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May 2008
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Affiliate Corner columns
Help your clients “sell the experience” with home staging
By Carolyn Brake
Colorado Home Staging, Inc.
You have a new listing and you just KNOW it needs to be staged. However, you think your client might get offended if you bring up the subject of staging.
First and foremost, your client may be offended if you DON’T bring it up. They want it. They need it. They expect it. They just want to sell their home!
The majority of my REALTOR® clients offer home staging services as part of their marketing services. Most stage every home they list. Many pay for the service. Some even tell their potential listing client that they will not take the listing without the agreement that it be staged. These REALTORS® outshine their competition.
How do I convince my clients to have their home staged?
Be confident and matter-of-fact. Get excited. Tell them it will be less overwhelming than if they try to do it on their own. Homeowners want and need direction. If they stage their home, they should expect to achieve a higher price and sell the home quicker as long as it is priced competitively. Odds are that the homeowner will actually tell YOU that they need their home staged.
How can we persuade them to do what we want during the staging process?
Tell them to “sell the experience!”
Front porch – Don’t leave this area empty. Place a couple chairs and a small table to sell the experience of being able to watch their children play in the front yard.
Formal living room furniture museum – Change this room into one that has an actual function such as a library or music room.
Rear patio – Sell the experience of entertaining family and friends by putting out a patio set, grill, flower pots, etc.
Master bedroom – The “hotel-look” is hugely popular right now. Use romantic light and lots of pillows on the bed. Pull the sheets up tight and put a folded comforter at the foot of the bed. Sell the experience of retreating to the “master bedroom suite” for a hotel-like stay. No TVs, desks, computers or exercise equipment.
Master bath – Buyers want to think they are going to have time to take a bath someday. If there is a tub, sell a “spa-like” experience. Set out fluffy new towels and nice bars of soap, candles, flowers, etc.
The home is staged. Is it ready for market now?
Nope. Buyers don’t have E.S.P. The key to generating high foot traffic is great photos and an online virtual tour. Savvy home buyers are researching homes on the internet and skipping over listings with no photos. A virtual tour is key, especially for those out-of-state buyers.
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