There's A LOT of confusion when it comes to E-Design and the simplest way to explain it...is to say that 

E-Design is simply technology helping you get your vision across to clients that much easier, better and more beautifully!  

How does E-Design do that?  Well, the best technology allows you to clip and save whatever you're searching online for in a "project" with a direct link and product price/information, so that while you're shopping or sourcing for clients it's being recorded into that  client's project folder...

In the past, designers would try to explain the vision they had to clients verbally or even tediously create a hard copy "mood board" but now technology gives us the tools to simplify, pass the vision along easily and even give clients the direct links to shop for themselves if they wish.

Here Are 3 Not So Obvious Ways E-Design Can Grow Your Sales...

There's so much more you can do with E-Design technology, so if you want all the answers to how to incorporate E-Design into your staging or design business, click to join me on a workshop about it below...

Sending kids off to college can be tough...I know as I will be doing that next year and am already completely dreading it!  It's even tougher on the child and moving into ugly, boring and sterile dorm rooms does not make it any easier.   That's why I love this story about DORM ROOM STAGING  that I wrote for the National Association of Realtors staging blog which featured yet another way for stagers to do amazing things in unique locations!

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Penn State wisely contacted HSR Certified Carolyn Plummer of Carolyn Plummer Designs and home staging based in Harrisburg, PA for a solution to boring dorm spaces and you won't believe the transformation...

I absolutely love how Carolyn softens up the space with an on-trend color palette that pleases both boys and girls along with a TON of textures and cozy rug, pillows and throws.  Imagine previewing colleges with your child to find this staged dorm space as an option vs. the typical un-staged space above it?

The builder was ecstatic with her work and these staged spaces put Penn State on top of their college recruiting game!

Here's some more photos but to read the WHOLE story, CLICK HERE.

The builder also used these photos in their marketing materials...in fact, the developers of this housing unit were so impressed with the job Carolyn did, they kept the furnishings for the model unit.

They’ve since rented out all of the units through the next three years—wow!

As a contributor to the National Association of Realtors staging blog, my favorite thing to do is to brag about the incredible talent of my HSR certified home staging members.  I also find it so interesting to watch the MANY different directions home stagers take their business because there are so many niches available to them.  

I will share Carolyn's behind the scenes Member Success story soon but here's what she had to finish with when she shared her dorm room project with me...

Remember that book by the incomparable Dr. Seuss?   When someone decides to "choose themselves" and steps into the staging and design industry through the HSR Certification Training it's AMAZING where their business can take them!  I was reminded of that Dr. Seuss book when I read about the story below.

Here's a recent member success story about staging Airbnbs...

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It was vacant and I completely designed and staged the entire space. Now I am partnering with him to manage the space and will receive a cut of the profits each month. This will be an Airbnb. 

But it gets better...there are 2 other units just as stunning in the same "home" and I'll be doing the same with those. Residual income!!

And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you'll move mountains!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So...get on your way!

Staging pricing is one of the most confusing topics in our industry because we are dealing with a very complex product...the home.  I've seen long-time, veteran stagers make pricing mistakes, so my hope is to "lift the lid" on this topic and cover some of it here and a lot more on my free, live webinar next week:-).

Here are the 4 out of the 10 mistakes home stagers (and designers) make when they create their services and pricing list...to see the last 6, click on the image above and join me on my Pricing Webinar.

This may seem like an obvious one but I'm constantly seeing service details left out of the pricing list of stagers and designers.  "Consultation" is a VERY broad term in this industry and one person's may be a 15-minute, assessment while another's is a 2-hour walk through with a staging report...would you agree that those are VERY different priced services?

What happens when we ASSUME?  Why let your client assume anything from your service list!  Be crystal clear in what you're delivering, have a equally clear contract and you will alleviate most every problem that stagers encounter (which are usually misunderstandings based on "assumptions" anyway).

So many home stagers believe that clients purely go off of price when choosing a home stager, so they price too low in order to win the job.  While some uneducated clients will choose solely on price, most people are savvy enough to recognize that staging is an art  form and "you get what you pay for" when it comes to the staging design work done in the home.

The "low ball stagers" are usually not invested in their business or HSR Certified.  They think "staging would be fun" so they  just think they will charge what their hourly was in their last position...ugh!   

These untrained stagers would also not know how to shop wholesale, not understand the real estate market, not have those valuable vendor relationships, a good contract, understand client phraseology, have insurance or be in business by this time next year so never fear the "low ball stager"!

This is an honest mistake I see even the most veteran stagers make when it comes to their business.  By nature, we are creatives...not hardened, "salesy" negotiators.  The "typical" successful skill set needed to be an AWESOME staging artist usually comes from the right brain, so it's easy for us  to "cave" when a savvy, negotiating agent wants to "value down" a stager's pricing.  Please trust me on this...DON'T DO IT.

Having said that, I do believe that you need to have a "Good, Better, Best Pricing" when it comes to vacant homes since that allows flexibility in pricing for the budget minded.  I will get into a lot more of that in my live webinar next week, so I hope you can join me...

I also think there are ways to be "flexible" in your pricing that doesn't diminish your pricing credibility like wavering and discounting does...and this brings me to another pricing mistake:

Not everyone has the budget to have you in their home, staging it for days, so that is why it's always good to have a stair-stepped price model that allows for the "Do-It-Yourselfer" who can take your detailed Staging Report and do the work.  

I always say that successful staging requires 4 things to work...

Looking at the 4 items above, if the seller has the time and energy to put into the staging, then a stager can have stair-stepped pricing and simply provide the objectivity, extreme expertise and vendor list in the Staging Report.  This is what HSR Certified stagers are trained to do and they have access to a large, staging report model that works really well in the home!

Hopefully that gives you some food for thought on pricing.  I'm going to continue this conversation in my next, BRAND NEW, live webinar, so I hope you can join me!