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Home Stagers - What is Your Motivation and How to "LIFT" Your Home Staging Business
by: homestagingtosell on
Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 Time: 9:52 PM
Upon the arrival of spring, everyone is ready for a ‘rebirth’ of sorts…I know I always am, what about you? For some of you it is a job or career change ( I hope it is a change to a career in home staging!), for others it is an improvement in the existing way you do business, some of you will clean out the clutter, others will readjust your mindset and some will stay status quo.
For me, I always find that when I am ready to change, I start to get a bit ‘fidgety.’ My husband Pete really sees it before I do and after 21 years, he has learned to approach the topic with kid gloves! I realize, now with greater maturity (yes, I can just call it what it really is-age!), that my need for a ‘re-birth’ is often because my motivation has changed.
As long as I can remember, I wanted to be an actor. I acted my way through middle school, high school and college. Then I was off to L. A. to become a professional actor. I was fortunate enough to have acted in commercials, movies, in the voice-over industry as a corporate actor. I acted with Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, was featured on HGT . . . and so many other great experiences. But,as an actor, no matter the media or part, you always want to know your motivation so you know what drives your character. This is an actor’s homework. I once read an article where Meryl Streep said that with each character, she always had a secret. The secret motivated her character to act the way she acted.
At some point in my life I decided to move on from acting and go into business which I think I love even more…possibly because I have more control in order to satisfy my control freak nature! My motivation was simply that I needed to grow and knew that I was at the top of my game with acting. There were also ‘sub-motivators’ like needing to pay my mortgage!
So if you have recently decided upon a ‘rebirth’ and part of your motivation is to pay your bills with your home staging business or home staging services, then you need to take your motivation one step further and discover the motivation of your client.
In home staging, and you already know this if you have experienced APSD Certified Home Staging Training, you have to find out what motivates the client or seller so you can speak to that desire and help them to achieve their goals. Once you determine a clients motivation, selling the proper home staging service becomes simple.
The problem is most people start by skipping their client’s motivation and going directly for the sale. The problem with this is twofold: 1) You may be missing the mark with your client’s desires and 2) Now you are just competing against everyone else trying to sell the same thing. And even, worse, with this approach you will be competing on price vs. value to the client.
Find out what motivates your client and you will have a client for life. One of my mentor’s favorite examples of this is Domino’s pizza. Their slogan used to be “Delivered in 30 minutes or less or its free, guaranteed.” They never say it is good or hot…just there in 30 minutes or less. That slogan is speaking to the motivation of the client…the tired parent who knows the kids need to eat, the hungry yet broke college kid, etc.- not to the person who is dying to have the best pizza of a lifetime!
When you discover your client’s home staging motivation, suddenly the staging doors open for you and you might be surprised by the flexibility in pricing as well. Once you speak directly to someone’s motivation, they are far more likely to pay a higher price.
This is the same thing we teach in the first step of the APSD home staging 6 step pyramid…know your customer! Isn’t that motivating?
Karen Schaefer
Founder and Creative Director; APSD The Association of Property Scene Designers
The World Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification
www.apsdmembers.com
PS- If you are interested in additional home staging marketing ideas and ways to get your clients to love you so much that you have TOO many home staging jobs, then join me in our monthly Home Staging Coaching Program, ‘LIFT.’ Details are at www.APSDmembers.com/Coaching Isn’t it time to ‘LIFT UP’ your home staging business?
About the Author
Karen Schaefer is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of APSD®; The Association of Property Scene Designers, a worldwide home staging training, marketing and certification company.
APSD® is the first true global business of this kind, training all levels of home staging business owners. Prior to opening APSD®, Karen was professional actor, speaker, author and entrepreneur. She has acted in major motion pictures, national commercials as well as having been featured on HGTV. Ms. Schaefer also have bought and sold over $10,000,000 in real estate as a real estate investor and industry speaker.
APSD® has over 27,000 followers in 14 countries and is growing daily as it speaks directly to the globally minded successful and creative business woman. Karen has published articles, books, and digital media and has been featured and quoted in The Wall Street Journal, HGTV, MORE.com women’s publication, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Calgary Sun, and numerous others.
Karen is the Chief Creative Officer of all APSD® Certified Professional Level Training Programs as well as the Author of the #1 best seller “Love Sells.” She has spoken on multiple stages in the U.S., Canada and Europe, on home staging, selling homes in tough markets, how to get buyers to fall in love with your home, as well as her infamous Open House Events.
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