High End Projects
"We specialize in high end residential projects." Many of us say that, don't we? Well, what exactly IS a "high end" project? What distinguishes an "A" project from the others? Is it one with a big budget? Or is it any project that is done "right"? I would argue for the latter.
We all work in different markets, so, just to pick a number out of the air, let's say you have a client who has $100,000 wish list and a $75,000 budget. Well $75,000 in and of itself is a lot of money. Will that automatically make the project "high end"? I don't think so.
As a designer, you have a couple of choices. You can choose to stretch the $75k over the project and do "all" of it at a B level (or lower). OR, you can do your best to persuade the client to scale back the scope of the project and do 75% of it at a high, "A" level. It seems to me that the inclination of many (clients and designers) is to "stretch" and spread the budget too thin. An example is the homeowner who buys one flat of annuals and plants them 2 feet on center.
In their eyes they may be getting more "stuff" from their wish list. If the end product is less than your best effort, are you serving that client to the best of your abilities?
You want to make the sale, and they are eager to buy, and $75,000 is still $75,000. Presumably, the profit is the same whether you do the "A" project or the "B," right?
Consider the other benefits to pushing for the "A" project. Your chances of being called back to fix something diminishes with a better-built project. Consider also the client's satisfaction. If the client is thrilled with the $75k "high end" project, and they still have a few things on their wish list, there is a good chance you may see a second phase of work. If you give them a second-tier product, they may be satsified that they got a lot of wish list items for their money, but there is also the chance that they are not thrilled. "Thrilled" is what I want.
In an ideal world, that is how it would play out for me. But often the client drives the project, and if you want to do it, then you need to make some compromises. Sometimes it becomes a "B" project. There is nothing wrong with that. But I feel it is my duty to at least try to steer them toward the higher end option. I owe them my best advice. It's up to them whether they want to take it.
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