How Gather Has Helped Greyhunt Interiors Bring In More Projects

Sallie needed a program that met the needs of her growing business

Sallie Kjos, owner of Greyhunt Interiors located in South Riding, Virginia has experienced steady growth of her business since founding it in 2009. And as her business has grown she has faced the challenges of keeping up with the demands.

"Even with two assistants, it can be a struggle. I knew I needed a better way of managing my time and projects because we were doing everything in Word and PowerPoint and having an image of the item and then the link to it. It just didn't look very professional. I wanted a kind of program that could do it all and have everything in there."

Sallie looked into a few solutions and even attended a demo for an interior design business management tool to see if it was something that could help her and her business.

"It looked like it would take a lot more time to actually fill out all the details - you had to manually input everything. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it takes me enough time just to find the right thing that's for a client, let alone sit there and give the program its whole life history."

It was around this time that Sallie discovered Gather.

Gather made it easy for Sallie

"After looking around I knew I needed something that looked more professional, user-friendly for my clients and then something that was a time saver. Because time is something I don't have a lot of. My business is growing and I can only do so much. Wherever I can save time I want to save time. And Gather did it all for me."

Not only did it provide everything that Sallie was looking for, it was also easy to use.

"I'm not the most computer savvy gal, and it was incredibly user-friendly. If I can figure it out anybody in the world can figure it out."

And with the free 30-day trial of Gather it was a great way for Sallie to try it out and decide before making a commitment, although she decided much sooner than 30 days.

"Literally within five minutes, I was like, you can just sign me up! I was basically sold on the spot because it was instantly a time saver for me. It was very exciting to find a program that made life so much easier for my assistant and I to do these designs and be able to pump them out a lot faster."

With Gather, Sallie can handle extra clients on her roster

Although she was sold on using Gather right away because it saved so much time, she was also impressed with its functionality.

"I love how it gives me the ability to edit. When I create an initial design, it's like writing a rough draft. For example, at the beginning of a project I will spec ten sconces, but in the end I'll give the client two to three options.

Gather allows me to see them side by side as the design is developing, then I can go back and edit through if I find something better or that I like more. Or I switched gears and it's all visually right there without me having to go back into emails and click on links. That was just a nightmare and it's such a time waste."

And what is the result of Sallie's time savings?

"More clients. I mean business has grown and I'm getting a lot more contracts. I'm able to handle more of a load."

Sallie is able to bring in more clients without sacrificing the quality and attention she provides. She says her clients are getting a better experience because of Gather.

"This is such a beneficial design tool because it allows your client to comment and to be on the same page with you. They get to see what they like and what they don't like, so that you can refine your searches.  It makes it a lot easier because most people are very visual and they need to see things. And having to go click on links is a very frustrating process for clients. It's much more professional looking and it is incredibly user-friendly."