Well, I think I'll actually start this by telling you how it started, according to the agent and then I'll share with you why this appointment was just a little different than an ordinary agent meeting.
A few months ago there was a little set of townhomes in a great neighborhood that simply weren't selling. Desperate, the agent called us to see about staging them.... We negotiated for 2 months on a rate that I think was nearly not worth doing. I viewed it as an opportunity since there were 9 units for sale and we have a history of selling the model unit then moving the furniture, etc to another unit and so on. Today the agent told me that he wasn't really sold on staging but just didn't know what else to try & had seen our successes in our newsletters..... After staging he was impressed with how different the units looked.
After all 9 units sold in less than 45 days he was doubly impressed!!
In October - several months later - I received a call from him asking us to quote a $1M+ home in Seabrook Island. Today he tells me that still he wasn't sold on staging this high end home - sure, the condo had issues, but this was a stunner.... did it really need staging? Well, we successfully negotiated a contract and less than 30 days later the home was in Pending status and closes next week. (It had been on the market over 8 months prior.) He said he was impressed (again) that this home looked so different after staging and actually asked the buyers if the staging had made a difference (you see they had seen it prior to staging and this was a second viewing). The buyers said that it was the staging that sold them - they sat on the sofa and discussed the homes they saw and wrote the offer while sitting on our furniture in the home!!
Earlier this week I received a voicemail from the agent asking me to call him - we needed to talk real business....
(fast forward to our meeting today....)
Today I met with him (actually for the first time - all other deals were done via email). I walked into his office, sat down and he started at the computer printing up MLS information. Turning to me he tells me his side of the story of the last 2 deals we've had (Ok, our only 2 deals).... explaining that he is SOLD on staging and will never list another vacant home. Then handed me 17 MLS sheets and told me that these all need to be staged.... to give us our best price and they will all be done. Following up, he added that without staging he closes around 45 deals a year and will now stage all of them & with us on his team that he expects that number to increase.
Best yet, all 17 of these properties are bank owned and the staging has already been negotiated. All future listings that come from this bank will be staged by First Impressions as well.... So, if you are wondering where I've been and why I may continue to be absent a bit longer.... you'll know why!! (Of course you can always catch me on facebook - I do keep daily tabs of our progress and what's going on there.... )
Anyway - that's how my day went.... now I need to get back to writing up all the contracts for the bank....
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Staging And Resign and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
What incredible news for you Melissa! You must giddy with delight over this coup - both with the fact that they are all bank owned and that you made yet another believer in the secret art of truly professional staging!
Whoot whoot!
~Michelle
Congratulations Melissa! Your hard work staging that property certainly paid off!
Melissa...you are sooo awesome! I want this to be my story someday! I won't give up!
Melissa, this is great! I am also going to use the basic story to try to convince a client that their home NEEDS STAGING before it is listed...all the usual things about how it doesn't mean the house is bad and no it won't cost thousands of dollars... Buyers do not have imaginations and they will buy a house that "looks right." Congratulations!!
WOW!!! I love reading this!! Yahoo!!! Fantastic!!
Congratulations Melissa! Well deserved!!
Thank you for sharing Melissa, it's stories like this that keep me going strong!! Excellent!!!!
Randy
Wow! Way to go, Melissa. It shows what patience and flexibility will get you. Just curious, since you say the staging has already been negotiated, was the amount they are paying you already negotiated or just the commitment to staging the properties?
Praise the lord. You converted him.
Sounds like you will have a steady stream of income from now on.
Don't you do a bit of CSP training also? (LOL) Where are you going to find the time to do it all?
Awesome!! Very happy and excited for you! Keep going....
Melissa --- this IS FANTASTIC! As they say on So you think you can Dance YOU ARE ON THE HOT TAMALE TRAIN! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sweet! Way to go, Melissa! Your hard work and newsletter strategy pays off! I guess your doing those townhouses at a lower-than-you'd-like rate was an excellent business investment. Thanks for the inspiration!
Amazing and awesome. An early Christmas present to you. Loved the work in the condo.
Congratulations, Melissa! I'm so happy for you!
My automatic reaction was "wow!" That's no small challenge - I assume they want them all done YESTERDAY! :) Congratulations - you are awesome.
Michelle - Giddy and a bit overwhelmed!!
Suzy - it just goes to show that all of our staging jobs are important
Shoshana - I think you'll find a lot of those stories for you to use in Active Rain... I hope that this can be helpful for you!
Cathy, Michele - THANK!
Randy - aw... shucks!
Donna - the committment to stage the properties has been agreed and that they are working with us... we are negotiating the prices right now. Clearly we will be giving a deal since this is a high volume contract.
Virginia - obviously that's what we are hoping! Hopefully this will lead to other opportunities as well!
Gary - why YES! YES I DO! I actually have a class on December 12-14. This is one reason it is good to have a team of great stagers!
Lori - thanks!
Karen - come on do the locomotion....
Laurie - nice to see someone caught that bit about the newsletters.... this is why I always do them!! They work!
Connie - now I just hope I have time to enjoy it and that I'm not too stressed out... lol...
thanks Nancy!
Beth - fortunately I have time... they aren't in too big a rush!
That is just wonderful! Congratulations.
It sounds like your next six months are already taken care of! That is such fantastic news and I am so happy for you. It speaks volumes to how well the Realtor views your staging that he has trusted you to stage another 17 listings. Absolutely fantastic news, I hope you take a weekend off to catch your breath before all the work begins ;-)
A great outcome for a great stager. I love your story. Congratulations!
Don't they say Christmas is time for miracles ?! Happy New Year to YOU !!
Melissa, You forgot to mention moving and renovating your own home inbetween all of this!
You go girl!
Wow that is so fabulous! I can see why though, your work is beautiful!
With stories like this, I simply can't believe that there is anyone left in Charleston who's not staging or not doing business with First Impressions. You have done wonders building such a fine reputation, extraordinary track record... and you know, I have always loved the homes you create!
How awesome for you and your team! You are such a good example of how it should work. Thank you for being an amazing leader for the industry! Congrats, enjoy and have a wonderful New Year!