Real Estate Blog - Re-Allocating Advertising Dollars Smartly DEC 2008

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Re-Allocating Advertising Dollars Smartly DEC 2008

As Real Estate approachs some unfamiliar territory, Agents across North America are wondering if they should take more listings and what to do with them when they get them. It's no joke to throw away your hard earned commision or even to get into debt trying to service a listing.

It's not the way it used to be and advertising a house is much more complex, as buyers search the net first for interior photos and make their choices based on that FIRST before even calling their agents.

My suggestion to you as a former Real Estate Agent turned Home Stager, is to re-allocate your advertising dollars slightly and pay for an initial Home Staging Consultation for your sellers. This way you can improve your chances of getting a house listed that will show BETTER than it's www.mls.ca competition.

The goal is to price competivley and to SHOW BEAUTIFULLY. See our website at either www.stageandsell.ca or www.edmontonhomestaging.ca to get a better idea on what occupied homes and vacant homes can look like with Expert Home Staging Services.

This way you can advertise a listing that actaully will bring in buyer traffic and your chances of a sale are greatly increased.

Posted by Jill Gargus, Leading Home Staging In Alberta on 12/04/2008 01:40 PM

Comments (3)

Re-Allocate Ad Dollars in the Real Estate Market Channel

reallocate advertising dollars smartly

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3 Comments on Re-Allocating Advertising Dollars Smartly DEC 2008

DEC

Hi Jill,

I can't disagree with anything you have said in your post. I am a realtor n Airdrie (Calgary & Area), my experience has been that my clients are reluctant to pay for a Home staging consultation, and out of the last 7, I have recommended to my clients, I have ended up paying the Home Staging consulting fee. However after the consultation I have found that my clients are unwilling to pay the Home stager to do the work. Hence, I have spent up to $300.00 for ZERO result. Therefore, I am reluctant to even suggest home Staging anymore. Any recommendations you have would be appreciated, I totally agree that a Staged Home helps sell but how do I convince my clients?

Bill

Jill, good post and great advice. I wanted to also comment to Bill, I have some Realtors that offer to reimburse the sellers at closing if they have a consult done. This offers no money out of the Realtors pocket until they have a closing and the sellers will usually work with the stager if they have paid for the service up front and hope to get reimbursed for the fee at closing. Didn't mean to high jack your post Jill, just wanted to share something that works in my market.

DEC

Great idea on the seller re-imbursing for the fee, I have found that I can usually tell from the first conversation if they are serious or not. Alot of times they just want free advice aren't willing to do anything anyone tells them. They may not even be the type to respect their agents' recommendations for price changes either. It's so strange, they hire the professional and then ignore him/her.

Sometimes it is also an issue of money. They may not have any and are not going to reveal that. If I was still an agent I would say " Mr and Mrs. Seller, I appreciate that you have hired me to assist you in this sale. In this ever changing market I have found that we need to stay ahead of the competitors- especially when showings are so few and far between. I am recommending that we have a home stager in for a consultation and see what options we have for preparing this house for a faster sale. BUT before I make a call I need to ask you, are you willing to possibly hire a home stager? The investment could be anywhere between $2-6,000 and of course, being that I am not a stager, I cannot say for sure. BUT my question to you is "how badly do you want to sell? Are you willing to take the next step? Can afford to pay this fee? "

This would be my approach as I am never a fan of spending where I don't have to . I would simply ask the question from a humble place of waiting to help. They may say no and that is ok, At least you know where you stand.

It really is not about a consult, it's a bigger issue that they are not telling you. They may also not be impressed with the Stager you brought in. Maybe try someone else and see how that goes. Not everyone who stages, are good salespeople when it comes to explaining the benefits and making a staging agreement.

Running a home staging business is a multi-faceted operation and not everyone is cut out for it. They may shine at staging, but suck at portfolios, selling, marketing etc.

If I was in Calgary I would help you!

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