I recently received a phone call from a realtor for whom I had Staged, at that point, 8 vacant listings. It began as usual, I met him at the property, took photos, emailed him the estimate, then waited. About a week later, I received a voice mail message from him mumbling something about "tried a different stager and, well... ummm, she wasn't so good...could you please come and fix it..."
He sounded pretty humble, so off I went...
Many apologies and an admission that "she did it for about 1/3 less than your estimate" later, I began the staging, receiving my full estimate price for the job. (Just to be clear, I used the same pricing structure as I always had with him in the past).
Realtors, beware of the "stagers" who undercut the price of their staging services just to "get the job". As a matter of fact, a stager who is willing to underprice themself can and should raise several different red flags:
- Lack of industry specific training
- Inexperience in pricing a job
- Inexperience in preparing a bid
- Lack of confidence in their ability
- Lack of value they can provide to your sellers
- Possible past problems with clients
Always be sure to ask every stager that you are considering working with these questions:
- Have you received any designations or certifications? Because there are no industry wide standards for the home staging industry, this means that anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a stager. There are several Staging Specific core courses that will prepare a professional who is serious about helping home sellers get their home sold faster and for more money!
- What type of continuing education do you receive? The core courses for home staging are for just that, home staging. A professional who loves and is serious about their career in staging will continue to learn about it so they will a) differentiate themselves from other stagers, b) stand out as an expert, c) grow in the field, d) stay ahead of the trends in color and design and e) continue learning new and up-to-date information so they bring more value to their clients.
- How long have you been staging? Home staging core courses are GREAT! However, nothing can replace experience.
- May I see your portfolio? An experienced, professional stager probably will have shown you their portfolio already! Not to brag, but love what we do! Also, they will direct you to more photos and information on their website.
- Are these photos of properties that YOU (specifically) have staged? Believe it or not, some of the staging courses provide their graduates with a "starter" portfolio. Be sure that the photos that they are showing you are of properties that they have staged themselves.
- May I call some of your past clients and/or Realtors that you have worked for? A professional stager with happy clients will usually ask permission to use them as a reference or for a letter of reference. If a stager seems uncomfortable with you asking...well...proceed with caution!
Use your due diligence when looking for a stager. As always, referrals are your best source.
Here are the before, after first stager and after Stage Right! Staging. Don't let this happen to you!
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