Home Staging Time Suckers – The Wishy-Washy Client

In my last post in this series, I talked about the danger of charging a flat rate when you are dealing with The Pack-Rat Client. In this post, I’ll talk about one of my biggest pet-peeves which will cost you over and over if your pricing strategy doesn’t include a cancellation fee; “The Wishy-Washy Client”.

Some people just can’t keep an appointment. When you’re in a service-based business such as home staging, if you are dealing with The Wishy-Washy Client, you will receive voice mails full of excuses.

One day they might call to tell you they aren’t quite ready to have the house staged so they want to reschedule. Then when that appointment rolls around, they call saying they double booked and have a meeting with their banker, their child’s piano recital or a dentist appointment.

A client like this who schedules and reschedules appointments over and over again, leaving you with gaps in your calendar that can’t be filled on short notice can really damage your bank account.

If you charge a cancellation fee, you will be compensated, but if you neglect this important detail when you set up your pricing structure, you can go broke if you deal with several clients of this nature.

Another symptom of The Wishy-Washy Client is one who keeps changing her mind about what she wants done in her home. One day she wants you to plan time for painting before the furniture arrives, the next she wants to be on the market a week sooner than originally agreed.

Your stress level and the time you spend on this project rises— but the amount you’re earning remains the same.

In the next and last installment in this series I’ll talk about The Indecisive Client and how they can also help to flat line an otherwise healthy home staging business.

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. She has helped many long time Interior Designers make the switch into a more profitable house staging business. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stager, home stagers, house staging, house stagers, house stager, Debra Gould, Staging Diva, home staging business, home staging pricing structure, charging a flat rate, home staging time suckers, the wishy-washy client

Related posts:

1. Home Staging Time Suckers – The Chatty Client
2. Home Staging Time Suckers – The Pack-Rat Client
3. Home Staging Time Suckers – The Distracted Client
4. Stage yourself to sell: Image is everything Part 1
5. Stage yourself to sell: Image is everything (Part 2)

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Home Staging Resources

“Staging Diva Home Staging Consultation Checklist with Room-By-Room Client Planning Forms” by Debra Gould takes the guess work out of how to do a home staging consultation and lets you fill in the blanks as you go through a home. You’ll learn the techniques and process the Staging Diva has used successfully in hundreds of homes, and how to avoid doing time wasting and unprofitable reports. More about Checklist

"Staging Diva Sales Script: How to Avoid the Free Estimate Trap and Turn Homeowners into Home Staging Customers in One Phone Conversation" by Debra Gould is THE script she used to go from zero to $10,000 a month in sales within two years. Learn word for word what she says when a homeowner calls and why she never does free estimates. More about Sales Script