staging marketing: Good Photography Tells the Story the Media Wants to Tell of Us - 05/17/07 08:21 AM
This is a story that bears repeating... I know I have blogged before about how important good photography is to tell your own story but now I have proof as to how it can help you tell a BIGGER story.
National print media uses the web as a means to find good photos to use in conjunction with the feature stories they are publishing on the home staging and interior redesign.
Home Magazine recently found our website http://www.realestaging.com and contacted us, asking if they could use photos of our staging work for a feature story they were going to be publishing in their June 2007 issue. Of course we agreed. 
But the … (35 comments)

staging marketing: THINK CRUSTY THOUGHTS... When Taking Listing Photos - 03/06/07 01:38 AM

Realtors you'll notice that while I am a home stager, a number of my blog postings have to do with taking better photos of listings.  This is because I KNOW that what a home buyers SEES influences their desire to purchase... or NOT. But what a buyer SEES often starts BEFORE they drive up to your listing or walk through its front door.
With each passing day the Internet becomes more and more of a resource for buyers to PRESCREEN your listings by looking at the photos YOU have provided. So with digital photography being so easy and inexpensive... Realtors you have the responsibility to feature PERFECT images … (55 comments)

staging marketing: Set Your Sites Low... to Raise Your Standards - 01/15/07 04:49 AM

The brilliance of Active Rain and Localism is that they can work together to everyone's benefit. As Active Rain provides a forum to share ideas and information amongst peers, Localism provides a place to apply this knowledge and better reach clients... immediately. Here is an example to make my point...
As a home stager I believe what a home buyer sees, regardless of where, when or how they see it, matters greatly. (I believe in the importance of this so much that I am ongoingly investing in and building an entire company devoted exclusively to improve what buyers see and visually exprience.)
So to keep … (42 comments)

staging marketing: TRIX FIX 12 PIX - 12/01/06 12:22 PM
For both the realtor and a stager... GOOD photography of the property for sale is a necessity. For the realtor, the photos you take of your listing show the product you are trying to sell. For the stager the photos of your work capture and chronicle your staging skills.
Therefore it is to BOTH the realtors and stager's advantages to take and display the ABSOLUTE BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES you can... especially NOW that more and more people use the internet as a means to determine evaluate a home or the abilities of a stager.
With that in mind... last night I went on line and looked at … (38 comments)

staging marketing: Working with Seniors... requires some flexibility! - 11/19/06 10:49 PM
Well I finally had my opportunity to talk about real estate staging to the group of seniors selling their homes. The auditorium was PACKED with an overflow crowd... to a point that there were those that needed to be turned away. To be honest I did NOT expect so many.
Upset and anxiety filled the room. You could feel that the folks attending were searching for help and answers. ANY answers on how to sell their homes. Boy was I glad I prapared my "staging" case.
The idea of staging a houses for its sale is still for most people a new concept. And... it has been my expirience that the SENIOR market is … (48 comments)

staging marketing: I'D LIKE TO NEEDLE YOU TO MAKE A MARKETING POINT - 11/08/06 01:28 AM
I am a stickler for words. (Pardon the pun.) But something has been bothering me since I first started my own home staging company. It has to do with referring to ourselves as "Home Stagers" Is that the best way to describe ourselves? Is being a "Home" Stager actually what we are? Does that term help or hurt the realtor who believes in us and wants to bring us to a client?
The problem and marketing disconnect lies with the word "HOME." If you buy a property, condo, real estate or build a house... how and when does it become a home?  I believe it becomes a home when … (29 comments)

staging marketing: Stagers... are we red headed step children that get no respect? - 10/29/06 09:38 PM
Lately I have been getting a lot of email from stagers that are frustrated with the response they have been getting from the real estate community. Basically they are surprised that realtors are not flocking to them with open welcoming arms and lavishing them with clients. Compared to mortgage brokers or home inspectors we are "red headed step children that get no respect".The best advice I can give you is to "persevere".Staging is new and in many parts of the country untested. So it is up to us as a united industry to get the word out about staging and the … (40 comments)

staging marketing: "CHEERS" to new marketing opportunities for stagers! - 10/19/06 01:26 PM
So if you have not figured it out yet... I have a BIG mouth.
I would rather share what I know and NEW THINGS I have learned about staging then hold it as a trade secret. WHY?  Because the staging industry is young and the faster we all share what we learn the better realtors are helped, seller's benifit and the quicker the enitire industry grows.
(For an AWESOME example of sharing to the industry, see fellow stager Cindy Lin's blog from earlier today)
Anyway, today I visited a Retirement Community to set up a time to come in (open my … (29 comments)

staging marketing: ANNOUNCING: My new book on Real Estate Staging - 10/07/06 05:17 AM
While there are a few books out there that talk about real estate staging. I still feel there is room for a more comprehensive discussion.
I have been working on my own staging book and am PROUD to début the cover HERE on ACTIVE RAIN. 
For marketing purposes (so that I am better able to connect with my intended audience) I have written this book using my pen-name... Reala Stager. But shhhhhhh.... that is a secret, my publisher does not want that information released to the general public.  
So here it is... wadda ya think?  
                          
… (29 comments)

staging marketing: NO SALE! for Good Morning America - 10/02/06 10:12 AM
If you didn't catch the conclusion of GMA's "Sell Your House In a Week Challenge"... well it was NOT a happy ending. Real estate expert Barbara Corcoran gave it her all to prepare and market the NJ house and get it sold in 1 week. And while they had 80 people tour with 3 serious buyers at yesterday's open house, they just could not seal the deal.
WHAT LEASONS DID BARBARA LEARN and want to share about selling in the current market? 
#1 MOST IMPORTANT THING: "STAGING is not optional it is ESSENTIAL!"
#2 Price is King
#3 There are no "Hollywood Endings" … (15 comments)

staging marketing: 2 Sides of the Real Estate Transaction - 10/01/06 06:22 AM
It is often said that buying a home is the biggest PURCHASE one will ever make in their lives.
But there are 2 sides to every story.
Does it NOT stand to reason that putting one's home on the market would then be a person's biggest SALE in their life?
I think sometimes that is forgotten... and that is where stagers go to work.
Plain and Simple... Stager's help maxmize the BIGGEST SALE in one's life.
 
… (5 comments)

staging marketing: REAL ESTAGING announces a whole new level of service! - 08/11/06 11:24 AM
Here at Real Estaging we are constantaly trying to offer the best in real estate staging services.
That is why we are proud to announce that we are the first staging company in North America to offer this level of service.  We call it Real Erazing... perfect for properties that have no hope, and home sellers that have no clue.
Bruno Bulldozeroni, our lead property stylist in this newly formed department, will be happy to tear down and destroy any listing of your choice,  AND for a limited time... his cousin "Knuckles"  will be happy to "persuade to reconsider" any seller who insistes they know what the best asking … (4 comments)

staging marketing: I admit... Staging ISN'T Necessary! - 08/02/06 03:21 PM
Even though I am a stager, I will be the first to say Staging ISN'T necessary to sell a home.
Does it help? YES.
Can the seller profit from it? YES.
Can a home sell faster? YES.
But it is necessary? NOPE.
I can remember my father was the type of guy that always bought the "diamond in the rough."  He could see potential around the mess... and those are the houses he bought... and at a lower price.  
One of the reasons why we take (and post) so many photos of so many different types, styles and levels of staging … (5 comments)

staging marketing: The "art" of the THANK YOU NOTE - 07/30/06 06:26 AM
In today's age, where it seems like it is all about hard core marketing, sometimes what is forgotten is that marketing is ultimately about building authentic relationships.
A simple thank you card can so easily begin or solidify a relationship... IF one writes and formats the note's message correctly.   
Here are some simple tips that I follow...
Write from the heart... don't try to sell ANYTHING Make it personal... refer to something ONLY you and that person know and share Write something that you think will make the person smile or chuckle The card is to THANK and ONLY SINCERLY thank... it is not a camouflaged sales pitch … (13 comments)

staging marketing: UP STAGING the competition... 2 VERY different stagings on the same property - 07/29/06 03:25 AM
Realtors need to know that just because a person or business call themelves "stagers" does not mean that they can actually do a professional job. EVEN if they are "Accrediated". 
Here is an actual job we recently re-staged. The builder has paid an unbelievable $9,000 in fees to this furniture rental company! This type of "staging" is what I call... "plop and drop". 
This "accredited" company gave NO thought or effort as to HOW the few pieces of furniture they supplied should be placed in the home.
To make the home look waaaay more appealing. We came in and reset the space using the rental companies own furniture and then added … (34 comments)

staging marketing: Stagers stepping out of the box... - 07/28/06 11:03 AM
When staging a property... scale, proportion, color and style matter greatly. 
That is why we have developed  our own extensive Staging Prop Library that allows our Property Stylists to select just the right pieces that subtly blend in, yet enhance the properties overall appeal. 
Comprised of neary 2000 items and valued at nearly $70,000 (as of July 2006) we have the "right stuff" to make a listing look FANTASTIC, including: Furniture, Framed Art, Accessories Plants & Trees, Lamps, Baskets, Rugs, Draperies, Bath Linens, Books, Electronics, Bed Linens and more.
Investing in a Prop Library makes good business sense for 2 primary reasons...
It demonstrates … (5 comments)

staging marketing: Staging as advertising expense? - 07/25/06 12:39 PM
In the short time I have been a part of ActiveRain, I am amazed (and delighted) at out how many of you have either commented to my BLOGS directly or sent me an email about what I share.
I just thought I was an average guy with some thoughts and opinions and a love for what I do, and finally had a place to vent.  But never the less... thank you all for your feedback!!!
Sooooo, today I was working on researching and understanding how staging relates to IRS publication 523... which is the IRS's missive on all the tax rules pertaining to a home seller selling their main house. 
For those … (4 comments)

 
These are the creative writings of Craig Schiller, a home staging professional, passionate real estate marketing professional and founder of the Real Estaging, one of the nation's leading home staging companies.


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