaries in place to protect you from bad fit clients calling you while you’re at a new client kickoff meeting or driving to take your kids to soccer. Woo hoo!

But there’s more.

When an inquiry does come through, it is still UP TO YOU to look for clues in their intake to determine if the project is a good fit.

I’ve seen a lot of contact forms that stink. They do nothing to help my designers discern if a project is a good fit, and seriously, SOME DON’T EVEN HAVE A QUESTION ASKING WHAT THE PROJECT ADDRESS IS (highly critical if you provide in person services). Sigh. (Just like your designs, if something is pretty but doesn’t function, it’s not a job well done.)

Read this post to make sure your contact form doesn’t stink.

So, if your contact form is collecting good information (the RIGHT information - I don’t need to know what your style is….nope!), then you should be able to easily look at the inquiry that comes in and determine which service it is best suited for and if it aligns with your project parameters and boundaries.

As the boss of the company, it’s up to YOU to establish those parameters. ← I know, I know, you have to do soooo much. (Not sure which projects you want? Start with this: what projects do you NOT want?)

Maybe you only want to do certain project types.

Maybe you’ll only do projects in a certain area (or maybe you’ll only travel XX miles from your office).

Maybe you’ll only take projects with budgets starting at $X.

Maybe you’ll only take projects with X rooms or more.

Maybe you’ll only take projects where you start at the very beginning.

Maybe you’ll only take projects that DON’T have any construction.

Maybe you’ll only take projects you’ll be able to photograph.

Maybe you’ll only take projects with longer timelines.

Maybe you’ll only take projects that want your signature style.

Maybe you’ll only take projects with clients you would have dinner with.

^^ You get the idea.

By setting parameters, you’ll be able to recognize at a glance if a project is a good fit or not. By knowing your capacity (are you starting projects in 2 weeks or in 2 months?) you can share this information with potential clients right out of the gate. Check out our Waitlist Workshop for help defining your project timelines.

Because all of this happens before you’ve taken a call or gone round and round on email, you’ll be able to save a ton of time and energy.

04 | DON’T SEND YOUR DISCOVERY CALL LINK UNTIL YOU’VE REVIEWED THEIR INQUIRY

Once you’ve determined the project seems like a good fit (don’t get me wrong, sometimes you get on a call with someone and your heart starts to race and all you see are red flags…it happens), now it’s time to send them the link to book a call with you or take the next step.

Now, if you didn’t get good information from them in the intake form, you can absolutely ask for more information once you receive their inquiry BEFORE jumping on a call. In fact, I would argue it makes you look even more professional if you do your due diligence to make sure the project is a good fit before wasting the potential client’s time or yours.

However, there is a fine line here and I can often spot a bad fit client based on the amount of communication that takes place before a discovery call.

So if it’s a good fit: send them next steps.

If it’s not a good fit, let them know right then and there that you’ve reviewed their project details and aren’t able to accommodate their project.

Now that you know how to prevent most bad fit clients from getting through to you, let’s talk about what to do if they HAVE gotten through to you via a discovery call or consultation and now you have to decline their project. (It’s always so much easier to decline it before a phone call because it doesn’t feel as personal.)

And remember: always listen to your gut. I’ve been doing sales calls and in person sales meetings for over 13 years, so I know what happens when I don’t listen to my gut (even if there were times when I didn’t clearly see a red flag, but my instincts were firing tell me to r-u-n.)

How to Decline a Bad Fit Project

First, let’s make a tiny adjustment in your brain to make this process easier. Think of it as declining the PROJECT, not the PERSON. Most often, it’s a combination of both, but if you think of it as declining a project, it feels less personal and helps you to do it in a professional way, without all the guilt.

So, once you realize it’s a bad fit project, here’s what to do.

01 | DECLINE THE PROJECT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The second you recognize it’s not a good fit project, start drafting your decline email. The potential client is likely eager to get started, and whether it’s with you or another designer, it shows respect and professionalism to let them know as soon as possible so they can continue to move their project forward with someone else.

If you realize it’s not a good fit during the call, let the prospect know right then and there. You can do this professionally and there are certain questions I always suggest my clients ask DURING the call that will let them shut it down right away if needed.

02 | USE NON-NEGOTIABLE LANGUAGE

When declining a project, make sure to write it or say it in a way that is non-negotiable. Don’t leave any openings or holes for them to come back and negotiate with you about why they are a good fit or how you should take their project. I call it “closing language”, and I don’t think that’s an actual term related to declining a project, but I like to use closing language when turning a client down so there is nothing they can email me back about or try to negotiate.

Which brings me to my next point:

03 | DON’T OVER EXPLAIN

You don’t need to explain yourself EVER to a prospect.

Let me say that again:

YOU DON’T EVER NEED TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO A PROSPECT.

Keep your decline emails vague so the prospect can’t change the one parameter you mention and say, “Okay, I can change my budget/timeline/scope/behavior. Can we work together now?”.

This is especially important if the project is a bad fit because of a personality clash.

04 | MAKE IT ABOUT YOU

Finally: you can make it all about you ;-)

If you make it about you, there’s not much room for a bad fit project to negotiate, push back, or squeeze its way back into your schedule. And they won’t take it personally. Keep your brief explanation focused on how YOU’RE not the best fit.

05 | KEEP THE DOORS OPEN FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

If you need to decline the project because you truly don’t have capacity or you aren’t currently taking that project type, but you had a good rapport with the prospect and actually would like to work with them, you can leave the door open for future opportunities and have them reach out if their timeline or project needs change.

You should also consider building out your pipeline by getting clients on a paid waitlist so you don’t have to turn them away.

06 | ONLY RECOMMEND THEM TO SOMEONE ELSE IF THEY’RE NOT A NIGHTMARE

If the project sounded like a nightmare, your call was difficult, and the prospect keeps trying to negotiate on your non-negotiables, DO NOT recommend them to any other designers in your area. You definitely don’t want to knowingly send tough clients to anyone else.

And who knows, maybe they WILL be perfectly aligned with another designer in your area. But that’s up to that business owner to decide, not you.

Saying no to a potential interior design client may seem daunting, but it's a necessary skill for every business owner. Remember, saying no doesn't have to be negative; it's a chance to prioritize your time and focus on projects that align with your expertise, values, and the goals you have for your company. And, by saying no, it means you’ll have a pipeline of clients you love working with, not a pipeline filled with clients who question your every move, push back on every invoice, shop your designs, suck all the energy out of you, and make unreasonable demands.

As Warren Buffet once said, "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything."

So, say no to the bad fit projects to ensure you have space for the good fit projects when they come your way.

If you need help defining your services and establishing boundaries, a great place to start is with your client experience (where I start with every single 1:1 client). Check out our client experience templates in the Design Library.