Tag: Home Stagers

Riches in Niches

As more and more Home Stagers, Professional Organizers, Interior Designers and Real Estate Agents come to APSD for Home Staging Training and Certification, I realize the importance of teaching the concept of “Riches in Niches.”

Some of you already understand this idea and have specialized in one area or another, and others are still trying to be everything to everyone. I started with the idea that I could please everyone too. And I did, and then I was tired and broke. You have to face facts. As women (I know we have some GREAT guys too, but you don’t have the “pleaser” instinct of women!) we already have to please so many other people each day. We please our spouse, our children, our neighbors, our boss – basically anyone that walks in our path.

As I decided to make the real choice and lead the home staging industry, I realized that I could no longer be everything to everyone. I had to be extraordinary with my strengths and visions and help those that were willing and able to receive and exceed with my brand of training. I knew that I wanted to focus on the true business growth aspect of Home Staging Training and Certification. I didn’t want to teach people to put candles on a table. I wanted to teach systems, marketing and business development in an industry I loved. I wanted to teach creativity, lifestyle and money making techniques.

So, I niched myself and APSD as The Global Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification with a specific focus on exactly what I mentioned above.

And because I see the need of “niching” or creating a specialty, I teach 19 different streams of income to our highest level APSD member, Property Scene Designer. I want them to have the , education, resources and ability to niche. The same is true with my APSD Stager Pro’s. I teach 4 different streams of income in that course so they can become experts in certain areas and stand above any other Home Stagers in their market. Kim Holdbrook, one of my Certified APSD Stager Pro’s is awesome at Curb Appeal. She should make it an area of expertise. Mannie Tantawy perfects Origami displays and is already standing out as an expert in this area. Terri Garner is an expert with Home Staging for investment properties as is Cindy Captein. There are many more certified APSD Home Staging Professionals that have also seen the benefit of “niching” their home staging services, and have done so.

It does not mean that you can’t provide an entire menu of services but if you can become known for one specific thing, you will always be the “go to expert” which then opens the door for additional opportunity.

Here Is how you develop your niche:

1) Decide what aspect of Home Staging you Love the most. Do you love doing vacant homes? Maybe working with investors is your niche. What about high end properties? You might specialize in homes over $1 million. You could also focus just on certain type of Home Staging service, like Curb Appeal or Marketing.

2) Once you have decided what you love to do, become the expert. Take the training you need to get to the top of the pack. Practice, practice, practice. Next, you have to toot your own horn. Go out and start telling everyone who will listen, that you are the expert. Then own it internally and do an extraordinary job every single time.

3) Continue to Educate yourself. You can take a course, listen to CD’s, become a member of a great organization like APSD that offers continuing education, look at others work, attend Home Staging events, etc. The biggest mistake that most so-called experts make is they stop learning and growing. Then, others that are willing to receive education surpass them.

4) Market Yourself and your work endlessly. The more you talk about your specialty, the more others will as well. So, don’t be afraid to brag a little about your results and your extraordinary achievements. Before you know it, others will be doing it for you.

An easy way to begin to develop your “niche” status is to listen to the APSD Complimentary call I recently did on Curb Appeal. “Curb Appeal, Creating Impact and Profit in your Home Staging, Design and Real Estate Business.” You also still have time to take advantage of a very special offer I made at the end of the call! http://www/apsdmembers.com/curbappeal

To your joy and success,

Karen Schaefer
Founder, APSD
The Global Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification

It really makes no difference if you call it home staging or home fluffing; the goal is the same – to get your home sold quickly and for the greatest amount of money. Theres an abundance of articles and information which will tell you how to go about staging your home. But these often forget the basic premise that will make the difference between leaving money on the table and maximizing the equity in your home.

That basic premise does not involve cleaning, painting, repairing, or moving; its a change in perspective. You stop seeing your house as your home and see it as a product. To do this effectively you must put aside your ego and view the home selling process without emotion.

So what does this mean? First off, it means you realize you arent selling your home youre selling someone else’s dream. But it doesnt stop there; once you understand that your home is a commodity and youre marketing a dream, thats when the real shift has to take place and your ego needs to move aside.

The way you decorate and live in your home is probably not the best way to market your home. Ouch! Even if you clean until the whole house sparkles and you declutter and depersonalize, its likely that your personality and the way you relate to the rooms in your home will shine through. Its a safe bet that your home is decorated to suit your individual tastes, not the broad market. Too often this is the point where the homeseller draws the line, “Thats it, no further! I think this house looks great! Id buy it, and if Id buy it, other people will buy it.”

What a shame! Its likely you just turned your back on cash. The truth is, if your house is priced correctly for the market, somebody will buy it. But in terms of maximizing your selling price, numbers count. The more people who fall in love with your house, the better the chance youll maximize your equity. However its more than just getting the “right” number of people or the right price. Ask any marketing professional price and packaging go hand in hand. The better the packaging is at selling the dream, the higher the price a consumer is willing to pay.

Thats where a professional home stager comes into the picture. Home Stagers understand the art and science of marketing homes. Since they have no attachment to the contents or decorating style of your home they can view your home objectively and make the changes that will maximize your sales price.

Professional home stagers specialize in marketing dreams, they do it everyday.

When I first started staging, I was an active real estate investor, so my first client was me! I really did not know what I was doing, but I knew that I had to fill my homes for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time, and I thought the best way to do that was by making my house look better than any other similar homes.

It worked! Before I knew it, I had my own home staging company; Simple Appeal, LLC and was speaking on home staging, curb appeal and home sales from platforms all over the world. My area of expertise was investor homes, what I refer to as -Bread and Butter- homes. They usually have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a 2 car garage but this can vary slightly. Normally these are great properties that use multiple exit strategies, are a little less than perfect but generally appeal to those starting out (and sometimes, starting out-again!).

As more and more investors asked me to stage their homes, I started to develop a system, which is today, my APSD 6 Step Home Staging Pyramid (you can learn more about it at www.APSDmembers.com and get a free home staging CD there as well). This was a proven home staging system that yielded me amazing results! I was the Queen of Staging for Investment Properties! What I did not realize at the time though, was that people were investing in other types of homes as well. (Yes, sometimes it takes me time to catch on! ?). Pretty soon, someone asked me to stage their million dollar home. I of course, jumped at the chance and when I was finished, they called me to tell me to take everything out and give them their money back (even then, I guaranteed my work-which is a -golden nugget,- for you!). With tears streaming down my cheeks, I picked everything up and put their check back on the counter, locked the home and left.

I had about a 2 hour ride home and during that time, once I pulled up my big girl panties and decided I needed to clear my head, I started to think why it didn’t work-it always had in the past. That is when I had my -A-Ha- moment. It didn’t work because I deviated from my proven APSD 6 step Home Staging Pyramid. I realized that the system works every time, it is just the items that change!!! This was a defining moment in my home staging career (I still stage by the way, and at APSD, we are one of the only companies in the Home Staging Industry that still does what we teach). But, despite what I had learned, I still needed to figure out why I got booked in the first place when I had previously only been going after -bread and butter- homes. Here is what I came up with-

1) My results. The owner of this home had booked me simply because she heard about my results. My results were achieved by a proven model of success, the APSD 6 step Home Staging pyramid (get a free CD on this 6 step system at www.APSDmembers.com). In order to get what you want, get the results your clients are looking for. All of our APSD certified Home Stagers and beyond fully realize this. 2) Put your -brag- on. Once you have achieved these great home staging results, start bragging about it everywhere you can. Talk about it, put it on your flyers, print it on your business cards, post it on your website-where ever people will see it or hear it, you want to have your results. 3) Dress for success. This one probably comes as a surprise to you but it works every time. I know that you are often tired when you show up to network at a meeting, bid on a home staging job or even pick up your home dcor items from a previous staging. But these are opportunities for you to show others that you are a successful business owner. Make sure you dress for success! If you are in a business environment, always dress one step above the others. IF they are business casual, you should be in a business suit. If they are in jeans, you are business casual. I could write an entire article on this, and shall in future but today, take advantage of all the great sales and get yourself 3 professional outfits and wear them every time you have a chance to meet others that could use your home staging services. 4) Use a proven system. I always talk about the APSD 6 step home staging pyramid (www.APSDmembers.com) because that is what I use and what I teach our APSD home staging members in 7 countries. It works, plain and simple. And because I am so familiar with this, and I know the results it yields, I can clearly speak about it with confidence. I find this to be key in securing a high end home staging job because your client wants to know that you know what you are talking about.

5) This leads me to my final point, confidence. With proven results, a great system, and a confident look, you should adjust your attitude to be in line with your presence. Everyone wants to work with someone that exudes confidence as it in turns instills confidence in them, and the results they hope to receive. After every ASPD Certified Stager Pro course I teach, the resounding feeling that the entire group has is confidence. They just spent 3 intense days, in the field, working with me, hand in hand, doing some of the toughest staging jobs they will ever tackle and trust me when I tell you, they are amazed at their results. Suddenly, they have more confidence in their home staging business, their home staging marketing and themselves. So, when you put this all together, your results, bragging about them to anyone that will listen, your -dress for success- look, a proven system like the APSD 6 step Home Staging pyramid, and your rock and roll new found home staging confidence, you have a successful formula to easily secure those high end home staging jobs! Let me know if you have some other ideas or thoughts about this, I would love to hear them and share them with our World Class APSD Home Staging Professionals!

To your home staging success,

Karen Schaefer Founder/Creative Director; APSD The Association of Property Scene Designers The World Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification www.APSDmembers.com