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.
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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.
This is fantastic - Thanks so much for sharing, Melissa! I am already implementing this strategy in my business but you just gave me a couple of extra great ideas!
Melissa - Interesting marketing strategy. Do you think this would be effective in a small community such as 15,000?
Melissa, great strategy. I bookmarked your post. Thank you for sharing.
So that's what farming is! :) Thank you. Do you do a search of active homes on the market in the same area and send them to those Realtors?
Claudia - I'm so glad to have helped - even if just a little!
Shelley - I would think it would be effective in all areas. The point is to keep letting them know that you are there, working and helping move properties. I would think in a small community you would, in theory, be contacting the same agents frequently enough that they would have no choice but to pay attention to you!
Anna - You are welcome!
Shar - I actually have a real estate license so I use MLS, but I would think that you could follow that method.
Melissa, I create Smileboxes of my stages and then send them to the agents in my contact list. I promote both my staging and the listing at the same time. I haven't sent the follow ups that you mentioned. One concern is that I will turn them off if they get too many emails from me. Do you, or anyone else have any thoughts on that?
Thanks,
Judy
Great follow up and follow through. YOu are the master Melissa!
Melissa, thanks for the tips. I too am concerned that the agents will be turned off with too many e-mails.
Judy & Janice - this is why the farming technique works. If you simply send to your contact list then you are sending this information to agents that it's not relevant for. When you send only to the agents that have an active listing in the neighborhood then they have an interest. Agents are always interested in what is going on in their neighborhoods - this is giving them relevant info. Unless you are in a small community, like Shelley then really it is unlikely that you will be contacting them very frequently.
Michelle - you are too kind...
Melissa, this is a fabulous post and very valuable. I'm bookmarking for definite future referance!
Thanks for being so willing to share this with us.
Donna
Great strategy and marketing plan, Melissa! You always have such useful and time proven techniques to share!
Donna - I love sharing - which I why I love to teach!
Sharon - Thanks for the kind words!
Melissa- Realtors do it, so why not us! It makes so much sense. It lets the Realtors know that Staging DOES work and it keeps our name in front of them. Thank you for sharing your great marketing plan.
Melissa - great tip! Is the listing Realtor® ok with his/her listing being blasted as a "staged" property?
Kathy - exactly!
Sally - I primarily work in vacant homes and have never had an issue with this from the LA. If it's an occupied property, you may just want to run it by the agent first. In general, most agents are just happy when you are helping them advertise their listings.
What's a "smilebox"? sounds like a fun tool.
How can stagers who don't have access to the MLS follow the contract date, and sale price and indeed, even find other realtors with listings in the area?
Juliet - http://www.smilebox.com
I always recommend that stagers DO get a license and access to MLS, but if one didn't want to do that then they would drive around the neighborhood and get the information off the signs. Then do an internet search for those agents. Beyond that I would guess that you would be able to use sites like Realtor.com.
Like I said, I always recommend stagers get their RE license and gain MLS access. I think Canada is different, but at least in the US it's only a few hundred dollars and a couple of weeks of school. Keeping my license costs proably $1500 a year and this technique alone pays for the access. Additionally I have a sentrilock card and don't have to burdeon agents with getting me a key or letting me into a property. When I market their property for them (on AR, my website, etc I always give their contact information and try to use their MLS write up when possible - this gives me access to all of it).... maybe that should be another training tip?? lol...
Great post Melissa...I'm going to put this into action!!!
I will be the first to say that this type of marketing is extremely affective. And just because you don't get immediate feedback, never worry... they are watching it. We have 2 lists: one is just for this type of marketing and I call it the "Catch List". The second list is the "Caught List" or the list in which we send out our weekly listing blast. These are not all clients, but have chosen to be alerted every week. There are about 2800 on this list and we have an average of 30% open rate.
I have a friend who has access to the MLS.. which is a godsend. Also to find out SOLD prices. Realtor .com works well. We always write down other REAs info especially if on the same street or close by. It does take time but is so worth the efforts.
Great info Melissa... IT WORKS!
What a wonderful marketing strategy to share!! This is one I'm really going to USE! Thank you.
Great tip Melissa. This really makes sense. Thanks for sharing.
Melissa,
I also have my RE license (22 years) and really think that this marketing idea is great!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this approach. This is how staging will really grow. The other agents are going to want to do what the agent did that SOLD their listing in the same neighborhood.
Marianne
Melissa: Thank you for sharing this great tip! Learning from the best (you) is the best way for us to grow and succeed in our business.
If I can chime in here as an agent, I have to tell you this kind of farming actually works (on us). While I delete almost all the property listings emails I get pretty much right away (if I have a buyer for the place, I'll find it in the MLS anyhow), I do read the ones from stagers and other valuable resources. When I find someone convincing (before/after pictures, or a track record of moving sales along), they go straight on my resource list and will be recommended to sellers (or used by me) later on.
thanks for chiming in Catarina! We have had HUGE success with it and have found that even if the agents didn't follow up immediately, eventually they came to us because of seeing our success... particularly in areas where they weren't selling!
Melissa,
Thanks again for this great tip. I appreciate your help with ways to grow our business...especially from one who knows the business so well!!!
I love this idea and want to say thank you for sharing it. I can't wait to give it a try!