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Written July 2020 | Updated August 2025

In a previous post, I talked about how to set up autoresponders to streamline the very first touchpoint of your client experience. Now, let’s move on to the next critical step: sending your Investment Guide/Services Guide/Pricing Guide. I’ll refer to it as an Investment Guide throughout this article for simplicity.

Sending an Investment Guide is so important because, as a solopreneur or small business owner, you must absolutely prescreen your leads. Your time is too precious to get on the phone with prospects who a) aren’t ready to hire you, b) can’t afford you, or worse, c) just want to “pick your brain” and try to get something for free.

NO.

The goal of sending an Investment Guide to potential clients is to:

Prescreen leads.
Educate potential clients about what you do, how you do it, and what you charge for it.
Establish your authority.
Set your company apart from competitors.

An Investment Guide is a sales and marketing tool that also provides tons of important information to potential clients so that when you get on the phone with them, you move straight to talking about their specific needs and how your service will solve them. This removes the scary sales vibes and turns each call into a simple conversation about how you can help someone. So easy, right?

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Stop Wasting Valuable Time!

I’ve personally wasted so much time talking to vendors who don’t send me pricing via email and then we spend 30 minutes on the phone just talking numbers before we even get to talking about what I need or what service will be best for me. That waste of time right there was enough to make me not want to work with a particular vendor.

Or even worse, businesses that charge a gazillion dollars, and as a consumer, I had NO IDEA, so I wasted all this time talking to them only to realize I cannot afford them. Ugh.

An Investment Guide Shows Potential Clients you Value Their Time (and yours)

When you send potential clients all the info they need to make an informed decision, you show them you respect them, value their time, and want them to make the best decision for their situation. So strategic, yet simple, right?

The Big Mistake Most Interior Designers Make When It Comes to the Investment Guide

Most interior designers either:

Avoid sending an Investment Guide entirely because they think talking to the client first will “sell” them better (when in reality, it wastes time on unqualified leads).
Send a long, overwhelming PDF or email that’s more of a “brochure” and a “me-me-me” sales pitch than a strategic selling tool (so clients don’t actually read it, or they are turned off by your me-focused approach).
Give too little information upfront so they waste hours and days and weeks emailing back and forth only to be ghosted after the call when they finally DO hear the pricing.

Sound familiar? Don’t you worry. I see this all the time with my clients, and the good news is that it’s an easy fix.

How to Streamline Your Inquiry Process With an Investment Guide

Step One: HAVE THE RIGHT email templates Ready

Before sending your Investment Guide (or with your Investment Guide, depending on your business and how established you are), you need a clear, professional email response that sets the tone for your business.

Here’s what that should include:

A warm welcome that makes them feel valued
A brief overview of your services (so they know they’re in the right place)
A direct link to your Investment Guide (if you send it right away)
A clear next step

Don’t have time to write all the emails needed for an elevated client experience? Grab my done-for-you Client Experience Email templates here and save hours every week. These are used by designers making their first $100k to those making $4,000,000+ in annual revenue.

Step 2: Send an Investment Guide That Does the Selling for You

Your Investment Guide shouldn’t just be a list of services and pricing. It should be a high-converting sales tool that answers key client questions, provides information that helps potential clients make a decision, and removes any hesitation about moving forward.

My Investment Guide Template for Interior Designers is one of our most popular resources and helps to streamline the ENTIRE sales process. Grab yours here and have a polished, professional guide in minutes.

Step 3: ensure your investment guide moves them seamlessly through the next step of your process

A strategic Investment Guide makes it easy for potential clients to take the next step. This means it will likely include:

A clear call to action
Details on what happens next, so they know exactly what to expect
A final reassurance that they’re in the right place and you’re the expert they need

Why DIY-ing Your Investment Guide Will Cost You More in the Long Run

Could you create an Investment Guide from scratch? Sure. But here’s the thing—most interior designers don’t know how to structure it strategically to pre-sell their services. And if your guide isn’t doing its job? You’ll end up right back where you started—on endless calls or email loops with unqualified leads.

Not to mention, you’re probably losing the good leads, too, because your materials don’t look or sound professional.

😱😱😱

That’s why I created my done-for-you Client Experience Templates—so you can have a polished, high-converting Investment Guide in minutes instead of weeks. This has been tested and used in businesses on their way to their first $100k to those making more than $4MM in annual revenue.

Ready to streamline your inquiry process and book more of the right clients? We have templates for interior designers who offer Full Service Design and a set for designers who offer Design Day services.

—> Click here to read the next step in the process: Client Onboarding.