It never ceases to amaze me how much valuable content about home staging is added to this blog every single day by way of your comments and questions.
Peggy’s comments on my article Stagers don’t let real estate agents discourage you inspired today’s article about the need to remind home staging clients of all the services we offer.
Here’s what Staging Diva Grad Peggy Harrington of Wow Factor Home Staging wrote:
“I have worked twice now with an agent who purchased two homes for himself to flip. After I staged the first one it sold to the very first buyer through the door! The agent was thrilled.
A year later he called me to stage the second home and it sold in three weeks — during Christmas of all times! This agent even bragged to his painter that after I staged his first house it sold immediately and yet, he’d waited almost a full year in between projects to contact me.
I asked him why the wait especially since he witnessed firsthand the effectiveness of staging. He answered that he wasn’t able to find another home that he wanted to purchase to flip.
I was quite puzzled as he has many, MANY listings and yet has never told his real estate clients about staging or about his own firsthand experience with the power and success of home staging. Why would he not want to sell his client’s homes just as fast and make his commissions?”
Peggy is exactly right. There is no logic to why he’d want to keep a stager as a secret weapon for his own fix/flip properties and not use one to help his own real estate clients.
Sometimes people pigeonhole us and then don’t see that we can offer them other services.
Home Staging Clients Need Periodic Reminders
It could be as simple as “it never occurred to him”.
I’ve had agents who were very happy with the results I achieved for one of their clients not call me in for another home staging consultation for 6 months or more.
In one case, I didn’t hear from an agent again for 4 years even though she continued to receive my newsletter.
She started the conversation with “I don’t know if you remember me but you did an excellent job staging that listing I had on Dale Avenue awhile back. I have a very important client and I thought you’d be the perfect home stager to help him.”
This left me wondering, “Has she used a less competent stager for all her ‘unimportant clients’ in the meantime?”
I replied, “Of course I remember you and I’d be delighted to help your VIP client!” What I didn’t say was “If you only knew, I’ll never forget you because you were my very first client!”
The great thing about repeat business is that it increases exponentially the longer you’ve been in business. That’s 
because you have so many past clients who can reappear out of the blue at any time.
I’m often called to do a home staging consultation for a past client’s relative or friend. And now that I’ve been in the industry since 2002, I even get to stage the next resale home for the same clients.
This is one of the reasons why you must never stop marketing and you should always stay in touch with people you’ve done work with.
Consider these repeat business opportunities
Another example of the need for reminders of your services is that a home staging client may have you pigeonholed in their mind as the person who helps them sell their home.
What about helping them with color consulting or interior redesign in their new home?
You can get lots of ideas for how to market your home staging services for the real estate market in my ebook 14 Marketing Ideas to Rev Up Your Home Staging Business.
Home Stagers, how do you keep in touch with your past clients? Please comment below.
I recently completed a consultation for an agent who had a listing on the market for 2 months with very little action. She called me in for a consult because she was going to have a virtual tour made for the listing to see if that would get things moving. She had never used staging services before and commented “I’m not sure what you can do, but I like the way these folks decorate and I can’t tell them what they need to change.” I did the consult (the couple completed the recommendations themselves over the weekend) the tour was filmed on the Monday and 3 weeks later I drove by to see a “SOLD” sticker on their sign! I had emailed the agent in the interim, asked her how things were going and she told me that they had 2 showings and 1 more scheduled, “it’s all good” she wrote. I had asked her to keep me posted but she neglected to call or email me. I sort of got the impression that she didn’t really think it was the changes that made the difference just the right buyers at the right time. I did not get the opportunity to stage the owner’s home, however, I decided that it would be in my best interest to acknowledge the home owners’ good fortune and send them a note of “congratulations” and wished them all the best in their move. I also sent the agent a “thank-you” for the opportunity to consult and put a little “jab” in about the effectiveness of home staging. Now I have 2 sets of potential repeat customers because I didn’t let either of them forget about me after the house was sold!
Yup, I get the same thing. They use you for a great home staging project, then you don’t hear from them in ages. I call them up sometimes and just chat. It’s amazing what you learn! So it’s important to email them, send newsletters, and call them from time to time. You never know what will jog their memory about what you do – and about what you CAN do!
Debbie Fiskum, Perfect Transformations Home Staging & Design in Denver
Debbie, thanks for sharing your experience! I have to confess, I’m generally too shy to call up a past client to chat, but I’m sure like you say, what you can learn is amazing. Good you’re braver than I am!
Keeping in touch with clients is huge. Like you mentioned, the client might credit the staging to the realtor. You want to be sure they know who you are so they can tell their friends about you.
You make a great point, thanks for commenting.