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Home Staging: Getting to the Heart of the Art

By
Home Stager with Home Matters Property Stylist Group, Indianapolis, Indiana

Heart"Home is where the heart is." This common theme encompasses many of the skills required of a successful home stager. Our design skills, along with our knowledge of buyer demographics and the psychology of home buying, can help a prospective buyer "fall in love" with a home and decide to make it their own. These are the skills covered in our industry's training programs.  

There is another set of skills which is rarely included in home staging courses, yet gets at the very heart of what we do: interpersonal skills. Our "people" skills, which are tested on a daily basis and in a variety of situations, fundamentally enable us to get from before to after. Interpersonal skills may be less tangible than design skills but, given the fact that ours is a customer-service-driven industry with ever-increasing competition and standards of professionalism, every home stager needs to hone their people skills if their business is to grow and thrive. Effective interpersonal skills allow us to listen to clients' questions and concerns, overcome objections, and negotiate win/win solutions; they are essential to marketing our business, building an effective team, and ensuring ongoing success through referrals. 

One of the best examples of how this home-is-where-the-heart-is theme plays out in the work of a home stager is when it becomes necessary to help a seller emotionally disengage from their home. Depersonalizing a property is often a highly-personal matter to the home seller, and this is where our ability to convey empathy and encouragement can make or break our ability to do our work A seller may have to learn to see their home as a product before we can get down to the business of making it more marketable. This transition can be difficult for sellers-especially those who may be struggling with financial pressures, job loss, illness, temporary separation from loved ones, divorce or death.  

Strong interpersonal skills can help you and your clients get through the awkward or difficult situations we sometimes encounter in this business: from telling a seller that their favorite wall color or wallpaper may not appeal to the pool of buyers they're trying to attract; to asking a lonely widower to move his "family" of ferrets out before potential buyers come in (true story). Change can be difficult, but we're in the business of helping our clients move on. Letting them know that we have their best interests at heart can ease the transition.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

BARNETT'S OUT

Home Matters Home Staging and Training a professional home staging company "Servicing the needs of our Real Estate community here in Metro Indianapolis and all of central Indiana" We help real estate professionals, home sellers, builders and investors with their home staging needs and we provide the most relevant and up to date Home Staging Training that the industry has to offer through the Staging and Redesign (SAR) 3 and 5 day courses.  For more information regarding our services and our training schedule, please contact us at 317-209-9801 or visit us on the web. http://www.homemattersllc.com/

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Home Matters is a home staging company that offers services for both occupied and vacant homes. We work with all budgets and have received Angie's list highest rating for the past three years. Visit Home Matters website for more information.

Comments (7)

Mark Rubley
Rockford IL Real Estate Team Leader serving all of the North Central Illinois Stateline Area. Listing Specialist. - Rockford, IL
Rockford Realtor,Rockford Il Real Estate Home Team

nice read... thank you. mark and karen rockford, il

Feb 07, 2011 04:24 AM
Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

I think this is something that is a serious part of all "people businesses"....interpersonal skill sets are an essential.

Feb 07, 2011 05:29 AM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging

Hi Linda!  Well, I have to say that you are definately the right person to teach someone interpersonal skills.  The reputation of Home Matters, and of course your personal reputation for being so personable, knowledgable and welcoming leave your students in the best of hands. 

Too seldom this is something not really discussed in our business and then we find that new stagers have a hard time understand the importance of the delivery of the message.  Conveyance of value, need and the hard facts is every bit as important as knowing where the stuff goes (or doesn't).  

Thanks for brining it up! 

Feb 07, 2011 09:14 AM
Brenda Hughes
Evansville Home Staging & Re-Design - Evansville, IN
Home Staging & Re-Design Southern IN, KY

Yes Linda you have put it to the paper!!!!  I have to admit that I was surprised how much the homeowner

would talk about and share with me.  How deficult it was for so many to leave the home their families had 

grown up in.  I believe going thru the declutter process and depersonalization of the home helps the

home owner to let go.  To turn it into a house they are trying to sell, not their Home.

Feb 08, 2011 09:37 AM
Ana Hitzel
AccentPositives Home Staging - Corona, CA
Professional Home Stager Inland Empire

Great topic Linda, you hit probably to me the most important aspect of being a stager. 

 

Ana

Feb 08, 2011 10:32 AM
Linda Barnett
Home Matters Property Stylist Group, Indianapolis, Indiana - Indianapolis, IN
Home Matters Indianapolis Indiana

Hello ms "Sea to Sky" Premier Properties: Yes for sure, If you are going to work with the public and especially sales.

Melissa; I stongly believe that how you convey your message and a caring attitude will help you in this highly personal service.  Bottom line is that people never care how much you know until they know how much you care.  P.S.  Thank you for your caring words...

Brenda; yes, indeed we are in the people business and it is a highly personal matter.

Ana; Thank you ana for your comments and for stopping by my blog.  Take care,

Feb 08, 2011 02:19 PM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Like Tom Scanlon says "Staging is a moving experience"! Great post-very moving!! hee, hee!

Feb 08, 2011 05:25 PM