Here are the summaries of each of the nine lessons in the course. It has everything you need to know to sell window coverings confidently. Professionally. Successfully.
Lesson 1. ” Room Usage and the Client Discussion”
A beautiful window covering is useless if it doesn’t fit the needs of the family. From the physical needs (light-blocking, ease of opening… etc.) to the design needs (what is the design style of the room?) the first conversation with the client needs to happen with all the qualifiers in mind.
In this lesson, you will learn the questions to ask, and almost more importantly, you will learn how to read between the lines of what the client says.
You will learn what to look at when you are in the room with the client and how what you see will affect your window covering choices later on.
You get the forms you need to remind yourself what questions to ask and how to organize the information.
You will also learn how to approach the dreaded budget question — how to avoid any embarrassment for either of you.
This is the MOST important part of the whole process because it sets the groundwork for everything that comes after it.
One 17-minute video, several forms to print, a bit of homework to do, and you will be ready to move forward.
Lesson 2, “Photos and Renderings”
If you can’t draw exceptionally well, and that means being able to realistically sketch the client’s window wall, with the proposed drapery design in place with the chosen fabric applied, and be able to do it in about 10 minutes, you need to stop and take the time to really learn this lesson.
From taking a picture with your smartphone that is useable for a rendering, to getting that rendering done in front of the client, this lesson walks you through the steps. Yes, you haven’t learned how to design yet, but this lesson sets you up with the tools you will need in a few lessons to do those renderings, and it gives you time to become a bit proficient.
Eight videos, from a few minutes to the ‘big’ one at 32 minutes.
At the end of this lesson, you will know how to take a useable photo and create a rendering of a window covering, and be able to do it lickety-split while you sit with the client.
Think how much time you will save if you can do a rendering, calculate the fabric, present the quote and get the deposit in ONE visit. And this is the start of you being fully capable of doing that.
Lesson 3, “Measuring”
Ann K Johnston, the queen of workroom efficiency, says that it all starts with the measuring. And it’s true. But for that very reason, many decor professionals shy away from window coverings. Yes, you CAN learn to read a tape measure. Yes, you CAN look at a window frame and determine if it can hold a curtain rod bracket. Yes, you CAN.
And this lesson teaches you how.
Learn how to read a tape measure, learn what a digital tape measure is all about, learn what goes into your measuring kit, and why.
Learn what measurements to take, and why. Print the forms to record your measurements.
At the end of this lesson, you will know how to measure almost anything. Seriously. And you will have the confidence that you CAN measure for window coverings.
And who doesn’t like having a snazzy toolbox full of special tools, anyway?
This is one more thing you can do yourself, at that initial client consultation, that will remove the need to pay someone else to do it for you. And you need measurements so you can quote. You’re getting there.
One step at a time.
Lesson 4, “Color”
It’s one thing to know that red and green are complementary colors. We learned that in school. But what does that have to do with window coverings? Not much, really.
What a window covering specialist needs to know about color is undertones. Armed with that knowledge, it’s almost a given that you can choose the right color for the window coverings, with confidence. Yes, there are many color schools of thought. Some delve into the minutiae of percentages, and chroma, and chemistry. And that’s fine.
But you need to be able to tell your client what color you recommend, and why, and be able to show her, without her eyes glazing over.
At the end of this lesson, you will be seeing undertones everywhere. You will be able to describe color in three ways you never thought of before, but which opens the door to finding colors that work well together.
Some forms, a book, and several Pinterest boards round out the 30-minute video.
Lesson 5, “Hard Window Coverings”
If it’s made in a factory and is not drapery, it’s probably part of hard window coverings. Cellular shades, vertical blinds, and roller solar shades are the three most popular hard window coverings right now. You buy them through a third-party manufacturer, you become the reseller for them. Hunter Douglas is the biggest name in this market.
Why this is important for you to know is because you are becoming a window covering specialist. You WILL encounter a window where the best, really the only, thing for it is a vertical shade.
Remember that your job is to meet your customer’s needs first and foremost. So you need to know what’s available, and what will suit those needs best.
This lesson will teach you the basics of hard window coverings, what belongs where, and why. The second part of the lesson is the ‘Business of Hard Window Coverings’. Here you will learn how to be a re-seller for one of those manufacturers. It’s astoundingly lucrative.
You may decide not to become a reseller, but you need to know what’s available so you can honestly say to your client, ‘This is the best for these windows, and here’s why.’
At the end of this lesson, you will know the basics of hard window coverings, you will know where to look for more detailed hard window covering information, and you will understand why, and how, to become a hard window covering re-seller.
Lesson 6, “Design”
This is the big one. This is where you become the encyclopedia.
There is no book, or course, that will say ‘Put in this blank the size of the window, and in this blank the color of the walls, and in this blank the client’s budget…. etc’ and have it spit out the right window covering. That’s because every room is as unique as the homeowner.
Believe it or not, window covering design is not divination. It’s the process of elimination, tempered with design knowledge. That’s what you are going to learn here.
This is where you learn design styles, what goes with what type of room, what functions the different styles fulfill, and how to choose the one that’s right for your client.
This is the lesson that will take the most work on your part. There are Pinterest boards to examine, book chapters to read, research to do on your own… it will take time. But know that once you have completed this lesson, you will have a solid basis for choosing window coverings in almost any instance.
You’ve learned about color, and how to measure, and hard window coverings, and about style and mood and harmony.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose the design style for the window treatment. With the confidence that you are right.
Lesson 7, “Hardware”
Hardware is what is used to attach your window coverings to the window wall. You can design the most spectacular window covering, but if you can’t get it hung, it’s useless. You looked at the window frames in the initial consultation, ( Lesson 1), you revisited them in Hard Window coverings, ( Lesson 5), and in this lesson, you will learn how to pick the right hardware for your window covering.
That sounds daunting, I know, but consider that there are really only two types of brackets, and about three types of rods.
It isn’t as daunting anymore, is it? And as you already have learned, a lot of the ‘magic’ of window coverings is the process of elimination, not divination.
Like hard window coverings, selling hardware is a very lucrative element for your business. You don’t need a huge storeroom or a van. You need a sample kit. And that’s easy to put together — the how-to is in this lesson.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose the right hardware for your chosen window covering.
Lesson 8, “Fabric and Fabrication”
If you are on Facebook at all, and part of a design page, you will have seen the lament, with the accompanying image of a wretched wall of drapery, that the fabric is not hanging right, it won’t stay in nice pleats, it’s flaring, it has stretched so much it’s not functional any longer, or it’s fading from the sun and it’s only been up for six months.
These are avoidable pitfalls. If the person who chose the fabric had the knowledge you will have at the end of this lesson, those mistakes would probably have been avoided.
Here’s another opportunity for you to add to your bottom line, too. Selling fabric from third-party vendors means you keep that part of the job profit. And selling fabric is huge. There are downsides — book costs is one, but you know now that you don’t need to know everything about everything. Your main job is to be the encyclopedia.
You also need to know a bit about fabrication. That is how the window coverings are made. Not a lot, but enough so you can talk intelligently to the workroom, and be able to complete a quote. And it comes up again, you need to know where to go for information if you don’t already know it.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to pick the exact fabric for your client’s coverings and calculate the yardage.
Lesson 9, “Presentation and Quality”
Which would you be more inclined to buy? A $10,000.00 quote handwritten, words scratched out, an image of a window covering photo clipped from an online site, written on graph paper; or a professionally presented mini portfolio with an image of the window covering on your own window, with the chosen fabric applied in a realistic rendering, complete with a quote on letterhead, with deposit schedule, terms and conditions, and time to completion?
That’s “Presentations”.
And finally, “Quality”. It probably isn’t what you think it is. But in this last section of the course, it’s defined. And it is a game-changer for any business. ANY business. It’s my little gift to you… this changed the way I did business. It has stayed with me through everything I’ve ever learned about business, it’s never been wrong.
There you are — the nine lessons. Follow the process from lesson one to lesson nine and you will have a presentation you will be confident is the right choice for your client’s window covering.
Oh, and one more thing. A 100% satisfaction guarantee on the course. ALL your money back if you ask for it within 14 days of purchase, AND you keep the course and all the books, downloads, forms….. everything.
Would you like to have a few days to poke around the course for free?
Send me your email address and I’ll set that up for you.
Here are the summaries of each of the nine lessons in the course. It has everything you need to know to sell window coverings confidently. Professionally. Successfully.
Lesson 1. ” Room Usage and the Client Discussion”
A beautiful window covering is useless if it doesn’t fit the needs of the family. From the physical needs (light-blocking, ease of opening… etc.) to the design needs (what is the design style of the room?) the first conversation with the client needs to happen with all the qualifiers in mind.
In this lesson, you will learn the questions to ask, and almost more importantly, you will learn how to read between the lines of what the client says.
You will learn what to look at when you are in the room with the client and how what you see will affect your window covering choices later on.
You get the forms you need to remind yourself what questions to ask and how to organize the information.
You will also learn how to approach the dreaded budget question — how to avoid any embarrassment for either of you.
This is the MOST important part of the whole process because it sets the groundwork for everything that comes after it.
One 17-minute video, several forms to print, a bit of homework to do, and you will be ready to move forward.
Lesson 2, “Photos and Renderings”
If you can’t draw exceptionally well, and that means being able to realistically sketch the client’s window wall, with the proposed drapery design in place with the chosen fabric applied, and be able to do it in about 10 minutes, you need to stop and take the time to really learn this lesson.
From taking a picture with your smartphone that is useable for a rendering, to getting that rendering done in front of the client, this lesson walks you through the steps. Yes, you haven’t learned how to design yet, but this lesson sets you up with the tools you will need in a few lessons to do those renderings, and it gives you time to become a bit proficient.
Eight videos, from a few minutes to the ‘big’ one at 32 minutes.
At the end of this lesson, you will know how to take a useable photo and create a rendering of a window covering, and be able to do it lickety-split while you sit with the client.
Think how much time you will save if you can do a rendering, calculate the fabric, present the quote and get the deposit in ONE visit. And this is the start of you being fully capable of doing that.
Lesson 3, “Measuring”
Ann K Johnston, the queen of workroom efficiency, says that it all starts with the measuring. And it’s true. But for that very reason, many decor professionals shy away from window coverings. Yes, you CAN learn to read a tape measure. Yes, you CAN look at a window frame and determine if it can hold a curtain rod bracket. Yes, you CAN.
And this lesson teaches you how.
Learn how to read a tape measure, learn what a digital tape measure is all about, learn what goes into your measuring kit, and why.
Learn what measurements to take, and why. Print the forms to record your measurements.
At the end of this lesson, you will know how to measure almost anything. Seriously. And you will have the confidence that you CAN measure for window coverings.
And who doesn’t like having a snazzy toolbox full of special tools, anyway?
This is one more thing you can do yourself, at that initial client consultation, that will remove the need to pay someone else to do it for you. And you need measurements so you can quote. You’re getting there.
One step at a time.
Lesson 4, “Color”
It’s one thing to know that red and green are complementary colors. We learned that in school. But what does that have to do with window coverings? Not much, really.
What a window covering specialist needs to know about color is undertones. Armed with that knowledge, it’s almost a given that you can choose the right color for the window coverings, with confidence. Yes, there are many color schools of thought. Some delve into the minutiae of percentages, and chroma, and chemistry. And that’s fine.
But you need to be able to tell your client what color you recommend, and why, and be able to show her, without her eyes glazing over.
At the end of this lesson, you will be seeing undertones everywhere. You will be able to describe color in three ways you never thought of before, but which opens the door to finding colors that work well together.
Some forms, a book, and several Pinterest boards round out the 30-minute video.
Lesson 5, “Hard Window Coverings”
If it’s made in a factory and is not drapery, it’s probably part of hard window coverings. Cellular shades, vertical blinds, and roller solar shades are the three most popular hard window coverings right now. You buy them through a third-party manufacturer, you become the reseller for them. Hunter Douglas is the biggest name in this market.
Why this is important for you to know is because you are becoming a window covering specialist. You WILL encounter a window where the best, really the only, thing for it is a vertical shade.
Remember that your job is to meet your customer’s needs first and foremost. So you need to know what’s available, and what will suit those needs best.
This lesson will teach you the basics of hard window coverings, what belongs where, and why. The second part of the lesson is the ‘Business of Hard Window Coverings’. Here you will learn how to be a re-seller for one of those manufacturers. It’s astoundingly lucrative.
You may decide not to become a reseller, but you need to know what’s available so you can honestly say to your client, ‘This is the best for these windows, and here’s why.’
At the end of this lesson, you will know the basics of hard window coverings, you will know where to look for more detailed hard window covering information, and you will understand why, and how, to become a hard window covering re-seller.
Lesson 6, “Design”
This is the big one. This is where you become the encyclopedia.
There is no book, or course, that will say ‘Put in this blank the size of the window, and in this blank the color of the walls, and in this blank the client’s budget…. etc’ and have it spit out the right window covering. That’s because every room is as unique as the homeowner.
Believe it or not, window covering design is not divination. It’s the process of elimination, tempered with design knowledge. That’s what you are going to learn here.
This is where you learn design styles, what goes with what type of room, what functions the different styles fulfill, and how to choose the one that’s right for your client.
This is the lesson that will take the most work on your part. There are Pinterest boards to examine, book chapters to read, research to do on your own… it will take time. But know that once you have completed this lesson, you will have a solid basis for choosing window coverings in almost any instance.
You’ve learned about color, and how to measure, and hard window coverings, and about style and mood and harmony.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose the design style for the window treatment. With the confidence that you are right.
Lesson 7, “Hardware”
Hardware is what is used to attach your window coverings to the window wall. You can design the most spectacular window covering, but if you can’t get it hung, it’s useless. You looked at the window frames in the initial consultation, ( Lesson 1), you revisited them in Hard Window coverings, ( Lesson 5), and in this lesson, you will learn how to pick the right hardware for your window covering.
That sounds daunting, I know, but consider that there are really only two types of brackets, and about three types of rods.
It isn’t as daunting anymore, is it? And as you already have learned, a lot of the ‘magic’ of window coverings is the process of elimination, not divination.
Like hard window coverings, selling hardware is a very lucrative element for your business. You don’t need a huge storeroom or a van. You need a sample kit. And that’s easy to put together — the how-to is in this lesson.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose the right hardware for your chosen window covering.
Lesson 8, “Fabric and Fabrication”
If you are on Facebook at all, and part of a design page, you will have seen the lament, with the accompanying image of a wretched wall of drapery, that the fabric is not hanging right, it won’t stay in nice pleats, it’s flaring, it has stretched so much it’s not functional any longer, or it’s fading from the sun and it’s only been up for six months.
These are avoidable pitfalls. If the person who chose the fabric had the knowledge you will have at the end of this lesson, those mistakes would probably have been avoided.
Here’s another opportunity for you to add to your bottom line, too. Selling fabric from third-party vendors means you keep that part of the job profit. And selling fabric is huge. There are downsides — book costs is one, but you know now that you don’t need to know everything about everything. Your main job is to be the encyclopedia.
You also need to know a bit about fabrication. That is how the window coverings are made. Not a lot, but enough so you can talk intelligently to the workroom, and be able to complete a quote. And it comes up again, you need to know where to go for information if you don’t already know it.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to pick the exact fabric for your client’s coverings and calculate the yardage.
Lesson 9, “Presentation and Quality”
Which would you be more inclined to buy? A $10,000.00 quote handwritten, words scratched out, an image of a window covering photo clipped from an online site, written on graph paper; or a professionally presented mini portfolio with an image of the window covering on your own window, with the chosen fabric applied in a realistic rendering, complete with a quote on letterhead, with deposit schedule, terms and conditions, and time to completion?
That’s “Presentations”.
And finally, “Quality”. It probably isn’t what you think it is. But in this last section of the course, it’s defined. And it is a game-changer for any business. ANY business. It’s my little gift to you… this changed the way I did business. It has stayed with me through everything I’ve ever learned about business, it’s never been wrong.
There you are — the nine lessons. Follow the process from lesson one to lesson nine and you will have a presentation you will be confident is the right choice for your client’s window covering.
Oh, and one more thing. A 100% satisfaction guarantee on the course. ALL your money back if you ask for it within 14 days of purchase, AND you keep the course and all the books, downloads, forms….. everything.
Would you like to have a few days to poke around the course for free?
Yes, I’d like to look around, please give me access for a few days.
Due to the high number of hackers lately, I have to pre-qualify people I let into the course for a look around. I’m sure you want to be safe, too.
So I’ve added some required info to this form that will let me check to make sure I’m not letting in spammers or hackers.