Think I'm only a home stager? Think again...I'm also a source of referrals & listings. Many professional home stagers are - especially the home stagers that are good at marketing their services to consumers.
I first wrote about this in April 2010 Think I'm Only A Home Stager? I'm Also A Source Of Clients! In light of recent negative blog posts and comments about home stagers here on AR, I wanted to let you know that professional home stagers can also be a source of business for real estate agents. Here's one way home stagers can work hand-in-hand with their real estate agent partners to ensure a win-win-win situation for all parties, including the home seller.
Because I put a lot of effort in reaching out to Los Angeles home sellers as my potential clients, I am contacted by people getting ready to put their home on the market on a daily basis. Some of them already have a real estate agent, and some of them don't. Inevitably, I am asked if I can recommend a good Los Angeles, Pasadena or Arcadia Realtor that can list their home.
Since the beginning of this year (2011) I have referred a REALTOR™ partner to 3 different home sellers. She has landed 2 listings, 1 of which is in escrow, and the other will be listed next week. Since I stage so many homes throughout Los Angeles, I'm very aware of which agents do a good job of marketing their listings and which ones are not as good. Since my goal is to have the homes I stage sell faster and for the highest possible price, I am happy to refer listing agents that I think will do the best job meeting those criteria.
Its a win-win-win proposition: The home seller gets their home sold quickly and for top dollar, the listing agent I referred gets a listing that is easy to sell because it looks great, and I have another happy home staging client that will refer me to their friends, plus great statistics on another home sold quickly.
Home sellers that first contact professional home stagersare highly motivated sellers. They've been pre-screened by virtue of the fact that they want to hire me to stage their home before they even have a listing agent. And they are willing to listen to what I, and the listing agents I refer, have to say about marketing and selling their home.
My home staging website (the one not associated with Active Rain) usually gets 100-200 hits per day. I'm on page 1 of Google for all my relevant home staging search terms. That's potentially 3,000-6,000 home sellers, some of whom could be looking for a listing agent.I have no idea how many hits I get from my Active Rain blog, but I'm sure that's a respectable number too.
What's my criteria for recommending a Pasadena, Arcadia or Los Angeles real estate agent?
- They have to be a believer in the value of home staging
- They have to have awesome marketing packages for their listings
- They have to be internet saavy and excellent internet marketers
- They have to be well connected in the real estate community and community at large
- They have to return phone calls and emails promptly
- They have to have hired my Pasadena home staging company, reached out to me or referred me to their clients (how else would I know about all of the above)
I don't expect payment for these referrals, just that the listing agent does right by my client and continues to refer me. (OK, and maybe a lunch:o))
Oh, by the way, I'm also a source of home buyers, too, and not just in Los Angeles. Many home sellers I stage for are moving out of state and have not yet purchased their next home. Once again, I'm often asked about referring an out-of-state real estate agent. Who do I refer? I call my home staging buddies in that area and ask who they would recommend. I figure they have "boots on the ground" experience with local agents and know who does a good job.
So, if you think I'm just a home stager you'd be wrong. I'm also a source of qualified real estate referrals.
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