An interesting question was raised recently by a colleague in the Staging Diva forum on the issue of following up work from prospects we have met or spoken with on the phone, but have not heard back from in some time. This really got me thinking about the issue, is it a good thing or a bad thing to follow up property presentation opportunities when you have not heard back from them?
Personally, I have no issues following up leads and work opportunities if I have not heard back from propective clients. These people have considered having their home for sale staged, have rung you or met with you, but yet have not fully committed to contracting you to undertake the work. They have done all the hard work already and I believe that they are aware that we can assist them to Shift their property.
There are of course many reasons why you have not heard back from the client. Their work-life is busy, kids need to get to soccer practice, their mother or father is sick, not to mention the fact that the prospective client is stressed out at the thought of selling their home. While I know the benefits of the service I provide in presenting properties, I still feel a lot of clients who have not tried home staging in the past may consider this the 'luxury' item in selling their home, therefore we as stagers are often dropped down a few priority rungs on the increasing in length to-do-list.
I genuinely feel that people who have gone to the effort of tracking us down, spent time on the phone with us, and enquired about the process are interested in what we offer. It's just that...well...we sort of get forgotten about in the process of selling the home. It's a shame as we should be an integral part of that process, not an option on the side should the seller have to consider a price negotiation or have been on the market 2 months longer than they expected.
The way I see it is that calling your prospect back to see how they are going with selling their home, an email to see if they need any further assistance or even a text message to say that you saw a competing house come on the market just up the road will show that you are not necessarily being pushy, but are instead showing an interest in what your client is going through.
Don't underestimate the power of being proactive to offer assistance, but also be aware that stalking the client to secure business is most likely illegal in your state!
Happy follow up calls to you all.
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