Tag: Curb Appeal

Bringing out the positive and downplaying the negative is essential in presenting your home in its most positive light. Here are 11 tips for home staging success to help get a faster and more profitable real estate sale.

1. Alter the layout of books on a bookshelf with some stacked vertically which can become a pedestal to show off a piece of pottery, collectible, heirloom or other art item. Go throughout the books and prune your collection to create a less cluttered look.

2. Make sure all of the furniture in a space is functional and remove items of furniture that contribute to overcrowding rooms.

3. Get the furniture off of the walls. Many people are tempted to push all of the furniture along the edges of a room in the mistaken belief that it makes the room look bigger, when in fact it creates a more train-station type of look with seating around the edges. Granted in very small rooms, there are not many options, but try moving the furniture off of the wall and incorporating an area rug, maybe even off-angle in the room layout.

4. Smaller furnishings also work wonders in small rooms to give the room a sense of proportion and space. For this, even rental furniture may be called for to bring in pieces sized more appropriately for small rooms, and just having less furniture will help.

5. Remove heavy curtains and replace them with lighter window treatments with a slightly transparent or sheer quality to improve natural light in the room. Bright rooms tend to look bigger.

6. Lighting makes a big difference not only for movie sets, but also for a well-staged home. Increasing the types of light available for each room will help create a brighter mood. Balance natural light during the day with task lighting and accent lighting such as table lamps or wall sconces. One way to allow more natural light to flow into a room is to simply clean the windows!

7. Accessorize with art, baskets in the bathroom with folded towels and perfume trays, centerpieces and greenery or plants in key locations.

8. Curb Appeal includes a nicely groomed front yard and entryway. Your front door may require a coat of fresh paint along with new door hardware. Perhaps a sitting bench or some nice looking potted plants will dress up the entry. A new welcome mat of sturdy quality will help the initial impression.

9. De-clutter the drawers and closets: Yes they look in there, so having organized drawers and a half empty closet will help the potential home buyer envision their own items in the place of yours, which is the first step toward purchasing the property. The potential home buyers need not be distracted by personal items and clutter, but be able to envision their own items and lifestyle applied to your home, after all you are selling it so the next person will redecorate and change everything around to suit their taste anyways. The easier they can imagine themselves living there, the better chances you will have of selling the property.

10. Send the family pet on sabbatical. As cute as Fluffy or Spot is, many potential home buyers do not own pets or may even be allergic to them. A pet on the premises when the home is being shown may leave the owner to think carpets are ruined and hair or pet odor will remain in the home when they buy it, or they just may subconsciously want to look elsewhere. To appeal to the widest audience, send your little darling(s) to grandma, a friend or relative or someone you know that can take care of them for a while. In the worst case, you may have to pack up fluffy for every showing and drive him or her around the block a few times. (Please don’t leave pets in the car unattended- especially with windows rolled up..)

11. If you have to do any major remodeling, be aware that the new owner may rip out your hard and expensive work and redo it to their taste, so cosmetic fixes will have the best return. If any rooms in the house need to be redone, the most important ones to look at are the kitchens and the bathrooms as they may return the highest percentage of your investment.

Final touches right before a home showing may include freshly cut flowers, the scent of fresh cinnamon boiled on the stove (but remove the pot before the showing), or fresh apples and cookies placed in plain site in the kitchen. Sometimes light music can help create an ambiance.

In any case, selling a home can go smoother if you prepare the home in advance. Having a professionally staged home can save you thousands in the long run, and get your home sold faster.

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 seems like we get so caught up in our everyday lives that we rarely take the time to focus on building something that is really near and dear to us, such as our Home Staging and Real Estate Business. We take care of everyone and everything else, but fail to give our business the attention it needs to sprout, grow and thrive.

As we start off this new year with a bang, I decided we should start off our Home Staging Business with a bang as well.

I think that in order to get your Home Staging Business off the groundand then some, you have to have a specific plan in place. During my APSD Property Scene Designer Training, I actually do a business blue print with each PD so we can specifically create a 12 month plan of success. Needless to say, the PDs that follow the plan have a booming home staging business.

But, it is one thing to say you have to have a plan and another to actually understand how to do one and figure out what goes into your plan.

That is why this year, I am going to do an APSD 12 month Home Staging Blue Print with every single one of you that joins me for our ONLINE STAGE EVENT because that is how strongly I feel about you having a specific vision and plan of action to carry out the vision. (By the way, all the details are at www.APSDmembers.com/OnlineSTAGE -hurry it starts next week!)

The important thing though, is to start now. Dont wait because we all know how quickly time passes us by right? So please, I am asking you, encouraging your, willing to support youmake the choice right now, to be a success in the home staging industry!

First of all, there are several factors to consider when you decide to run and effective Home Staging and Real Estate Business:

1) Vision. Have you stopped to decide specifically what you want from this business? Are you looking to niche a specific service like Curb Appeal. Color Analysis, High End Homes, etc.? Or, are you happy to just set a goal, like 4 stagings a week and take what comes? I find by starting anything with a very clear vision, you are far more likely to quickly achieve your goal.

2) Momentum. Once you decide what you want, you need to build momentum by taking massive action. I know most of you work other jobs or take care of your children (many of you do both!) so the thought of massive action could stop you in your tracks. But stop to think about what massive action could be. Maybe you decide that you can make 10 calls every Monday to local real estate offices. Then, on Friday, you send out follow up emails to the same 10. If you are not doing anything right now, that is Massive action. When you do it consistently, you will get results which leads to momentum. It is like losing weight, drop a pound or two in the first week by saying no to sweets and yes to a daily walk, you get results, which leads to momentum and before you know it you are in week 4 and have lost 10 pounds. Massive Action leads to Momentum which leads to results.

3) MindSet. Now that you have a little momentum going, you may start to second guess yourself. Maybe it is because of how you were raised, or you dont have enough support at home or you simply lack confidence, but I find that in order to have continued growth, your head needs to be in the right place. Normally, we call this mindset and during my recentAPSD Stager Pro and APSD Certified Trainers Program, we talked a great deal about confidence and mindset. It is a special session that I will be teaching during ONLINE STAGE.

I am a big believer in putting yourself in the right frame of mind, and keeping it there, in order to achieve the success you deserve. I know when I first started out on my own home staging business, I lacked confidence in my ability, did not think I could succeed, had a wonderful husband that didnt understand what I was trying to do and was a very well conditioned mid-westerner that kept thinking work harder and I will be fine. WOW! Did I ever have a great deal to learn. Mindset is one of the biggest keys to success which is why I am devoting an entire session to it at our ONLINE STAGE training.

As women (and a few really cool guys) we have to put our mind in the right place for ourselves and our family. Otherwise we will live a life of poverty mindset and even worse, pass it along to our children. Wouldnt you prefer a mindset of abundance?

4) Extraordinary Skills. When my APSD Certified Home Staging Professionals ask me how to compete, or blaze the home staging trail, I always tell them to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. The funny thing, is that I tell my small business consulting clients the same thing, so it works for every industry. It is easy to just look at what others do and do the same. What takes a little more effort is to be better. One of my mentors, Dan Kennedy, says look around at your competition and whatever they are doing, do the opposite.

I took this to heart when I created APSD. I looked around at everyone and I did the opposite. I created an association that supported our members. Also, I assumed you were already smart and talented, so instead of showing you how to create a trilogy of candles (because I assume you already know how to put 3 candles on a plate), APSD gave you a proven Home Staging system; a model to follow so you can yield specific results. Then, and this is the best part, APSD came out with specific trainings that spoke to our members and their bottom lines. I think you should make a bunch of income with your Home Staging and Real Estate business and be able to help your client in the biggest and best way. In order to do that, you have to offer multiple services which yield you multiple streams of income. In the APSD ONLINE STAGE training, I will introduce you to 25 streams of home staging income. Everything from Color Analysis to Curb Appeal to our propriety programs like Bang for the Buck and Estage!

But it doesnt stop there. We continually differentiate ourselves from any other program by offering courses for todays Home Stager such as Vacant and Distressed Property Staging which we will be doing during our ONLINE STAGE event. This is a hot button across the globe and once you learn to effectively stage Vacant and Distressed properties, you will have every real estate agent in your market place knocking down your door for help.

The new APSD Certified Trainers have already had a sneak peek into the program and you will have your chance to do so as well at ONLINE STAGE. Make sure you have the best skills possible and that is what will differentiate you in your Home Staging Market and get clients rushing to you vs. you having to chase them down.

5) Marketing. You knew I would get there, right? This has to be one of the biggest parts of your plan. During the point on Momentum I talked about setting a marketing schedule such as calling 10 real estate offices on Monday and following up with the same 10 on Friday. Believe it or not, if you just did this, and did it with good marketing, like that which you receive in How to Market Your Home Staging Business after a short time, you would have enough business.

Imagine if you added a postcard to the mix! Whoo Hoo! Now you may have to hire someone to help you! Okay, okay, I know I am being a little sarcastic but most home stagers dont market. Part of the reason is they just never get organized enough to do so and the other part is that APSD is the only Home Staging Training Association to offer REAL WORLD home staging Marketing. The important thing is that you set up a marketing schedule and follow it. The more aggressive you are, the better your results. But there is one result that I know for sure, and that is if you dont do any marketing, you will get zero results. So, set a schedule that you can manage and follow it. Your 12 month home staging blue print will be a step by step process to help you with this for every single month in 2012.

In the Home Staging and Real Estate Industry, there are at least 19 ways to effectively market your business and during our ONLINE STAGE event I am going to go through each way with you, step by step so when you leave, you have a MARKETING PLAN! It doesnt have to be hard, but you do have to do it!

By simply following these 5 steps, you will find that your Home Staging Business is doing far more than just getting off the ground in 2011.

And because we are going to cover so much of this during our ONLINE STAGE training I wanted to give you an opportunity for you and a friend to come at our 2 for 1 pricing! Just check out my special offer below!

Log on http://www.apsdmembers.com/ for more details!