Convincing The Reluctant Client To Stage!

Recently, many Realtors have mentioned to me (and some of my colleagues) that they are sometimes having a difficult time convincing their clients and potential clients to make an investment in staging their property. This reluctance may stem from the client not thinking their house needs staging or that the expenditure will not yield a significant return.

 

The reluctant client simply needs to be educated. My favorite example, courtesy of StagedHomes, is that a seller needs to detail a home for sale just as they would a car. In fact, it’s not uncommon that people will spend $1K or more to sell a $10K car, yet are hesitant to spend a like amount on their home!

 

The reluctant client can be motivated in a number of ways:

 

Explain that their home is now a product for sale and must be expertly packaged to fetch the highest possible price. This investment may include repairs, upgrades and staging.

 

Tell them that two important factors – cleaning and decluttering – can be accomplished at little or no cost (if they are able and willing to do the work themselves).

 

Point out that staging is NOT a critique of their decorating style. Staging is all about the house, NOT its contents. Effective staging will showcase the home’s best features so that potential buyers focus on the house, not the furniture and furnishings. It’s not that furniture and furnishings aren’t a very important part of staging (that’s why vacancies and model homes are staged!); it’s simply that effective, creative staging will utilize the contents of the house to emphasize the home’s best features.

 

Explain that experienced stagers will offer solutions to fit every budget, from on-the-spot consultations, fast track staging, hands-on staging and even project management. According to StagedHomes, the ROI of staging is more than 250%!!! Also, stagers will bring with them an objective eye. It’s difficult for sellers to truly see their home with the eyes of a buyer. Even well-meaning friends and family members will have emotional ties and memories associated with a home and thus cannot objectively view the home as a buyer will. To emphasize this point, point out that stagers who are selling their own properties will often have another stager evaluate their property!

 

When these facts are explained to sellers, most of them will see the value of investing in staging and other pre-listing services.