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What I learned working a Home Staging Trade Booth!

By
Home Stager with Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors

 

 

      I just worked my first trade booth ever --  for the NJ Chapter of RESA, the Real Estate Staging Association, at the TriplePlay Real Estate Convention in Atlantic City, NJ last week.  Since I don’t like being pushy or direct selling, even though I totally believe in the benefits of my NJ home staging services, I decided to take the tack that I DO like meeting and talking to people. It made for an enjoyable experience! This is what I learned about being an exhibitor:

1)   Even if people don’t ask for help, they will be receptive if you offer free literature or ask them a couple of questions such as: “do you have any questions?”/”have you ever had a need for or have you used a home stager  -(fill in your service/product)?”/”did you know that using our service or product can provide X benefit to you?”  In our case, we also asked “Where are you located? Would you like a flyer on the benefits of using a stager for your listings, and a directory of stagers in NJ?” Virtually everyone said yes 

2)   Offer a freebie that will draw people into your booth – we had Ghirardelli chocolates and a drawing each day for a $50 HomeGoods gift card. HomeGoods is one of our favorite sources for home staging accessories, of course! Other booths offered pens, tote bags (a great idea for carrying all that literature you pick up), magnets, notepads, etc. 


3)   Be sure to put the promotional item in plain view, preferably at the front of the booth – when we moved the chocolates from inside our booth to the front, we drew a lot more attention and visitors.
 
4)   Offer a drawing for some prize or service to collect business cards to add to a mailing list.
 
5)    DON’T ignore any visitors (it happened to me at a couple of booths and gave me a bad impression of that real estate office or product). DO smile and talk to anyone who even pauses to look at what you are selling.
 
6)   If you have a video or Powerpoint display, put it near or at the front of the booth so visitors can view it more easily without having to walk into the booth to see it (we didn’t do this, but I’m hoping we do next year, since I noticed some passersby craning their necks to see the monitor at the back of our booth).
 

7)   Make sure your booth is attractively presented, especially important for home stagers and designers! CORT Furniture graciously provided free rental furniture for us that made our booth look like a staged room in an upscale condo (gold and purple tones), and generated a lot of positive comments.
 
 
        I really enjoyed meeting so many nice, receptive agents, even though most were not from my area of northern NJ and not prospects for me. But spreading the word about our industry will help all stagers, and you never know where a future referral will come from – even a couple of minutes of building rapport might lead to business later. Happy Exhibiting!  <!--EndFragment-->

Posted by

Home Staging Bergen County -- Amy Bly

Great Impressions Home Staging 201-390-4649  

 "Great Impressions Get Offers"

Presentation and price are critical to selling houses quickly. You and your agent figure out the best price; I make your home stand out from the competition to appeal to the most buyers, whether they are first-time buyers, move-up buyers, or down-sizing buyers. As an accredited, experienced staging professional, I know how to make your home grab buyers' attention -- on the MLS and in person. A beautifully presented house makes a great impression, stands out from the competition, and generates offers faster than a non-staged house!

For a free home staging estimate, call me at 201-390-4649. 

Home staging website: www.greatimpressionshomestaging.com

Email: amybly@gmail.com

 

Comments (18)

Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Hi Amy ~ Thanks for sharing your experience and giving us some good tips on trade show booths.  It was especially heartening to read that even though many of the Realtors attending weren't in your local area, your booth was helping to educate them about the benefits of staging.  That's a great way to Stage It Forward and we thank you!

Dec 12, 2011 06:00 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Very informative post Amy....I'm sure it will be very helpful to anyone considering doing a trade show for the first time!

Dec 12, 2011 09:26 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Amy- great information.  I have a table once-a-month at our local Board of Realtors and it's been a good way to get my face in front of a lot of Realtors.  Each vendor participating had a drawing which is a good way to encourage the Realtors to come by the table.  Hope you get to do it again soon!  

Dec 12, 2011 11:14 AM
Amy Bly
Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ
Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Hi, Maureen, thanks and "you're welcome" -- I think we're all in this business together, despite our separate businesses! We need to educate agents and sellers alike on the value and benefits of staging. 

Thanks, Sharon -- I learned a lot from the one day of working this booth, and figured maybe I could pass some of it along for anyone else new to the trade show experience!

Hi, Kathy, thanks for stopping by to comment. Now I have questions for you: What kind of event is that -- a monthly meeting? Do you pay? Do you get business from it? How long have you been doing this? I know in my area we aren't allowed to be affiliate members of our Board of Realtors (apparently, this is only the case in MY particular county :>( 

Dec 12, 2011 02:20 PM
Lori Kim Polk
Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA
Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

Great information Amy. Make sure you add all those cards to your data base and send out a quick update on the show, the winner of the raffle, and your services ;)

Dec 12, 2011 03:47 PM
Janet Jones
Just Your Style Interiors, LLC - Kihei, HI
Home Staging, Interior Redesign Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Hi Amy--good for you for meeting and talking with people and promoting our industry.  The interesting thing about those shows is one never knows who is going to pop up in the future as a result of having heard about you or the industry at that show. 

Dec 12, 2011 04:31 PM
Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

#5 -  "Don't Ignore any Visitors"

   I have seen this at various Trade Shows and Conventions.  The Salesperson or Attendant is caught up in conversation, not with a customer, but with some other Salesperson or Attendant.   People are picking up their Free Pens and their Peppermints and their other Give-Aways, but the Salesperson is ignoring them. 

   Contrast this to a Table or Booth where the Salesperson is greeting and smiling and glad-handing everyone who pauses in front of their Station.

Dec 12, 2011 04:33 PM
Cindy Bryant
Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX
"Houston Home Staging Pros"

I agree with #5 too, especially if someone doesn't acknowledge you to at least say, "I'll be right with you", if they are speaking with someone else.

Dec 12, 2011 05:18 PM
Amy Bly
Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ
Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Great idea, Lori Kim. I will suggest your idea to the secretary/administrator of our group, who planned on divvying up all the card info geographically to the stagers to follow up with. 

Hi, Janet, thanks, I hope you're right and someone from the show brings me business in the future, but it was an enjoyable experience anyway!

Hi, Fred, Couldn't agree more -- when it happened to me, it wasn't because the booth attendants were talking to other customers, but were talking amongst themselves instead of paying attention to prospects! 

Yes, Cindy, it's a pet peeve of mine, too! As an exhibitor, your job is to always acknowledge any and all visitors, otherwise you look like you don't care -- exactly the wrong message to send. Thanks for your comment!

Dec 13, 2011 01:55 AM
Juliet Johnson
Vizzitopia - St Johns, FL
Jacksonville Photography & Digital Marketing

Good for you, Amy, for going to the event and for standing up for the industry as a whole.  That's an excellent example of paying it forward.  I'm curious about another angle of the Triple Play (an event I always swore I would one day go to, when I was a NJ stager)... what was the most popular giveaway?  

It seems at trade shows, there's always one booth with a cool giveaway that everyone wants.  Was it your HomeGoods certificate - that's a terrific tie-in for stagers, btw.  Congrats! - or was there a blinking button or cool bag everyone wanted to take home to their kids?

 

Dec 13, 2011 10:32 AM
Joanna Cohlan
Fresh Eyes For Your Home - Chappaqua, NY
Designing, Decorating & Staging Westchester Homes

Hi Amy, glad you went to the event and had a really good time and, got something out of it in the process.  The HomeGoods certificate is a great idea-I would want that and use that in a heartbeat!

Dec 14, 2011 07:43 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Hi, Juliet, Great question! The hot giveaway -- available at no less than 3 booths that I saw -- was an Ipad! Unfortunately, I didn't win one! That was a little out of our group's budget, and I do think the HomeGoods certificate was a better tie-in anyway :>) I'd love to hear why you switched gears and left staging, btw. 

Hi, Joanna, yes, thanks! I don't even know who won them, but I think our RESA administrator is sending around an email to that effect soon. 

Amy

Dec 14, 2011 07:51 AM
#13
Josef Katz
Digital and Direct Response Marketing - Manhattan, NY
{Marketing Maestro}

Amy sounds like you know how to work a booth.  Having worked a booth and gone to my share of conferences it always amazes me when the person in the booth shows no interest in you, in being there or what you might want.  They spend a ton of money and don't seem to care if they market themselves. 

Glad it went well for you.

Dec 16, 2011 02:15 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Thanks, Josef! It just seems like common sense, doesn't it? I agree it's unbelievable that some people don't bother to talk to you when you're standing right there; sends exactly the wrong message about their company. 

Amy

Dec 16, 2011 02:36 AM
#15
Sebastian Barrett St.Troy
Austin Market-Ready Services, Home Staging and Real Estate - Austin, TX

Amy, very nicely presented and with good information.  How did it go regarding new business?  I've never done a trade show, but have considered it as part of our 2012 Business Plan.

Dec 18, 2011 06:34 AM
Kathy Strader
Memorial Staged Homes - Houston, TX
ASP

Thank you for posting this Amy.  The Build Expo will be in Houston in February and I will be exhibiting and presenting.  I appreciate the tips, especially the one about the power point presentation.  Great idea!

Dec 31, 2011 03:08 AM
Amy Bly
Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ
Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Hi, Barb, yes, thanks for your comment! I expect it will take many more times to educate both realtors and the public about how we can help them get their houses sold for a very small investment in making them look so much better!

Hi, Sebastian, thanks! So far, I haven't gotten any business from the trade show, nor have the stager friends I'm in touch with from RESA. But we weren't there to give out or receive biz cards individually -- they were collected in a bowl at the booth and we were supposed to be given the contact info, but we are all still waiting. Needs to be done soon to be handled in a timely fashion, and you reminded me to follow up with the RESA administrator and president of our chapter. 

No problem, thanks for stopping by, Kathy, and please let me know how your presentation goes -- good luck!

Jan 01, 2012 11:17 AM