Did you know that there are two types of referrals? Those that come on their own from doing a good job for your clients, and those that you need to generate with a referral marketing program. When you look to use referrals as your main source of leads, you must send your message to the audience that is likely to hear them and respond. This, of course is your target market. As obvious as this may sound, many marketers will network to the wrong audience. Remember those after-hour business network meetings? Nice people, but usually not our market.
I would like to introduce an opportunity to hit the WOMM! jackpot. What I call the Triple Play of Referrals. It is the new and upcoming business called Home Staging. What is Home Staging?
Today, when a homeowner wants to sell, some are hiring a "Home Stager". Home Staging is a design system of creating a "product" out of your home. Making it, in a sense, a "model" home. As any successful product, your home needs to appeal to as many of it’s' target market customers as possible. The goal is to make a good first impression, allowing the buyer to imagine themselves living in your home.
The idea is to de-personalize and remove the clutter from your home. Additionally, a staged home should have great "curb appeal"! That is, looking good from the street in order to entice the buyer into the home. When a home is staged, it will feature each room at its best. You want to create a showcase, so it can sell at the highest price and in the shortest time.
What Stagers do The initial staging consultation is conducted with a visit to the home. The Stager will walk through the home and take notes of its condition. Back at the office an "action plan" is written with suggestions on the work to be done before the staging can take place. Such work might be some packing photos and the collectibles, cleaning the closets and garage, and painting the worn areas. Once such work is complete, the staging of the home can take place. Staging might include rearranging or renting furniture, adding some accessories, or bringing in plants or flowers. Decorators are naturally suited to offering Home Staging since it is a natural extension of their services. The costs to stage depends on the extent of the work, but it is a highly valued service since it can bring back several times the investment by getting a higher selling price. When to Stage?
You will want to stage as soon as you decide to sell the home. With the help of a Realtor, you will have a "brokers' tour" and an "open house". A staged home will stand out among the other homes during these promotional events. By the way, it's never too late to stage a home. It's good to point out, that if a home remains unsold for an extended period of time; it could earn a reputation of being "hard to sell". You should stage your home so that it will maximize the traffic and sell quickly.
Marketing
Realtors love the concept of Home Staging. They are open to listening to your message about your new service. You should market your Home Staging service to Realtors. There are many reasons why Realtors will encourage their clients to stage.
The number one reason is that a Staged Home sells faster and at a higher price then a home that is unstaged. A Staged Home looks great and photographs well. Realtors will have a competitive edge over other similarly priced homes. Sellers feel that their Realtor is demonstrating a real commitment to marketing their home. Finally, why sell a home in "as-is" condition, when you can sell a home that is ready to "move-in".
The Referral Triple Play
Why is home staging a great source of leads? In this new and exciting business, you have an opportunity to make your business aware to three people of influence: the Realtor, the buyer and the seller.
Of all professions that can refer decorators, it is the Realtor that has the greatest influence. It is all about being in the right place, at the right time when decorating decisions are about to be made. Then there is the seller, who would be your staging client. If you do a good staging job, there is an opportunity to decorate her new home as well. Did you know that over 75% of sellers move within 10 miles of their former residence? Finally, there is the buyer. What a way to be introduced to someone just moving into their new home. They purchased the home, love your work, and hopefully will hire you for more.
The term "Staging" is a registered trademark of Staged Homes.com where I received an "Accredited Staging Professional" (ASP) designation after a 3 day course. Home staging is a terrific business; however, the referral opportunities are the greatest bonus. In the few months that I have been offering and marketing Home Staging, I have found this to be an amazing source of great referrals.
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