Speaking Up about Home Staging

Home Staging Training:  "Nuts & Bolts" Refresher Class for Existing Stagers

I've had a busy day of adding new instructor profiles, class dates and photos to my tech guy's to-do list.  Thinking of all the things going on this year and everyone who keeps asking if I'll be having a class near them I got a wild and crazy idea.... why not take the class where a whole bunch of stagers will be then give them what they keep asking me for.... so.....

Nuts & Bolts Refresher Class

When:  January 21 & 22, 2010

Where:  Las Vegas

Cost:  $695 Fri or Sat, $995 both days

What will be covered:

Day 1 - Friday January 21

• Staging Facts, Fiction & Fundamentals
• Types of Consultations, Jobs & Revenue Streams
• Design Principles & Practice
• Setting Up your Business & Getting Started
• Creating a Comprehensive Business & Management Plan
• Understanding Demographics & How it affects your business
• Talking the Talk - Understanding & Working with Real Estate Agents

Day 2 - Saturday January 22

• The Business of Home Staging
• Overcoming Objections to Increase Your Income
• Pricing Strategies
• Accessories, Inventory & Management
• Team Building
• Photography & Portfolio
• Color Theory & Practice

I will personally be teaching this class - possibly with some well known helpers.  Since this is the Friday & Saturday before the RESA Convention, you just need to come a couple of days early.  I have not yet booked the venue, but will do a follow up blog with all of the details. 

By taking this 2-Day class you will earn your SAR Designation*:

To register for this class, fill out the registration form on our website and put down a $500 non-refundable deposit.  Balance is due 2 weeks prior to class.  If there is not enough interest in the class to hold, your deposit will be refunded in full. 

Whether you attend this class or I see you at the RESA Convention - I hope to see you in Las Vegas in January!!

*designation wtih this class only available for those who currently own a staging business or for those who have previously taken a staging training course.  Proof of education or business may be required.

Home Staging Training Tip:  What am I paying for? 

It's the rush of excitement when you are looking to jump into this new and exciting industry.  On a daily basis I receive phone calls or emails of people asking me why to choose one home staging training course over another home staging training course.  Of course since I teach, I always have to add my two cents on why my course is of course better - unless for them, it's not.  So in this blog I would like to talk about what you may get, or may not get in a home staging training course.  Think carefully before signing up for a course and do your research.  Remember, just because the money might be similar, does not mean that the courses are!

1.  Hands on Experience - for some (most) this is an absolute must.  I know, I know, we read and hear all the time that taste can't be taught.  Well, since I've pretty much taught my husband how to do this job if needed, I'm here to say it can be... but for the most part that's not the kind of student we want in a class - and it's probably not the one showing up. What hands-on experience does give you is confidence and experience.  When stagers get to the house on the morning of class, they are excited and scared to death.  Isn't it better to have the scared feeling when you are around others who feel the same way, and not the client?  At the end of the day, the stager is thrilled, confident (and probably exhausted). 

So does everyone need a hands-on class?  Well, NO.  If you already have experience STAGING then you probably don't.  If you experience is limited to decorating your house and your friends houses... then probably YES!  You should have hands-on training!

2.  An Instructor who actually stages - like NOW!  I know some great instructors who have been in the business a long time.... some still stage and some don't.  What have I noticed about the ones who dont'?  They aren't up to date on the day to day objections and problems that are happening in 2010.  If you havne't staged in 3, 5 or more years, how do you know what's going on in THIS market?  In THIS economy?  How do you know what agents and sellers are asking for daily?? 

I'm sad to say too that I've known some home staging training instructors who HAVE NEVER STAGED A HOME!  That's right... outside of the class experience, they've never put in a bid, presented in front of a room of real estate professionals (who weren't in class), or had to figure out where to find that perfect piece on the fly...... is THIS who you want training you?

So, how will you know if they still stage?  Ask them... Ask this question, "Aside from staging in a training class, when was the last house you personally staged for a client?"  See if the question catches them off guard, or what their answer is... make sure you like what you hear!

3.  STUFF, STUFF & MORE STUFF - I know, it's exciting!  You look at the photos of all the stuff you'll get when you take the class.  Some classes will even try to sell you more stuff before you get to class - before you know what stuff you'll need.  Then when you get to class, they want to sell you more stuff... Let me ask you this.... are you paying to sit through a commercial and keep spending money or are you ready to learn a business?  Do you really need all that stuff?  How much of it will you really use?   Ask seasoned professionals (who've taken the class you are thinking about and not in your immediate area) if they use that stuff.  If they don't... you probably won't either and you can keep that money for marketing your new company!

4.  What's their relationship to the Industry Trade Association?  For the Home Staging Industry, that organization is RESA (www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com).  Does the training company you are thinking about spending thousands of dollars even belong to the trade association?  Sure, they may have their own organizations - but do they belong to the Industry's Organization or are they just trying to make their own little world?  Let me ask you this?  Don't you want to belong to a company that is trying to make the entire industry better, one that plays by a governing body's rules (ethics, complaince, arbitration, stager on stager allegations, etc) or do you prefer to belong to one that does whatever it wants, whenever it wants? 

5.  Umm.... You are training my clients how to stage?  Yeah, believe it or not, some training organizations have classes where potential clients (agents) are physically in the same class - sitting right next to - the new home stager.  They are getting the same information at the same time - including hands-on experience in the same house!  Of course it's not like they are paying the same thing.... not even close - Agents usually pay over $1000 less for the same training the new stager receives, in the same classroom... sure, the new Home Stager does get one more day of instruction, but the damage has been done.  The agent is leaving class with the idea that they can stage the house themselves - why hire a stager?  Is this reallly good for the industry, or the students - assuming that most students are in a relative geographic area?   

So, new home stager wannabe.... Are you ready to do your research before you lay out a thousand dollars or more?  There are some great home staging training providers out there.  You should investigate which one is best for you!  Whenever you are in doubt, call RESA.... they are there to help guide you through the questions that you should be asking before joining an organization! 

Experienced Home Stagers - chime in...give your two cents about what you think is important in a training company - what do you wish you had known first?  What do you wish you had bought, or not bought... Give those just searching some good advice - hindsight is always 20/20... now let's share our knowledge!

For more information on our Home Staging Training Courses, visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com and click on the Training tab....

Home Staging Training Tips:  Secrets to getting incredible testimonials regularly

I've often heard from home stagers that they have a difficult time getting testimonials from their clients - even when the client has loved what they've done.  I find it ironic because in over 4 years of monthly newsletters I have not missed inserting a client testimonial yet.  While admittadly some of it is because we do more volume in my company than many, giving us more opportunities for testimonials, I think the real reason we always manage to get them is our approach.

First of all, you are doing a monthly newsletter, right?  If you've read my posts for the past few years by now you know that this is the single biggest marketing strategy we employ.  If you need more info on this, let me know and I'll make it another tip... Anyway, back to the subject.  If you are sending out a monthly newsletter, it should contain a testimonial from either a homeowner or an agent.  This way you can advertise how wonderful your work is without having to say it yourself.  Remember, most people won't believe (or care) what comes from you, but from when someone else says it, it carries weight. 

Let your clients know that you are sending out the newsletter and when it goes out and that you area 'always looking for client testimonials'.... advise them that you would be happy to 'feature' their listing if they would provide some information about how they felt about your services, if they were happy with your work.  If your newsletter has a large audience - let them know how large and who that audience is. 

You see, an agent never wants to miss out on an opportunity to have their listings presented to other agents or potential buyers.  They want to be recognized and in full view.  By giving you a testimonial - only if they are happy with your work - then they have that opportunity. 

Try this strategy and see if you still have any problems getting testimonials - I bet you won't!

Home Staging Training Tips:  Imaginary Planes affect your design

Sometimes there are just things in our jobs that become pet peeves.  This is probably one of my biggest ones.  (the biggest would be improper sized rugs... lol) It's something I've yet to hear stagers talk about but something we deal with everytime we stage. 

Imagine a room as if it were a simulation or hollodeck (that's right, I'm a Star Trek junkie.. lol).  Think of the way it is built.  Where ever there is a doorway, walkway or window there is an imaginary (visual) plane.  It's like a wall (or ceiling) of glass stretching out, creating a line that is invisible and yet still exists.  It helps to dictate to us what our defined space really is.

Feeling confused? Let me show you....

The opening of this doorway created two visual planes - one on the right and one on the left.  When the designer for this room placed the rug in this location, it broke the visual plane.  Basically speaking, rug is neither really part of the space nor removed from it.  Ideally the rug should have either stopped short of the left wall, or bridged the entire gap over to the right. 

Imagine walking into this space in either direction.  Rather than walking down the middle of the walkway (the entire point of a doorway) you are now forced to chose to move right or left - to walk on the rug, or off of it.  Certainly none of us would consider one foot on and one foot off.  By placing the rug in this way, the designer has created an awkwardness in the space where there should not be one.

This is another common problem when hanging artwork.  Rather than looking at the entire picture and imagining the plane from doorway to window, the space between bed posts or the lines (visual planes) created by architecture and large furniture in the room, many stagers opt instead to focus just on the small area they want to hang something and not the big picture... this unfortunately causes many pieces to be hung too high - above widow frames or doorways - creating another feeling of awkwardness. 

The next time you stage, imagine a clear wall (or ceiling) coming from these architectural elements - disipating the further you get from them.... pay attention to how they make you feel to be only part way in or out of them.  When you lay a rug, check if you find yourself walking around it in your natural flow and decide if this is natural ..... simple changes like this can bring your design to a whole new level... it's worth thinking about! 

Today's Home Staging Training Tips:  Farming your staging jobs

I think one of the reasons we've been successful in my company is that I started off as the Admin Mgr for one of the largest real estate companies in my area.  My business partner, Bevin Googer, started off as a real estate agent.  Between the two of us, we gathered a lot of information that we use to differentiate ourselves in both our market, and the industry.  This next technique was directly brought from the real estate industry and adjusted for ours. 

Farming your listings is a simple way of prospecting that has truely amazing results.  Next to newsletters, this is our next most effective technique.  It is a three step process that allows you multiple opportunities to show off what you do to agents who will really be interested in what's going on....

Here is how it works: 

After staging a property in a community that you would like to work in again (What community does that eliminate?  Almost none, right?  That's right!  You should do this for virtually every job!) Send a postcard or email (I prefer email) to every agent in that neighborhood letting them know that you have staged a listing, what listing it is (address) and provide them a link to photographs or virtual tour of the staged property.  (this is why I prefer an email)  Let them know that you would be happy to make their listing shine as well.

Chances are at this point you will little response, but don't discount this - you just may get one or two very qualified responses.

Next:  After you find out that the home you staged has a contract on it, communicate this to the agents in this neighborhood again.  Remind them how long it has been - 7 days, 30 days, 50 days - whatever it is.  If you have the ability, let them know how much faster than the average DOM in the neighborhood, or how much quicker than before it was staged (if previously listed). 

This nearly always gets several responses.  Imagine the agent who received the first email with an active listing finding out that another listing has gone in such a short time frame when their listing is still sitting there!  Of course they want to know why!

Finally:  When the home actually closes and the final sale price can be stated, do one last blast letting them know how much more this home sold than other comperable properties in the neighborhood (or how much faster, or whatever element your staged property beat the competition).  Remind them that you can do the same for their listings.

This technique is very effective because they've seen it work in direct competition to their listing.  Now they want this edge. 

Just staged, pristine waterfront views of Downtown Charleston and the Ravenel in Mt. Pleasant. Offered by Chuck Avera with Keller William's reality for only $831,431.

As shown in MLS:

As the exclusive address East of the Cooper River, the Renaissance On Charleston Harbor offers pristine waterfront views of Downtown Charleston and the Ravenel Bridge. A semi-private elevator leads to this 3rd floor luxury condo. The open floor plan includes a living room with hardwood floors, breathtaking views, three-piece crown moulding, fresh paint, granite, stainless steel appliances, a formal dining room, sun room, gas fireplace, and large master suite. The "B" floor plan offers 3 bedrooms with views, two and a half baths, a separate sun room located adjacent to the master suite and living room, lots of windows, and a covered porch with marsh views. The kitchen is quite large with a casual dining area, center island, granite countertops, butler's pantry, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and Bosch dishwasher. Resort-style amenities include a harbor front Italian Renaissance designed pool, fitness center, the Grand Renaissance Club Room, controlled access, secure parking (2 spaces) and storage, walking trails, and guest suites for times when you need an extra bedroom. This premier Mount Pleasant address is conveniently located just 10 minutes from Downtown Charleston, minutes to the Patriot's Point Golf Course, Yorktown Museum, and Charleston Harbor Marina. The new Waterfront Park and Ravenel Bridge are within walking distance and provide excellent recreation opportunities for walking, biking, and fishing. The monthly regime fee includes: insurance, basic cable, propane gas, water, pool access, fitness center use, club room and spa room use, pest control, exterior grounds maintenance, and on site management.

Working in my new blog topic, Home Staging Training Tips, I recently wrote Home Staging Training Tips: Keeping your files organized.  Here I mentioned that before filing my properties away after staging that I add an Avery Label with tasks for each property.  In this blog I'm going to share with you what goes on my labels.  This helps me stay focused and give each property the attention it deserves!

First let me show you roughly what it looks like:

[ ] Signed Contract          [ ] Farmed @ staging

[ ] Contact Sheet             [ ] Farmed @AC

[ ] Payment                    [ ] Farmed @ close

[ ] RES                           [ ] Thank you note

[ ] Photos to agent          [ ] Survey Sent

[ ] Posted on AR              [ ] added to spreadsheet

[ ] Posted on FB

It's this sticky label that helps things not fall through the cracks... When there is a lot to get done and you are working on multiple projects at a time, sometimes it is helpful to have a way to track each file.  This way you don't have to try to remember what you did for each project all at once.  When you have a few moments to sit down and work, you know exactly what still needs to get done!

On another sticky label I provide quick contact information on the property as well as when the contract ends and space for things like Days on Market and close date.  Again, if we need to pull the file in 3 months for any reason, we have all the info at our fingertips!

I hope this is helpful information for those who are just starting out, or getting busy & wondering how they can get more accomplished in less time!

Since First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is back in the Home Staging Training Business (under www.StagingAndRedesign.com) I've decided that it is important that we beging regularly sharing some of our tips & techniques with you.  Since it's all our course we aren't answering to anyone else - I can feel free to share as much as I like.... woo hoo!  The first one I want to share is on keeping your files organized. 

Many of you know that we are a high volume staging company, often staging several vacant homes a week.  Right now we have approximately 50 vacant homes staged in the Greater Charleston Area.  Having this many homes staged at one time can create some interesting paperwork dilemas.  Our first one is billing... how do you keep track of due dates, credit card authorizations, extended contracts (ours begin at 3 months), etc?  While there are several good software systems out there, most take just too much time to learn and input.  I have found that the good old fashioned way sometimes is really the best way....

Here's how we work it:

1) Have a folder for each property - list the address on the tab

2) Using a labels system (I like 2x3" labels by Avery), figure out what needs to happen with each property, put it on the label then put it on the outside of each folder.  (I'll mention what I put on mine in another blog.)

3) Get 12 Hanging Folders that your file folders will fit into.   Label one for each month of the year.  (Jan, Feb, etc) Don't worry about the year.

3) Clearly show (on the label), the end date of the contract.  File the folder by the month of contract end date.  (ex:  if you were to sign a 3 month staging contract today, you would file it in October July (7) plus 3 months = 10 (October).

4) On the first and the 15th of the month, look at that month's file and run any credit cards that are due at this time.  Send invoices for properties who pay by check (we rarely have these).  Send notices to those that are ending soon.  Determine if they are extending or if you need to schedule a pick up.

5) After you run the credit card, or extend the contract, move the file to the next appropriate month.  Repeat this every month.

6) At the time of destaging, remove the folder from the file.

7) File the closed file with all other closed properties alphabetically by street address.

This entire process typically takes us less than 15 minutes twice a month!  It would take us much longer to set up the files in the computer program.  Plus if there is ever a question, we have it all right there in the file.

I hope this helps those of you who are starting to get busy and wondering how they will keep track of all of it!