“The Landscape Designer’s Perspective" is a three-part series exploring how landscape designers can navigate difficult situations in their practice with professionalism and ease. Each article offers practical strategies to strengthen client relationships, refine business processes, and turn challenges into opportunities for growth.
Mardi Dover is a certified professional landscape designer, former North Carolina landscape contractor, and former clinical social worker. She has earned Gold and Bronze awards from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, where she now serves on the national board and as a Certification Review Panel expert.
That’s why you want a clear approach for finding the right clients who trust you, respect your process, and share your vision. When you focus on alignment from the very first interaction, including the way you position your marketing, you avoid mismatches, protect your time and energy, and set every project up for success from the start.
Here are five proven strategies for building a client selection process that truly works.
Every design practice is unique, which means not every client is right for you. But you can’t identify a poor fit until you’ve clearly defined your ideal client. And that definition goes well beyond budget. It’s about finding someone who values your experience and expertise and aligns with the type of work you want to be known for.
Aim your marketing directly at that client. With strong, clear messaging, you’ll spend less time fielding mismatched inquiries and more time working with clients who value what you offer.
Evaluating new clients shouldn’t be left to intuition or handled differently each time. Establish a consistent process for assessing and onboarding potential clients. From the very first touchpoint, have a system for your initial call, follow-up email, consultation, proposal, and beyond.
When every prospective client goes through the same steps, it’s easier to recognize patterns that signal a good fit—or a red flag. A predictable process also reassures clients that they’re in capable hands, because you’ve done this before and you know exactly how it works.
A well-crafted questionnaire is one of the most effective and efficient tools you can use in your business. It quickly reveals whether a prospective client’s goals, needs, budget, and priorities will likely align with your expertise and services.
Start with the obvious questions about location, aesthetics, and vision for the landscape. Then, let your business model guide additional prompts to reveal the client’s personality, expectations, and past experiences. Not only will this help you determine fit, but the information also becomes valuable later when organizing design concepts.
Every designer has stories about projects that became headaches. The key is turning those stories into wisdom by building your own red flag list. Maybe it’s a client who shows disregard for environmental impact, someone who has an unrealistic deadline, or a person who carries a long list of complaints about other professionals they’ve worked with.
Your red flag list keeps you objective in your decision-making and prevents optimism from overriding your instincts. (Designers, after all, tend to live in the realm of possibility!)
Here’s the hardest part and the most empowering: Be willing to walk away. Saying no doesn’t have to burn bridges. A polite response such as, “This project isn’t aligned with my current focus, but I can recommend another professional who may be a better fit,” preserves goodwill and protects your reputation.
Each time you say no to the wrong client, you create space for the right one. Over time, this strengthens your reputation, fosters healthier client relationships, and leads to more satisfying projects.
Finding the right clients isn’t about being picky—it’s about being strategic. When you know your ideal client, follow a consistent process, ask the right questions early, watch for red flags, and confidently say no when appropriate, you set the stage for smoother projects, a healthier business, and a happier you.
And, ultimately, this all translates to better design work. Because when challenges do arise, you’ll be partnered with clients who value your process, trust your expertise, and are ready to collaborate. That’s the foundation of a thriving landscape design practice.
In the next installment of this series, Dover will explore what it really means to put boundaries into action—and how they serve as the key to thriving client relationships. Stay tuned!
Learn More: Mardi Dover, Landscape Designer/Business Consultant
Gardens by Mardi
Asheville, NC
mardi@mardidover.com