Hi Everyone...
I had a great time meeting with all the attendees at the Sayville, NY Library Home Staging event that I did on October 14th. The audience was comprised of all home sellers (and several future ones). Not one realtor in sight - despite the fact the I invited many local agents to attend. Oh well - that must mean their businesses are doing great!
Anyway, I raffled off several door prizes - two staging accessories (that I really love and use a lot) and one home staging consultation. All the attendees stayed until closing time - still asking questions about how to solve this problem and that. Plus - they all had questions and comments about the Before and After pictures on my PowerPoint presentation. They couldn't believe that the rooms I worked on were able to be transformed so much! I was also very happy to know that they all stayed quiet during my Niche Marketing Ideas - about how to stage your home to attract the "Most Probable Buyer." I thought that Marketing 101 would put them to sleep - but, on the contrary, they took to it very well - and they really "got it!"
I taped the presentation - and showed it to several realtors who told me that it was the best staging and marketing program that they had ever seen. So - I may be offering it as a downloadable video in the future. It will be a great tutorial for realtors to use for their clients who may be resistant to doing anything with their homes when they are selling.
From doing the presentation, I was able to get another staging consultation - and that turned into a staging job. The seller wants to sell by themselves - no realtor. I told them that they would sell more quickly with a realtor representing them (along with my staging expertise of course)...so I hope that they will choose one of the realtors that I work closely with.
It did get me thinking about the whole FSBO and DIY thing though. Sometimes when I am marketing to realtors and they tell me that they have "a girl in the office that does that," I don't know what to say to them. I look at their listings on their websites and - the majority of the time - there's no evidence of any staging...or even good photography/photo styling present. I was always taught to be polite - so I don't usually say anything when I hear about how the agency has a realtor who does "decorating" on board. I usually just end the conversation with a Thank You and that's the end of it.
So - I'd like to ask: How do realtors respond to homesellers who say "Oh - I can do it all by myself - I don't need you." It's really a very similar problem!
Thanks,
Linda Leyble, Creative Director and Founder
Beautiful Staged Homes and Studio of Decorative Arts
www.beautifulstagedhomes.com and www.studioofdecorativearts.com
If you would like to subscribe to our e-newsletter "Creative Home Staging Strategies" please e mail me at Linda.Leyble@gmail.com
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