Los Angeles Home Staging Info

Excellent recommendations for homeowners and Realtors alike who are considering a professional stager!

Thanks, Dane. I was inspired to write it after reading your blog How to Spot a Hobbyist. It is very frustrating to hear from homeowners and REAs that the stager they hired was a "stinker". I hope my blog helps to prevent this from happening.

Hi Michelle, thank you for your post.  I am going to be the "newbie advocate" here and disagree with some of your points.  The points you stated are all good in an established stagers' portfolio. However, what about those who are starting out, what do we go on?  It's like a "catch 22", we can't get jobs because we have no experience, and we don't have experience because we can't get any jobs.  We may have before and after photos of our home but we don't have references of jobs done - most of my references are character references. How did you start out?  Did you advertise after you had a home staging job "under your belt?" Or did you get jobs by someone you know?  

You are wonderful and excellent at what you do, and I consider you a great mentor and friend. But I've always said it's not what you know, but who you know in any field of work.  Because if there isn't any designation and no skill required but the skill we're born with, then we only have our personalities and how we relate to the prospect/homeowner/realtor and our marketing skills. We have to sell ourselves. 

I call businesses all over the US every day and they don't know me. There is a risk involved using me for their orders, but I can tell in the first couple of seconds if it's someone I care to work with.  I've been asked "Why are you better at what you do over any other printer?" (this is my other occupation) I'm not, but it depends on what you are looking for. I've proved many business accounts wrong. I do what I say I'm going to do and I don't "drop the ball"- ever - in anything I do.   

I've even sent out email surveys asking what's important to get their work? It's different with everyone; one may be price, one may be quickness in completing the job, or quality products and follow up. It's a lot about personality and being in the right place at the right time. 

So here goes my honesty again, I do not fit into most of your points above.   :-)  I realize I may be shooting myself in the foot here, but I will recover.

Diane Concialdi - DC Redesign 

 

 

 

 

Diane: Thank you for bringing up those points and for giving me the opportunity to address them.

I think you answered many of your own questions...

"...we only have our personalities and how we relate to the prospect/homeowner/realtor and our marketing skills. We have to sell ourselves." This applies to all stagers, not just "newbies".

"It's a lot about personality and being in the right place at the right time."

When I decided to focus my attention on staging in earnest, I knew one REA, who was a neighbor. She told me about a listing she was having problems with as it wasn't in very good condition. I asked her if she was willing to spend any money to try and get the house sold. She said she could invest $300. I spent the money on sheers & spring rods for the windows, some art work from Big Lots, a couple of pots of colorful flowers for the front porch and several items I picked up from local thrift stores, plus a big bottle of Febreeze. I moved the junk out of the house and rearranged what little furniture there was. I worked for free, and I worked hard. When I was finished, the house was still no beauty, but it looked 100% better. Instead of your eye going to the torn sheets that had covered the window, you saw that the rooms had a lot of natural sunlight. Instead of piles of junk, you saw plenty of closet space. And instead of the musty, closed up house with old carpet smell, it smelled clean and fresh. The house sold 14 days after staging after sitting on the market for 4 months with no offers.

She was so thrilled, she told everyone in her office. A few weeks later, I got a call from another REA in her office who wanted my help staging one of her listings. She was a very controlling person, and she ordered all the furniture from Cort herself. She wanted me to lay everything out and accessorize it. She took me to another listing that had been staged and she pointed out everything that she liked and didn't like (this was her idea, but it was a big help to me). Many of the accessories came from my house, plus I spent a pile of my own money at places like Ross & thrift stores because I knew this was my big staging break and I wanted it to look perfect. The house sold after the first open house. The REA didn't want me to put my cards in the house (she doesn't like to share her resources with anyone else) but when I went to the open house to see how it was going, the REA that was hosting the open house for her asked for a pile of my cards as everyone was asking who staged it. I got a 2 jobs from people who saw that house and with every house I staged after that, I got a few more jobs. I sold myself based upon people seeing my actual work, and telling every REA I met how quickly it sold, rather than based upon my portfolio. At that point I didn't even have a staging portfolio.

I posted a blog  several months ago called Staging Ethics 101: Portfolio Photos . #5 is some suggestions about how to build up a staging portfolio. I filled out my early portfolio with some of these, and I was very up front about how those photos were generated. Honesty is the key.

I bid a lot more jobs than I got when I first started. A lot. I knew my business wasn't going to blossom overnight and it didn't. But I am in it for the long haul. Its not easy, and there are no shortcuts.

Full disclosure: I was/am an interior designer prior to becoming a home stager, and I had photos of my interior design work to show if someone was unsure about my taste or ability to pull a big project together.

Beyond work with established clients and their referrals, I would say that 50% of my new clients come from people who have seen a house that I have staged, and the rest come from good search engine placement (Thank you Active Rain).

I guess this is a rather round-about way of saying that getting started (as it is in almost any business) is a great deal about who you know and a great deal about working hard and being patient. If you think you don't know anyone who can help you, you need to figure out how to meet some people who can help you. Network, network, network.

Regarding portfolio photos and level of experience, it is of the utmost importance that we are honest about our level of experience and how our portfolio photos are generated. If you have been honest, and the homeower or REA is fully informed, then they are going into the staging relationship with you with eyes wide open. And I say "Good for you. You did a great job of selling yourself". What I object to is stagers who aren't truthful in trying to get a job.

I hope I answered the questions you didn't already answer yourself :-)

Lovely reply Michelle!  Regards-Kathleen G

Thanks Kathleen. I feel a little bit like I am walking a tightrope. I don't want to put anyone down who is working hard building their business and being honest, but by the same token, I think that consumers and REAs have no guidelines for determining competency. There are a lot of very talented "newbie" stagers out there, and there are a lot of very bad experienced stagers out there who just happen to be good schmoozers. It is sad to hear about (or see) a homeowner who invested a lot of money into staging, and they didn't get their money's worth. It makes us all look bad.

Great post!  I truly believe that a buyer who closely follows your recommendations will make the right decision.  What is the saying?...a picture is worth a thousand words!

Great post; great questions and a great reply to Diane.

Kathy

Wonderfully stated - thank you for this, Michelle.

Diane - In my particular case, I was able to work as an unpaid intern with a seasoned Stager, who later because a wonderful friend and business associate.

I learned a lot from my Staging accreditation classes, and this hands-on experience took me to the next level in my career.

My mentor was gracious enough to allow me to use the before and after photos of homes I helped her with as long as I added a disclaimer, saying something about 'working in collaboration with ABC Staging Company'.  

 

Wow, I simply love this post! Part of what I am so pleased about is your initial information Michelle. Then it gets better because Diane is able to ask such an important question. A question, I dare say, that many others were also desirous of knowing. Then, Michelle responds with a wealth of heartfelt information, leaving nothing to the imagination -- simply laying it out for the world to see. I do understand Diane's frustration. As with any career, there is the jump from school to real life which is often difficult, challenging and (dare I say it?) not always as rosy as we had hoped. Yet those little victories do come. Then we are on to the next challenge and victory. I feel a blog coming on. But, it is late and as dear Scarlet of Gone With the Wind oft said, "There is always tomorrow." Thank you Michelle for the post. Thank you Diane for the question. This forum is uber-cool!

Thank you Jo & Kathy. I'm glad you agree.

Janis: Thank you for adding to the information. The more new stagers understand the steps we had to take to get started, the better they will understand how to become better business people and stagers.

Yvonne: How funny. I am in the middle of (re)reading Gone With The Wind for the umpteenth time. Although Scarlet is very narcissistic (do you think?), she also buckles down and gets the job done when it needs doing. I'm glad we have this forum to discuss these important questions. Thanks for commenting.

Michelle - thank you for sharing your information and your heartfelt concern about my post and all stagers.  You are truly a wonderful concerning individual and I love your work. It is great to see how you started.  

Thanks,

Diane Concialdi DC Redesign 

Diane: I really enjoyed talking to you yesterday. I wish we lived a little closer so we could spend some more time together. I think you are genuine, honest and very hard working. You are looking for answers in how to do it right, not shortcuts. I predict a very successful staging career ahead for you.

Michelle, lets see. . . is Scarlet narcissistic? OOOOOOHHHH yeah! You are right, when she was forced to it she did indeed come up with answers. We have a little running joke around here that when we just don't want to do something -- even if it really needs to be done -- we will quote Scarlet, retreat to the porch, find a good book to read and choose to "worry" about that task at another time. Now, what the heck was that blog I was thinking about? Oh well, it doesn't matter. There is always tomorrow. 

Yvonne: Scarlet is the definition of survivor. I don't always agree with how she gets from point A to point B, but you have to admire her gumption.

Michelle, great post. So very well said. You have nailed it!

Absolutely fab blog MM. No more tip-toeing around the staging roses. We are what we represent with honesty and integrity... and we need to represent ourselves as Staging Professionals in our own business based upon professional industry ethics and standards. Nice post and you wouldn't believe what GREAT timing this is ;)!

Thank you, Kym.

Lori: Amen Sistah! If one of us behaves badly, it is a reflection on all. Thanks for commenting.

Oh. my -- y'all you do need a southerner here to help with all the wavering Scarlett interpretations . . . can't believe I beat Kathy Nielsen and Abby Reilly in setting you in the absolutely correct and in the distinct direction of the Scarlett persona

Bottom Line . . .  "With God as my witness, I will never go hungry again."

So, applause to Michelle and to Diane and many of us who get our next meal the "Right" way and not just "any" way. 

 

 

Why thank you kindly, Miss Dembsky. That was right nice of you.

Make sure the stager is capable of staging in a manner that accentuates the architecture of your home and will be attractive to the buyers in your area.  Execllent point. You can't use the same accessories in every home that you stage. You need to create a "design" for each individual home. It's not as easy as some might think - we do decorate as well as stage.

Hi Susan: It is very important that staging is specific to the style of the home, the demographics of potential buyers and the area (location). Thanks for commenting.

I really appreciate this post. My partner and I are in about the same place now as Diane was in last February. Sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation to not admit that we're just starting out. We know we can do the job, but will they take a chance on us if they don't see a long list of references? We're banking on integrity and hard work to build our credibility with realtors and to open doors.

Laurie: If you build a great portfolio of before and after photos (even if you are staging your own home, or your neighbor's home), it will prove you know what you are doing, even without a long list of past clients.

We're banking on integrity and hard work to build our credibility with Realtors and to open doors.

This is a true testament to the kind of people you are. I predict great success for you.