We don't need to educate clients on the value of interior designers. Let me share a story with you.

So this one day I got a wild hair up my ass to dye my hair all one color. I figured it was going to be winter soon and instead of booking a time with the fancy pants salon that I had been going to, I would go to one those budget places in a strip mall.

I'm sure you can already guess where this is going.

I went in, waited patiently and got Alicia. I thought this must be a sign from God that everything would be fine! Someone who shared my name and where we could bond over how people constantly mispronounce our names would take extra special care of my locks.

Long story short... I left looking like Morticia Addams got electrocuted. 

Alicia's long nails precluded her from getting the hair dye throughout my hair. It also kept her from washing the leftover dye out of my hair. 

For the next week, I was finding myself in a shower with brown water at my feet, washing out the left-over hair dye. Not to mention the shitty haircut she did that gave me a special hay look that would have looked totally awesome if I was going for that look.

I was taking a risk when I went to this place. It's a place guys go to, not a place chicks usually go to when they want to give their hair TLC, despite what their fancy printed ads in the store show.

I knew what I was potentially getting into.

And so do interior design clients when they hire the cheapest designer.

They don't need to "learn the value of interior designers". They know. You just didn't prove it to them.

You see, you could spend an eternity trying to educate a client, but they don't need an education. They need you to show them the benefits of hiring you. That's your job, and if you can't prove why you are worth more than Jackie who is selling her services for pennies on the dollar, that's your failure.

I'll take it a step further. Your potential client isn't buying based on rationale. They are buying based on feelings. That's why you need to tell them the story they tell themselves in their own mind and add in the "happy ending" (not that one, perv) you'll bring to the table when they hire you.

So don't go trying to answer the questions your client doesn't have. Most of them aren't asking for answers you want to give them. They generally don't care about your education, your certifications, or whatever. 

They want the end result. Paint that picture. Appeal to their emotions.

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