Christina Kittelstad is a tutor of QC Design School and an accomplished color consultant, home stager, and painter. Her work has been featured on HGTV’s show, “House Hunters”. She’s also the owner and lead color consultant for Spiral Design Color Consulting. Christina is best known for creating beautiful, functional spaces through the use of color, and creating a sense of style and personality that’s as unique as each of her clients.
When a color consultant client comes to you for help, they’ll often have complaints that they’re looking to both address and fix. As the professional expert, it’ll be your job to assist these clients and successfully help solve their color challenges.
After many years in the industry, I’ve pretty much heard it all. So, based on my experience, here are some of the most common complaints clients tend to come to me with. I’ll also reveal how I approach these challenges, as well as the types of solutions I recommend offering.
As you’ll quickly see, these tips will ensure a successful consultation and a happy client – for LIFE!
6 Complaints Your Color Consultant Clients Will Come to You With
1 – “I’m ready to bring more color and design into my home, but I have no idea where to start!”
This complaint is probably the most common one you’ll receive. Luckily, it’s also the easiest complaint to handle!
Clients crave a beautiful home that reflects who they truly are in the world. Achieving this usually involves bringing color into their home. They are looking for a professional they can easily connect with. Your clients want to relate to you and trust you to help guide them.
As a certified color consultant, you’ll have the know-how needed to provide a clear and simple plan that takes your clients from start to finish. Your guidance will ideally be provided in an organized, easy, and solution-focused way. Remember: confidence is key when it comes to offering your clients a plan they can be excited to embrace, and ultimately, say YES to working with you!
2 – “I’m overwhelmed with how to pull everything together!”
This type of client knows what they like and has a general idea of what feeling or specific design style they want to achieve. However, they can’t seem to bring it to life on their own. This client will likely have large Pinterest boards or paint samples already floating around their home. They simply don’t know what to do next.
This is where a color consultant comes in! By taking a closer look at where they are in the process, you can help them to refocus and get back on track. You’d be surprised how much of a difference this will often make!
As the subject-matter expert, you can provide an updated plan and offer next step tips that your client can utilize. This, along with your professional recommendations and insight, will create that PERFECT look / mood they want to achieve.
Ensure that you listen carefully to what they love, what gets them excited, and what their favorite colors are. All of this information will bring the concept to life, and guide you towards a beautiful color scheme that your client will be thrilled about!
3 – “I love certain colors, but my family loves other colors. We can’t agree! How do we find a scheme that works for everyone?”
As a color consultant, this is a common complaint I hear when more than one family member is involved with the color selection and redesign process. In such a case, the lead client wants one color scheme, while the other client(s) prefer something else.
This can make it very easy for your clients to quickly become frustrated and feel stuck. Don’t be surprised if they contact you and want to schedule a professional consultation (on colors they’re already considering). During this meeting, they might look to you to be the “tie breaker” on voting for the final color scheme.
Should you wind up in the middle like this, just remember that the goal is to remain professional and neutral. Listen carefully to everyone’s individual preferences and goals for the new scheme. A healthy dose of humor and relaxed conversation can definitely ease the tension, if there is any.
Do your best to help everyone come together. With the right tactics, you can often help guide your clients towards a color scheme that works for everyone, as well as the home’s architecture and overall design style.
4 – “I’m remodeling my home and there are too many decisions to make at once… HELP!”
Sometimes, your client client will be remodeling their home or designing a new construction home from scratch. Under these circumstances, they might quickly become overwhelmed by the number of major design decisions that need to be made at the same time.
For example, say a client is doing an exterior remodel. All at the same time, they need to choose:
- A new paint color scheme;
- Roofing;
- Siding;
- Stonework;
- Their front door;
- Gutters;
- The garage door;
- And more.
Trying to juggle all of these things can get pretty stressful. But as a color consultant, YOU know how to pull these design elements together with ease, and create a cohesive color palette that’s both beautiful and functional!
By providing your expertise, you’ll allow your clients to enjoy the process more and be thrilled with the outcome! It’s a win-win!
5 – “I have 20 paint samples on my walls and now I’m stuck!”
This is a very common complaint that I see all the time – and that you likely will, too. Clients sometimes get started on color selection and color testing without any professional help. Some very quickly find themselves knee-deep in confusion and frustration.
It’s a classic case of “analysis paralysis”. The client needs help to review their current color options, remove those that do not work, and narrow their list down to a smaller selection. Again, you achieve this by refocusing your clients and bringing them back to what IS working. Help them to only focus on those options, while providing any additional colors worth considering, is the best way to get back on track!
6 – “We need to sell our home fast and at top dollar. We want to create the most curb appeal, but we have no idea what color scheme works best!”
This type of client is typically on a budget – as well as a tight deadline. They’re stressed out about staging, selling, and moving. On top of that, they also need a color consultation right away!
It’s important to bring a sense of calm, focus, and clarity to these types of projects. As a color consultant, you should always be on top of current color trends. You’ll need to be aware of which inviting color schemes will bring in the most curb appeal. The goal is to create a beautiful home that makes potential buyers not only want to move in, but make an offer on the spot.
By knowing what the best solution is for this kind of client, and providing it in a friendly and efficient way, you’ll be top of their mind for their next project. Even their realtor will want to work with you in the future!
There will always be complaints and concerns from clients. Just remember that this is a normal part of the process and to be expected. Think of these kinds of complaints as a wonderful opportunity for you as a color consultant to provide the much-needed design support that your client is seeking.
Be confident, communicative, friendly, and do what you do best!
