Blog - Page 14 of 27 - HSR Home Staging Certification Training

5 Reasons Stagers Should Become a Redesigner

Become a Redesigner

I always say that the relationship between “home staging” and “redesign” is like two sides of the same coin.  They are very similar services but the “WHO” of the design element for the redesigner is very different.

What separates staging from redesign is whether we are designing the space for the buyer demographic or the home owner?

What’s the difference between interior design and redesign (or home styling)?  Redesign always starts first with using what the home owner already has and loves to enhance the space.  In fact, a great redesigner can literally work miracles in just a day in the home!

So why should a home stager also be trained in the art of redesign?  Here are 5 great reasons along with some fantastic redesign photos done by Debbie Simril of Debbie Simril Interiors

Family room before redesigner

Family Room BEFORE Redesigner

 

1.  It’s an Easy Up-Sell for Redesigners

Statistically, sellers are much more inclined to spend money on the home they are moving into rather than the home they are moving out of, so it’s a much easier “sell”.  You’ve just staged the seller’s home to sell, so they already know you, trust you and like you.  This should be a no-brainer for home stagers but I find that they just are not “positioning” their redesign business correctly, so they are missing out on huge income returns!

 

Family Room AFTER Redesigner

Family Room AFTER Redesigner

2.  Being a Redesigner is a Great Way to Keep a Favorite Client

We all have had those client’s we just LOVE, so why not keep the relationship going and work with them on their next big project?  Focus on quality relationships rather than quantity while building your design network of great referrals!

Remember to have a special business card you can hand to your favorite client’s as a thank you for being so wonderful to work with.  In the example I created below, you can put your business information on the back and hand write the discount/message you wish to give your clients.

3.  Design is More Lucrative

Yes, I said it…you will make more money if you position your business for BOTH staging and redesign.  Redesign projects tend to last longer and have higher dollar amounts then the average staging project.  I’ve been training stagers for more than 10 years now and I can comfortably say that my long-time veterans are now doing more redesign/design than staging (unless they focused on a niche).  Why is that?  Because they positioned their business to market first staging then second, redesign.  They followed my business model of doing both staging and redesign!

Dining Room BEFORE Redesigner

Dining Room BEFORE Redesigner

4.  Design is HOTTER Than Ever!

Yes, the career outlook according to a recent Houzz survey shows that the design industry is feeling more confident than ever!  This isn’t a huge surprise because it mirrors what is going on in the staging industry…when home values rise, so does home improvement spending.

 

Redesigned Dining Room After

Redesigned Dining Room After

5.  The Perfect Business Model

A lot of stagers who join my training program tell me that they were always slow in the fall/winter season since their business reflected the real estate industry lulls.  Ironically, redesign and design picks up in the fall and winter as people decorate for the holidays, so having a business model that incorporates redesign and holiday design makes for a well-hedged business model.

Finally, this is what Debbie Simril who after 15 years in the design industry decided to take the plunge and sign up for our HSR Certification in Home Staging and Redesign:

 

Debbie-testimonial

 

 

 

Make 2019 Your Year – Free Staging Webinar

Goal Setting & Planning to Get the Most Out of Your 2019!

Free, live webinar on creating a doable "Stager’s Calendar" that will help you plan and set goals for an amazing 2019!

Please join me and together we will brainstorm your perfect 2019!​

Wednesday, January 9 at 4:00pm (Pacific Time/7pm Easern Time)

What You'll Learn on the Live Webinar:

  1. Looking Back in Order to Move Forward - Reflection Lessons
  2. How to DREAM BIG but be Realistic
  3. 4 Key Questions to Ask Yourself During the Goal Setting Phase
  4. Systems Rather Than Goals and Steps to Take Your There in 2019
  5. 6 Tangible Goals for Stagers of All Levels and the Steps to Achievement
  6. BONUS!  An example "Stagers Calendar for Marketing" the Whole Year Round

Make 2019 your year and join me for a FREE staging training webinar on Wednesday, January 9 entitled, “Goal Setting & Planning to Get the Most Out of Your 2019″ – Free, live webinar on creating a doable “Stager’s Calendar” that will help you plan and set goals for an amazing 2019!

Hope to see you there!

Real Estate Staging Convention 2017

I'm super excited to be a featured speaker at this year's Real Estate Staging Convention.  

Staging is hot, hot, hot right now and this convention which puts together all these amazing stagers in one place...promises to be unforgettable!  I will be blogging more about this event as it gets closer but you can get the BEST PRICE by signing up now:

This year I'm speaking on a topic very near to my heart and that is on COLOR....

"6-Steps to Picking the Best Color Schemes for Clients"

Do you love color? Do you offer color consultations but struggle with knowing where to start when it comes to specifying the RIGHT paint colors for your clients? You are not alone. Having a process for picking the right paint colors is the first step in building credibility with clients!

In this information packed class, you will learn how to:

  • How adding a "Color Consultation" service will grow your design business exponentially!
  • Audra's top paint colors for staging in action
  • Color trends to follow, ones to avoid and how to incorporate them into your designs
  • 7 mistakes Color Consultants make and how to avoid them
  • How to hone in and identify your client's goals
  • How to recognize color problems by understanding color rules
  • How to communicate and market your color services easily and affordably

I hope to see you at the January, 2017 RESA Convention but if you can't make it, make sure to join me on our next free webinar event:

I’m so excited to be a featured speaker at this year’s RESA Convention alongside other fantastic speakers like the incredibly talented Sabrina Soto!  Staging is so hot right now, so I hope you will do your best to make this incredible event.

5 Steps to Successful Blogging for Home Stagers and Designers

I just finished updating my “Blogging” section and creating a webinar about successful blogging for home stagers and designers in 2015.  The Internet is always changing and so I’m constantly updating my training material to reflect what matters to stager TODAY.

Blogging for business is not about writing down your musings so much as giving prospects an insight to the way you work and your style, so having a plan for how to do this is essential!

If you’re a home stager, you may be saying, “why blog?”  That’s a good question.  Here are six great reasons why blogging is essential for home stagers:

  1. For skilled writers who are capitalizing on their strength
  2. To create credibility – which in our industry is critical
  3. To create a “Buzz” about your business and staging in general
  4. Better SEO for your website – Who doesn’t want that?
  5. Build your email list – Fill your pipeline with prospects
  6. “Touch” your prospects/clients – Most of sales is just reminding people that you are there

I see so many stagers create interesting blogs to only have them go out into the Internet-sphere never to be read by anyone!  It’s a complete waste of time to blog and not be incredibly “intentional” about it, so…

Here are my 5 Steps to Blogging Success for Home Stagers and Designers:

1.  WHO Exactly is Your Audience?

As a professional home stager and designer, you have many different target markets you could potentially be writing to.  Too many times I see stagers writing for other stagers which really doesn’t help them at all.  In the blogging training I added the members area, we listed those target markets, where they hang out online, what they wanted to see/learn about and more importantly…what they would share.  When you know WHO you are targeting you can move onto the next key step and that is…

2.  WHAT Are Your KEY WORDS?

One of the beautiful things about the home staging vs the design industry is it’s lack of keywords.  Yes, it’s a good thing when there are few terms that describe what you do because that makes listing those terms that much easier.

For the home staging industry, the key words that 85% of folks would use to search are “home staging” and “home stager” but getting to the top of Google with those keywords can be tricky, so thinking outside of the box is imperative.  List your “service” key words and how someone in your area might phrase those services and your type of work in a search.  Next list your specific location keywords and you have a starting point for what to blog about.

A very cool tool that helps you brainstorm these key word terms is at www.semrush.com.  Remember, my philosophy is to help stagers never reinvent the wheel and when you know how to use the cool tools online that help your business…you save tons of time!

3.  HOW Can You Get Their Attention?

Nobody wants to read straight text.  In an era of very short attention spans, it’s critical to be visual and readable!  Here are things to think about when trying to get your reader’s attention:

  • Headlines Matter – There are cool resources online that can help you craft a killer headline and I list some in the training
  • Images Matter – We are in the visual industry and a picture is worth 1000 words, so make this work for you!  I list a ton of great resources and rules for images in the training but you all know I’m a huge fan of Canva which puts the visual in motion.  Canva is developing a Canva at Work program I’m excited to see, so go to Canva for Work so you get early access.
  • Readability Matters – People like numbered lists and bullet points, so it’s easier to skim the page.
  • Grammar Matters – Another cool tool that can help with your grammar is at www.grammarly.com.

4.  WHEN Should You Post?

It’s not so much about what time of day (although I’d stick to midday) but how often?  It takes time to blog, so shooting for once a week on Wednesdays is a good goal to start.  Plan ahead and develop a calendar based on the ideas you brainstormed in steps 1-3.

There’s nothing worse than going to a website and seeing that the last blog was posted in 2012!  An easy way to not give the impression you’re out of business is to simply leave the date off your posts.

5.  WHERE Can You Distribute Your Post?

You see, the key to successful blogging is the ability to not only write well but more importantly, distribute the blog to the specific audience you are targeting.  There are so many great ways of doing that!  In the blogging training I put in the HSR members area, I created a worksheet that listed the places I repost/share my blog once it’s up.  Obviously, you will want to share your post on your Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter profiles.  Beyond that you will want to share it on your LinkedIn and Google+ profiles, as well as with your Groups, Circles, etc…Having a worksheet that helps you keep track of when you shared the post to each profile is critical!

In the HSR Training, I have an exhaustive list of all the editorials across the country by city in my “Public Relations Section”.  A great way to get publicity is to share your articles/posts with your local newspaper/magazine editors who are always looking for content and photos!

In Closing…

When you think about it, this 5 step formula for blogging success can really work for almost any industry, so if you’re a real estate agent, you may want to follow this formula as well!

The home staging industry is growing leaps and bounds and it helps all of us when stagers look great, get press and are connecting very credibly with real estate agents, sellers and home owners!

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey
Amazon-audra

Hope to hear from you!
1-888-563-9271


audra@homestagingresource.com

Canadian Staging Conference

The RESA Conference is coming to Canada.  So excited to announce that the Real Estate Staging Association is having a Canadian Staging Conference this summer for our sister-stagers based in Canada! 

Click Here to get more information on the RESA Canadian Staging Conference!

I'm so bummed to have to miss this event but I have a long-ago planned family trip scheduled:(.  Good news is that some of my FAVORITE Sister-Stagers will be speakers at the event...

Shell Brodnax

If you've never heard Shell speak then you're in for a treat!  She is speaking on "Success Strategies" and plan to learn a TON!

Tori Toth

HSR Grad and Sister-Stager, Tori Toth is a YouTube and marketing genius!  She is amazing!

Angela Brooks

Angela Brooks

I got to spend a ton of time hanging out with Angela at the last RESA Conference and she is a DYNAMO! 

Kristy Morrison

Kristy Morrison

Kristy gave this talk at the last RESA Conference and I heard RAVE reviews from all HSR Grads who attended.  Don't miss her!

So many more insightful stagers will be teaching at this event, you have to go there to see them all!

2016 RESACON Canada...

Click here to get the full details!

Canadian Staging Conference brought to you by RESA!  You won’t want to miss this summer event…

1 12 13 14 15 16 27