To charge or not to charge...

I always feel a little uncomfortable about consultation fees as they can make a person seem greedy, but I agree with you that it also helps weed out those who are just in it for the freebies.

It might be worth it to design some sort of flyer on staging one room (a less important one) and then inviting the reader to call you to see the magic you can work on the rest of their house.

Christine... welcome back! One thing that seems to get mixed up here is the difference between a Bid and a Consult.  A Bid is just that... a proposed $ amount for your service. A consult is a type of service. You should always be paid for your services. Once you start to give information to the client on how they can prepare their home... you should be paid for it. My consults are a minimum of $200 or 10% of the square footage of the house. Seems to work well for my area. ;)  Done on a template and is written, then handed over to the client for them to complete the work. My REAs pay for this service.

Christine, that's a tough call. But I understand how you feel. Just like some people think that a REALTOR® does nothing but drive around to show a few houses and collect big fat checks. How much time do we spend with people and not make a dime? People need to be educated. Maybe if they actually understand how it works they will have a different attitude.

Christine: As stagers, we sell information and our knowledge first and our labor second. I give free estimates on vacant homes (free if they are within a certain radius from my office) but always charge when I go to see an occupied home. In most instances, on a vacant home, the only information they need from me is how much the staging will cost. On an occupied home, there is usually a lot of information exchanged during the meeting, like what to declutter, how to declutter, what needs to be painted, etc. before you can stage. That is why we only do paid consultations for occupied homes. I bring an assistant who takes notes and then we create a 5-10 page comprehensive report, including an estimate for doing the work or making purchases, which we then email to the client. We always get paid at the end of the consultation.

You should not be ashamed to ask to be paid for your knowledge. Lawyers get paid, car mechanics get paid, the plumber gets paid a trip charge...your services have value and you should be paid.

I agree you should be charging for the consultation.  The consultation is information they can use...information that you as a professional shouldn't be giving them for free.

We give free "bids" to stage the home (our rental costs, labor, etc), but as soon as they start asking< "What do you think about....?"  or "what would you do about....?"  We politely explain the Consulation Fee, what it includes, and if they would like to go that route.  Our serves are right in line with Michelles ~ she hit the nail on the head. =)  

I think you are totally correct in charging.  I charge for a consultation and also a nominal fee for a bid, which I then rebate back to the home seller if they move forward with my services.  I probably loose some people because of it but I weed out those really not interested or just trying to pick my brain for free info. 

I charge a consultation fee if I'm giving advice, I don't if I am just going to a vacant home to give them a price quote. 

I charge a fee for everything - just as you said, it weeds out people looking for free advice.  Even on vacant appointments I end up giving advice like a consultation so I charge for those appointments as well.

Christine, I make it clear from the beginning of the phone call.

• Do you want a consultation & a written report on how to stage you own home (Which there is a fee) This is a 2 to 3 hour service.
• Or do you want me to stage it and you would like an estimate (No fee) This is a 20 Minute visit.

No free advise from me, been there done that.

By reading Christine's blog I just gained valuable information. 

I haven't had the problem with consultation fees as the realtors have seen my work at other listings or know me from real estate.  I do have a presentation that I'm always happy to show the realtors and the Sellers.

I am offering free consultations in an ad that I'm currently running in local papers.  The information I just read from the blog comments will help, I'll keep the consultation time to a minimum.

Thanks,

Joiyce

Joyce's Interiors