Talking about budgets | FOCUS


BUDGETS... Let’s talk


Every customer is different and so finding the best way to tactfully discover how much they have to spend on a project is an art form in its own right. Chris Frankland asks our kbbreview100 retailers how they go about it


aspirations in order to guide them through the best options. But, before any of that, the elephant in the room is, of course, budget. Many retailers would say it is crucial to gain a good ball-park indication of how much a customer wishes to spend before wasting hours crafting a design that turns out to be way above, or even below, their available budget.


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But what is the best way to approach the subject? Customers may fear they will end up spending more than they need and so may be coy about what they are prepared to spend. Simon Taylor, MD of Simon Taylor Furniture in


Aylesbury, advises the direct approach. “Never treat the subject of the client’s budget like it’s an elephant in the room,” he says. “It will save everyone’s time if the client provides an indication from the outset. If you start working on plans without discussing a budget in advance, you may end up doing a lot of work for potentially little return.”


 May 2021 · 33


here is an infinite variety of product in the KBB world. You need to coax every detail from your customers about their


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