Staging U Ramblings

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Business Coach...for Professional Home Stagers

We are proud to announce our newest division of our company- Staging Business Solutions

Staging Business Solutions is designed to help the home staging professionals by providing business tools to help grow a healthy-happy business!

Hi my name is Karel Rogers. I am the founder of Real Estate Staging Unlimited the largest home staging business in the Reno area. When I started my business I hired a coach to help me start my business -it was money well spent. I knew that having a good foundation for the skyscraper (my staging business) that I was hoping to build was critically important if it was going to stand erect, be unique and tall enough to stand out from the rest and not topple down from some strong storms.

Starting a business requires a lot of planning it's not just being creative, having an idea, getting a license, business cards and opening your doors for business. If it were that easy there would not be the high failure rate seen in the first five years of business. Not to mention the huge debt that often follows due to errors made in the early years of establishing a business.

Our goal through our coaching program is to help the home staging industry by providing staging businesses the tools and skills to help them succeed long-term in their own local market. We understand that Chicago is different that Missoula and we will help you discover how to apply practical business practices that help you to stand out and above the stagers in your area.

If you want to take your staging business to the next level call us @ 775-828-1133

Staging Business Solutions ONE-ON-ONE Coaching
Here are some of the areas we can assist you with:

Marketing your Staging Business- Staging Business Concepts,
business plans, business names, branding, trademarks, logos

Grow your Staging Business-How to develop a staging team and
find new revenues for your business

Inventory Investment- Determine if renting or owning products
is best for your company

Creative Ways to BOOST Your Inventory-How to build inventory
on a shoe-string budget

Creating Visibility- Marketing ideas and systems. Pitching to the
media and repeat and referral business strategies

Presentation Skills-How and what to present to a handful or
a roomful of clients

Technology- Websites, yours and others, e-newsletters,
blogs, database programs. systems for efficiency

Digital Photography-How and Why perfect pictures are critical

Mindset Motivation- How to stay motivated, on track and focused

Staging for Vacant Homes-Create strategies to appeal to
homeowners, Realtors, Investors and Builders

Staging for Occupied Homes- Discover how to approach clients
in furnished homes and provide a unique staging service to them

Alliances-Who they are and why you need them

Smart Growth- When and how to add help, rent space, buy new
equipment and more services and sources

Staging Business Concepts- Learn solid business concepts
including forms, documents, contracts, insurance, time
management and more for a small business. We will help you
to customize your business to fit your future goals

Our rates are reasonable and you will get one on one attention. If you want to implement great strategies and make money doing what you love then call us you'll be glad you did. 775-828-1133 Karel Rogers

www.realestatestagingunlimited.com

Posted by Karel Rogers on 03/10/2008 12:26 PM

Comments (0)

staging coach, coaching for staging professionals, coaching for real estate stagers, coaching for home stagers, growing your staging business

Stager Idol...here I come!

I would like to thank everyone who voted for me in the national contest Stager Idol sponsored by Real Estate Staging Association. I have now moved up to the final 10 contestants and have just submitted a real estate staging project that will judged by the celebrity judges which will determine if I will continue on in this contest. I'll keep you posted and for more information about this national contest visit www.realestatestagingassociation.com

Thanks again

Karel Rogers/Real Estate Staging Unlimited

Posted by Karel Rogers on 03/07/2008 12:26 PM

Comments (3)

Great tips to get your home ready to SELL!

Great Tips to get your home ready to SELL!l

Curb Appeal: Buyers begin to make decisions whether they will buy the house as soon as they drive up to it. At minimum, lawns should be freshly mowed, leaves raked or snow shoveled. Consider a hanging or potted plant for the entrance. Sweep the porch, deck and all walk ways and ensure garbage and recycling are stored away from the front of the house. Assure that your front door, porch, outside railings and steps are clean.

Get Rid of the Clutter: De-personalize. Remove objects that your potential buyers won't be able to identify with such as political or religious items and family pictures. Pack anything that is seasonal, and items that will not be used in the next 60 days should be stored.

Clean: Your home must sparkle. Hire a cleaning crew or company; having a cleaning service return weekly while your house is for sale is probably a good investment. Get your windows professionally cleaned inside and out

Fix: A cracked wall, dripping faucet, cracked tile, water spots, broken gutter, fences or missing siding will send the wrong message to potential buyers. Getting them fixed by a handyman or yourself is a smart idea. You don't want your home to be seen as a fixer-upper.

Paint: Neutral colors sell. To appeal to the widest group of buyers, avoid using styles or colors they would never select. You want clean neutral colors throughout your home. Potential buyers walking through your home want to imagine themselves as the owners without having to do a lot of work when they move in.

Lighting: Make sure that all lights in the home are working and that you have enough additional lighting throughout each area to illuminate the space. Open window treatments daily before you leave your home. You never know when you will have a showing.

Home Staging: Model homes are a great way to get motivated to see what is the competition and why people get excited to buy these homes. So start by visiting a model home to see what they are doing and then implement five to 10 or more ideas for your home.

Get rid of all area rugs to help to show the condition of the floors and the expanse of the floor space.

Remove extra or large furniture pieces. Be sure that the furniture placement shows off all the features of the room such fireplaces, scenic views, architectural features of the home.

Limit your cooking to very plain foods so odors don't linger. If possible arrange for pets to stay with family or friends during the sale of your home. Pet allergies can stop a sale.

Leave on the heat to a comfortable setting and soft music playing when you leave the home. This will welcome the future homeowner.

Real Estate Staging Unlimited is the largest staging company in the Reno areas and we provide free estimates for vacant and occupied home staging projects. Visit our website at http://www.realestatestagingunlimited.com/ or call us at 775-828-1133 for more information.
Copyright © 2007 Real Estate Staging Unlimited /Staging U Ramblings| All Rights Reserved

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/28/2008 10:32 AM

Comments (3)

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HELP!!! What are 2-3 websites that you use to network OR gather info for your real estate business

AR members I need just 2-3 websites that you think are valuable in your networking or gathering info for and in your real estate business. Please do not include AR. I will publish the list when I gather the info.

Thanks

Website Name

Purpose of site

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/27/2008 06:34 PM

Comments (7)

ASK and YOU will receieve...DISCOUNTS

Most of you know about Pier1 Imports and their 20% discount but World Market also offers a 10% discount. Home Fabric and Rugs also offers a 10% discount.

In my community I have many (8) local merchants that give me discounts. I ask every store manager that I purchase products from because it has never been posted about any discounts. I have a carpet company that I receive 15% of the retail price of the carpet that he installs from my referrals. At the lighting store it is the same as well as my painting company that I use.

Every discount that you take advantage of pays off at the end of the year...so just ask for the discount and you will be surprised how many will say yes!

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/18/2008 08:49 AM

Comments (9)

stage it forward, staging secrets

Hey...I'm tyring to get your attention!

Hey I'm trying to get your attention! Isn't that what we are trying to do when we are marketing ourselves? It's not easy trying to come up with interesting ways of re-inventing and staying current with forever changing trends.

I've been using a free site that I came across that has a great format to advertise your goods...you! www.merchantcircle.com it has a great format to advertise your business and it is FREE. I've gotten some great feedback..let me know what you think.

Karel www.RealEstateStagingUnlimited.com

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/11/2008 08:11 AM

Comments (11)

Stand out from the rest...

Stand out from the Rest!

Staging is what can help you stand out from other Realtors. There still are many Realtors that don't use staging services. What I don't understand about this choice is that advertising the home in many different ways is how the home is sold. Networking, word of mouth, print advertising, Internet, virtual tours- there are so many ways to invest in advertising when you are trying to sell the home so why not include real estate staging.

Staging can be one of the BEST investments before you start any marketing efforts. Without having the home in showcase form the rest can become very costly. The longer the property stays on the market the more you will have to invest in your advertising efforts. I know that in my area just a few print ads can be more than staging costs. Not to mention that after 30-60-90 days the only option you can offer the seller to get the home sold is to lower the selling price which effects your payday as well.

Bottom-line, staging provides a transformation of any home that takes it to the next level. Start with staging and let me know if you save money on your advertising efforts. Staging, if it done right can help your home to sell faster and often for money...so stage it and get the sold sign posted!

We Dress Homes To Sell in the Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoe areas http://www.realestatestagingunlimited.com/

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/10/2008 08:11 PM

Comments (1)

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Does staging cost TOO much? There is a BIAS opinion...

I held a class yesterday and I always have my class of Realtors fill out a questionnaire of about 25 questions. This helps me with marketing my company. I thought I would share the results of 4 of the questions.

Do you feel uncomfortable talking about staging to your client?
Do you think that staging cost too much?
Do you think that the seller will not want to pay for staging?
Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable talking to the seller about the current home condition?

Need I tell you the answer was YES to all of them.

What an opportunity! Knowing this is how Realtors feel I always talk about having a BIAS opinion. During the presentation almost everyone agrees that most of the time they make assumptions that the client won't or does not have the money to do staging. Yet they haven't even asked the client to consider staging the home...that's bias. So when the home doesn't sell in 30-60 days and are now faced with a large price reduction they have regrets in not introducing staging and other issues that should have been addressed up front.

To help them understand about their bias opinion I give them a life experience that I was taught in my corporate life and one I am thankful to have learned. By sharing this it always opens up and allows for them to see and understand why they don't have to present the staging information. They just need to build the bridge to me so that I am the one asking the client to use staging services. The bridge is just telling them that I am part of their team an expert in the staging field. They believe in our services and that I will be calling to set up a time to come by and explain about our services and provide a free estimate for staging services. Now this is not a consultation for getting the home ready to sale - that has a fee - and the Realtor would set the appointment for that service but either way the Realtor introduces or builds the bridge to our company.

Wouldn't you agree that most people feel uncomfortable with conflict and rejection and if they think either is going to happen they will avoid it? Address the bias issue and it will open up an opportunity to experience a WIN-WIN for the homeowner and Realtor. Our closing rate is about 75% when we meet with the client so by adding a beautifully staged home the Realtor and homeowner will often experience a higher listing price and it will most likely sell faster! That's not my bias that's the facts....

http://www.realestatestagingunlimited.com/

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/09/2008 03:05 PM

Comments (3)

real estate staging reno, real estate staging sparks, real estate staging lake tahoe

How can STAGERS help to market a staged home?

I was recently discussing ideas for creating traffic through a staged home and thought I would open this discussion with all of the stagers. Here are a few and let's hear yours...

Staging companies list their listings on their website with pics
Provide pic and listing info to Activerain
Allow networking organizations to use the home for a meeting (wine and cheese?)
Put sign up in the front yard stating home is staged by your company
Co-sponsor open houses

Please share how you are helping your Realtor to get more traffic into your staged home....

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/09/2008 12:18 PM

Comments (3)

100 Realtors needed for survey...Why are you NOT using a stager on your team?

Please talk to me... Why are you NOT using a stager on your team?

I am often a speaker for seminars, conferences and meetings regarding the staging industry and your feed back on this one question will help me to develop materials to help Realtors not only in this area but in other marketing opportunities.

Just give me a short version of why you are presently not using a staging company.

Thanks for your help...Karel

Visit my website http://www.realestatestagingunlimited.com/ for more information.

Posted by Karel Rogers on 02/06/2008 05:00 PM

Comments (1)

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