Sometimes you get what you pay for... And sometimes, you don't!

During a recent online discussion with some fellow Home Stagers from around the country, I read the following snippet from part of the conversation by another Central TX Home Stager:

"...when I do a consult I try not to be too specific with my ideas for the staging just to ensure they don't try to do it themselves and I lose a day of staging... I discuss the rooms in real general terms sharing my ideas but not being so specific that they can do it themselves..."

It was an "Ah Ha!" Moment - I have been doing things totally wrong at The Stage Coach by providing loads of ideas, money saving tips, practical suggestions, and hints for living while for sale... All of this time, I have been providing my clients with information, when it turns out, the best way to build a Home Staging business is to have clients pay me for Ambiguity! [Note: I know - Sarcasm does not play well in written form.] Sorry - I let my person feelings get away from a little there.

At The Stage Coach, my business is primarily the Basic Stage Coaching [Consultation]. When we go into a home, we never know what we are going to find, so we have to be constantly vigilant and attentive to the home. We will spend up to two hours going from room to room having a discussion with the sellers as if we were the Buyer from hel!, discussing just about any thing that comes up, including:

• How the room is being used vs. how it should be used
• Clutter, Cleanliness, Color & Flow
• Home Staging Secrets & Tips for Living while For Sale
• Making suggestions for the final "fluff"

Next, most people prefer to receive the additional Home Staging Report Card to go back and reference. This report averages 12 pages and sometimes runs more than 15. In addition to the room by room summary, pages are included with a list of items that were suggested to be purchased and where to get them, and an entire page called "The Stage Coach's Greatest Hits" with links to websites and videos for more detailed information than can be provided by typing. There is almost always a page devoted to additional Home Staging Services should the Sellers need an extra set or two of hands as well as contact information to our Preferred Partners for services we do not provide. If we do not have an immediate answer to something that comes up during the walk and talk, we will do the research and include it in the report. Many times, examples are provided by using previous Before and After photos.

What the Sellers will receive really depends on how much the house needs in terms of help and suggestions. The point of my blog is: we will likely inundate the clients with more information than they know what to do with, rather than provide them vague generalities so we can get more paid work. We are always available to help if there is too much for the home owners to handle by themselves, but our service is targeted primarily for people to "Do it Yourself".

As an additional service for our REALTOR clients, we let the home owners know, as long as they are a client of our REALTOR Partner, they are a client of ours. Sellers are welcome to solicit our feedback via email when they have made changes or receive feedback from Buyers who visit.

One thing you can count on: we will provide our clients with all of the things we would recommend they do in our "Perfect Staging World." Not every one has the time and the money for all of these suggestions, and we understand. We do not push anyone to do anything they do not want - but are being paid for our Professional Home Staging Opinion, so that is what you get. Not generalizations and a price list. For us, it is more important to see Progress than Perfection. And our feelings are not going to be hurt if the client is able to run down the typed report and complete the preparations to the best of their abilities.

In retrospect, maybe this other Central Texas Home Stager is just confused. During the Home Staging Certification class I attended in 2006, the instructor had to move on after over an hour when most of the class failed to understand the difference between a Bid and a Consultation. Perhaps she is one who did not understand the intricacies of preparing a formal quote, usually prepared for free, for providing the services without giving away the Home Staging Secrets you would tell a Seller or a REALTOR client who was paying for your professional advice during a Consultation.

As every Home Stager operates their business in their own manner, always make sure you understand what your Home Stager is providing for the cost they have given you. Make sure, when it comes to preparing your home or listing for sale, that you are getting what you paid for!