Digging deep
Sending out a pre-interview questionnaire can help guide the discussion when you and your clients meet face to face. In some cases, you can use the responses to begin forming design ideas. This step purposely gets clients’ creative juices flowing, prompting them to begin thinking in a more focused way about what they really want.
The questionnaire can begin by offering a list of words describing various characteristics associated with swimming pools and other water features. Ask the client to pick the five adjectives they most prefer and highlight one term that stands out among all the rest. The list could include words such as: curvilinear, flowing, natural, rectangular, geometric, modern, architectural, clean, bright, decorative, peaceful and playful, among many others. Then, ask a string of key questions, such as:
- Do you have a favourite garden or landscape?
- What’s your favourite country or city to which you’ve travelled?
- What is it about that city or country that you find especially beautiful or inspirational?
- Do you have a favourite artist, architect or landscape architect?
- Are there specific materials you’d like to use in your landscape?
- Is there a local project or property you admire?
- From which rooms in the house would you like to be able to see your water feature?
Another vital question to include is, ‘How interested are you in participating in this project?’ The options:
- Not at all—you’re the expert, you take care of it;
- Minimal—I’ll complete the questionnaire, but that’s about it;
- Average—I’ll discuss options and possibilities; and
- Extensive—I’ll personally decide most details.
Finally, try to include a few questions aimed at determining the client’s familiarity with their home’s architecture and design style. Ask them to pick descriptions from a list of supplied choices, ranging from colonial and craftsman to contemporary and Spanish colonial. Finally, ask about colour preferences (both favourites and those they dislike).
Your pre-interview questionnaire should also be a constantly evolving document; you can adopt specifics from the outline above or discard those you feel are unnecessary or irrelevant. No matter the specifics, a good questionnaire should be capable of gleaning a great deal of critical information from clients before ever sitting down with them. Many clients actually enjoy filling them out. It’s a wonderful way for them to get engaged in the process and share some of their preferences.
