Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to read your PRES® Entrepreneurs ezine. I have been busy writing my new book on home staging and starting up my new business mentoring women in small businesses. I am really excited to be expanding my business services!
Something that I think is really important in growing your home staging business is to understand what makes you stand out from other people doing what you are doing. This is where you need to know what your 'Unique Selling Proposition' (USP) is all about and use it to attract more home sellers and realtors.
FEATURE ARTICLE
YOUR UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)
Bigger more established companies are constantly looking at what makes them different from their competitors. As an entrepreneurial home stager you too need to distinguish yourself from other colleagues. In thinking about what makes you different here are some ideas about where to start:
Think about your background - what can you take out of your tool kit that is something you did in the past that you can transfer to your new tool kit. For example:
Were you an interior decorator in the past?
Have you worked with seniors or had experience with your own family estate selling?
Did you take courses in related fields such as interior design, flower arranging, professional organizing, time management, etc.?
Did you work in a real estate office on the administrative side?
Have you sold your own homes successfully in the past?
Did you ever teach an industry-related course?
Think about what you are currently doing – besides a home stager are you also:
a professional organizer
a colour consultant
an interior decorator
someone who likes to sew and make cushions, throws, etc.
working in an industry-related business such as a paint store, hardware store, design store, lighting store, etc.
Think about something that ONLY you offer - you are all unique home stagers so what is it that ONLY you do and no one else can lay claim to it. Are you the ONLY home stager who has:
been featured on local or national television
who has their own radio show
has hundreds of followers on their home staging blog
who has articles published on the Internet
WHAT WILL MOTIVATE YOUR CLIENTS TO BUY FROM YOU?
In my ebook DIY-Home Staging Getting Ready for an Open House in 10 Easy Steps, I talk a lot about what a big job home staging is. I also talk about the benefits of staging your home so that the home seller can sell for top dollar and sooner than a home that is not staged. Realtors also benefit greatly from having a home staged because this puts more money in to their pockets and sooner.
When you are thinking about creating your USP think about what motivates your home sellers and the realtors you work with. In my experience it comes down to these 3 things:
TIME - as a home stager you recommend to the home seller what they need to do; the Realtor no longer has to spend his/her valuable time telling the client what to do and they can move on to his/her next listing
MONEY - everyone saves money and makes money when a property is staged well because home stagers know where money is wisely invested to make the home 'target-market ready'
ENERGY - as a home stager you focus on what you do as an expert, the home seller only does what they need to do and the Realtor leaves the staging with you
Once you have your success as a home stager it's a great idea to use statistics to support how valuable you are to your clients. For example, you could say to your home seller "If I could show you how to save thousands of dollars in preparing your property for selling, would you be interested in using my services?
For the Realtor you might say. "If I could make you thousands of dollars more in your commission for selling this property, would you be interested in using my services? "Once you have your own successes you can insert your own actual case study of how much your home seller actually spent, and how much your Realtor made. Do these sound like good motivators? I think so!
STAYING FOCUSSED ON WHAT YOU WANT
As you know I practice the Law of Attraction (what you focus on whether wanted or unwanted is what manifests in your life). All businesses go through cycles of ups and downs. It's usually in the down times that we move into 'fear' and this is when you can lose sight of why you started your business. Here are a few TIPS for you:
Have a positive attitude - you need to believe that you are going to continue to be successful with some changes you are going to make. Hang around with other positive people and tell the naysayers 'thanks for sharing' and move on
Keep learning and growing - read books, sign up for teleseminars or webinars, sign up for ezines with people that you want to learn more from, take courses, etc.
Ask your past customers what they liked about your services - many home stagers get testimonials from home sellers and/or realtors. These are great for marketing and they are your social proof that you use to help sell you. How about going back to your previously clients and ASK THEM what they really valued about working with you. You could even do this in the form of a survey. If you use www.SurveyMonkey.com it's free! You sometimes can't see how great you really are just the same way your home sellers can't see the potential in their homes!
YOUR ACTION ASSIGNMENT
YOUR USP: Make a list of all the qualities that you and your business offer that are unique to you. Make another list of all the key motivators that attract clients to want to buy. Now draw lines to match them up! If they match up start using your new USP in your marketing materials. If they don't match up keep working on your USP – dig a little deeper because you do have unique qualities that your clients will value.
To Your Continued Success,
Dana J. Smithers
PRES Staging & Redesign...
Founder & Creative Director
Empowerment Mentor
PS: To read our previous PRES Entrepreneurs ezines - click on
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Dana J. Smithers
Founder & Creative Director
PRES® Staging Resource Centre
Sun On My Back Redesigns
Testimonial
"I have known Dana for 3 years now and felt the support the moment I contacted her. In fact, I was interested in taking a home staging course and she gladly took about 20 minutes of her time on the phone to educate me and answer many questions I had about the industry. She has been there for me in the same way ever since. Dana knows how to listen and provides you with tools and information that will make you grow. She has a solid background as a business owner and definitely uses it to guide us in the right direction.
I really see Dana as a person who sees the big picture and wants to help others. She's always looking at growing the industry and making us successful which is a huge commitment. I have no doubt that she will succeed in everything she does!"
- Isabelle Guay ~ Flow Home Staging.ca
If you are interested in learning more about PRES Professional Real Estate Stagers, please contact us at:
Head Office - North Vancouver | 1 888 296 3148 | info@presstaging.com