Follow Up to "Appealing to the Skeptical REA"....The Show Is Over!!

In a recent blog "Appealing to the Skeptical Real Estate Agent", I asked A/R Members for their ideas for a 2 hour Realtor presentation. Boy, did I get great feedback! I am pleased and relieved to say that the presentation is over and went pretty well. We were a little disappointed in the turnout--only 2 agents, the Team Leader, and the Agency Owner attended out of an office of @27. It was April 30th and there were 7 different closings occurring, so many of the agents were unable to attend. After 3 weeks of planning and preparation-- only 4 to attend!

Oh well, we had a really good time and did make a great connection with the people who did attend. The Team Leader appropriately named our staging presentation: "Lights, Camera, Action!" so we played up the movie theme.

Here are some things that we did:

We rolled out the red carpet! It led from the meeting room into the break area, where we had some goodies waiting for them. Each table was set with gold, silver and red foil stars, bowls full of popcorn and cups full of candy. And of course a folder with all of our information was waiting at each place for them to look at and prepare to ask questions.

We had a 30 minute computer-aided presentation (Thanks to Alex, my 15 year old son) that introduced us and explained what staging is all about. Since it was a small group, we were able to ask the attendees questions and find out some of their problems with convincing sellers to stage and pricing strategies--so we learned as much from them, as they did from us!

For their break/snack, I had prepared two cakes. I got the fabulous idea from Sheila O'Mara--one cake is decorated with our logo, frosting and sprinkles. The other cake was unfrosted and even had a crack in the top. The moral of the snack--which cake do you prefer? The iced cake represents a staged home--Appealing and well prepared. The undecorated cake represents an unstaged home--not my pick, and you can see all the imperfections! The point was well taken! Thank you so much Sheila!

After a short break, we returned and introduced a game to be played. Previously, I had gone onto this agency's website and pulled actual MLS photos from their listings. When the photos were put on the big screen, they were to take turns shouting out things that they could see in the photos that needed to be changed. i.e. furniture moved, clutter removed, lighting updated, painting...... Each time a change was shouted, that person received a "staging buck" (something I printed up on my computer). They just couldn't believe some of the things that were appearing on their listing site. Most of these places really needed help! At the end of the game, the person with the most "staging bucks" was given a $25 Starbucks card. Everyone attending received a golden trophy with a tag attached reading: "For award winning listings contact Ready 2 Stage!"

After more questions and answers, we finally wrapped up the meeting--it lasted @1 1/2 hours. We left the rest of the folders we had prepared and they were given to the agents that were unable to attend; as well as sending a follow-up e-mail to all of them.

After the meeting, the Team Leader took us to a new development that they had recently listed. One of their model homes needs staging, and he asked us to do an estimate for them! Also, a brand new townhouse--yet to be finished--will need staging soon--estimate on that as well!! We are hoping and praying to get the job! If so, that will be another post! Thanks to everyone for fresh ideas and help on doing a successful presentation. Here are some photos: