Apprentice Lessons Archive - Page 10 of 12 - HSR Home Staging Certification Training
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Reserve Your Domain

The Most Important Thing You Will Do This Week...

Deciding on your business name will be the foundation of your brand, so choose wisely!  In the Getting Started Guide, I recommended doing a Google search of the name, checking to make sure it's not trademarked at TESS and even searching on Facebook for availability.  Once you've done your due diligence, you can reserve the domain (website address) for the name you chose.

You may have a great company name planned but if the website address is already taken, what do you do? We suggest working with the Internet to choose a company name and website address that corresponds to each other. In other words, you want a business name that is the same as your web address. How do you find one?

Go to www.godaddy.com in order to do a "domain search" and plug in different names (domains) to see what's taken and what is still available. Domains are very inexpensive (under $15.00), so please do not purchase anything else through Godaddy even though they will try and "up sell" you on hosting!

Here's a quick informational video on how to pick a name and register the domain:

 

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please go to this private YouTube link: https://youtu.be/G1IVtZ9vNn4

Premium Website Package Purchasers!

You must have your domain reserved BEFORE filling out our short website form to order your gorgeous website.   Once you've done this step, feel free to order your website right away!

To review our various website template options, go to:  ​

https://www.homestagingresources.com/websites-for-stagers/

Open House Assessments

Furthering Your Training and Marketing by Going to Open Houses

This is an Optional Activity Which May Help to Market Your Business...

Here is an easy way for you to become familiar with using your Staging Reports/Client Action Plans while possibly developing some valuable Realtor contacts! Who doesn't love going to Open Houses!  Here's the plan...

1. Go to www.realtor.com and search for homes that will be having an Open House. Cherry pick the homes that you think have great potential and are represented by agents who have other listings.

2. Using our research and buyer demographic tips and video in the Consultation Section, prepare the Pre-Appointment Research Sheet and the beginning of your shortened Staging Report.

3. Go to the home, try and wait till there is no other "buyers" in the home and use the script below to introduce yourself and your project to the agent. Start by saying something positive about the architectural features of the home and then introduce yourself, business and project.

"What a gorgeous home! My name is ___________ from YOUR COMPANY. As part of an advanced staging training course I am taking, I have an "assignment" where I must assess a home for sale using a unique approach Staging Report. I don't want to keep you from any potential "real" buyers that may come in, but would love to see the home if that's okay?"

**Remember, DO NOT take up any of the agent's time if there is a potential buyer in the home with you. The agent is there to sell the home to those buyers, not chat with you...this is common courtesy and shows a strong understanding for the agent's business.

Use the Staging Report (or other Action Plan you have already customized) to easily walk through the home and fill it out as you go. Don't be surprised if the agent wants to know your thoughts on the home and discuss their ideas on the "buyer demographic," price and room merchandising. Act like they are fellow, expert stagers and assume they have had discussions with their clients about some of the horrendous, staging mistakes you see in the home. Listen to their needs and frustrations with this home.

Member Story About Her Open House Assessment:

Hey Audra, I did my first open house this past weekend--and the experience was wonderful! The realtor was very interested in my opinion on how the house could have been staged better. The home owner had refused to have the home staged, so it was in definitely in need of some TLC!  I was able to show the realtor several things that could be done immediately to improve the overall impression of each room.  By removing old, stained bathroom rugs, cleaning fingerprints from door jams, and placing the few pieces of furniture that the owner had left behind in a pile in the middle of the floor, we were able to immediately see a huge difference.

The realtor was very impressed and has already expressed interest in working with me as soon as my business is up and running.  He wants to put me in touch with some investors where I should be able to do some vacant staging soon.

The forms you provided for my walk-through were perfect and made my job so easy. Doing this open house was just the boost I needed for my confidence. The best part was that the entire time I was doing the walk-through and talking with the realtor, I was having the time of my life. I never have this much fun at my "real" job!! Thank you!!!!

Lynne Bouchard

Valuable Vendor Relationships

Valuable Vendor Partnerships

Choosing great vendor partners to use a "preferred vendor" for your business is an essential task for stagers and designers!  These are the vendors that will help you look great, so do your due diligence now.  Below is a quick video I created to help you research and identify key, local vendors to recommend to your clients. 

Here's a list of the links mentioned in the video:

Download the Vendor Research Sheet to help you stay organized!


Art of the “Walk and Talk”

See the Walk and Talk (Staging Report) Consultation in Action...

First off, let me say that not all homes are alike, so getting a good read on what a home really needs is essential! Including a Walk and Talk (or Staging Report) within the Consultation process is a great way to get the home on the right track!

Here are some hot tips for your Walk and Talk, as well as a couple Consultation and Staging Day videos that reinforce what you would do and say with the client:

  • After the initial walk through where you've had a chance to assess the home briefly, it's time to go back through the home with the client and a Staging Report.
  • Start at the curb and do your second walk through exactly how a buyer would.
  • Have the seller hold the clipboard with the Action Plan and write down everything you are verbally recommending as best as possible.  Have the STAR the checklist items you think are priority.
  • You should have a clipboard with a blank Action Plan (until you are comfortable with it's contents, so you can read through it quickly noting your recommendations along with the client.
  • Have an extra shopping list sheet handy for you to write down "priority investment" shopping items.
  • Take the client's temperature along the way and always ask, "can you live without _____ for a couple months while you sell your product?" Get their permission and let them set the boundaries.
  • Remind them that it's your job to tell them all of the "price eroding" elements, so that they can prioritize their staging investments wisely.
  • If the seller is getting exhausted with the Walk and Talk process then chances are they will need you to do the work for them in a Staging Day.  Be prepared to up-sell this service and have the Home Preparation Plan hand-out ready, so the home is clean and ready for that day.
  • Don't be afraid to give a ten minute transformation (like Jo does in the video below) to get the seller to understand.

This Section Visually Shows You the Process Discussed in the HSR Guide to Success

I strongly recommend you go through the HSR Guide to Success section before watching these videos, so you have a clear perspective on what we're discussing in the videos.

Audra's Consultation with Client:

 

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please go to this private YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/RB__yK8_tO0

Jo McLaughlin's Consultation and Staging Day with Client:

An amazing transformation and learning experience from Jo McLaughlin of Jo McLaughlin Designs in Connecticut...this was a tricky staging project:

 

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please go to this private YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/gTHMlxjLkCU

Portion from the Training Manual as a Reminder:

I recommend you start at the curb and work your way through the front door as a buyer would during this walk through.  Take time to educate them on the latest home staging statistics.

I also recommend you hand your clipboard with the Staging Report (shortened) over to the client and have them take their own notes (or not) while you can have a blank Staging Report to to follow along for reference while noting the critical shopping investments they should make.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you move through the walk through…

  • Ask for permission to move things and open cabinets and cupboards for accessories to use.
  • Put colored stickers on items you think they should start packing to clear out the space
  • Make sure to remind the seller that it's far easier to clear the items today (see my Less Is More hand-out) than it is to unpack later!
  • Remind them that often with a quick sale, they only have 30 days to pack, so getting started on it now, will save tons of stress later
  • Remind them that you have the mutual interest in a fast and well-priced sale.
  • Let them know that “they can do all or none of your recommendations but you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t advise them what the buyer demographic is looking for and ways to make the most from the sale.”
  • Remind them that “taking a price reduction does not “fix” the problem
  • A key phrase to repeat during the walk through is that you are looking for “price eroding” items to remove – these are items that the buyer over estimates the price of changing (like paint).
  • Another key phrase is that, “we are in the game of removing objections to buyers.” Repairs, improvements and modernizing shopping investments will be essential.
  • Ask them to keep an open mind as well as consider the financial benefits while we make changes to the home.
  • Let them know you will be extra critical because that is exactly what buyers are like, but that you only have their best interests in mind. A good analogy to use is going to the dentist. It's a painful process but needs to be done in order to have good teeth. Another good analogy is putting money away for retirement. You would much rather have the money now, but know you are making an investment in your future...that is exactly what home staging is like, but you don't have to wait 40 years to reap the benefits!
  • Let them know you will only suggest those changes that you think will have a dramatic effect to their bottom line and most of those changes can be done simply using what they have. That’s phase one of home staging.
  • Let them know you are also staging with the camera shots in mind and that many of your suggestions will be based on attracting the 95% of buyers online first.
  • Remind them that if they go with a MLS Styling or Staging Day, you like to take lots of photos, because you will be studying them prior to the staging day in order to make the most of your time. You will also be taking lots of “after” photos so that their real estate agent can use them in their marketing, as 95% of homebuyers are online first.

In Conclusion

Once you’ve done a thorough Walk Through, make sure to sit the client down and have them review their notes if need be while you take photos. Remind them that it seems like a lot of work (that will be done anyway when they move), so getting a head start for fast and high-priced sale will be worth it. Sympathize and let them know you are there to help, so if they would like you to review the plan and come back for some MLS Styling or a day of staging if it’s a big job, you’re happy to help. By this time, they are sold on your expertise and will be more inclined to just have you do the staging work yourself.

NEVER forget to send a friendly follow-up text or email checking in on their progress!  Follow-up creates relationship and is usually where people fall short...show you care by checking in and offering a staging day.

Successful Consultations

How to Prepare for a Successful Consultation...

I'll never forget my first consultation with a home seller who happened upon my website and wanted me to bid on her vacant home. I was already nervous about my first consultation. To make things worse, I felt ill-prepared to handle a vacant home! I had no process. Thus, I had no control over my consultation. The home seller ran all over me. I left feeling like I needed structure built around educating the client.

Needless to say I was not the confident, organized professional I should have been. We can only learn from our mistakes and share what we have learned with others. I'm going to go into detail every step of the consultation process so that you can be confident and organized going in to your first consultation.

This Section Covers the Preparation>Phone Call>Research

We have broken up the entire Consultation process in two main parts.  Today's Consultation Section is all about preparation, what to bring, how to prepare, how to take the phone call, what to say, what questions/forms to use for the phone interview and how to research the listing and client for ultimate preparation. 

In the HSR Guide to Success we finish up the Consultation process by outlining my specific plan, process and pricing for you to use when entering into the home and sitting down with the client.

Please read the "Guide to Successful Consultations" in Week One of your HSR Training Manual and then watch the video below (you can download Week One by clicking on the image below if you haven't already).

Click to Open

After completing the Successful Consultation Section you will be able to:
  • Understand the various types of "Consultations" and which is best for you
  • Avoid the common mistakes that stagers make in the structure of their consultation
  • Know what to bring to the consultation in terms of paperwork, staging tools and accessories
  • Know how to do a quick transformation of a space in the home
  • Know exactly what to say in the initial phone screen, as well as how to ask the right questions
  • Know how to research the listing and the agent in order to be well-prepared
  • Have item #30-40 in the HSR Planning Checklist scheduled and carefully considered

 

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please go to this private YouTube link: https://youtu.be/lhkSmHlYTl8

Staging Toolbox Essentials

In full disclosure, these are affiliate links

I will outline the Occupied Consultation Process in the HSR Guide to Success tomorrow, so stay tuned...

Resources and Downloads Mentioned in This Section:

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