Well, I am happy to report that I took all suggestions from my previous post Have I Been 'Missing the Mark'? into consideration and fine-tuned my Realtors Presentation yesterday.
First of all, when I arrived at the meeting (with bagels and cream cheese in hand!), only one realtor was in the office. I had an opportunity to chat with her while she set up the 'breakfast'. Then 3 more realtors arrived and we all sat together and began talking (very informally - it was nice!). It was obvious that this particular office already had a healthy respect for Home Staging...there was no need for me to explain what it was and why it was important. Instead we focused on scenarios - how would I handle "x situation", what would I do about "y situation"...etc.
Let me tell you what made the biggest impact with these particular realtors (by the way, 3 more arrived while we were chatting and they just joined right in with the conversation)...I told them how I approach sellers in order to motivate them to make needed changes. I do it in a very gentle and respectful manner. I also explained that I always try to work with the seller's own furnishings and accessories...how I 'shop' the house first and often times that will suffice. I do have an ever-growing supply of accessories that I can bring in, if needed. Further, the realtors appreciated that I work within the seller's budget. I did explain that we might not get optimum results, but if that was the most the client could pay, then there would still be an improvement in the way that the house showed. One realtor asked how I would handle a house where the seller was not willing to paint, upgrade or remove carpeting. Again, I explained that I would work with what was given to me and that there would be a noticeable difference in each room, just not up to the potential each room deserved. Basically, I told these realtors that I would give their clients 100% and be a 'team player'.
I gave each realtor a white 'presentation folder' with my logo on the front, business card on the left inside pocket, and 4 information sheets that explained different aspects of the business as well as the benefits to the realtors. Thanks to my good friend Marci Toliver , I even had a 'newsletter' to add to the folder! I also took the advice of Judy Heinrich on my previous blog Have I Been 'Missing the Mark'? and included a copy of a recent 'out of town' Consultation Report. They were very impressed with the depth and detail that it provided!
One more thing...I took the advice of John Novak- Henderson and Las Vegas, NV from my last post and asked the realtors how they would determine which houses they would show buyers out of so many on the MLS that matched the client's criteria. Unanimously they replied that the best-looking houses were the ones they would choose to show!
I think they're starting to 'GET IT' here on Long Island (we're only a year or two behind the rest of the country)!
Thank you fellow stagers and realtor friends for your support and helpful comments - I really think that your encouragement enabled me to offer a better presentation than others in the past!
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