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Putting perfume on a pig won't bring in the bacon

I am fortunate to live in an area where most homes on the market are at a premium, even when the market is correcting itself (South Bay, Los Angeles i.e., Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes) with most homes listing at over $1M for an average 2,000 sq. foot home/condo. However, home sellers are not getting the full ROI in this market and realtors are not earning as much commission. Why? Because they are ignoring the importance of professional staging and the small updates that need to be made to market a home to its fullest potential.

Here is an email I wrote to a realtor partner today (I have worked with in the past) turning down business. It went something like this:

Thank you for contacting Exclusive Home Staging and attached is the proposal for your listing.

I wrestled with our telephone conversation today regarding reducing the staging cost by reducing the furniture and accessories to a minimum. I cannot to do this, and here is why:

I take pride in my work and my staging is not main stream or the same in every house.
I work to enhance properties and to help realtors and owners sell for as much as possible.
I don't want to put a chair and a plant in the corner or just a bed in a room and convince you or the home seller that it will help sell the property... and the selling price is reduced in 2 weeks.
I look at each property differently and furnish it according to the style and the buyers market that it is appealing to.

A property is usually seller's biggest investment. Enhancing it by putting $5,000.00 into a property such as this home is better than taking a 2 - 5% price reduction in two weeks. I truly believe, as is, a buyer will want allowances for the appliances, fixtures, etc., and staging will not help.

If your buyer is on a limited budget and is not willing to replace appliances, lighting, etc., then I think painting and carpet cleaning is the way to go. I can offer a color consultation in which I will charge for you $$$ or I can refer you to another home stager.

Thank you again for contacting Exclusive Home Staging, "First Impressions... Deliver Results".

Putting perfume on a pig won't bring in the bacon if a home seller is unwilling to invest in properly marketing their property to sell.

Posted by Terri Lucas on 05/01/2008 04:35 AM

Comments (21)

exclusive home staging, staging, redondo beach, hermosa beach, manhattan beach, palos verdes

Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...
Post is included in group: Home Staging
Post is included in group: Home Staging Resurce - HSR
Post is included in group: Real Estate Staging Association
Post is included in group: VACANT HOUSE STAGING & NEW HOMES

21 Comments on Putting perfume on a pig won't bring in the bacon

I commend you on your professional approach to a difficult situation. Sometimes it is best not to compromise quality for $$$'s.

05/01/2008 05:16 AM

by Wanda Richards ABR, ASP (Long & Foster Real Estate )

As a fellow stager, I'm extremely proud of you. I too have had a similar experience and turned the business down. Given that my objective is the same as the agents and homeowners (and that is to move the house quickly) I can't do an 'average' job. It serves no purpose and is a waste of the sellers money.

Great post.

Kathy

05/01/2008 07:19 AM

by Kathy Nielsen, Atlanta Home Stager (Georgia Interior Solutions, LLC)

I hear you loud and clear - perhaps this could be posted to the Realtors group? If you're going to stage, you must be commited to doing it correctly. Thanks for sharing - Julie

05/01/2008 07:32 AM

by Julia Maher, Staging Fairfield County Connecticut CT (Nestings)

Terri,

Great post, I'm going to bookmark this one for future reference. Thanks

05/01/2008 07:40 AM

by Donna Schoby, Ready, Set, Stage! Fayetteville, AR (Ready, Set, Stage! Serving Northwest Arkansas)

You can and should be selective about the type of business and clients you take on. Good job - sometimes those people come back to you later...

05/01/2008 07:48 AM

by Thomas Scott - Showhomes (Showhomes)

You're spot-on, Terri. There is nothing worse than comprimising not only the staging job, but your company's repuation as the final staging reflects. As I tell many homeowners, as well as Realtors, "The bitter taste of a poor job, lasts much longer than the sweet taste of the low bid". Good for you!

05/01/2008 08:53 AM

by Connie Tebyani, Platinum Home Staging Serving Los Angeles and Ventura Counties (Platinum Home Staging, Inc.)

Terri, I love the title of your Blog... I just sent a proposal for a vacant staging on a 2M home here in Colorado. Thirteen years ago it was a Parade of Homes house and quote unquote professionally decorated. It has been vacant for two years, the paint is old and tired and it has dark brown carpet, just to mention a few issues. I was explaining to the seller that to compete in the local market and asking a premium price, it needs to be in perfect, move-in condition. He was not a happy camper! I wish I would have remembered the perfume on a pig adage... maybe i'll still use it. It needs carpet and paint and get rid of the heavy, wrong styled window treatments! No one is looking for crushed purple velvet swags with gold tassle trim in their study!

Anyhow, very tactful way of getting your message across. Way to go. I may turn down this staging if the seller does not paint and replace carpet... I'll use your verbage...

Thanks

05/01/2008 05:25 PM

by Diane Palazzo (Rooms to Improve)

Catchy title! Sounds like a southern expression!

05/01/2008 07:51 PM

by Kristina, KFM Staging & Design - A Minnesota Home Staging Company (KFM Staging & Design)

Terri,

Your clients are a direct reflection of you and your work and you can't be more engaged in their sucess than they are. Good post!

05/01/2008 10:31 PM

by Susan Peters - Seattle Realtor/Staging Specialist (Re/Max Mutual Realty)

HI! Your titile really caught my eye! The carpet vendor on my team uses this catchy phrase all the time when he is trying to sell new carpet and the homeowner is thinking about having it cleaned instead of making the investment. He always tells them "You can't put perfume on a pig!" It is pretty effective!! Stand proud and be proud of your work!! Great post!

05/01/2008 10:55 PM

by Cathy Lee ASP (CL Design Services Home Staging)

I have been in similar situations where clients ask my opinion then when I tell them, and it's not what they want to hear, they say "well, I'm not going to do that." Sometimes it makes we wonder why they called me in the first place. I think telling them the ideal staging scenario is our job because we are there for only one purpose - to make the house look its best so it will sell.

I like Susan Peters comment about being more engaged in their success than they are - well said!

05/02/2008 08:40 AM

by Gabriele Campbell, ASP, CID (D F Campbell Ventures Group Inc.)

Dear Gabriele, I think they (realtors and sellers) watch too much HGTV and think they can spend $500 and have a model home to put on the market. Still fighting that battle...

Susan, Thanks for your comment and you are absoulutely right.

Dianne, I am wishing you luck.. Hopefully, they well take your professional opinion. Crushed Velvet? Maybe it should be staged as a tribute to Elvis. Matching velvet painting perhaps.

Connie, great quote. I am going to use that in the future. Crunk on!

Thanks to everyone for the comments. It helps me keep my head held high.

P.S. perfume on a pig was saying from my grandfather... from the south. I wouln't quote this to a client though. HA!

05/02/2008 09:08 AM

by Terri Lucas (Exclusive Home Staging Staging Redondo Beach & Los Angeles)

LOVE the title of your blog! I have done the same thing several times in the past. Staging can be extremely helpful but is not a magic cure-all if the basics of the house are not addressed. Good for you for opertating with integrity; I have never felt bad for doing this.

05/02/2008 12:01 PM

by Tori Lynn Ross - Omaha's Premier Home Stager (Ross Designs, LLC)

I laughed at your title. My partner and I often use that expression - it is so applicable. It's so hard to turn down business, and we have done it also, and I must say that unfortunately I find it hard to move past that point. I re-create the conversations in my head, and wonder if I should have done something different. I think the word for this is "integrity" -- good for you.

05/02/2008 03:55 PM

by Nancy Morrish, Stage Tucson! (Stage Tucson! Professional Home Staging)

Terri! This is an excellent reminder to all of us. We are here to help home sellers and real estate agents understand what is the most important thing to help get any particular property sold. While in college one of my instructors was a Interior Designer in Tucson Arizona. He used a different word to describe why he would not do certain things with his clients property which he knew to be poor design. I won't write the word here but it will suffice to say that he thought of giving the clients his best and only his best even if it meant he would lose the client in order to maintain his own integrity. Good Choice.

05/03/2008 11:50 AM

by Yvonne Root Northern Arizona Home Stager (rooms b.y. root)

Great blog, Terri, and I love your analogy. You have a strong sense of ethics which is evident in your blog. Keep it up and reap the rewards.

05/16/2008 03:03 PM

by Michelle Minch Home Staging Pasadena & Los Angeles, CA (Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA)

Terri you hooked me with your blog title - I just had to read your post. I completely agree with everything you had to say and like Donna will be bookmarking for future reference. Thanks for the post. Betty

05/16/2008 03:41 PM

by Betty Haney (Attention to Detail)

Terri, I think that if all professions had this kind of courage and commitment, the world in general would be a much better place.

05/19/2008 07:03 PM

by Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com)

Terri - Kudos to you for doing the right thing. I have no doubt the Realtor will continue to hire you and recommend you for your honesty and integrity.

05/19/2008 09:13 PM

by Sandra Hughes-Redesigned Spaces-Virginia Redesigned Spaces - Fairfax County, VA (Redesigned Spaces - Northern Virginia)

If you do put perfume on a pig you are going to have a much better smelling pig , but you will still have a PIG>

I too have turned down business because staging will not do it for them and they don't want to spend a penny to updated a gold or blue (leaky too) bathroom. These are the colors of the stools, sinks, etc. Water damage, rotting stairs to get in - no, no - staging will not help.

05/19/2008 10:15 PM

by Kathleen Lordbock (Re$ale Design) ~Minnesota Home Stager~ (Re$ale Design & Home Staging)

As many others have said -- catchy title.

Kevin

05/20/2008 11:10 AM

by Kevin McGourty - Moving Help - nationwide (MovingHelp.com)

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