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Hello
The seasons will be changing soon and many of us will get back into a more serious work mode now that summer will be behind us. More home sellers will be preparing their property for selling and putting it on the market with the intention of selling it quickly and for top dollar.
That sounds like a simple thing to do – getting the property ready for selling, but that's just not so in many people's mind. Emotions are running sky high for the home seller and the realtor may be feeling anxious to help make the sale a reality. The stager needs to be 'the eye in the storm' where s/he is centered and calm and offers professional advice by taking the home seller by the hand to guide them through the process from start to finish. Besides considering the emotions there is also a psychology behind staging that helps explain why stagers do what they do.
Home stagers work with home sellers to offer them the best advice they can and there are many 'standard' suggestions that all home stagers will give home sellers. I've downloaded an interesting article on the 'Art & Psychology of Home Staging' that I believe you will find interesting.
Wishing you success in being 'the eye of the storm' with your home seller,
Dana J. Smithers
PRES Staging Resource Centre
Founder & Creative Director
Empowered Women In Business Coach
PS: My FREE 90 minute teleseminar called "Taking The Fear Out of Selling" was just announced a few weeks ago and I'd love for you to join me! It's coming up this Thursday, September 8th. Find more details and where to register below.
PPS: If you would like to become an Affiliate for my existing and upcoming PRES programs and products, just click on this link. You will have an opportunity to earn some very nice commissions just by referring your 'tribe' to me!
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Why does home staging have some an impact on what attracts buyers and has them making offers on a property?
In preparing for my ezine this week I found a really interesting article posted in the Chicago Tribune called The Art and Psychology of Home Staging written by a Ph.D. graduate who became intrigued about the underlying psychology of staging. She and her fiancé were moving across the country and he was putting his house up for sale in Ann Arbor Michigan. Their stager, Kathi Persutti worked with Andrea to come up with a survey which received about 450+ responses from home stagers.
It's an interesting article and I have included some of my own responses which are not necessarily what other home stagers think! This is an excerpt from it:
Q: What did they think was the most important thing?
A: The No. 1 in importance (6.55 on a 7 point scale) would be to remove personal items from bathrooms, such as used bars of soap, razors, toothbrushes, etc.
While I totally agree with the removal of personal items, I wouldn't list the items in the bathroom as being of most importance. To me this is actually more about creating 's p a c e' so that energy flows more easily and is not stopped in one area. Decluttering plays a big role in getting the property ready for selling.
Q: Why do you think it would be that specific thing?
A: I got this sense that the theory coming through in these answers is that people don't want to feel that the house they're buying is lived-in — that other human beings are shaving and brushing their teeth in it. They don't want to imagine that other people are inhabiting the place we want to buy.
I wouldn't agree with this. I don't think people mind knowing someone else has lived in a home but what I think they do want is to get a sense that the home is clean and cared for, and that would translate into less maintenance required when they move in. There are definitely home buyers who will only move into a home no one else has lived in, but I don't think it is a high percentage of buyers. It also translates into less time, money and energy that the home seller will have to put out after they move in if the home is clean and updated.
Q: Other surprises?
A: The No. 2 concern was that home sellers should use rooms for their intended purpose, that the dining room should contain dining furniture and not be used as an office. It surprised me that buyers would be unable to visualize a space other than the way it already looks. Like with walls painted in really bright colors. I guess buyers will get hung up on that, but it's a cosmetic thing that could be easily changed, though it does affect their decisions a lot, according to stagers.
I totally agree with this for 2 reasons. The majority of people are not good at space planning and being able to imagine what their belongings would look like in a space. FUNCTION is always first in home staging for selling, and redesign for living. In staging it's all about making it easy-peasy for the buyer to 'get' what they could do in that space.
The wall paint colour is a totally different subject. First and foremost the home needs to appeal to the sellers' target/niche market. It's unlikely that many buyers are looking for bright, colourful walls in the home they buy. I still believe in going neutral with the wall colour and bringing in bright trendy accent colours with the accessories – it's so easy to do. (See photos below) Having bright unappealing paint colours just translate into more time, money and energy for the buyer to change them.
Q: Did your fiance do a lot of staging to his home to get it sold?
A: Oh, yeah. His house was painted bright, intense colors, and we were told to make them very neutral. So we repainted, and it took a long time. We did a lot of things. When the pictures of it came out online, our friends said, "How come it didn't look like this when you were living in it? That place looked gorgeous."
In fact, we moved him out of it and he moved into my tiny apartment while the house was on the market because we didn't think we could keep it as perfect as we thought it had to be.
There are 3 good points here.
| 1) | I talked about the reasons we paint in neutral colours. | ||
| 2) | As home stagers we hear this comment all the time. Why don't people live this way in their home? Because they don't know how and they never hired a professional to do it for them. Sellers could have a professional PRES home stager create that same look for them when they move. | ||
| 3) | I know you do need to keep the home looking good for showing and yes, some people are able to move away. But if not, and there is a family living there I suggest taking photos of the way the home stager wants it to look and each time there is a showing, bring out the photos and do your best to make it look good. Stay focused on your goal of selling quickly and for top dollar – that might keep it neat. |
A: It did. It took about five months, and the average in Ann Arbor at that time was about six months.
Yeah home stagers do it again!
EMOTIONS: I want to mention 'emotions' here as they come into play sometimes in a big way and sometimes in a smaller way when a home seller is selling the home. It's important for everyone to be aware that the seller can feel really super fantastic about selling, or they can feel really super depressed that this is going on. It's important for the realtor and the home stager to be 100% committed to the success of selling this home. The calmer the realtor and the home stager are, the better results they can get for their seller.
Write down your own responses to these questions. Why don't you consider conducting a survey with your home buyers and home sellers to find out why people bought or didn't buy a property they looked at? You can do a free survey using: www.SurveyMonkey.com. It's a great marketing tool because it's all part of the STAY IN TOUCH marketing plan you need to have to stay connected and be top of mind with your clients.
Understanding your client's motivation behind their moving
will help you connect with them and grow your business.
Since colour was mentioned in this survey it seemed appropriate to show what a difference colour can make in home staging. For a list of Benjamin Moore paint colours that I recommend for staging click on this link: and then this link for the Canadian BM Colours renamed in the United States: Best Paint Colours – Benjamin Moore (Canadian & US)
What's Your Reaction to the Colour Changes?
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| Before: Second bedroom outdated paint colour and not the right function for selling. | After: The room is turned back into a bedroom and painted in a neutral colour |
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| Before: Blue is a good colour for a bedroom just not this blue! | After: Benjamin Moore Raindance is a gorgeous calming blue which I use often in bedrooms. |
RAVING FAN STAGING TRAINING HOME CLIENT TESTIMONIAL!
Training Homes Needed For September 13th & 14th – click here to find out how to qualify - be first to be chosen!
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Want to use this article in your next ezine or on your website? Please do! Here's what you need to include:
Dana Smithers is founder and creative director of the PRES Staging Resource Centre, a company devoted to teaching entrepreneurial women how to start and run their home staging business. Through her workshops, courses, mentoring programs, and products, Dana shows her students how to live their dream of becoming a home stager whether part time or full time.
FREE Selling This Thursday
If you want dissolve your fear of selling and have prospective clients clamour to work with you, then you want to listen in on this free call!
Most people hate the word "selling" which results in a loss of major revenues every year because they are afraid to offend someone or don't want to face rejection when they ask for the sale.
In fact I hear this so much that I am hosting a FREE one-time only 90-minute teleseminar specifically on this subject in order to give you valuable information you need to know on this topic at 11 a.m. Pacific this Thursday, September 8, 2011...
'Taking the Fear Out of Selling - Relationship Selling Made Easy!
Whether you are a brand-new Staging entrepreneur or have been in business for a long time, you don't want to miss this important information I have to share with you!
Sign up now to reserve your space on this complimentary call.
Professional Development: Client Colour Consultation Course Saturday October 15, 2011 – Vancouver Area
Dana J. Smithers Professional Real Estate Staging (PRES®) offers accelerated learning opportunities for people in the interior decorating, interior styling and home staging businesses.
1-2-3 Paint Colour Selection - Client Colour Consultation Course
Learn how to conduct a professional colour consultation with your clients. You will be introduced to decorating guidelines for colour schemes and learn the latest colour trends and colour schemes that work best with the 4 design styles.
This course will boost your confidence in adding to your existing services list! Receive all the forms you need to ``professionally conduct your client colour consultation. Click here for more information and to register. Space is limited.
This course is also being offered in Victoria BC – Saturday November 19th. For more information contact Janice@PresStaging.com'
HOW TO START & RUN A HOME STAGING BUSINESS BOOK IS HERE!
Dana J. Smithers' NEW book How To Start & Run a Home Staging Business has finally hit the bookstores. This book is jam packed with home staging business tips and proven strategies to propel your business forward. Whether you are an existing home stager or a newbie or a want-to-be this book will guide you to success...
Click here to order
PRES 2011 COURSE SCHEDULE – ONLY 2 CLASSES LEFT FOR 2011!
Our PRES Staging & Redesign Training Program offers accelerated learning techniques so that when you leave the course you can confidently start your home staging business. You will be given templates, no-fail staging formulas, a step-by-step business start up process and learn insider secrets shared by industry leader Dana J. Smithers. If you are serious about wanting to become a home stager this hands-on training course is for you. For more information about the PRES 5 Day Professional PRES Staging & Redesign click here.
NEXT COURSE DATE: September 12th – 15th and is almost FULL!
Register Here
LAST COURSE DATE: November 7th to 11th – Possibility of this course being offered in Langley BC. If this interests you let us know NOW!
Check out PRES Staging Training to see our SPECIAL OFFERS
Dana Smithers is founder and creative director of the PRES Staging Resource Centre, a company devoted to teaching entrepreneurial women how to start and run their home staging business. Through her workshops, courses, mentoring programs, and products, Dana shows her students how to live their dream of becoming a home stager whether part time or full time.
Dana has launched her new website Empowered Women In Business. She has been mentoring women entrepreneurs for years and has now taken on a new client base in addition to the home stagers she has worked with. She says it's thrilling to see women move forward so quickly getting the results they are looking for whether it is setting up a marketing strategy, defining ideal clients or having a negative mindset shift into positive action. To get your 'Free' CD on her 7 Destinations Road Map to Success just go to the site and make sure you sign up for her Empowered Women In Business ezine.
Believe it. Pigs DO Fly!!! 
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The PRES® Entrepreneurs Newsletter is written by Dana J. Smithers of www.PresStaging.com. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to info@PresStaging.com.
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