If you had a magic tool that could help you to be more productive, help you to be a better saver, help you connect more meaningfully with clients, help you to overcome specific fears, help you to focus on activities that bring in money, and help you to “slow your roll” when you get a little crazy, would you use it? You might say “yes” pretty quickly, but droves of people overlook or dismiss the power of this incredible tool each and every day. That tool is COLOR !
Color is not just something pretty to look at. If that’s all we think about when we think color, we are really selling our opportunities short.
Color is a powerful motivator. Different colors work to trigger different parts of our brain and stimulate various types of thinking and behavior. Color also has a role in how our bodies respond on a physiological level.
Color can actually become a tool that you strategically use to grow both personally and professionally if you know how to leverage it.
For example, if you tend to be very critical of self and others, which gets in the way of sales and customer connection, you need more exposure to magenta. If you want to be better at saving money to ensure a more solid future, pull some rich blues into your life. If you tend to accept what everyone else says and blindly obey, then lime green will help you ask yourself “why” and take on more personal power? Combining blue, red and yellow will cause you to get serious about accomplishing your goals, and basking a little more in the tandem of gold and indigo will infuse you with innovative thinking that can help you launch new and exciting products and services.
Purple will bring out your creativity, and orange will help you to facilitate change. Whew! I am on a roll, but I’m just getting started. There is so much to know about the world of color and its many delicious benefits that we take for granted every day. It is an amazing asset that has been given to us and we truly under rate and under use it. I hope we will simply stop doing that soon and become better business people by embracing color and its appropriate applications.
If you ever want to have a stimulating dialog about color and how it can totally change your life, give me a call. I’d love to brighten your understanding.
Last week, I was watching Project Runway (a show for upcoming fashion designers), and one of the judges, harshly criticizing one of the “bottom three” outfits, said she had a real problem with the color palette. Specifically she said, “I’m not sure blue and orange are that complimentary.”
Now this is where I have to LAUGH at the EXPERTS, who are JUDGES on NATIONAL TV. Where do these clowns come from?
So many people are thrown into positions that are far above their skill level, like the TV “designers” that still call draperies “curtains” (a real no-no in the industry, at least in America), or who refer to banding (a type of trim) as cording or welting, or who cannot properly name or identify basic fabrics and materials.
It is amazing that skill and knowledge are no longer job requirements. I guess there are a lot of producers and directors who have wanna-be designers in the family (their bedroom looked “cool” and they are under 29 years old, so give them a show). What happens when these “designers” try to tackle a “real” job off camera? I feel sorry for the workrooms that have to try and understand their work orders. Who will end up paying for the “re-make” when the job is fabricated incorrectly because of wrong specifying, confusing details, and incorrect terminology on the work order? (Oh, you didn’t know about work orders, you thought you just call someone and tell them what you want?) I’m just sayin’.
We can ensure that the integrity of an industry remains intact by not settling for such antics. Sure, everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even tried and true industry pro’s, but an expert (someone who calls themselves an expert) should definitely know basic industry terms, principles, and concepts.
Oh, if you missed the unspoken punch line, just get out your color wheel. Blue and orange are COMPLEMENTARY COLORS—straight across from one another on the color wheel (no, they haven’t changed position), and it matters not how much white, black, or brown have been added to the blue or orange, they are still complements.
“When the customer comes first, the customer will last” ~ Robert Half
Over the weekend, my honey, my Dad, my daughter, and I went to an early dinner at a local BBQ house since we told ourselves that we were all craving steak. I think I started the rumor. I really wanted a steak.
Shortly after we entered the not-yet crowded restaurant, we stood in line (with no other customers in sight), and bent our necks way back, Texas BBQ style, positioning our heads so we could look up towards the big menu on the wall near the ceiling, and there we all stood!
There we all stood—looking, thinking, figuring, trying not only to decide what to order, but to make sense of a menu that was totally lacking in information and completely confusing if you were not a “regular”. It was obvious that the four of us were lost in BBQ space.
Straight across from us and to the left, stood at least five brawny apron-clad male meat-slicers, with fidgeting knives in hand and no one yet to wait on. Not one member of the he-man group even attempted to acknowledge or engage us, even though they could clearly see by the looks on our faces, by our quiet and embarrassed whisperings back and forth to one another, and by our lack of movement towards the ordering station that we were stuck, puzzled, and frustrated about how and what to order.
The store manager, also oblivious to good customer service (and the behavioral leader of the man-clan), stood among them preparing for the soon to come evening rush. To the right of them all, and straight across from us, were two cashiers. The one closest to us was standing dope-faced and under-enthused at her register, watching us like we were lunatics, foreigners, or possibly even vegetarians. Another cashier— likely the owner because of her over-exaggerated expression of self-importance— had just come up to the second register while on the phone, pretending to be super busy, getting something from the cash drawer, and purposely ignoring us (because if she acknowledged that she saw us, she’d have to wait on us).
Now, the four of us steak-cravers stood there for at least eight minutes, huddling and sighing, and trying not to look too much like idiots who couldn’t order a simple BBQ plate or steak. The real idiots, however, were the staff members, and particularly the main cashier (I always blame the management), who allowed us to remain confused and unattended for such a long period of time (an eternity in the land of customers) without ever offering us assistance, asking if we had any questions, or helping us understand their “void-of-pertinent information” menu.
We stepped up to the register. We began asking questions to the numb, bland, expressionless and barely voiceless cashier who had been motionlessly watching us since we walked into the place. I think her name was Bambi, or Clueless, or something.
Her answers to our “what’s on the seniors BBQ plate”, “what’s the difference between a side and a side-order”, “what comes with the FREE buffet and what does not”, and “what comes with the 8 oz. steak dinner” confused us even more, and when we (mainly me) tried to clarify, she made things a lot worse, and a lot more confusing, and if that weren’t bad enough, she could utterly care less.
I finally ordered myself a simple burger instead of a steak because I was exhausted from being confused. She did manage to ask me if I wanted mayo or mustard, but she added a wide-eyed sarcastic expression as she asked (I guess she was getting annoyed at us being annoyed). “MAYO, not mustard” I said clearly, slinging my own version of her “Pissy Face” right back at her. She blatantly and confidently pressed a spot on her cash register and from there I walked off in utter frustration, leaving my husband, daughter, and dad to finish the rest of the ordering. At that point, it was every man for himself.
I’m a nice lady, but as I’ve said before, I am incapable of B_ _ _ S _ _ _! Just after I left the register, I politely but firmly spoke over the meat-slicing counter to the manager, “you’d probably have a nice restaurant here if your customer service was good”. Then I walked to my table without waiting for his response. I find when you confront people nicely but clearly, with a definitive statement, they respond, and they usually respond well. (A fantasy of mine is to some day be one of those secret shoppers who spies on businesses and then goes around informing management of all the wonderful things they can do in regard to customer care to turn their businesses around (you should watch Tabatha Coffey on the Bravo channel sometime)).
Not to be outdone by a measly former-New Yorker, the manager came to my table within two short minutes. He asked me my beef (I just had to say that) and I told him. He assured me this NEVER happens. He apologized and went on his way.
We got our meal and the food looked delicious. No complaints there at all, until I bit into my burger to discover that the passive-aggressive cashier had laid a double dose of mustard on me. I walked straight up to the manager for a fix (I was nice about it, I wasn’t going to give that woman the satisfaction of showing I was ticked). I even offered to let them just replace the bun so I could eat dinner with my family. I got my “new” burger, with mayo, in about 6 minutes. From that point on the meal was great and my husband gave me a big bite of his steak (it costs me half a cheeseburger).
Before we were half-way through with the meal, the manager visited us again with an offer for a FREE after-dinner fruit cobbler and ice-cream for each of us. I felt a bit on the spot—I was not looking for free anything, just decent service and help with the confusing menu. I started to say “no, that is not necessary”, but I knew the manager was trying to recover, and I KNEW my honey wanted that cobbler, so I obliged him. My skinny, type II diabetic father was also thrilled.
On our way out we kindly thanked the manager and said our warm good-byes. Maybe this was an “off” night for them all. Maybe the workers were treated by the management and by the owner the same way WE were treated by the workers and by the owner (the lady on the phone). Perhaps that’s why the workers had no enthusiasm or sense of customer connection.
This was an experience for sure, and easy material for today’s message, but really it’s a sad commentary relating to many of America’s small businesses. The country lacks customer service, business common sense, and sometimes basic brains.
The disturbing part about this scenario was that the food was really good, the restaurant was clean, the décor was fitting (if you like the county-rustic theme common to a BBQ place), and the prices were fair, but that was NOT enough. People want you and your establishment to be EXCEPTIONAL, to be AMAZING, particularly in the department of customer service. No one wants to pay for a bad experience. They may purchase it the first time through ignorance, but you can bet your 10-gallon hat they won’t come back.
The cheapest steak that night at our local BBQ place ran around 15 bucks, the most expensive around 30. The cheeseburgers were around 8. I went out to dinner looking for a steak, but in frustration and desperation, I ordered a cheeseburger instead. That restaurant lost at least 20 dollars on my sale alone, and my daughter opted for a salad, resulting in another loss in sales for BBQ HEAVEN (the name has been changed to protect the possibility of an innocent party). How many times a day, a weekend, a month does this happen at this establishment? Could their sales increase by 20, 30, 40 percent or more if they simply cared about each and every customer that walked through their doors?
Your Lesson and Mine
What about you. I know you may not sell BBQ, but how are you doing in the furniture department, the color consultation field, or in the wellness industry? It doesn’t matter if you are selling food, fabrics, furniture, or fitness. Your customers must be KING.
Don’t be an example of poor customer care that shows up on somebody’s blog. Be that sensational business that everyone wants to talk to everyone else about, in a good way. When they want cheeseburgers, let them eat steak!
Here’s an audio (about 36 minutes) on how color can change your life. This is a session where I was interviewed on The Debbie Davis Show.
You do not have to be a decorating professional to get a lot out of this audio. It has something for everyone.
If per chance you are interested in becoming a Dewey Certified Color Consultant, just contact me directly at Margo@DeGangiGroup.com and mention this audio, and I will hook you up with a REALLY GREAT DEAL for being one of my much appreciated blog readers!
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” ~Georgia O’Keeffe
Tonight’s Monday Message will be short and simple, and Colorful!
Since the next DANA tele-class is coming up soon (April 6th), and since it is on the topic of increasing sales through color consulting, I thought it would be fitting to have you take the color test online, just for fun. You might learn something about yourself.
The research behind color and human behavior is very exciting. There is so much to it. The connection between the brain and color perception has been studied by scientists for many years. It is a proven fact that color impacts us in many ways—it affects us emotionally, physiologically, mentally, even spiritually.
It is also scientifically proven that certain colors are largely preferred by certain personality types, and your preference to specific colors reveals a lot about how you relate to others, how you process information, and how you approach your world and your life. Your color preferences even reveal what your inner motivations and fears are (don’t worry, we all have them)!
So go ahead and take the color test—it’s free. Here is the link:
If you want more information about bringing the world of color to others by becoming a Certified Dewey Color Consultant (you can get certified online or onsite through me), email me (Margarett@DecoratorsAlliance.com) because as a DANA member, there is a way to get certified for a 20% savings, and be sure to be on our FREE DANA tele-class on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern (10 Central). We will send out the conference call info soon. Our fabulous guest speaker will be my very good friend, and color expert Margi Kyle, Executive Directorof We Make Color Easy.
Even if you are not interested in becoming a professional color consultant, there is a lot to learn from taking the color test, and a lot to be learned from the call on April 6th. Plus it’s just plain fun!
“The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.”~Hans Hofmann
I hope this week, and the weeks to come, will be colorful and profitable for you.
In this time of economic awareness, many customers are spending more money on the home than ever, with remodels and redesign, and refurbishing of former furnishings. They are investing in the place where family and friends retreat and gather, saving money in the long run as they make plans to spend more time entertaining from home.
Still, there may be some of your clients who are reluctant to spend major dollars on furnishings, remodels, and custom window treatments, at least for a time. Even so, these clients still need communication from you. This is where your newsletters, seminars, and local articles keep you in touch with them.
Staying in touch is good, but allowing customers to purchase affordable products and services is even better, as it establishes and solidifies a profitable relationship for both of you, which you will draw on in the future.
One extremely popular, valuable, and affordable service that you can offer your customers is color consulting. Today’s clients are looking for more than just interior design and decoration. They are seeking a better life. Professional color consultation allows you to put together and specify custom palettes that positively influence the lifestyles of your customers.
Color can be chosen for aesthetics as well as for personal development. Clients can choose colors that inspire and invigorate them, or colors that cause them to embrace the parts of themselves and their personal growth that they tend to avoid. Color consulting is a powerful tool you can use to enrich lives and excite customers who want more than a pretty home. Best of all, professional color consultations give you a foot in the door during a slow economy, without even coming close to breaking the bank for your services rendered. This pays off quite well in the long run, because good customer relations through color consultations impresses your name in the hearts and minds of your clientele, creating emotional bonds that connect you long term.
Color consulting is not just for paint specifying, either. Color sessions can help clients add chicness to a redesigned living space, or spark creativity through a newly accessorized corner or niche. Color sessions can be geared at helping a client choose bedding for a romantic and sensual master retreat, redirecting them to recreate a home office for greater productivity, or moving them to prepare for a party that really sizzles!
As you reach out to customers through your mailings and emails, mention your color consulting services and the possible outcomes color consultations can bring to them for a very nominal fee. Stress some of the results and outcomes that brand new color palettes, or simply changing some of the home accessory colors can bring. As you get excited about the possibilities, so will your clients and prospects.
As an added bonus for you, I have listed below a few common colors and what these colors can do for homeowners. I have also listed some common decorating dilemmas, and some possible fixes through color. Then, at the end of this message, there is a link to access a 37 minute audio about color. It is an interview I had with Debbie Davis on The Debbie Davis Show. There’s a lot of info in that audio that you can use to help customers.
Have a wildly successful and very colorful week,
Margo
P.S. If you are interested in becoming a Professional Color Consultant, or learning more about the Dewey Color System, contact me directly. I have online and onsite classes that will fir your schedule, no matter how crazy it is!
Read on to learn about color and to access the link to the audio on serving clients through color.
Select the “continue” link to read the entire post.)
Purple: Ignites creativity
Blue: Helps people to focus, plan, and see their future more clearly
Orange: Loosens inhibitions and adds playfulness to life
Green: Helps people become better listeners, and become more grounded and nurturing
Magenta: Helps people to let go of criticism
How Color Can Serve our Clients
We can use color to elicit responses in others that support a mood or atmosphere that we desire. For example, the color red increases hunger. This information may be helpful when selecting paint for a breakfast nook or setting a glamorous table for a dinner party.
We can use color to serve a specific design purpose; to spark creativity, to calm people down, to create a spa-like retreat, or to promote successful parties and entertaining. Clients may be limited in the use of color in some environments, such as at work, but the home is the one environment that they have a lot of control over—the place where they can really use color to their advantage, greatly improving their quality of our life.
Meeting Decorating Challenges with Color
Room Too Small: If a room is too small, use cool colors since they recede and will make the space feel larger. The use of pastels or very light neutrals such as white or off white will also serve to open up a space and bring to it a sense of spirituality.
Room Too Large: If a room is too large, use warm colors since they advance and will make the space feel cozier. The use of rich, deep shades of other colors–even cool colors– can also serve to cozy a space up.
Ceiling Too High: Bring the ceiling down by painting it a darker shade of the wall color.
Ceiling Too Low: Bring height to a space and open up the ceiling by painting it a lighter tint of the wall color, or paint it white.
Hide Architecture or Unattractive Elements: Use color blends to hide architecture that you do not want noticed. This will help the lines to blend. If the wall color is a warm tone, use beige neutrals to blend. If the wall color is a cool tone, use grey neutrals to blend. A monochromatic scheme can also be used to blend elements. Blends allow the lines to fade into the background so that nothing “stands out”.
Show Off Architecture or Attractive Elements and Moldings: Use contrasting colors if you want to call attention to specific elements in a space. This can be done with the use of contrast: With light and dark, with compliments on the color wheel, or with split compliments. If you want to use a neutral but still have contrast, use a color’s neutral opposite. If the wall color is a warm tone, use grey neutrals for contrast. If the wall color is a cool tone, use beige neutrals for contrast. Color contrasts allow the lines to “be noticed” so that elements stand out where the lines meet.
Accent a Focal Wall: To accent a focal wall, use a darker color than the color on the other walls, or use a color and it’s neutral opposite.
Listen to Margarett DeGange being interviewed on the Debbie Davis Show (approx. 37 minutes):
“Perhaps one of the only positive pieces of advice that I was ever given was that supplied by an old courtier who observed: Only two rules count. Never miss an opportunity to relieve yourself; never miss a chance to sit down and rest your feet.” ~King Edward VIII
This week I want you to CONSIDER the POWER of the OTTOMAN!
Ottomans are actually small furniture pieces, but make exceptional accessories. Figuratively, they are like the stunning pendant that accents a woman’s dress. Ottomans allow for extra seating without taking up too much room, and they are hip and stylish, too!
Ottomans Allow for a Punch of Fabric Pattern.
Ottomans are exceptional pieces for adding “Zing” to any space. Even in the most traditional rooms with solid and neutral large furnishings, you can achieve incredible impact by placing an ottoman in the space, dressed in a fabulous fabric. Ottomans can be purchased from a pre-selected group, or they can be ordered in custom fabrics.
Making room for a custom ottoman gives your customer the chance to purchase some of their favorite but perhaps very expensive fabrics (and possibly otherwise cost prohibitive), and use them brilliantly in a way that adds a lot of the pattern to the space but in a small amount. This allows a client to more easily stay within their budget, yet still get a touch of excitement. Ottomans can also be used in the reverse way: Interiors with a lot of pattern can be “calmed” down through placement of a neutral or solid colored ottoman.
Ottomans Work for Any Interior Style.
Ottomans work for any interior. In Modern spaces, ottomans can serve as an art piece in a fabric with vivid shapes and color contrast. In traditional spaces, ottomans in solid neutral colors piped in self cording serve well. In formal settings, ottomans can be fabricated in beautiful shiny damasks tapestry fabrics, and can be trimmed in glamorous tassel fringe. Ottomans can be fabricated in a slip-covered version to lend consistency to the homespun feel of the casual interior.
I am serious when I say to consider the power of the ottoman. These pieces are exceptional add-on items. They can completely change the feeling of a space, and they can utterly transform your business in terms of profits. It is not unusual for a customer to purchase 2 custom ottomans for one home, adding substantially to your bottom line.
Customers WANT options! Get in the habit of suggesting add-on items to every customer you help. If you sell an ottoman, you may as well sell a custom trimmed throw pillow or two as well, since they look great together! Are you getting the picture?
With the power of the ottoman you can make great rooms happen.
September 8, 2010 1157 King Richard I 1886 Siegfried Sassoon 1925 Peter Sellers 1932 Patsy Cline 1931 Jack Rosenthal 1933 Michael Frayn 1934 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies 1940 Frankie Avalon 1954 Ann Diamond
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Monday Message from Margo 
you to overcome specific fears, help you to focus on activities that bring in money, and help you to “slow your roll” when you get a little crazy, would you use it? You might say “yes” pretty quickly, but droves of people overlook or dismiss the power of this incredible tool each and every day. That tool is COLOR !
If you ever want to have a stimulating dialog about color and how it can totally change your life, give me a call. I’d love to brighten your understanding.
Here’s an audio
I hope this week, and the weeks to come, will be colorful and profitable for you.
This week I want you to CONSIDER the POWER of the OTTOMAN! 
Ottomans are exceptional pieces for adding “Zing” to any space. Even in the most traditional rooms with solid and neutral large furnishings, you can achieve incredible impact by placing an ottoman in the space, dressed in a fabulous fabric. Ottomans can be purchased from a pre-selected group, or they can be ordered in custom fabrics.
Ottomans work for any interior. In Modern spaces, ottomans can serve as an art piece in a fabric with vivid shapes and color contrast. In traditional spaces, ottomans in solid neutral colors piped in self cording serve well. In formal settings, ottomans can be fabricated in beautiful shiny damasks tapestry fabrics, and can be trimmed in glamorous tassel fringe. Ottomans can be fabricated in a slip-covered version to lend consistency to the homespun feel of the casual interior.