Referral business:
Stagers often work with homeowners before they put their home on the
market. Most often when clients hire Rockland Home Staging for a
consult it is the first step in the real estate process. They
often ask for advice when choosing an agent. I work with
several real estate agents in Rockland County on regular basis and
would recommend them without reservation. The homeowners are
glad to get an agent that comes highly recommended by someone in the
real estate industry.
Converting FSBO's
I work with a lot of FSBO clients. I help them with the
staging, photography and virtual tours for their home. Many of these
clients are reluctant to list with an agent because they have had a bad
experience in the past. I discuss the NAR statistics on homes
sold by owner and that they sell for much less than those sold with an agent
so they are really not saving any money and may waste time and energy
in the process. A lot of the time it just takes a second
party recommendation for the FSBO's to be confident they are making the
right decision when choosing an agent.
Generating Leads
I always have my ears open for people selling their homes. Whenever I
am out and hear that someone is thinking of selling I always give them
my card and tell them I know some great real estate agents that are
trustworthy and will help them with a smooth sale.
Expired
listings
Stagers also work with clients that have had their homes on the market
for months with no interest. Usually by the time they find me they are
ready for a change. They want the home staged and listed with
a different agent or company. I help them choose the right
agent.
Shorter time on the
market and higher sale price
The last reason to patner with your local home stager is that your
listings will sell faster and for more money.
Partnering with stagers
Partnering with local home stagers is a win, win situation. Don't you
think it is time to call your local home stager to see how you can
increase your business.
What do
you think? Stagere,
please share your stories about how you are working with real estate
agents. I am also curious how Realtors® are using
stagers to grow their business. I'd love to hear your
stories.
TLW - I'm just going to throw this out there and see where it lands. I don't want to be the champion of the home staging industry, I'll just tell you how things are going where I am.
Most of the staging I do is paid for by the listing agent. There are very few vacant homes where I am so I don't really do vacant home staging at all. I work with a few agents that pay for a 2 hour consultation for their occupied listings. Most of the time that is the only service I provide to the homeowners. Sometimes they don't even spend any $. A lot of the time we rearrange the furniture to make the home appear more spacious, completely clean and declutter then make the home look warm and inviting with a few finishing touches. Even these small changes make a huge difference.
In a market like yours where many of the homes are older and can be cluttered with years of accumulated treasures a stager could work wonders. When things are tough I think many people would choose to list with an agency that is offering a free service that the competition is not offering. If you got an additional 1 listing per year by offering free staging consultations you would be able to pay your stager for about 20 consultations. I think you would get a lot more than one listing and the ones that are staged would sell faster and for more $ as well. I think in tough times in a depressed market staging is a great way to gain business and speed sales.
OK, that's my staging rand for the month. Bet you had no idea all this would pour froth from your little comment. :)
Maureen ~ I am going to be doing my first seller seminar with a Broker in my area this coming weekend. I hope to post about it afterwards. What is great is that one of the agents in this office contacted me! As home staging is not as "big" here as in other states, I am hoping that this will open staging up here a bit. Hopefully, what I talk about will encourage these sellers to consider staging to help move their houses.
Maureen, since you asked . . . beyond the fact that many of us work toward becoming a part of the listing agents' "tools for success," I also work with agents in other ways. I've been talking to a local agent lately about a little experiment which has little to do with directly staging any property. She and I have done a bit of brainstorming concerning ways we can help one another. Here are two things which have NOT come up in our conversation 1) she will recommend me to her clients, nor 2) I will refer folks to her.
But, here are a couple things which we have discussed -- we will work together to put on a seminar for potential home sellers, and we will trade guest posts on one another's blogs. We plan to get together this week to see how to develop these ideas. I think that will be a bit of fun. I plan to ask her to put in a guest appearance at the class I teach at our local college. Oh, the possibilities. BTW, great post!
Maureen, I also believe that changes don't have to be big or expenisive at all....small changes can make a HUGE difference. I have been working with several realtors for a very long time to just come and make suggestions; they pay for it and it doesn't take long and since it's not difficult or expensive the homeowners do it. And the house sells faster and for more money. I may have a different approach but what we used to call rearrange (and is now redesign) works wonders.
Yvonne - Those are great ideas. Thanks for sharing. I also provide REA's a list of staging tips they can post on their website as long as they link it back to mine. That works out well also.
Carole - So true, it doesn't have to be crazy fancy to work.
I love the idea of offering our partners content for their sites, with a link back. Nice.
Great post overall, M. I'm sad to hear about the state of things in the Bryants' market, but know that the country is unevenly embroiled in this "recession". I too have realtors paying for the consultation, in many cases and it works well. Another brokerage team contributes upfront to the staging cost a) because they believe it works and b) it's a finite number that they can chip in to justify their fee. They know they're going to have to chip in at some point in the transaction; by getting it out of the way first, it lets them off the hook for all of the bigger stuff later on.
Hi Maureen, enjoyable post. I've had only one agent pay for staging and she made the offer to me...made me an hourly rate offer rather than a 'set price' so she could manage the $ (understandable...) and I've gone and worked a few hours here and there doing exactly as you said...moving around, decluttering, adding as needed...maybe it won't make millions but it's a way to create that working relationship which is the key for further work down the road.
And, I've had a couple of staging jobs in her immediate market that I've passed the referral to, one in particular being a FSBO...like you said, sometimes it's just that recommendation that puts the seller's mind at ease. We all like to work with someone who's been recommended rather than pulling the name out of the hat!
TLW - I read BB's post. It is a sad state. Hopefully the second half of '08 will be better all around.
Juliet - Don't you love those situations... The REA gets helpful content and I get a backlink.
Abby - It works out great for the homeowner, I know the agents that I work with frequently and they are sharp. They take great pictures and are aggressive in their marketing. They also all have a great business and social skills - I feel very protective of my homeowners and it helps to know they are in good hands.
I get so many clients that call me first before they list, and they always ask who I would recommend for an are Realtor. If I haven't worked with any in that particular pocket, I don't like recommending one. If I have, it's usually just a phone call and the Realtor has a new client from my recommendations. I don't think REA realize if they partnered or even used us for certain houses how we would reciprocate.
Cindy - that is exactly what I was trying to get across with this blog. By the lack of responses I think REA's either don't get it or don't believe it. I think it takes a long time to develop a relationship that you are comfortable with. I love my "guys" and have no reservations recommending them.
I'm always having a good time in my home staging business! when I first heard about it, I was hesitant at first but I said, "I have nothing to lose and maybe have everything to gain". So, I decided to go for it and I was right! I have everything to gain without losing anything! Now, I enjoyed financial and time freedom with it! The best part about <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/home-staging-business">home staging jobs</a> is, you can learn all about it even in the comforts of your own home! And by the way, home stagers can really help you buy or sell a house! ask any real estate investor and he'll nod his head a million times!
Maureen - You are absolutely right. I have been in a few situations where the seller is preparing the home for market and one of the potential listing agents reccommends Simply Staged Inc. to stage the home. We are then hired by the seller. The catch is, sometimes they have not officially listed with them yet. They are still deciding who they are going to list with.
Somehow it may not seem fair to list with one agent when they are already using the advice to stage they received from another agent - but it does happen. When in this situation I sung the praises of the Realtor that brought me in. It was their insight to stage the home and I had worked with them several times before. I knew their track record and could confidently recommend them.
While I realize it was not the only reason they decided to list with the agent that brought me in, I believe it was helpful in their decision making process. (Not to take away from the Realtor's marketing/presentation skills) It was that additional 3rd party recommendation that you spoke of.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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