It’s ironic that so many people wonder if there’s any work for home stagers when I keep getting frantic emails and phone calls from stagers who have their first client lined up and no clue what to do with them!
Judging by the inquiries we get, I suspect more than half the people who order the Staging Diva Home Staging Consultation Checklist with Room by Room Planning Forms are ordering it the night before a client consultation.
They suddenly realize they’ll be heading out to their first client meeting and they don’t know what to do when they get there! (It makes me wonder what the heck they learn in those ‘other’ home staging training courses, but I digress!)
Here’s another common scenario for new stagers and how you should handle it:
You learn you’ll be getting a call tomorrow from a real estate agent who is interested in how home staging might help his listings. But, you still haven’t registered your business or got to many of the other details needed to get your business started. You are tempted to:
- avoid the call altogether
- tell him your business isn’t really set up yet, but you’ll call back when it is
Don’t sabotage your success! You’re an entrepreneur, which means you need to be ready to act on leads, even if you feel terrified (we all have a first time!).
Instead of turning your back on this prospect, here’s what you do instead:
- Take a deep breath and calm down and realize it’s just a phone call. Take things one step at a time, you’re not actually hired yet!
- Make notes on what you’ll say about yourself, your business, and why home staging is important in this market. (If you’ve taken the Staging Diva Program refer to the notes from course 4, it’s all in there!) Rehearse saying all this at least 10 times before the call so you’ll feel more natural when you answer his questions.
Do not include the phrase “I’m brand new and have no experience yet.” This would be equivalent to saying in a job interview, “there is really no reason to hire me.”
There’s nothing like a real live client or prospect to kick us into gear and get us focused on nailing down those details we may have been procrastinating about!
Here are two important steps to get your professional identity started:
1. If you’ve chosen a business name, register the domain and order the email address option with it. Then forward that email address to the one you use all the time. This will let you give out a professional looking email address that includes your business name. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a website yet, you can still do this part right away.
2. Work on your portfolio. It will be much easier to get hired when people can see samples of the transformations you’ve made to other homes. Start with before and after photos from your own house if you have to.
(Get these free photography tips for home stagers)
I’ve identified the first 20 steps you should take to get your business going and put them in the right order, so you won’t waste time or money, in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Quick Start Checklist. If you’re a Staging Diva Graduate you already have this. Take it out and make sure you’ve completed all 20 as the spring real estate season is getting underway and this is the single most important time of year for home stagers!
Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.
Creator of The Staging Diva® Home Staging Training Program
Debra Gould’s mission is to inspire others to follow their dreams and use their innate talents to also earn a living. She has trained over 1000 women and men on five continents how to take their talent for decorating and turn it into a successful home staging business.
> Learn more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program
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