In tough economic times, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that you should lower your price to attract clients and that you should be promoting how cheap your home staging services are. If you find yourself heading down that road, please stop! It's a dead end and it will put you out of business.
Here's the thing, if you promote your services as being cheap, you’ll attract penny-pinching clients who don’t value what you have to offer.
People who only care about price will argue every step of the way about any recommendation you might make that might cost extra. You’ll get the people who haven’t spent money maintaining their homes over the years and will balk at repainting over their 1965 decor. You’ll get people who say, “why should I replace that rusted out mailbox or the cracked front window, the new owners can worry about it.”
If you’ve gone into the home staging business because you’re a creative person, I can tell you that sort of client will completely stifle your creativity and suck all the joy out of giving advice and envisioning the potential of a property. You’ll also have to worry more about bounced checks and chasing your money.
Marketing is more than telling people what you charge for your services. You have to position yourself, properly explain the benefits of your services in a way that is meaningful to the potential customer, learn how to convey the right image and relate to people in a way that makes them want to work with you. You really should have a prospect sold on you long before you start talking price. They should want you bad enough that your rate is not an issue.
Of course price enters into a buying decision, but the point is you want it to be far down the list after other considerations, not your client’s number one concern.
Home stagers, do you have a good example about how marketing based on low rates can lead to nightmare clients? Please share by leaving a comment below!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc.
Home Staging Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love. In course 2 of the Staging Diva Program, Debra teaches her students how to have an effective pricing strategy and build credibility with potential clients. There are over 4000 Staging Diva students around the world.
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There are agents in our area who want to play 'how low will you go'... simply put I don't play that game. My rates are my rates - period. While I do give a discounted rate to clients who I work with on a regular basis, that is a rate that they have earned for all of the business and referrals they have provided. Agents and sellers hire me because they know the service and end product they will receive. I might cost more, or less, than others in our area, but in the end they know they are getting a quality product and significant service that helps their homes sell more quickly and with less effort....