Last Monday I gave my first seminar on Home Staging. It took place at the Woodmere School here on Long island. I was invited to do so by a realtor whose seminar I was a part of back in the early Spring. 

Since I had never done anything like that before with respect to Staging, I was uncertain as to what the presentation should consist of....what I should talk about, how much information I should share....

The seminar was advertised as an evening where homeowners could learn about preparing their homes for the Real Estate market, and I knew that I was going to have to fill the 2 hour time slot with all of the different aspects of Staging.  I wondered if (a) I had enough information to fill all that time, and (b) if I was actually ‘shooting myself in the foot' by teaching people to do for themselves what I do as a business?

When I sat down to prepare the ‘lesson plan', I decided to approach the seminar from a Prospective Buyer's viewpoint.  I would begin curbside and explain what needs to be addressed, why, and how. 

I prepared a portfolio for each participant which contained notes on everything we would discuss at the seminar.  I also included flyers and informational material on Home Staging in general.

Since I am used to speaking in front of groups (Realtors Presentations, Past President of the PTA, Nursery School teacher), that was never a concern.  I was more worried about stretching the information out over 2 hours!  Would I be able to ‘teach' Homeowners to prepare their own house for market, and could I do so in a way that they could relate to?

I am happy to report that the evening was a huge success!  The participants took copious notes, asked lots of questions, and the general consensus was that Staging the house to sell was an overwhelming proposition.  Most people agreed that they would do what they could to get the house in showing condition, but that they could not do everything that was expected; taking down wallpaper and ripping out carpeting was not something that they could handle. That is where a ‘professional' would have to come in and take over.  So, my fear of losing business by teaching people about the business was unfounded.

I was invited back to do this again tomorrow evening and this time I am really looking forward to it!