Phyllis's Blog

Staging is a tough business, let's face it, this is HARD WORK!!! SO WHAT DO WE DO THAT MAKES US DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE?

Develop a team of professionals that you can refer and rely on always. A team of painters, movers, electricians, plumbers and contractors. People that are truly serving from thier heart to put your clients needs foremost. Work out an agreement with these professionals that will generate direct referrals.

Before developing this team:

1. Make sure they are professional at what they specialize in

2. Make sure they are licensed and bonded

3. And most of all, make sure that they will treat your clients and their homes with the utmost respect.

I have recently formed a network of professionals and I cannot begin to tell you the blessing it has been to me and my company. One such incident was on a house I staged last weekend. I wanted the clients piano moved from their living room downstairs to their family room. The clients did not want us to move the piano and stated that they had hired professional movers in the past to move it. The cost to them was $125.00. I told them I would call "my movers" and get a price.

I immediatley called my contact and told him the price they had gotten and then asked my guy what he would charge if they moved several other very heavy items for me as well. The total cost for everything was $145.00 to my clients.

My clients were thrilled, I was elated because when I showed up to stage, all the heavy items were in place already. The total house was transformed, including painting the kitchen and staging the backyard all in about 7 hrs. What a great deal for me. No aching backs and this left time for more creativity.

Marketing is hard enough on your own, but developing a team of professionals that you can refer as well have them refer you is a HOME RUN everytime.

Rejoice in the good times and bad. What are you thankful for this year.

When I think back to this time last year, I would have never imagined that I would be running my own business actually doing something that I love, would you?

I say this to encourage so many of you who seem to be a little down because business may be down. We never know what lies around the corner. We must keep going forward with our marketing and educating. Think back to when you began your business. Could you ever have imagined it would have gone so well as it has?

Remember the first house you staged? Wasn't the next one and the next one and so on, nicer and nicer and nicer...Enjoy the ride.

Remember life is about enjoying the journey. Are you? The days that I am not busy I enjoy a nice latte (pumpkin spice is awesome) and chat with old friends. Clean up your office, reorganize your before and after portfolios, check your calendars. Prepare for the busy times ahead.

This year as you spend time celebrating the holidays with family and friends, look around and BE GLAD.

To all my friends on Active Rain, May God bless you and your families abundantly with His Grace and Love and may you all succeed with all that you do.

Keep Staging It Forward

Phyllis Pafumi  

Yesterday, my son in law (who I call Mr. G QUE) came over to help my husband carry in our new bathroom vanity. Beautiful by the way, black granite countertop over cherry wood free standing vanity. LOVE IT! Anyway, as he was sitting and chatting with us in our living room he "suggested" that I get rid of this particular comfy yet old and okay kind of ugly chair that I was sitting on.

Well I now knew what it was like to be sitting across from a stager in the sellers hot seat. It wasn't pretty. I felt a strong emotional attachment to that chair and immediately began to protest. What will I put in that corner, I cannot afford to buy a new one, what will I sit on? The list went on and on!

Suddenly he and my husband got up and SWOOSH the chair was out on the curb! My heart broken. Well not really, I felt kind of relieved because I would never have done that.

I began to rearrange some chairs and tables and to my surprise my living room looks really BIG! My fireplace kind of POPS more. What do you know, I stage and could not let go of my ugliness. It wasn't clutter, it was just old and made the room look dated.

Stagers put yourself in the sellers shoes. It is not easy having someone come in your home and tell you that you need to remove this that or the other thing. Yes we will make their home look nicer, bigger, help them to get more money, etc., but let us ALWAYS keep in mind their feelings. 

We need to gently COAX them into seeing the BIGGER PICTURE! Then once we have their confidence....SWOOSH out with the ugly chairs, curtains, pictures, etc. Gain their trust and respect and when they see one small change they will agree to the larger ones we suggest.

By the way the chair is still sitting by my curb, even the people who pick up these "items" don't want it, Ha, Ha!! I did try to convince my husband how nice it would look slipcovered but he just responded..."it will NEVER happen"

Happy Staging and Keep Staging It Forward  

I was thoroughly excited when I heard that DeSigned to Sell was going to air 5 nights per week, weren't you? Come on let's face it, we are all HGTV Junkies. If I am not staging, then I am rearranging my home, or watching someone on TV rearrange someone else's home, you know you do the same thing.

Anyway, here is what I am noticing. RERUNS, REPEATS, SAME SELLERS, SAME HOUSES. Could it be that in HGTV land that even THEY cannot convince sellers to STAGE?

Think about this! Do we have that much of a hard sell before us? As the cold lonely winter rapidly approaches, the real estate market goes into hybernation along with the grizzlies. BUT, this is the time sellers and realtors need to think ahead.

Once the holidays fade away, emergence of the first bud will appear before you know it and BOOM the spring real estate market will be upon us.

Sellers get on board and call us in to Stage Your House to Sell. Why wait until Spring? 

How many times were you on your way to meet with a client and that little voice in your head starts saying "What the heck am I doing? Will I really be able to make a difference in that home?

If you are like me, I question myself over and over again with each new house that I stage. It's a funny thing that while running to many houses in the past for family and friends, I now question my talents because I am getting paid. Getting paid for something that I love doing and that has always come naturally to me.

Wow, it is silly but do you ever feel like that only to find that once you enter the premises you automatically go into stage mode?  Why do we doubt our talents at times? I think as creative artists we are always striving for perfection. No one and no home will ever be perfect.

As stagers we need to remember that we WILL always make a difference in the houses we stage. We are not only giving the realtors a BETTER PRODUCT to sell, but we are blessing the homeowners with a quieter, prettier space to live until they move on.

STAGERS it is time to talk back to that little voice in your head. I watch Bob the Builder with my grandson. Bob the Builder is often asked when working on a construction project...CAN WE DO IT? His answer is always a resounding YES WE CAN!

Stage it Forward

Phyllis Pafumi  

Help guys...In this infinite world of blogging I suddenly feel helpless and confused.

While I thought blogging was for sharing information about our craft I am quickly learning that it is so much more about being totally creative and funny. While I am new to this wonderful world of blogging, I am still treading new waters when it comes to tapping into all that this internet has to offer.

Okay here is where I will show my age. I am a computer iliterate. In this modern world of technology I find that I am still craving my video movies and cassette tapes. Just the other day while babysitting my 2 year old grandson, I found it difficult to put a Disney movie on.

These new gadgets are killing me. The poor kid was listening to Tarzan but I could not get the picture on the TV. He is such a joy he just kept singing to the music while I pressed every button imaginable. Thankfully, my son in law came home from work and with one click of a button...there he was Tarzan in all his ape ish glory.  

So, how are you all getting these wonderful images to appear on your blogs? They look great! I have recently spent the time to reviewing many of your blogs and I must say they are sooooo great and funny as well as informative.

Question...If we want the real estate community to view our blogs are we to hit members only or public visability?

I must confess I have never blogged before Active Rain and would love some blogging guidance..

Thanks fellow bloggers....Phyllis 

Hey fellow stagers I would like to share a tip with you that has actually made my presentations fun.

How many times have you stood in front of that large room of realtors and felt that they just were not getting it? Here is something that I tried and it has really worked quite well.

Take your best before and afters (at least 8 of them) and blow them up to 8 x 10's. Now begin to role play with the realtors in the room. Hold up a before picture and ask them what room they think it is, or where is the selling feature in this room, or as a buyer what do you see is wrong with this room?

This not only gets everyones attention, it really is actually quite fun to hear all the different answers. Then you hold up the after and don't say a word. WOW is what you will hear and by george....I think they got it!

Try it and let me know how it works for you.

Staging It Forward

As a professional Home Stager I have many opportunities to speak with both real estate professionals and their clients. What I have found over the past several weeks, is that sellers are calling me after their homes have been on the market for quite some time, very upset.

The reason why sellers are upset is because when they mentioned having their home staged to their realtor, the realtor would comment to them that they should not waste their money on staging because it won't make a difference. The only thing that mattered was pricing. If they reduced the price of their home, their home would sell!

Is this true? I ask because I would love to know why we cannot work together to HELP the sellers sell their home. Why don't you believe in Staging? What are some of your objections to Staging?

I will be staging a house this coming weekend that has recently been relisted with a new realtor. That new realtor believes in Staging and the clients have called upon my services to Stage their home. While they were once resistant to certain changes that were previously suggested by me, they are now willing and happy to comply.

Why? This new realtor believes, their old one did not! Realtors I ask you to really think about this one. Are you a believer in Home Staging?

I believe that the seller has a greater opportunity to sell when their house is not only PRICED RIGHT, but shown to its maximum potential. Every house can benefit from Home Staging, no matter the size, shape, area or price.

Realtors, give all your listings the competitive edge they deserve. STAGE IT and PRICE IT to sell. All will live happily ever after......... The End!