Do you make it a regular practice to follow up with your clients after staging their homes?
I hope you’re not waiting for them to get back to you to tell you about the results your work achieved. Think about it, how many times have you yourself just never gotten around to dropping that Thank You note in the mail?
Even if your clients are all thrilled with the results they got from using your services, you might never know how they felt about your staging or the results you helped them achieve if you don’t call or write them and ask for the details.
Nothing can sell your home staging services (with the exception of your before and after photos) like strong testimonials, case studies and/or success stories from your satisfied customers.
If you still haven’t had a “real” home staging project, don’t worry about it. Just write about the results you got from 
staging one of your own homes in the past. You don’t have to say it was your own home, just tell the story. You’re not making anything up; we’re all our own first clients when we’re getting started.
And what about the real estate agent you used when you sold your own home? If you staged it well and they sold it faster or for more money than similar homes at the time, they will give you a testimonial if you ask. But you need to know how to ask, and how to arrange it so that they get around to it rather than putting it off and putting you in in the uncomfortable position of having to continually remind them.
In the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide I give you four different scripts to use when you’re trying to get testimonials and success stories from your clients (home sellers and real estate agents) and I’ll tell you what makes a strong testimonial; it’s more than just “Jane Stager did a great job staging my house and I couldn’t be happier.”
In this comprehensive home staging resource I also teach you how to write about yourself, how to write a proper creative brief and even how to take better before and after photos. It’s a guide that belongs in every home stager’s reference library.
Home stagers, do you make it a part of your sales process to follow up with clients and obtain testimonials? Do you have a unique testimonial you’d like to share? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Home Staging
Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love while helping others at the same time.
Debra, Great topic. I always follow up with my clients after I have finished a project. I feel it’s a great business practice to continue our relationship throughout the sale process. I make a habit of e-mailing after I have finished and especially after first showings. I also try and make an appearance at the first agent Open House. I have received the majority of my testimonials through my follow ups. Best part I did’nt even have to ask ! Here’s one of my testimonials ” Gary is very , very, very meticulous. He emails me every week to see how the listings he has staged for me are doing. He takes his part in the marketing of my clients’ houses very personally.” An email from an agent to one of her clients. By the way, I got the job from her client.
Gary Baugher , An Eye 4 Change Home Staging Nashville, TN.
The first agent I staged a home for gave me a great technique for gathering testimonials. Basically, you write the testimonial on behalf of your client. The source of the comments will come from voice messages, conversations or – my personal favorite – emails from the client. You are using their words, but helping them out by doing all the work. Finally, you send the testimonial to the client for approval and/or any changes. I’ve used this technique several times now, and my clients have always approved them without edits.
Great post Debra! Like Susan, I get the easiest results when I use a client’s words to “suggest” a testimonial to them. They appreciate saving time, and I get a testimonial that I may not have otherwise.
My past life was as a college writing instructor. Regularly inundated with requests to give student recommendations, my suggestion to them was always you write it, I’ll sign it. So, yes, I agree email back and forth encourages great testmonials easily. Further, I understand emails even stand up in court these days, so I feel no compunction about using them.
You are so right! I always ask for testimonials and follow it up with an email asking them for some specific info! It helps to “guide” them a little and ask for the info you want. I then always ask for permission to publish their comments. If they liked my work, they are usually happy to write.
Make it as easy as you can for them to get it to you!
Debbie Fiskum, The Home Decor Genie!
Excellent post and its so true. I always ask for a testimonial. I also follow up with in two/ three weeks. The client is always happy to write it and is raving about my work. But the testimonial doesn’t always appear.