About a month ago I received the most wonderful voicemail message from a prospective home staging client in Alpharetta, for whom I did a free estimate for about 6 months prior.  It was for an occupied home and she was looking to start preparing to list the house this fall. 

Let me back up and say that about a month after doing this free estimate for her, and for about 3 other prospects (it was springtime...it was peak season...gotta take advantage of the traffic!), I realized that I could no longer afford to do what I'm doing for free.  Free Estimates are a tough thing to perform as a home stager without giving away the farm.  I'm a nice person and I want to help my clients but found that I was giving them waaaayyyy too much information;  they no longer needed to hire me to come back.  Essentially, I was giving them a verbal consultation for FREE.  Bad move, I know, so I did decide to reevaluate my home staging service options and provide this service for a reasonable fee.  I no longer do FREE estimates unless it's for a vacant property.

Anyway, her message stated that she was very pleased with the outcome of all of my suggestions and felt that she owed me something to compensate for my time and suggestions.  This was completely unsolicited but came at a time that I couldn't have been more thankful or appreciative for.  Funny how things work like that.  God works in mysterious ways...really.

I responded to her that I was grateful for her comments and that the outcome was good.  I told her that I was not comfortable charging her however I did mention that what I did for her is essentially what I'm now offering for a fee as a Verbal Consultation. I told her whatever she felt the service was worth to her, would be greatly appreciated.

She responded with "GREAT!  I'm glad you are now charging for it because you are worth every penny!  The check is in the mail!"

This 'client' baffled me because she did not respond to my initial bid, nor did she respond to my subsequent follow-ups to see how things were going, prior to this. I assumed she was blowing me off and after the third attempt to contact her, I gave up.  It was nice to know, almost 6 months later, that things were going well, that she had listened to me and that she was satisfied with the outcome.  If nothing else, the expression of gratitude from her was enough to plaster a smile across my face, especially during a time where there are few things to smile about.

Thanks to Connie T, who inspired this post. 

It's true...even though it's cloudy there are silver linings.

Don't forget to say 'Thank You' and express your gratitude for someones service.  We all could use a lift once and awhile.  That lift could be all they need to keep them going!