Lessons from the Property Brothers
8 reminders for creative agencies from a tv show about home renovation
At Impossible Bureau the team gathers together every Friday afternoon and we share a relevant presentation or demonstration that’s not connected to our daily work. When it’s my turn to present I often like to find inspiration from industries other than our own, so last Friday I primed our team on ‘Lessons we can learn from the Property Brothers’.
The Property Brothers is a tv series on HGTV and Netflix that’s all about home renovation, and I’ve been hooked on it over the last few months. Every episode follows the same formula. The Property Brothers — one a realtor, the other a contractor — meet a couple with high expectations, show them a home that’s exactly what they want, then reveal it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars over their budget. In the wake of their disappointment they convince the couple that they can find a fixer-upper and renovate it to meet their standards within the original budget. The rest of the episode follows the brothers and the couple as they negotiate the purchase of a run-down property, and then renovate it to transform it into a dream home.
After watching an unhealthy number of episodes in a row, I started to see some curious parallels between the process of renovating a home and building a website, and thought it would be amusing to share my observations with the team along with some of my favorite clips from the show. In seriousness, while the intangible nature of the products we create are so very different to the concrete materials of a house, the way the Property Brothers manage the ups and downs of a renovation can give us some reminders of universal lessons in client relationships and project management.
Here are 8 of those lessons for us to remember.
Set reasonable expectations
The Property Brothers set expectations with their clients right from the beginning. In the first 5 minutes of every episode, the house-hunters get the news that they’re not even close to affording the perfect, move-in ready house they were shown. Yet the brothers also give them hope that they can achieve their dream home in another way.
The lesson here is to set expectations with our clients as reasonably as we can, and always provide room for exceeding those expectations. Clients are rarely wowed if you simply meet their expectations.
Be patient
The Property Brothers are patient (at least that’s what the camera shows) and will take their clients to view a slew of awful houses, even though they may be unable to see the same potential in most of them.
We, too, can’t expect everyone to be able to visualize the end product. We need to be patient in finding a solution that our client can get on board with, so they then feel confident to let go and trust us with it.
Control the budget
The brothers actively control the budget from beginning to end. When problems come up that affect the budget, savings need to be found elsewhere or the budget must increase. They hunt around for deals, get their clients to help with labor, or look for cheaper options in materials that don’t compromise the design.
Controlling the budget shouldn’t be seen as something negative that restricts our creativity. It’s an essential part of business. Without problems and unforeseen circumstances, we’re never put in a position where we can really use our creativity to find solutions that fit within constraints of time or budget. The other important lesson here is that it doesn’t have to come at a loss to the client either.
Add more value, not features
If clients ask for an extra room to be added to the scope of the renovation after the designs and budget are set, the Property Brothers do not let that come out of the contingency budget, it’s an extra expense.
If we have some wiggle room in the budget and can give extra value to our clients, this should be kept for extra polish or to enhance an existing feature to result in an extraordinary product. Don’t provide additional features and functionality without conversations about trading scope or adding budget. Otherwise it will result in a larger, yet ordinary, product.
Be autonomous
Sometimes the Property Brothers will make design decisions and implement them without asking the client, or give them an extra surprise at the end.
If we have a trusting relationship with our client, we should feel free to move forward with changes that are going to make the product better without discussing every single decision. If our client is surprised by something that makes the product better without them having to lift a finger, that’s a win for everyone.
Defend the vision
Jonathan, the contractor, creates the designs and he defends his designs. He will argue with a client over the color of curtains if he knows it’s going to make the room look ugly. He’s been known to say “But it’s my design” in answer to a client saying “It’s my house”.
Just because we’re working on a client’s product, that doesn’t mean they make the decisions that fall within our area of expertise. They hired us for our capabilities, knowledge and experience, and we need to defend our point of view so they end up with a beautiful and functional product that achieves the goals we all agreed to.
Leave room for surprises
Towards the end of every episode, and before the completion of the renovation, they will kick out the client until move-in day so they can experience seeing the finishing touches.
Even when we work with our clients collaboratively and iteratively, there is benefit in keeping some of the mystery so that we can truly delight them with the finished product after they’ve been bogged down in timelines, costs and any unexpected problems along the way.
Build trust
They instill trust in their clients. You’ll need to watch the show yourselves to see how they do this, but I believe it’s a combination of industry knowledge, patience, frankness, and demonstration of hard work and commitment. This trust gives them the freedom to create a result that everyone is happy with.
The best products and outcomes result from trusting relationships. As team members, managers and client partners, we need to find our own way and our own style in building this trust with our clients, but I believe this is something we should all work on every day.
There were sixteen reminders in ‘Lessons we can learn from the Property Brothers’. Contact me if you’re interested in reading the others!
