Closely following consumer trends will help provide interior designers and home stagers with powerful insights and opportunities to not only help your clients, but separate your work from the rest. I've been following the goings on at KBIS this week, and there's been a lot of talk about "multi-generational" designs... For more information on what Babyboomers, Gen X'ers, Gen Y'ers want to see in their kitchens, check out www.genshiftkitchen.com which highlights a comprehensive study on kitchen trends sponsored by Masco Cabinetry with research from Harris Interactive and Nielsen-Spectra. What kitchen trends are YOU seeing in your market? How can you incorporate this information into your design and home staging strategies? By the way, if you're at KBIS, can you share with us some of the highlights of the show which have impressed you the most? - Ashley P.S. If you enjoy following trends in what home buyers want, check out this article featuring Interiority Complex titled Staging Strategies for What Buyers Want on Realtor.org.

I was recently asked a question via the Ask Ashley section of my website, and I thought I would share the Q and the A here on ActiveRain. (I must admit, I've been so busy with other business ventures I've neglected my fabulous Active Rain community which I love so!)

Anyway, I thought this would be helpful to share. We all suffer from a lack of confidence in some aspect of our lives and businesses at one time or another. So don't worry if you've experienced this yourself -- you're not a loser, and you're not alone. :-) It's just the normal course of life and doing business! It's how you overcome that lack of confidence that makes the difference...

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Q: “Ashley, thank you so much for spending time with me in a strategy session yesterday. Starting with the online teleconferences I first took with you, you have always had great content to deliver and unlike some other coaches, you don’t say things that are promissory because ultimately you have a training program to market.

Also, you are a really nice and likable person, and I know I’d be inviting you to my barbeque if I lived in Austin!

I found all of the info and ideas very valuable and very concrete.

I didn’t say this during our call, but I have as little confidence with interior redesign as I do with Color Consultations. Every one of my interior redesigns have not worked out. The client stops mid process. For example, in January alone I got 3 inquiries for interior redesign services. That is a lot for me, but after meeting with each client, the projects sort of evaporated. The clients either decided to do the work themselves and I found that I didn’t really follow up as I probably should have.

I just feel like these interior redesign and decorating jobs never work out. I don’t know if I portray a lack of confidence or these are just not as solid as home staging leads.” –  Desperately Seeking Confidence.

A:  ”Thank you for your kind words and I’m so glad you found the strategy session helpful. Just a few thoughts on your redesign work…

It sounds like your issue is either a lack a confidence which may stem from the fact that you don’t have the education and experience in this new arena you feel you need, or it simply may not be your heart’s desire. My decorating/redesign projects didn’t thrive until I found that magical level of “confidence” we’re all chasing. In fact, no matter what new product or service I’ve begun to offer in my businesses, this issue comes up regularly. I’ve learned that it’s all part of the game of learning and growing!

At at any rate, I do think you are missing a huge opportunity to capitalize on your existing relationships with former clients. Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm on ways in which you can continue to serve your clients after their first staging:

1. Determine if decorating/redesign is something you’d like to add to your offering at all. If it is, then establish a plan of action for getting the training & education you feel you’ll need in order to have the confidence to effectively add this to your offering.  If you’re not sure if pursuing this new offering in your business is right for you, ask yourself these questions:

• What if I were able to get past my lack of confidence in this area?
• When will I know if I’ve reached that “magic” level of confidence?
• What will it mean for my life/business/career if I don’t pursue this?
• What will be different about the way I see myself if I do achieve the level of confidence I feel I need?
• What other options can I think of?
• What is the worst thing / the best thing that could happen?
• If I take this step, what would I do next?
• What is the gift in this challenge?

2. If you determine you don’t like the idea of adding design or redesign work, consider aligning with a decorator/designer and work together on projects or simply refer the work out and move on to the next staging (while also collecting a referral fee, of course.)

3. Do you like organizing aspect of staging? Perhaps you could offer a move in package for “staging to dwell” in which you help them get organized, help w/ room arrangement then collaborate with a designer for the color/redesign work projects or aspects of the job which aren’t up your alley.

These are just a few ideas. I’m sure if you brainstorm you can come up with many more.

Keep moving forward. You’re doing great and are just experiencing the challenges and growing pains of getting to that next level and stepping out of your comfort zone. (I hate to tell you, but that part of being in business never stops, however, if you learn to embrace it, you’ll always find success in what you do!)” -Ashley

 

Have a question for Ashley? Send her a question about business and success now via this form.

 

 

Ashley’s Blog

 

This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of a discount to join the real estate staging industry's ONLY trade association at a great price AND get the write off for 2010. Also, don't forget, RESA Members get a discount on the convention which is coming up NEXT MONTH in Las Vegas! 

Thank you to all of our great guests on our November 10 show! If you missed the show and you want to get access to the sneak preview of the Real Estate Staging Association 2011 Convention, you can catch the recording here:

For more information on our guests, and to access freebies our guests offered to our Member Listeners, check out the links below:

Shell Brodnax, President & Founder of RESA: An introduction to the RESA Convention: http://resaconvention.com/ Jackson West, Staging Guru of Industry Trends & Information: How to close more sales and raise your profits by perfecting client proposals: http://www.revealestate.ca/portfolio.htm Melissa Marro, Founder of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior Redesign : Turning Statistics Into Sales; FREEBIE: E-mail melissa@stagingandredesign.com for a free copy of our excel statistic tracking spreadsheet Sandy Dixon, Staging Strategy Specialist: Going for the gold – building a dynamic repeat and referral based staging business; FREEBIE: Top Ten Staging Scripts: the perfect responses to the most challenging questions asked by agents and clients: Listeners can request this Free Special Report at http://www.interiorarrangements.com/contact.htm Jana Uselton, Successful Staging Business Owner & Trainer: Growing your business by bringing on other stagers; http://www.modelmyhome.com/jana.html Alice T Chan, Alice T. Chan Enterprises;

• FREEBIE: To Get Instant Access to a FREE Special Report that will dramatically change how you view your business:  “The 7 Deadly Mistakes Most Staging Designers Make and How to Completely Avoid Them” -  Go to http://SuccessfulStagingBiz.com
• Plus receive a complimentary subscription to our Award Winning ezine “Set the Stage for Your Success” for ongoing tips & resources on how to do what you love and charge what you’re worth.

Tune in to Design Biz Radio on Wednesday, November 10 & Wednesday, November 17 at 11am CST for a special 2011 RESA Convention Preview Show!

Topics we'll be discussing include:

• How to stay motivated
• Diversifying & Growing Your Business
• Building a DYNAMIC Repeat & Referral Based Business
• Closing More Sales & Raising Your Profits
• Effective Use of Accessories, Art & Color
• Inventory Management
• Proving Your Value to Prospects
• Get Results Without Being Salesy
• Using Stats to Grow Your Business
• Wealth Building Strategies
• Revitalize Your Business with Green Staging

Click here to learn more about this year's Real Estate Staging Convention and the line up of staging industry experts and featured speakers.

 

 

It's a well-known fact that 87% of home searches begin online.  So what does that tell you? You & your listings need to have an online presence.

Here are just a few ideas for leveraging home staging as part of your marketing plan and increasing your presence on the web:

Use pictures: A good before and after picture is worth a thousand words and money in your pocket. There's no better way to show prospective clients how you are truly a real estate expert than by featuring photos of your listings which have been staged in your marketing efforts. Use photos of your beautifully staged listings everywhere you can: in your printed marketing collateral, press releases, your blog and your website.
 
Talk about staging during your listing presentation:What better way to show that you are an expert than by sharing a few home staging statistics and tips during your listing presentation? By integrating the topic of home staging during your listing presentation, you can set yourself apart from the competition AND build confidence with your prospective client. Highlighting the fact that you work with a professional stager will certainly be a value add for your client, and it will most certainly set you apart if they are interviewing multiple agents.

Tell a news-worthy story: Let's face it, with hundreds of homes being sold each week in any given market, and thousands of Realtors in the marketplace, it's not that interesting of a story to just announce that you sold a listing. What isinteresting is to highlight a staging success story (complete with photos and tips, of course). HGTV has created a whole line up of shows around the staging concept: The Stagers, The Unsellables and Design to Sell just to name a few. Heck, even Interiority Complex was featured in a series of show segments on Fox 7's Good Day Austin! Why? People love it, it's entertaining, it's educational --- it's info-tainment! Use that to your advantage.

Social media & staging:If you are working with a professional home stager, it's not only important to check out their portfolio, their references, their insurance coverage, their training & experience and their people skills, it's also important to make sure your stager has an internet presence and marketing savvy. Your stager can help create or strengthen your online presence, and vice-versa. You can reciprocate and partner together in writing blog content, tweets, facebook updates, social media and more. In fact, you and your stager can and should partner together in creating marketing events and activities which will grow your presence, strengthen your relationships and increase your value in the market place.

It's amazing that so few Realtors leverage home staging to the fullest, even though they all believe in the efficacy of staging. Separate yourself from the pack -- integrate staging into your business and marketing plan today!

For more information on how you can integrate home staging into your real estate business here in the Austin area, be sure to check out our TREC-approved MCE Course called The Secrets of Staging to Sell.  By the way, Interiority Complex is proud to be a sponsor of  #REBCATX (ReBar Camp Austin) on Thursday, March 11, so please come on out and say hello!

I recently received an e-mail from a colleague of mine here in Austin, Texas who was looking for some business advice. We both started our companies at the same time and we used to meet at the playground while our toddlers would play and we would brainstorm, talk about marketing ideas and share our wins and failures. Now, our "toddlers" are snaggle toothed 8 year olds. My how time flies. Anyway, I digress... 

After I received her e-mail and sent my response, she said I should turn the response into a blog entry or article. So, here you have it. (Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.) :-)

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Monday, February 22, 2010

Dear Ashley,

I know when I met with you several months back, you mentioned I should probably raise my rates. I raised them just 10% and now, I'm wondering if I raised them enough. In your honest opinion do you think they need to be higher?  Since I just raised my rates a few months ago, should I stay at this awhile and then set a date to raise them?  I want to be in line with my market, but not over charge. 

I really appreciate your input on this.  I know you work with a lot of designers & stagers and you have good feel for what I should be doing.

Thanks for you help,

"Debbie Designer"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, February 22, 2010

Dear "Debbie Designer",

I wish you could have been at the Real Estate Staging Association Conference where I delivered a course on Pricing Strategies! 

A common mistake that many designers make is they set their rates too low and forget to consider that they don't get to charge anyone an hourly rate when they are doing all of those other things involved with running a successful and stable design business (i.e. bookkeeping, training, marketing, driving to and fro, basic business operations.) If you're not charging enough, you'll find that by the time you factor in your fixed expenses, variable expenses, COGS/COS & taxes, your net isn't that much. It's worth REALLY taking the time to see how much you are actually making, vs. how much time you are working. Calculate the # of hours you spent last year on your business. Include the obvious (i.e. meeting with clients, book keeping, etc.) but also factor in commute times, arranging for child care and even the time and money it takes to get dressed up to look like a savvy & stylish designer. Now, look at your bottom line and divide that by the # of hours you worked last year. How much did you truly make an hour last year?   

When you see this net hourly rate, it will usually be a rude awakening which will motivate you into raising your rates. Think about the time you spend away from your family and the time you take away from yourself - is it worth it? I'm all for charity work, I just don't think "Mrs. Jones" in her $500,000 home who wants custom draperies but doesn't want to pay our price qualifies for a charity case. Nor does Mr. Jones, who agrees that staging a home increases the perceived value, but doesn't want hire an expert and pay the expert's rate to properly execute a staging. If I'm going to donate my time, it will be for a homeless shelter, Haiti, child advocacy, Humane Society, etc. People who truly need it, NOT MR. OR MRS. JONES!  You only have one life and one family. Why whittle it away by charging less than you're worth? Profit is not a bad word or an embarrassing thing and you shouldn't feel guilty about making a profit to earn what you're worth.

With that said, I definitely think you would be justified in a rate hike. If you don't feel comfortable doing it right away, there are lots of ways to raise your rates, without a flat out rate hike: 

•¡  Revise the discount structure.

•¡  Change the minimum order size.

•¡  Charge for delivery and special services.

•¡  Invoice for repairs.

•¡  Charge for engineering, installation.

•¡  Charge for overtime on rushed orders.

•¡  Collect interest on overdue accounts.

•¡  Produce less of the lower margin "widgets".

•¡  Write penalty clauses into contracts.

My mission for 2010 is to combat the plague of under-earning in our industry. When I spoke before 250 stagers at the Real Estate Staging Association Conference in January, and asked the room how many felt their net profit at the end of 2009 reflected what they are worth, and how many felt like, "Yeah, that's fair. That's what I should've made." You know how many stood up? 5. I knew it wouldn't be a lot, but was stunned at how few. 

It's an epidemic. It's got to stop. If we don't value ourselves and our work, no one else will. We're giving away our most precious commodities -- our time, our talents, ourselves. For what? For the Jones' so they can keep up with the other Jones while we struggle and sacrifice ourselves and our time? And so we can work ourselves into the ground for leftovers? I don't think so!

I won't go into the details, but during my presentation, I walked everyone through a simple exercise involving "Sally the Stager" who charges $50 an hour. At the end of the exercise, we see how Sally actually makes less than $6 an hour if she's charging $50 an hour to her clients. Needless to say, most people left the room vowing to increase their rates as soon as they returned from the conference.

Let me know if you need anything else! You're taking all the right steps and you'll soon reap the rewards! Keep at it & stay focused. You're definitely moving in the right direction.

- Ashley

www.theinterioritycomplex.com

P.S. Sorry to be so long winded. Can't you tell I'm passionate about this?

P.S.S. If you want to take the Pricing Strategies course online, you can now apply it towards your RESA Pro Designation. Here's the link w/ more info. on RESA-PRO Designation and the classes. (The Pricing Strategies course is under "Business Principles".)

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Ashley,

Thanks so much for all of the valuable information and input.  Wow...you are passionate about this!  Yes...I am going to raise my rates.  I think it might be a good idea to roll that increase out with our rebranding so that it all lines up at one time.    

I have already felt much better about hourly consultation after raising my rates the first time, and so I know everything you are saying is so true.  

I so appreciate all of the great advice and support you have been to me over the years.  Please let me know anytime you need a favor back. 

"Debbie Designer"

 

 

Now here's a Realtor who GETS IT!

KB Home is treating the first 20 Realtors to sign up to a FREE MCE Class this month!

Click here for more details or to RSVP!

The Secrets of Staging to Sell
3-hr RealtorMCE Class
Course #03-00-060-7051
Provider #0596
Course taught by Ashley Whittenberger of Interiority Complex
You will learn how to effectively stage a home as well as tips and tricks from the professionals, including:

· Top 10 most common sins of staging

· How to get your clients on board with the concept

· How much a seller should expect to spend on preparing a home for sale, including national

studies and statistical information

· Facts and advice to help "cushion" your suggestions and keep from offending your clients

· Photos showing helpful examples of effective staging

Thursday, February 18 · 10am - 1pm
at The Oak at Twin Creeks
FREE MCE course for the first 20 people who RSVP to
Colette Fitzgerald at cfitzgerald@kbhome.com
Course is $30 for remaining spots
RSVP by February 16
• Brunch served