Linda Barnett, Home Matters, Indianapolis, In

Marsha Moss of Anderson Indiana, homeowner in a small town northeast of Indianapolis tells her staging story to local newspaper. It is amazing how the power of staging changes people's lives and in this particular case, it was enough to compel this homeowner to find someone in her local town to tell her story. WOW, that's a big change, isn't it? Normally, the staging company or the realtor would be the one trying to find ways to showcase their work and inform the world of their services.

Not this time. Could this just be a sign that homeowners are truly exploring their options and they understand that their home is a product and they need a property presentation specialist on board as well as a real estate agent to maximize their selling potential? I would like to think so; so much that I would like to believe that real estate sales are evolving and all parties involved in the real estate transaction participate in their specific role, for in this joint collaboration the anatomy of a successful sale is realized.

My favorite quote from this story was this, "While none of these changes are major and the furniture will return to the warehouse once the condo is sold, the effect they are having on visitors is measurable."

What is your favorite line or quote?

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Moral of Story: Plan Today for a Successful Tomorrow!

HM Before

HM After!

Home Matters Home Staging, Training and Rental, a professional home staging company "Servicing the needs of our Real Estate community here in Metro Indianapolis and all of central Indiana" We help real estate professionals, home sellers, builders and investors with their home staging needs as well as helping real estate professionals and stagers to develop their home staging and re-design skills through Coaching and expert CSP training. For more information regarding our services, please contact us at 317-209-9801 or visit us on the web. http://www.homemattersllc.com/

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Michelle Boggs, Interior Design Teacher at the Art Institute of Indianapolis. Michelle was inquiring about me putting on a brief presentation to her Interior Design students regarding home staging. I saw this as an opportunity to spend time with some impressionable minds that had already made a strong commitment to working towards a degree in the related field of Interior Design. Once I had finalized the arrangements and set the date and time with Michelle, I took some time to reflect on how far we have come in the arena of home staging.

When I started Home Matters in 2004, it was the first Home Staging Company in all of central Indiana. Approximately 1.5 million People in the Indianapolis area and me, one lone stager. Even with having been a former Real Estate Agent, in 2004 I would talk to my old Real Estate colleagues and they would squint and reply, "What is it your doing?" And now, here we are 5 years and eight hundred plus staged homes later, the Art Institute of Indianapolis wants me to educate their students about Home Staging. Gary simply smiles and says "You've come a long way baby." There are moments like this that it feels like a long way, but then again, so much of my time these days is still spent on the education of; Realtors on how to use a Home Stager, new stagers on how to stage homes and run a home staging business and the general public on the psychology and value of home staging. Eight hundred homes seems huge to me, but then again, it is really just a drop in the bucket considering how many homes have been on the market here in Indianapolis area over these past 5 years. My take on this business is as the educational journey continues, the evolution of our companies will continue.

To my delight, last Tuesday, the day of the presentation, Michelle and 13 of her students, along with Fabiola Malerbi, Academic Director-Interior Design for the Art Institute, battled a treacherous storm to come to our training facility to participate in a 2 hour discussion about Home Staging. What a great bunch of students they were. So involved in home fashion and so many questions. Without a doubt they were the most informed and yet inquisitive group I have ever had the pleasure of talking with. I'm hopeful that we may even have converted a few of them to become future Home Stagers. Thanks to Michelle, Fabiola and all of the Students from the Art Institute of Indianapolis for being such a great group to spend the afternoon with.

So, what does this all mean, besides the fact that I had a really great experience with them? Well it simply means that I am more convinced now than ever before that we have to keep on teaching about home staging. We have to teach them and then teach them again and again and then teach them some more! We have to teach our communities and most importantly, we have to teach each other. And if we do this really well, then we can all be known as stager just like we planned to be.

Home Matters Home Staging, Training and Rental, a professional home staging company "Servicing the needs of our Real Estate community here in Metro Indianapolis and all of central Indiana" We help real estate professionals, home sellers, builders and investors with their home staging needs as well as helping real estate professionals and stagers to develop their home staging and re-design skills through expert training. For more information regarding our services, please contact us at 317-209-9801 or visit us on the web. http://www.homemattersllc.com/

Last month along with Teresa Meyer of Stage a Star in Cincinnati, I had the privilege of sitting in class with CSP Elite Instructor, Melissa Marro. The day begins with warm welcomes and some sharing of our lives and experiences and soon we got down to the business of the day which was to learn about the CSP elite program. Our understanding was to learn how to educate our real estate community on the importance of utilizing stagers in their marketing plan. This course is not a "how to" stage but rather helps real estate professionals gain an understanding of how staging can be added to their marketing plan and helps them to distinguish themselves as a value added, service oriented professional.

For me this course did an excellent job of explaining the evolution of real estate sales and teaches agents to become current with staging services as a viable resource for marketing their properties; not to mention that this stager/agent partnership will transform the way in which real estate is marketed and sold today and into the future.

The most important part of this course that I found particularly interesting was how it answered the question about why if most Real Estate Professionals say that they believe staging to be a crucial and an effective step in the marketing process, why are there so few agents actually utilizing staging? Well, for me, the answers are there in this program. This course answers misconceptions about home staging and offers sample scripts on how agents can respond to their client's questions and concerns.

This program helps support our industry growth as I see it. Here's one Stager that is looking forward to training my real estate community. I'm extremely confident that in doing so we (stager and agent) will gain new real estate partnerships as a result.

But I must say before I leave this blog, that I wonder now, what else could I be needing in my staging career that could benefit me and my business and should I make it my business to find out more about what's out there in the continued educational world. As a seasoned veteran in home staging and former real estate professional, I'm not excluded from and should never be without opportunities to learn and grow in this field.

Are you thinking about continued education for yourself and your business too?

Media Exposure for home staging services are always in style when it comes to enhancing your bottom line. The sharing of information and education should always be your focus to catch the attention of the media. But how do you get your business noticed and you an expert in your field? Be consistent and always write with your audience in mind. You have to be willing to be exposed in order to receive the exposure. Set yourself and your business apart by taking on the role as staging expert. There are several ways in which to get yourself some attention, but I caution you, it does take time and effort, but the results are priceless. Some of the ways in which to capture the attention of what you do is to submit stories regarding your experiences and the results of those experiences. In most cases sending a photo or two along with something you've written will bring the whole picture in focus for the reader. Pose to your reader a problem that most people can relate to and then weave into the story the solution and why this works. Let your media contacts know that you are a phone call away if they just need a quote for an article or if they just want to bounce some ideas around for your input. Get to know them and make it easy for them to call you.

One such case of our participation was when the home finder editor of the Indianapolis Star called and asks for assistance in putting together a series of weekly advice and tips to share with home sellers who are selling their homes. The editor only had one requirement and that the home still had to be active on the market so that the home could actually be sought after by potential buyers. Of course we jumped at the chance for the Indianapolis readership to see our work. So I along with my team and a couple of other Indianapolis stagers share our expertise in this weekly section of the paper and so far, we have had a couple weeks of great promotional advertisement for our business.

And just think all we had to do was to simply tell people what we know. Is that great or what?

Below are properties used in the weekly Homefinder section so far!

Attention Realtors and other Real Estate related Professionals...

Do you know whether or not you have a committed and motivated home seller? I don't mean they will be ready or they are getting ready, I mean ARE THEY READY-RIGHT-NOW? How can you tell? Let's examine how you might be able to determine their level of commitment. An owner who is committed to selling their home has some awareness of the market and will be receptive to your education regarding marketing and merchandising their homes for the marketplace as well as accepting current documentation of its value. A great way to "test" their level of commitment is to see if they will agree to have a staging consultation and/or will stage their home with a professional home stager. Will they give you a SET DATE when projects and preparations will be completed? Understand that some projects will take longer or their circumstances may keep them from being totally accurate on timing but those that are willing to set a date, typically will follow through.

It is good to know that a truly motivated seller does not just want to "test the market" or even be the "just wait and see" how it goes type of seller. Most committed sellers have plans for moving forward, sooner rather than later. They are willing participants in helping their homes sell. Understanding home sellers motivation and their level of commitment will help you better serve their needs. Professionally prepared and a "priced right" home are the perfect match for getting the house ready for its' introduction to the marketplace. Teaming up with the right professionals can make the selling process a lot less stressful for you and the home owner.

Remember to aim for the SOLD SIGN and getting to the closing table is the ultimate goal for everyone involved in the selling process.

So if you planning a move in or around the Indianapolis Metropolitan area; please contact us, we're ready to assist you with your home staging needs. If your anywhere else, find a qualified Home Staging company that will help you and your clients get to the finish line!

Experience Matters

Results Matters

Home Matters!