Home Staging Blog by Jennie Norris

55 years ago my mother lived in a small house in the area of Sacramento known as Land Park - near the old Tower Theatre.  After my grandparents moved away to another house, the small house changed hands several times and the neighborhood went downhill, and then was revived during an influx of people taking an interest in older historic homes near our state Capitol.  Over the years my Mom has stopped in to the neighborhood to see her childhood home but has not been inside since she was a young girl.

Flash forward to the present and I get a call from a homeowner that is not moving but wants help pulling their house together.  They are a new homeowner - been in this house about a year.  I asked the wife to tell me about the house and she described the old craftman style bungalow house that is very common in parts of Sacramento.  When I asked her what street it was one - she told the name - and I thought, "That name sounds really familiar."  It triggered in my head that my Mom grew up on that street because I remembered stories she told me of when she was young.

So I called my Mom and asked her, "What was your address?"  When she told me - I heard the old Twilight Zone music in my head. It is the very SAME house!

What are the odds that would happen?  What are the odds that I would be in a business that would help people pull their houses together (as well as Stage for sale) and that out of all the many business owners that Stage in our region this homeowner would call ME to stage her house - and it turns out to be my Mom's childhood home?  I think it is one for the record books or put in the category of the stars being aligned or something like that.

I have not seen the house yet - but will be helping these clients on Monday and I am so excited!  I told my Mom that she has to come when it's all done - and of course I will take lots of pictures.

- Jennie

The team approach to Staging is something that creates a buzz any time it is shared.  What a great way to develop and maintain business growth.  To my knowledge, I was probably the one of the first if not the first professional Stager to set up a team model - over six years ago.  Over that period of time, I have learned a lot of what works and what does not work - and the various ways in which you can work with others as you grow your business.  I have shared my knowledge with many fellow Stagers - many of whom are active on this site - and watched how they have adapted the information and made it their own, or patterned their business model and success after what has worked so well for my business.

Before you move in that direction or add yourself to someone else's team, there are some key points to consider:

WHY?

Why are you thinking about developing a team? Is it because you have too much work coming in or is it because you are limited in the hours you can work Staging, or a combination of both?

Let's look at the TIME Factor:

There is a limit to how much one person can do with Staging.  Burning the candle at both ends with the creative and marketing side will eventually lead to burnout.  When a business first starts growing, planting the seeds for relationships takes time, and then when the jobs start flowing in, finding a way to manage the balance between effective marketing and actual Staging needs to take place.

When you get to the place where you are maxed out on the time you have to put towards your business, that is the point where you will either just maintain what you have, or make a decision to grow past it.  If you want to grow past where you are, you need to work with others.  If you are limited in your time to do jobs due to other commitments, that is also a reason to consider expansion in order to handle demand.

Also -what if you get sick or want to take a vacation or have an emergency situation that demands your full attention?  What do you tell your clients that continue to have needs?  "Sorry, I am not available right now?"  Or do you do what I did early on - not take trips, and work when you are sick.  That is not a good plan for life or business long term.  You need to have a reliable resource as a back-up for you so that you DO have the ability to take time off if needed and not have your business fall away.

We have two choices when we get a call for a job - and are unable to handle it because we have no time available.  We either put off the client or pass off the client. 

Putting off a client might work for a few days, but when someone wants a house Staged they usually want it done right away - I have found that unavailability is the kiss of death for Stagers.  When there are plenty to choose from, that is basically telling the client, "Go find someone else."  And they do.

Passing off the client to a colleague works - but the tendency of that client is to go back to the last person they successfully worked with - and so you risk losing a client to another Stager that develops a relationship.  Even if you spell it out up front, it still happens.  So the idea for expansion happens naturally. 

There are those that are born marketers and those that just want to Stage.

They need to meet and partner-team up for success.

You can just work with another Stager - as needed - and use each other as a resource for larger jobs.  This works but the disadvantage is that in the eyes of the public, you are competitors, and it can be confusing when trying to market your services together.  Promoting two different company names and two websites, and two different looking sets of materials dilutes the goal of getting more business and increasing market share.

Setting up a partnership is great - my recommendation is to do this BEFORE the other person has picked a name, designed a logo, etc. so that they do not look at your partnership as a potential loss of money and identity for them.  There is the legal part of this as well - having to set up an official Partnership where both parties share equally in the risk and rewards of the business.

Or you can look at expanding your Staging company by adding Stagers to your team.  There are two ways to do this.  One - set up independent contractors as part of your team, or two - hire employees.  I chose to do the first option, so that is what I will share about.

Team Building - I used a geographic motivation to develop a team.  There are plenty of Stagers I can call to come and help on a job - so getting bodies is not a challenge.  I was looking for something MORE than that.  I wanted those that would develop an "owner mentality" in areas where it became too challenging for me to service.

Empowering Business Owners - Independent Contractors

In my business model, I wanted to empower others to have a business owner mentality.  I was not interested in being a "boss" or having employees.  In order to make this happen, anyone that worked with me had to show income sources outside of the jobs they might assist me with. This meant they had to get their own clients.  This meant they had to actually market - with my help - for clients and jobs.

RULE: If you plan on having independent contractors, ensure they are working for other clients - not just yours.  In most cases and states, they must show income outside of what you are paying them or else in the eyes of the IRS in most states, they will be considered a waged employee, and you could be responsible for worker's comp, and other taxes.  This is a big delineation factor and one the IRS can crack down on with business owners.

Put Agreements in Place

Everyone on my team has signed an Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA) - and I have shared this with many Stagers out there - that was used as a basis for developing their teams.  What my ICA shares is what I expect from anyone on the team, and what they can expect from me.  It goes over professional guidelines as well as issues such as payment, what they are responsible for and how I expect them to help expand our market share.

Business Licenses & Company Names: 

Each team member had to get a business license and they file it annually.  The name they chose for their business license could be anything - and it is NEVER marketed as part of our team.  We market ONE company name, and promote that one name in all our literature.  So the end result is that collectively, we have 7x the market share under one umbrella name.  When we have multiple vehicles with signage driving around, multiple people handing out business cards with that name, multiple people promoting the one name, the word spreads much faster, the company gains more market share, and everyone benefits because we are "known" in the market.

Joint Marketing Fund

All members of our team contribute to a general Marketing Fund - by paying back 25% of their time on jobs.  This allows us to purchase marketing materials, participate in promotional events and helps pay for website and marketing material development.  The team members never have to orchestrate any of this for their Staging - it is done for them by me as part of the ICA - and they reap the benefits of having top notch marketing materials and cutting edge services we can offer as a team.  It is not a referral fee - it is a marketing fee - and the amount they put towards the marketing fund is less than they would be spending annually on their own if they were not part of the team. 

1099 at the end of the year

Since we are not employees of one company, and are independent contractors, we do 1099 each other at the end of the year for jobs where we have teamed up.  Whoever the lead is on the job pays the other team members according to their time or other arrangement.

What about Inventory?

I made a decision to allow my team members to carry their own inventory and earn income from it on jobs.  When it's my job and I am the lead, I put my things in a house.  When they are the lead, they put their things in a house.  I have heard other teams require the use of only the company owner's things - and that is an individual business decision.  I did not want to control the inventory and management and warehousing of the inventory - so passed that to the team members who are all able to derive a nice income stream from inventory.

The team members have also signed a Non-Compete/Non-Disclosure Agreement (NC/ND)- which is a more legalistic binding agreement basically protecting you and your company should the relationship not work out.  Let's face it - not everyone you think will work out does.

It may take finding some not-so-good eggs to get a great one:  It took me 10 people to find 6 good ones.  The other Stagers were nice, but their goals for how they wanted to work were not in line with what I wanted.  Some thought I was a job-broker and just sat back waiting for the phone to ring, complaining when they were not "busy enough."  Others just did not gel with the other team members, and others did not like being accountable for their work.  The NC/ND also stipulates that your clients are yours, theirs are theirs, and your client base cannot be "raided" by anyone that leaves your company for a period of time set by you.  I was able to create this document using an online legal resource.

Give them Something they cannot Do on their Own

All the team members that have been part of We Stage Sacramento lack marketing skills.  They were not computer savvy and did not want to go through the rigors of putting marketing pieces together, developing a website, and continuing to develop marketing pieces to attract business.

What they DID have was Staging talent.  They had desire to earn income from Home Staging.  So, we partnered together with me providing the marketing for the team and them being able to plug directly into a ready-made company right after they received their training.  They received and continue to receive:

• Marketing Support
• Mentoring & Training
• Immediate jobs and income
• Partnering for success
• Leads from the Company

Make them Earn it:

One of the KEY stipulations I have in our ICA is that a team member does not rise to the top of the income ladder until he/she has brought in at least one client on their own.  Until then, they are in "learning" mode and not "business owner" mentality.  A team member also does not earn the right to be "lead" on a job until he/she can handle the entire process from start to finish.  The team members we have had to demonstrate their ability to do this - and if I had to step in to manage any part of the process, then they were not ready.

Marketing must Continue for Success - Just because we may have clients that are loyal and repeat does not mean we stop marketing.  The final key ingredient to a successful team is that all members are willing to do "face time" for marketing.  We participate in many events annually from vendor fairs, expos, to presentations in offices.  The goal in all is to do "face time" - educate our prospective clients and get our name out in the region.

If you are at the point in your business where you need to make a decision to partner, expand or refer business to a trusted colleague, I hope this post has helped give you some fuel for thought.  Our team is a great group of Stagers who are not only there for each other professionally, but truly care about each other personally.  I did not know this would be a serendipity of the team, but I am really happy with how it has grown and evolved.  You will be too.

Points. Blogs. Features. Websites. Rankings.

The power of the internet and all the tools we have to promote ourselves is increasing.  I stopped and asked myself a question today after reading a blog post on points and ranking, "Are we becoming more obsessed and focused on blogging and earning points than we are on doing our job?"

I am amazed and I have to admit it - impressed - at the breadth of some of the blogs some people have - not only here on AR but in other blog sites.  I know how much work and effort it takes to maintain a site and post things consistently.  It's like another job.  To be at the top of any search engine and be found on the net takes specific strategy and marketing focus.  I know I have just scratched the surface of what I could be doing online, but I already feel slightly overwhelmed just trying to manage two blogs, an e-magazine account, and e-marketing campaigns. 

When there are only so many hours in the day - I have to choose my focus, and so will disappear for days or weeks while handling other (to me) more important things - and then come back to see what I have missed.  And there are those of you that never seem to miss a day or night of blogging.  It IS like another job but do you have a time set aside each day or is it more like "Sorry - I cannot make dinner - I have blogging to do" or do you just have more hours than I do in my day?  I am an effective plate spinner and I would go up against the best of you - but I concede in this category to those more super-human bloggers that manage to post and post and post.

It is E-Mazing.

I know marketing is part of my job as well - and I know all about how the internet tools are used as a key marketing tool for any business owner.  But I think the scales could tip or are tipping to the point where time spent on a site or building up points outweighs the actual work being done - and for me that is a concerning thought. 

Am I the only one that has ever had this thought?

Are we moving to a place where just because we share how fabulous we are online, that makes us "better" than someone who does not blog about it or blog as much about it?  To me that is both fascinating and frightening at the same time.  Seriously.

If I am in here all the time - and let's face it - this site has the ability to suck us in and time ceases to exist - "Wait a second - it was only 10:30 a minute ago - why is it 2 AM now?" If I am "in here" - then I am not "out there."  When I am "out there" working and actually doing Staging projects, marketing. training, and doing face time, then I don't have time to be "in here."

On one hand I have to give kudos to those that manage to do both effectively - and yet I know BUSY is a relative term.  For me - my goals of the quantity of jobs I want weekly may be someone else's monthly goal.  I also have a family with 4 children (8-13 yrs. old now), and I know others may have "been there/done that" or not there yet, or don't want to go there.  So I know that those that are "in here" all the time AND out there working have more discretionary time to put towards blogging - or maybe you manage to compartmentalize your time more efficiently.  It is a wonder to me.  I burn the midnight-1 AM-2 AM oil- plenty of times.  I just cannot do it day after day or else I turn into "Zombie Mom" or "Wild Hair with Dark Circles Stager."

So - please don't take this as a judgment against anyone or a group - it's is just an observation.  And my concern is that we write about what we do - but are we actually DOING it?  At what point do we (or someone else) just become experts at blogging about something we knew about - versus actually doing the work to remain on the cutting edge?

The internet has become such a powerful screening tool - I know there are wonderfully talented people that have failed to harvest the power of presentation online, and those that are not so talented that may be technologically advanced and more savvy.  And with the internet becoming more of a first line of reference, are we headed to a place that talent is passed over by technology?

And prospective clients "out there" become impressed by a person's ranking, points, feature, site, etc. - but are they really getting the best Stager or are they getting the best blogger, best internet user?  How can you tell - and is it going to be "buyer beware?" or will we have to come up with yet another way to separate those that are actually qualified and quality, versus those that just write about it. 

With the wealth of information on this site and other blog sites, online magazines, and more - it would be easy to "become" a Stager and not ever stage a house!  I could read all these posts and become an "expert" just from what I read.   Does that concern anyone else?

Yes - we put up photos and testimonials of our work to demonstrate our skills - and we trust that what someone puts on a site is actually their work and their client's words.  With Realtors, their success is online for all to see - their sales can be looked up and verified at any time.  Stagers don't have that measure - and so can claim just about anything.  Again, I am not questioning anyone specifically - but a person could conceivably create a whole company, with photos and testimonials and have little or no experience.  A person could write about Staging and build groups around something they have never even done personally, get a following, and it would be like the Pied Piper - in the lead but without a path based on truth leading others astray.

I am not saying we have arrived there - yet - but there needs to more to the measure of success than how many points we have, our ranking, our features, and our blog posts.  Hopefully talent, skill, success and personal interaction will still outweigh the words posted online.  And I know it is still the personal touch that gets the work - relationship and skills matter. But I also know that many opportunities are found because of being found online.  And I feel for those that have not harvested the power of online presence effectively because they are missing out - and the public is missing out on some great Stagers. 

And yet I do feel that in order to be good "in here" we have to be "out there" too - so keep the balance and do tell if you have a way of spinning all your plates AND blogging about it too without turning into a Zombie.

And now with this post - I am going "out there" to Stage.  I have cut my time so close, my hair is not combed so I hope I don't see anyone I care about.  Darn this website and blog that sucks my time away "in here!"

- Jennie

I attended our local Realtor Board weekly marketing meeting yesterday, and in the "tech-minute" the person speaking shared two websites that I found both intriguing and a little scary. Some of you may have already found these as an interesting resource for information on our Mortgage and Building Industry - but if you have not - check them out. 

http://www.ml-implode.com/

Basically, this website is tracking all the companies that have "imploded" in this roller-coaster market - and those that are at risk, and then it shares those that are strong.  It's actually full of some great information - and the word "implode" does not mean the company is gone for good - they could be in restructure mode or filed for protection.

The sister site:  http://builder-implode.com/

This is a website for builders - where it lists those that have "imploded."  It is a little sad to see some bigger names on the list of the Builders, and they give a caution for those that are at risk now - with some big names on there!

For both these websites I was amazed at how many companies have been impacted by the boom and bust (and that means jobs lost as well) and yet we did have a huge glut of companies taking advantage of the market boom that evidently could not sustain their situation.  I know the REO market in our area is at 39% in some regions - and in other parts of the country it is not as much. 

As a Stager I know my services are more in need than ever to get houses sold, and the new challenge seems to be helping Sellers that may already be at their minimum or close to it as far as equity to pay for this service that will help them sell faster and at the best price - whatever that is.  To me - not Staging is putting so much more $$ at risk - versus investing a few hundred to a thousand dollars to present a house for buyers.  Just because there is a ton of inventory out there does not mean it should not be presented well - to stand out from the crowd.

- Jennie

Pictures don't lie. The eye of the camera is a truth tool.

Photos online need to be of Staged houses in order to get a second glance.

I am still amazed in this day and age of digital photography with all the enhanced devices and services available to see poor photos (or no photos) online to promote and market a house for sale.

Photos need to be Staged too. Presentation matters.
Over 90% of buyers in most markets are searching online FIRST before even deciding which houses are candidates for purchase. Gone are the days where all houses are previewed via open houses or showings with an agent. Virtual Showings are the new buzz phrase - and in a virtual showing, the photos are king.

Staged houses show better in photos and in virtual tours online.

It's not just about clicking the camera and posting any photo to promote a house. Today, the savvy seller better make sure that the photos of their house - their product - are good ones that really showcase the space and selling features of their house.

Consider this photo - of a framed painting found in the dining room of a very high-end $2M house. Do you think Buyers would find a naked woman lounging on the bed appealing? Is this something they would expect to find in a dining room? No. And the buyers touring this house online or in person would remember this house as "The Naked Lady House."

Or how about his photo of a $550K house - this is supposed to be a Formal Living Room. Not only is it cluttered with ugly exercise equipment and random pieces of furniture lining the walls, but the "focal point" of the photo is the bare wall with an unattractive picture on the ground. What are these people thinking? The agent marketing this house needs to take a hard look at the photos and ask, "Is this photo going to help or hinder the sale?"

Or lastly, how about this photo - of the exterior of this over $500K house - can you even see what you are supposed to be buying? And worse than that, this is the ONLY photo for this house - there are no interior photos posted online. A buyer is going to pass right over this washed out photo with trees that block the house.

The amazing thing is that when searching online I looked at 400 houses that fell within the criteria of $500,000 or higher for this particular city search. These houses for sale listed on Realtor.com had more than half of them featured with no photos other than the exterior photo posted. Of the ones that had additional photos, 75% of them had photos that were poor quality or did not showcase the house. Even a short-sale or REO needs to have a best-foot forward in order to attract an audience of buyers.

Here are some Tips for getting the most out of what is shown online - Staging Works and is a key marketing and presentation tool for Houses. 

RULE:  Stage your Houses BEFORE they come on the market - and take photos of Staged rooms to promote the house to the public!

1. Get a good digital camera that can capture the entire room in a photo. If you have to, pay to have a professional take the photos as this is the first image a potential buyer will see online.

2. Make sure the lighting in the photo is an enhancement to the picture. If the lighting is too harsh, it will wash out part of the photo (like in the exterior house photo above) and the viewer cannot get a good perspective of what they are looking at in the picture. If the lighting coming from a window is too bright, it will wash out the photo and become the undesirable focal point. You are better off waiting for better lighting - either in the morning or later in the afternoon.

3. Take some photos at night. Exterior photos of a house lit up at night can be a fabulous way to showcase a house. Pools or other water features can reflect the light at night and create and artsy and attractive image.

4. LOOK at the pictures as you take them. The eye of the camera shows everything - the dog bowl, the cat toy, the shoe by the stairs, the random umbrella leaning against the house, the trash can, the old car, the weeds by the door, the person sitting in a chair, etc. These things we "filter out" with our minds, show up with evident clarity in photos. Remove the eye-sore and re-take the pictures!

Remember: You only have ONE CHANCE to make a FIRST IMPRESSION - make it a good one!

Whether Occupied Home or Vacant Home Staging - statistics prove that:

"The investment in Staging is always less than a Price Reduction." - Barb Schwarz