The House with the Overindulged Cat

With every project, you learn new things. When I look back at my "adventures", I swear it would make for a great comedy show or at least a skit on SNL.

This particular property was owned by a former attorney and a professor. The reason why I disclose their professions is to make a point and it will be obvious as I reveal my story. I met with the husband, the attorney, since the wife, the professor, was out of town. I was hired to provide them with a consultation to help them prepare their home for sale. This was their family home where they raised two girls who were now away at college. Since their "kids" were gone, their only "child" was their overindulged cat who was fairly old.

From the moment I walked in the door, I smelled cat. How I usually run my consultations is I'll walk through the property quickly with the homeowner to see the floor plan and allow them to point anything out to me that I should be aware of (i.e. renovations planned, etc.) and then I'll go through the property on my own to make detailed notes on each room, then go through the property again with the homeowner explaining in detail my recommendations room-by-room. When I was in the dining room, the cat scent was extremely strong to which I found a litter box. Why is there a litter box in the dining room? That went on my list of things to be removed. I later found another litter box in the laundry room. Why do we need two litter boxes? Did I mention that it was the owner himself who called the cat "overindulged?" So long story short, when I walked through to explain my recommendations to the owner, we started at the front door where I told him that as soon as I walked into the property, I smelled "cat". Well, he was a little surprised, but admitted that he had lost his sense of smell so he couldn't tell (lucky him!!). We walked to the dining room where I made my recommendations for furnishings and recommended removing the litter box and the standing fan that was in the room. He then proceeded to tell me that he had recently hired a plumber to check for a leak under the house because there was a wet spot in the dining area that he couldn't explain. Picture this. He is standing there in his bare feet, tapping on this "wet spot" in the middle of the dining room completely perplexed by its presence (THERE IS NO PLUMBING UNDER A DINING ROOM!!!) and I'm trying to keep a straight face while thoughts are racing through my mind - OMG!!! Are you with me? Without my telling him that it was probably the cat, I led him to come to the conclusion himself by the end of the consultation. He just couldn't imagine why she would do that, but she was getting old and probably couldn't control it anymore.

Then, there was the question about what to do with the feral cats. What's a feral cat? Well, lesson of that day was they are stray cats. Apparently, they have been feeding these cats that come to their yard. My response was, "maybe you should stop feeding them" to which his response was "Oh, I couldn't do that!" Well geez, if you were a stray cat, would you stop coming to a house that fed you regularly?

This consultation was true comedy. I recommended that he hire a professional carpet cleaner to clean their carpets. His response was that he didn't think that would be worth it since he had rented a $30 machine from a local grocery store and it didn't do anything (Hello! We're talking professional carpet cleaners with vans equipped with stain sucking machinery, not a cheap $30 wannabe cleaner!!). Of course, when he finally figured out it was the cat that was causing the "wetness" in the dining room, they had to hire a restoration specialist to treat the area under the carpet and clean it. He called me to tell me how amazed he was at the results. Mind you, I had recommended he have the cat live outside of the home during the sale of the property, but he didn't take me up on that so guess what? Surprise, surprise, the cat did it again. I can only do so much.

If you have a funny story to share, please submit it to info@successfulstagingbiz.com and put EZINE SUBMISSION in the subject line and we will pick the best ones to be featured in future issues.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but here's what you MUST include with it: Alice T. Chan, the Staging Designer's Success Coach, publishes the bi-weekly ezine "Set the Stage for Your Success". If you're ready to skyrocket your Staging Design business and gain credibility in record time, get your FREE tips now at
www.SuccessfulStagingBiz.com.

"Are You Too Quick to Roll Back Your Prices? Why You Must Avoid the Discount Trap."

A common question new and experienced Stagers ask is how much should I charge for my services? Most people come up with pricing by looking at what the competition is charging and using that as a baseline. They either charge the same, less or maybe a little bit more.

Now just because this is what everyone is doing, doesn't make it right. You have to ask yourself what type of customer and business you want to attract and package your services accordingly. Your ability to sell your services and its perceived value is really the key.

Studies have shown that individuals do not buy based on price. As a matter of fact, price is one of the least important things in terms of dealing with an individual or a company. What people find important are confidence, selection and convenience. So, if you can confidently offer your menu of services and make it easy for them to buy, you're set.

An analogy I use a lot is, if you want Wal-Mart pricing, you'll get Wal-Mart service. If you want Nordstrom service, you must be willing to pay Nordstrom prices. Does that make sense? If you think you can offer Nordstrom service at Wal-Mart prices, you're kidding yourself. And by service, I don't just mean customer service. Service includes the whole staging design package - consultation, moving services, delivery, implementation, inventory, administration - the entire experience and the quality of that experience.

When I started getting the reputation of being "expensive" or "pricey", but "she's good", I figured there are worse things to be known for. I never wanted to be known as the "low price leader". One thing I readily admitted to inquiring prospects when they said that my prices were high was that I'm not known for low prices. If that was their basis for choosing a staging service, I was not going to be a fit for them. I stood by the fact that I provided a quality service at a fair price. Now, what's fair? Fair is a price that I felt good about receiving for what I provided.

Are you happy with the price you are charging? If not, change it. Don't complain that clients only want to pay low prices or that your competitors are forcing you to lower your prices. Your competitors are not lowering your prices and neither are your customers. You're the one doing it. You bid on the project, you publish the prices (I never published prices on my website), and you provided the quote. Remember that if everyone only wanted to pay low prices, we'd all be driving the same cars, living in the same houses, eating at fast food restaurants, and wearing the same clothes. Since the luxury market is the fastest growing retail segment out there, this is obviously not true.

The thing I learned in my many years in sales was that whenever I cut my prices to "be competitive", I always regretted it. The client never appreciated the discount and I didn't enjoy servicing the account. I felt robbed and that's not how I want to feel when I'm working with clients. You want to have the type of client who you enjoy working with, where you can deliver the type of value you want to deliver and get paid well for it.

Stop trying to work with people that you don't make a profit from. You're not a non-profit organization nor are you in the charity business. If your customer truly needs a low price, you really can't afford to sell to them.

Two common objections that you've probably heard:

1) "Your prices are too high. XYZ Stager is only $XXX", i.e. "I can get it cheaper somewhere else."
I used to laugh when they would call and during the pre-qualification stage of the conversation when we're trying to figure out what their budget is, they almost always thought that the price we would quote will somehow be less than the number they had in their mind. If their number was way off base, I would encourage them to go with the low quote they supposedly received, then slip in the "buyer beware" to create doubt in their minds. The best thing for you to do is acknowledge the claim and tell them you cannot meet or beat the price, so they should GO FOR IT and GOOD LUCK! Sometimes just doing this was simply calling their bluff and they would go with your services anyway at the price you quoted. If not, you still win because more than likely, they would have been a nightmare customer.

There are usually 3 reasons why they really can't get it cheaper somewhere else:

a) They're lying about the price. They're really just trying to
negotiate with you.

b) The same stuff is not available right now. Maybe they
can get it for a lower price but the service is not available
for 3 weeks and we know that real estate is very time-sensitive.

c) It's not the same stuff. If they honestly believe they can get
the same Staging for $500 that someone else quoted $1500,
I need to work with the $500 Stager to help her raise her
prices!

2) "If you give me a good price, I have X number of other properties for you to stage."

Don't fall for this one. I know it is a tempting offer, but it's usually just a negotiation tactic to get you to discount your prices and once you do, they'll keep asking for additional discounts. Here's what I would recommend you say, "Mr./Ms. X. Thank you for your interest in our Staging Design services and the opportunity to work with you. Since we have not had the chance to work with one another yet, why don't we start with one property and see if it's a good fit before we discuss other projects. If it works out, I would love to work with you on all your future projects and I always take care of my loyal customers. Does that sound fair?"

How can anyone object to that? You're being gracious. You're giving them an out if things don't work out. You're not offering a discount, but it is understood that if you work with one another regularly, over time, you will take care of them (however you choose to, i.e. squeezing them in at the last minute, complimentary consultations, etc.). Everyone wins. Save yourself time and aggravation by avoiding these types of customers and focus on the "good" customers.

In closing, keep the following reasons in mind why you DO NOT want to deal with price buyers:

• Price buyers take up all your time.
• They do all the complaining
• They "forget" to pay you.
• They tell other Customers how little they paid you and brag about it.
• They're not going to buy from you again because the only loyalty they have is to the price - they'll always be looking for a lower price.

© 2008 AKC Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but here's what you MUST include with it: Alice T. Chan, the Staging Designer's Success Coach, publishes the bi-weekly ezine "Set the Stage for Your Success". If you're ready to skyrocket your Staging Design business and gain credibility in record time, get your FREE tips now at
www.SuccessfulStagingBiz.com.

Winner of the Nasty House Award

People who know me, know that I'm pretty particular (or a**l) about things. I've softened as I've gotten older, but I often times wondered why I chose the Staging business when things "gross me out" so easily. I remember the first few consultations I conducted, I would, as a courtesy, remove my shoes in the client's home. After seeing the interiors of peoples homes and how they lived and having stepped on one too many unidentifiable "wet spots" with my bare feet or in my socks, I decided enough was enough! I'm not taking my shoes off anymore!!! I would literally go home and either start cleaning my own house (even if it didn't need it) because I was so appalled at what I just saw in the home I just returned from or I would immediately take a shower to wash away the "funk" from someone else's house. If you can believe it, I got used to it after awhile or just knew what to expect, but one particular property stood out as the winner of the Nasty House Award! Imagine you are in the first trimester of your pregnancy and you are surprising shocked at experiencing no morning sickness, no food aversions, no problems at all and you have not had the need to announce your present condition to anyone yet.

Then imagine walking into a property to conduct a staging consultation for a Realtor to discover a home whose owners leave their medium/large size dog at home alone for 12-14 hours at a time, with no exit to the outdoors to relieve himself. They also chain smoke indoors, have clutter EVERYWHERE and they DO NOT CLEAN! And of course, your job is to help get the property ready for sale. Keep in mind that the owners were not present during this consultation which was disturbing because they really needed to be there. Allow me to describe what I found. (I tried to find old pictures and unfortunately, the best picture is no longer in my files). The house wreaked of pee, poo, smoke and mildew. The spaces were disheveled and filled with clutter. None of the 3 beds were made. The bathroom counters were packed with all kinds of products and the thought of sitting on their toilet or showering in their shower is unthinkable, there were pee soaked throw rugs THROUGHOUT the house, yes, PEE SOAKED, and to our delight, there were 3 pieces of doggie poop in the hallway upstairs. Oh, but there was a Neiman Marcus catalog laying around and lots of designer clothes and shoes in the closet***nice paradigm. Now remember the pregnant chick who was feeling good? Well, that was me and as much as I tried to suck it up and work as fast as I could, I had to go outside to catch some air and compose myself so I could run back in, take photos and leave. When I got home that night, I had to take Lysol Wipes to wipe the bottom of my shoes to clean them.

Obviously, we had to do a major overall on this property. When I brought my housecleaner, painter and handyman to the property, I had to warn them of the surprise in store for them. Obviously, the carpet was gutted and the subfloors had to be treated for all the urine, the entire interior was repainted, along with the shutters and the master bathroom ceiling needed to be mudded over and repainted due to the extensive smoke and mildew build-up (YUCK!) and the cleaners had there work cut out for them. Somehow, even after all this happened, the house still smelled like pee - why? Because there they still kept those nasty throw rugs around! The owners just didn't really have a vested interest in the selling process. They wanted top dollar, but was not willing to put forth much effort of their own. They were still going to be living in the property during the sales process so I was concerned about how the property would be maintained. We had rental furniture and plenty of our staging inventory in there. Trust me when I say, I emphasized to the agent that IF EVERYTHING WAS NOT RETURNED IN ITS NEAR ORIGINAL CONDITION, he would be responsible for the replacement value. This project was a total ugly duckling turned into a beautiful swan story because amazingly enough, they still got $20K over asking. In all honesty, it was the market climate at the time. If that property was on the market today, it would probably still be on the market - TIMING is so key!!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Alice T. Chan, the Staging Designer's Success Coach, publishes the bi-weekly ezine "Set the Stage for Your Success". If you're ready to skyrocket your Staging Design business and gain credibility in record time, get your FREE tips now at www.SuccessfulStagingBiz.com.

Lessons Learned from "HGTV's - The Stagers"

I was curious, as I'm sure the rest of you were when they announced this new program airing on HGTV on July 22nd, if it would be a true depiction of what the Staging life is like. I would have to say that it's probably the most realistic of the shows that are out there today, but still doesn't tell the whole story. Regardless, here are some things that I feel you could learn from the show.

1) Have a plan for your project. I'm actually a little shocked by the lack of planning and utter chaos that is depicted. Maybe it's just for TV drama to make it more interesting, but realistically, if that's how you are running your business, you NEED TO TAKE CONTROL immediately. My recommendation to you is a) always see the property beforehand, b) take before photos, c) map out plans for each room so that choosing inventory is more targeted and streamlined, and d) create a list of staging inventory needed. My Ultimate Staging Success Blueprint has all the tools to help you do just that. There is absolutely no reason why most projects should take more than a day. I would say 97% of the straight "staging" projects I've worked on was completed within 1 day. Anything that took more was because of the size of the project (5000+ sf home or multiple units) OR if there were delays on other related projects. When I first started my staging business, I was running back to the warehouse to pick up things we forgot or shopping at the last minute because we didn't have what we needed, and I'm not saying that you won't still have to do this occasionally, but you want to avoid these delays as much as you can and the best way to do that is to have a plan going into every single project.

2) Do be tactful with your clients. The Designers on "The Stagers" are good at keeping their opinions to a minimum in front the client. Some of the other Staging shows seem to enjoy poking fun at how awful a home looks. I'm all for being truthful and honest with your clients, but being tactful will definitely earn you more brownie points and help you maintain your professional image. Most of the time, they already know their property is not in "top selling" condition, that's why they called you. There's no reason to make a mockery of the situation. Perhaps again, the criticisms voiced are for ratings, but most real life people would not be too thrilled with you if that's how you approached them.

3) Do Keep your Inventory Organized. This is always a challenge for any Staging Company. It's a never ending struggle with having "too much" when it all comes back and not having enough when you're super busy. The Dekora warehouse featured on the show is enormous compared to probably 99% of the staging firms out there. Most of us do not have the luxury of a 10,000 sf space with seemingly unlimited inventory available. I started off with storing my inventory in our 1 car garage and back stairs when my husband & I lived in a townhouse. We eventually graduated to one large storage unit, then two, and finally to an 1100 square foot warehouse. Then there was the challenge of keeping the zones organized - linens, kitchen accessories, bath accessories, floral/greenery, silk trees, lamps, chairs, art, etc. We toyed with the idea of building shelving so that we could capitalize on the vertical space in the warehouse, but then there was the safety issue with our team members going up and down. I can't say we ever really perfected "Staging the Warehouse", but one thing we always tried to do was unpack after a destage and put everything back into their respective zones so that it was easy to pull inventory for the next project. The more disciplined you are in this area, the more sane you can remain. I actually designated Fridays or a day when there were no Staging Projects scheduled as Warehouse days - time to reorganize, clean and repair inventory.

4) Do Keep in Mind Who the Prospective Buyers will be and Design the Staging Accordingly. This skill will set you apart from just being a "wannabe" stager to being a true Real Estate Partner and a Professional Staging Designer. There are many Real Estate Agents who are guilty of this as well. They don't keep in mind who the target audience is - who would be your prospective buyer? Is it a young family? Are they empty nesters? Are they young bachelors/bachelorettes? These considerations must be top of mind when designing your Staging. It's not about just adding artwork and putting furniture into a room. The personality that is added with accessories should portray the type of lifestyle that one would want to live in that home. This is one thing that the Designers on the show are good at exploring and working with.

5) Build a Staging Team. This is something all of you should work towards. Just as on the show, they have the Staging Boss, Senior Stager, Home Stager, Staging Assistants, Movers, Handymen, etc., so should you. My role was a cross between the Staging Boss and the Senior Stager as I was never completely hands-off. Building a team to work with not only makes each project more efficient, it also makes it a lot of more fun because you can bounce creative ideas off of one another. I've had people on my team at all levels. Movers who just helped move inventory to and from the staging sites (mostly large pieces of furniture so we can totally relate to the sofa not fitting in the elevator or door - I dreaded getting those calls), Staging interns who actually did hands-on staging work, but can be the perfect team member to help wipe down furniture, clean mirrors and art, iron bedding, pump up airbeds, etc. I also strongly believe there should be a Team Lead so that there is someone who is in charge on-site, otherwise it would be too chaotic.

Here are few other tips depicted on the show that I you should definitely keep in mind for your own businesses (if you're not already doing so):

* Incorporate feng shui principles in your staging (in some parts of the country, THIS IS HUGE - like So. Cal)
* Don't forget to address curb appeal issues
* Paint over unattractive, unmarketable wall colors
* Add dramatic art and accessories for high impact
* Bring rooms back to its originally intended purpose
* Don't fight with what's not working, like trying to use the
homeowner's things
* Use scale appropriate furniture

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Alice T. Chan, the Staging Designer's Success Coach, publishes the bi-weekly ezine "Set the Stage for Your Success". If you're ready to skyrocket your Staging Design business and gain credibility in record time, get your FREE tips now at http://www.SuccessfulStagingBiz.com.