ATTRACT BUYERS:
Being a certified home stager allows you to market your new addition to your portfolio to attract home buyers. In your marketing, you'll be able to note on your new found skills and let them know that you can assist them in staging their home when they find the perfect one. This will really attract buyers to use you in their home searching process; knowing they'll have someone to help make the house feel like home when it comes time to move in. You can offer this service as a free closing gift, or you can provide your services at a discounted rate for using you as their real estate agent. Either way, however you want to set the terms of your services, be sure to use it throughout your marketing for home buyers. You'll be pleasantly surprised how much more of a conversion you'll have on online leads by providing services that are of great value. If you have a real estate website, be sure to showcase this service.
ATTRACT SELLERS:
If you're a listing agent, or are working towards building your list of properties for sale, advertising your services to home owners as a staging expert is a sure fire way to get the contract sold, and your sign in the front of their yard. Home staging services do not come cheap. If you can showcase your portfolio of staging skills to home owners, and explain to them the importance of having their home staged to get the most value out of their home, you can really share with them the value you'll be able to bring to the table as their real estate agent. As discussed above, this could be a free service you offer (to an extent) or you can discount it for listing their home with you. Then, when you have the home professionally photographed, you can showcase your work on your website. Be sure to market your staging services with your listing services, and see your conversion rate at listing appointments increase. Bring a beautifully put together portfolio of your staging jobs to each appointment to showcase your abilities and value.
MAKE EXTRA MONEY:
If you're not making a significant amount of money in your current career as a real estate agent, you can supplement your income as a home stager. Even in slow markets, home staging tends to be in high demand. With so few professionals in the home staging industry, there are more than enough properties to work in to supplement you with a strong income. You can work on residential properties for individual clients, or you can team up with builders and get paid to stage their newly built properties. You can also build a strong relationship with other real estate agents that don't offer staging services, and provide your services to their clients for a fee.
GROW YOUR SPHERE:
If you decide to supplement your income by offering this service to clients outside of your home buyers and sellers, you can really grow your sphere in real estate significantly. Be sure to save all of your client's information and follow up with them through mailers to stay in touch. Let them know you're a real estate agent, and if they plan to buy or sell, that you'd love to help them. Same goes if they know of anyone interested in moving, let them know you'd love their referral. When you meet up with clients, don't just stop discussion at the staging aspect. Get to know them and let them get to know you. By letting them know your role as a real estate industry expert, you can double your deals with each client when they are ready to make a move.
