As Stagers we are nearly always put in the delicate position of having to advise a client about something they love in their home that needs to be changed to maximize the sales process. Telling the truth can be challenging because in our heads we may be thinking "I don't want to offend this person," or "What if I blow out this client and the Realtor never works with me again?" It is always risky to tell the truth, and yet it has to be done, or we are compromising our integrity.
Just yesterday, one of my long time clients had me come to her seller's house and walk through the house - very nice, too much personal stuff, over decorated, definitely needs Staging. One of the main concerns that the Realtor had talked with me about on the phone was their kitchen that is painted bright red. It's a great color for living, but way too much for selling. As we walked the seller around (we will just come and do hands-on Staging next week), the Realtor shared that I (the Stager) thought the color needed to be painted. The seller said, "Well, we really don't want to paint it because we paid this guy a lot of money to paint it that color - red is hard to get just right - and (THIS IS THE KEY SET OF WORDS HERE...) if we don't sell our house, then we don't want to have to repaint it."
WOW - Classic! This seller is giving herself a backdoor escape hatch - wants to sell, but IF it doesn't then we'll just stay. How many times have you heard that? And how many times have you backed down when you met with resistance? I didn't skip a beat and what I said to her was "Here you are putting your house on the market - and you want it to sell and you expect a buyer to buy - so buy the farm. You're either going to sell or not. Make the commitment to sell the house - instead of hanging onto something that you like that may not be appealing to all buyers." The Realtor just stared at me while I said what I know she wanted to say, but couldn't because she would possibly come off as pushy, and I come off as the "professional stager" that knows what it takes.
The Realtor also knows - but this is where Sellers sometimes feel their Realtors are just trying to "get them to spend more money" - and they are already paying their Realtor commission, so don't want to do more for this person. I have no "ulterior motive" (if you want to look at it that way), and am not attached to the sale of the home monetarily, so when I share with a client, it is sharing what they need to hear, to help them SELL. The Realtor also has to balance their role here - and so cannot be the one to deliver the tough message and still have that overall great rapport. I have rapport, always make a connection before delivering messages that might sting a little, but I am used in my role as the Stager to make sure the homeowner hears what they need to hear to get the sale and move like THEY want. It's not the Realtor "making" them move - THEY want to move and sell, so need to know the truth.
We'll see if she took to heart the clear advice- it was crystal clear - paint the red walls a nice neutral warm tone, and I gave her colors to choose from as well. Her kids have already mentally moved out of their house and into the new one - picturing their rooms and the setting they will have with more land, etc. We are NOT in a market where houses are flying off the shelf, they are asking a high amount for our market (not a median priced home), and have already found the house they want to buy. Those are all KEY reasons to do whatever it takes to properly market the house.
My husband (a Realtor) and I are having dinner tonight with the Realtor and her husband (also a Realtor) and I want to find out what she thought of my remarks . . . double teaming the client to get the results needed is so key! Having integrity to tell them what they need to hear - the truth - versus what they want to hear is part of our role as a Stager. To do otherwise would be compromising who we are, and not doing what we know is right - and of course, doing all this with kindness and with rapport established with the client is the glue that holds it all together and helps a client hear what they need to hear.
