Your initial premise, "fire" the designer if they have low sales numbers, is right on if they spend way too much time with iterations/drafts. No qualified designer, who by training, is fully aware of listening to the client's needs before any design work is done would go through so many drafts. Properly trained true designers are fully aware that wasting time on too many choices will not make the sale at the end of the day. Designers are trained to edit. Perhaps there are too many existing K&B "designers" that have been allowed play at the profession. They should be let go. One of the things a designer should be able to do is to sketch in front of the client some basic ideas. Sketching on trace paper is quick and easy and doesn't take too much time, especially compared to the salesperson who can only use computer software to do a lay out. Again, this is part the designer training. It is the responsibility of the dealer to help guide both groups to a closed sale and to qualifying the customer first before any time is wasted.

Wow. I'm not sure what to say except I'd hate to have your email addrs right now he he. 
 
I think its about time someone called out the elephant in the room. Well done guys!!!

Your podcast is great, I have been designing with a emphasis of presenting customers proposals for 10 years. I for some reason felt that a proposal looks at the entire project, as well as, getting me closer to asking for order or getting customer to say they are ready to purchase. I averaged $94,600 per month for six years in a home improvement warehouse. I recently resigned and work with a Design Showroom as an independent, with a goal to get to $2,000,000 in annually sales.

Wow! 
 
Iwould fire the person that wroote the first post without any regret they are the type that cost the company and here it is why , Kitchen design is my second profession , I was a Master Chef with an international career , I was thought after for my ability to turn around businesses and extremeley well paid for, my last Hotel I was given the direction to fire everyone "making them quit" I did not fire a single one , I simply told them from this on it was my rule and nothing else and promise they will see it in their paycheck in a year,it was a very hard move, some left on their own , with the other we achieve the absolute best in the industry we were the only one in the entire Co to do so , they all put their differences aside and we all worked for one goal being the best a year later it was not double dut almost triple the income , so please fire the boss before firing the one that actually make your business , simply retrain them , something no one want to invest in .

The premise of the broadcast was "is the designer weighing your business down?" Or at least that is what I got out of it. I am in TOTAL agreement that training is necessary for both the natural born salesperson and the natural born designer. I don't think these two people are mutually exclusive. In fact, both types can be trained towards the middle, which of course would result in a better work atmosphere and higher closed sales. I speak as a trained designer, who has closed many a sale, but one who recognizes that many designers do squander their time trying too many concepts - a designer salesperson should have sufficient upfront information to come pretty close to a final product off the bat- what I have seen is any number of untrained personnel who attempt to space plan on the computer without thinking through the entire problem first. I teach at the college level and I see this all the time- students head straight for the ease of the computer without pre-planning. This is what wastes time- creating 3 or more fully blown concepts in 3d without really understanding and qualifying the clients needs upfront. I hope that no one gets "fired"- I would really hope dealers take to heart what has been said in the podcast and realize one of their greatest assets are well trained designers who think like salespeople. Elephants or none- no one knows everything, and employers are responsible for also training their employees.

Ok.Great article and good information. But if you are now looking at this and determining that NOW you have to let people go if they don't produce then you are confirming the fact that you've been asleep at the wheel all this time. I'm working for an idiot;no wonder I've been here so long!You've been leaving money on the table all these years and now, when the pond's drying up, you've got your panties in a bunch. You were the one who set the culture (or didn't pay attention).Most good designers will roll with it.If you've got problems then as an owner/manager you created them.The word "options" is a bad word and we've let customers know that we'll give them HUNDREDS. So,they think they get multiple plans. I work for THE BIGGEST BOX and we're going through the culture change too.The change is necessary and good(It does work).But the left turn with little or no signal just isn't right.

Ok.Great article and good information. But if you are now looking at this and determining that NOW you have to let people go if they don't produce then you are confirming the fact that you've been asleep at the wheel all this time. I'm working for an idiot;no wonder I've been here so long!You've been leaving money on the table all these years and now, when the pond's drying up, you've got your panties in a bunch. You were the one who set the culture (or didn't pay attention).Most good designers will roll with it.If you've got problems then as an owner/manager you created them.The word "options" is a bad word and we've let customers know that we'll give them HUNDREDS. So,they think they get multiple plans. I work for THE BIGGEST BOX and we're going through the culture change too.The change is necessary and good(It does work).But the left turn with little or no signal just isn't right.

Ok guys, it's 2012 and the cabinet business is tough, just as tough as I experianced it in 1977. 
 
Over the last three and a half decades we have overcome the challenges of many recessions and this one will pass too. 
 
The kitchen designer today has the tools available to sell kitchens fast. So our speakers are exactly correct that we need employees to sell folks what they like. We must be salespeople first. 
 
It's no surprise that the best compensation plan today is straight commission. 
 
A firm may offer a draw against commission to overcome the starvation period. That makes good business sense.  
 
Now we have these creative interior designers in our business that think thier design is special. 
 
What matters is what the buyer thinks. I'm sorry but 99% of the customers coming into your showrooms really don't care that you have drawn thier kitchen three or four times.  
 
Here's the best tip you will ever get and you will sell more kitchens. 
 
Give them your floorplan! 
 
There's more.. 
 
No one else does it so you separate yourself from the competition. Get over it. Your design is not that special. 
 
This opens the door to allow the contractor to see what he's bidding and when you provide this plan you become the architect of the job and this builds respectability with your client and the installer creating referrals! 
 
I've sold over 10,000 kitchens using the basic philosophy that I must show a genuine interest in thier project, listen to what they want and design thier kitchen not mine. 
 
Read the 4M Sales Process and look into thier software options to help your business grow.

Thanks Brian! 
 
Indeed for the vast majority their kitchen design are not that special ,just another interpretion which sometimes work and most not .  
 
I have never worked on comission and I am totally against it , this has not stopped me to work 16 to 18 hours days and weeks of 7 month without days off to satisfy the customers , 44 plus years later I have not changed .I work for a big box Co and last year alone had some $65000 taken by co-worker , should I have been on commission I would be extremely upset ,in my position I simply interperted it as:" Taking care of the customer" bringing more revenue to the business and it was a good year , this year the management is enforcing all those sales and everyone work in their corner and the sales are down , why ? because there is no team spirit , that extra molding , drawer pull out and incentive one could use and yes avoiding design error . all are better customer service and result in more sales .Commission Employee work for themselves not for the house , it leave too much room for corruption "something we have not heard lately" very much like the Honda car salesman that was pushing for alloy wheel , fancy stereo and antitheft device , the car still drive perfetely on steel rim after 160 000 miles , the stereo was bought at that specialty online car stereo , took me 15 minutes to connect, the anti theft device which we paid a very handsome price went belly up 2 years laters and had to be disconnected. 
 
My personnal view and experience , if the owner or manager cannot identify a slacker or a con artist within 90 days , either they are asleep at the helm or are simply incompetent and really deserve to fail. 
 
The last few years have been challenging , yet for us they have been some of the best, why? simply because peoples Comming in the show room were actually looking for remodeling , they were not the butterflies that bought house they could not afford , Sad truth in our business today we have become more and more data processor , anyone with a smart phone or laptop play the game of poerfull executive ,when in reality they have no clue of the reality and future I had the same data 30 years ago ,I did not share it with the Employees , the result was less stress,more attention to detail higher sales and steady business , 
 
I challenge anyone to prove me wrong , all my Former Employers using this method are still in Business today on 3 continents , the only way their business closed were : Divorce , Death or simply retired and sold the busines to somone that t5hought they could do better , 4 years laters they were out. 
 
I took pay cut when the business was very lean and accepted that handsome bonus when it was booming "never had stupid Employee meeting about it either'. Or team building,you were in or not the slackers weed themselves out.