Here’s a business dilemma that you may run into whether you’re a home stager in a small town or a large city. You’ve been staging homes for awhile and you know that there’s another stager serving your market area. You are certain that your track record is better because you’ve been recommended by agents who have told you that the other stager doesn’t seem to help homes sell any faster at all.
You’re at a networking luncheon talking to a woman about real estate and she mentions she’s going to put her million-dollar home on the market very soon. She tells you she’s planning on having her home staged and she’s already had a discussion with your competitor. She asks you if you’re familiar with her and her work.
All you can think of is the bad things you’ve heard about that stager and how staging the million dollar home of a business woman active in networking could be a great referral source for you.
Do you hold your tongue, or do you share what you know about your competition, knowing that the client will have better results if you do the staging?
Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment. I’ll add a post in the coming weeks with my own thoughts but first I want to get a lively discussion going!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I would not bad mouth the other client. I would give her my card and tell her who I have worked with in the past. That would give her a second opinion. Which may make you get a call back.
I would never, repeat NEVER, badmouth another stager. People remember the negative things you say for a really long time. Instead, I would ask the potential client what problems she needs to solve and share with her how you are the solution. You want to focus on what you do well.
Great post, Debra…It seems we are unanimous! I, too would congratulate the client on using a home stager, Adrienne. We still have sooo much work to do educating out markets and it’s a pleasure to talk to someone who “gets it” already!
I would also offer a card to give the client the opportunity to get a second opinion.
I, too, want to build my business on the merits of my work, never at the expense of someone else.
Very well thought out response Pauline – I responded “Yes!” out loud reading your last paragraph
I totally agree with your bottom line Leah: “You don’t always have to toot your own horn when you have other major players in the industry to do it for you.”
Thanks guys, I just about lost it loiokng for this.
I would not criticise the work of another stager, I would simply tell them what I would recommend, you don’t get any where by criticising others.
Carol
I like to be as honest as I possibly can, without hurting others or myself in the process. Instead, I would answer something along these lines:
“Yes. I know of her work. I’m uncertain about how quickly the homes she stages are sold but that can be verified. I am however, certain about how quickly my staged homes sell. In fact, I can give you names and numbers of real estate agents and clients you can contact for referrals on the work my company does. I am also recognized as a home staging and redesign expert in the region, which also means I can help you set up your new home, saving time, hassle and worry. If you wish, I’d be more than happy to mail or email press articles that have been written about my work, as well as portfolio images that I feel certain, will have you impressed in the 90 seconds it takes to impress a potential buyer. There’s nothing I like better than helping a client sell their home rapidly and at the highest possible price! I’ve always a second opinion, especially on what’s likely the first most important asset you own, is always a good idea. May I send you the information?”
I haven’t had a client say no to a second opinion yet. Which means I at least get a simple consultation and often an even bigger contract, out of pretty much every situation such as this.
Staging with honesty and integrity…. isn’t that what it’s all about? I got in this business to have fun and make money doing it. I can’t do that if I’m climbing up the business ladder by using someone else’s back as the rungs. Besides, I’d much rather spend my time and energy in building up my own business instead of trying to tear down someone else’s…. Especially when the way they stage, sooner or later, will do that all by itself.
I would never badmouth another stager. I would say yes that I am familiar with her work but would prefer for the client to make any judgements based on her own preferences. Since the potential client says she has only had a discussion with the other stager, I would suggest if she has not made a commitment yet that she check out the other stagers previous work and give her some references of my work. Then I would tell her that I look forward to hearing from her and follow up with a call in a couple of days.
Since this home seller has asked me a direct question “Am I familiar with the stager and her work”, I feel inclined to answer her question with what I am certain about. Since I am certain that my track record is better because of agent feedback, I would share that little nugget with this new home seller, and offer her the opportunity to talk to the agent that supplied the feedback. This approach would give the home seller a chance to talk to an agent that she might be interested in contracting with, and help me to better solidify my position as the preferred stager in the area. I feel any comments I would make about the competing stager and her work would make me look unprofessional and to “sales pitchy”. But, a strong recommendation from a fellow colleague who has reaped the benefits of my work would carry way more weight with this potential client. Bottom line… You don’t always have to toot your own horn when you have other major players in the industry to do it for you.
Personally, I like to congratulate them on a least working with a stager, and then I discuss their target market and what suggestions the other stager has made. I place myself as the expert in my industry of marketing properties for sale. Putting down your competition is really no way to make yourself look better. It is best to hold your tongue and offer your business card, just in case it doesn’t work out.