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Staging Diva Dispatch, written by home staging expert Debra Gould, is a monthly newsletter filled with real estate staging business tips and articles for aspiring and established home stagers. The Staging Diva shares practical solutions and ideas to help you decorate homes to sell quickly, and make lots of money doing it.

Staging Diva Dispatch
Staging Diva Training How to Join the
Staging Diva Network
How to Get Listed
in the Staging Diva Directory of Stagers
Common Questions Answered

Quote of the Month!

"Have you ever noticed how people who follow their dreams have a certain glow? Energy, confidence, and focus seem to permeate their beings."

~ Janet Allon from
The Business of Bliss



Staging Diva
Biz Tip

I'm amazed at the number of emails I get from people in business who miss this f.r.e.e. way to promote themselves.

Use a proper signature line in all your emails! You can set this up to happen automatically in your email program.

What should it contain? Your name, title, business name and all your contact information including a link to see samples of your work on your website (or your page in the Staging Diva Directory).

A good signature will include a short promo message.

You never know who will forward your email to someone else and what business that can lead to.

Busy people won't search for your information. Make it easy for everyone who reads your email to call you or go visit your portfolio on line.

You'll find a link to a tutorial on how set up an automatic signature in your own email program in my post on The Staging Diva Network.



Great Book!

   The Home Zone

The Home Zone: Making the most of your living space

by Caroline Clifton-Mogg

I review and recommend this book in the June 2006 issue of Style at Home Magazine. I chose it for the inspiring room photos and the discussion of 5 popular decorating styles. While beautiful, these homes still look lived in!

More about The Home Zone

Read my full review as published in the magazine


Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

Don't want your own web site?

If you don't have a domain name, or a web site and never intend to have your own, The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers is a perfect way to promote our talents with next to no effort on your part! You send me copy and photos and I build your page, create your links and boost your credibility!

Building your own web site?

Did you know that the fastest way to get your new site to appear in search engine rankings is to get a recognized high traffic site to link to you?

You get this with a listing in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers—  saving the 3 to 6 month wait that's common for any new web site to be discovered.

Have you already registered your own domain and when people go there, they see "under construction" or "domain is parked?" There goes a new client and they may never come back!

I've created the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to give you an EASY way to have an IMMEDIATE Internet presence.

"My first project from my directory listing more than paid for the Staging Diva Training Program and my listing in the Directory for a full year!" (Linda Schliehauf, ON)

Over 20 graduates have joined since the January launch and traffic continues to build.

If you only got one project in a whole year, it would STILL pay for itself! How can you lose? And you have so much to gain!

Learn more!


Feeling isolated in your new business?

Staging Diva Network

The Staging Diva Network is an online discussion group for Graduates.

It's a supportive community where you can share the joys and challenges of building your business.

While I can't answer the thousands of individual requests I get  for business advice, I do answer questions within this forum because my replies benefit the whole Staging Diva Network community.

You'll also learn lots and feel inspired by the discussions with your fellow Staging Diva Graduates.

Learn more!


  Issue 4: May/June 2006

Hi

You are receiving this newsletter because you expressed interest in learning about the business of Home Staging. If you don't want to continue, use the "Unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of this email.

I hope you find the content helpful; and I welcome any feedback!

Debra Signature

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.
Creator of The Staging Diva™ Program

In this issue:

Main Section

What slow markets mean for staging

Graduate Success Stories

3 Tips to Choose Staging Colors

Staging Diva in the Media

Left column

Quote of the Month

Staging Diva Biz Tip

Great Design Book

Building Your Own Site?

Feeling isolated?



What slow markets mean for staging



The pace of house sales has slowed in most major markets in both Canada and the US.

This is one of the reasons I've had so much media coverage this spring.

The article at right appeared in the May issue of Center of the City Magazine.

 Staging Diva in Center of The City Magazine

What does a slower real estate market mean to you in promoting your home staging business?

There are many advantages to being in the home staging business and one of them is that home staging works in both buyer's and seller's markets.

As the real estate market slows down, it shifts from being a seller's market to a buyer's market. In a buyer's market, there are more listings and fewer buyers.

With more re-sale housing inventory:

  • buyers can be pickier about what they choose to buy
  • buyers have more room to negotiate price
  • sellers are frustrated because their homes aren't selling as fast as they like
  • agents are closing fewer deals, so they're looking for a competitive edge too
As you can imagine, such an environment is perfect for marketing the benefits of staging to homeowners and agents alike (each with their own target-specific marketing message of course).

How else can a home stand out from the competition when there are several homes for sale at similar prices in the neighborhood, or worse, on the same street? Without staging, what else can an agent do in a slow market but drop the asking price?

Staging is an important tool in coping with a slowing real estate market and you need to use this to your advantage to build your business. CNN Money interviewed me on this very topic.

Read the CNN story here

Given the time of year, if you're already in your staging business, expect to get busy very soon. We're at the tail end of the spring market and if you've done the right marketing, you'll hear from desperate homeowners and their agents who have been unsuccessful in selling. There's nothing like being faced with the prospect of owning two homes, or having your whole life on hold waiting for a sale, to motivate someone to invest in our services!

If you're a graduate of the Staging Diva Program, review your notes from courses 1, 3 and 4 on how to promote home staging in a slowing market
.

If you haven't taken these Staging Diva courses, you can order recordings now for only $179 each or join the next live course series with me and take all 5 courses for $795 (a $100 s.a.v.i.n.g).

Student/Graduate Success Corner

Congratulations to recent graduate Dana Lukken who staged her own home and sold it for a $100,000 profit after owning it only 8 months. What a great success story to market her new staging business! Look forward to seeing the before and after shots!

 Kitchen by Cerro Staging Congratulations to new graduate Denise Cerro on the launch of Cerro Staging & Redesign (CA).

Check out
this awesome kitchen makeover from her listing in the Staging Diva Directory!
Congratulations to Leah Fritz, Perfect Place Home Staging (WI) invited to make a home staging presentation to the biggest real estate company in her area. A realtor/builder from another office offers Leah's services as part of her new listing package. Leah writes "I've been getting really positive feedback on my page in the Staging Diva Directory. Thanks for helping me put it together, I now see how important it is for marketing."

Congratulations to Marcia Lenci, Ambient Designs (CA) who wrote "After listening to the 5 recordings of the Staging Diva Training Program, I built a website and sent the link to a realtor, who in turn forwarded it to all 100 people in her office. Within 4 days I got my first job, a $1.3 million home. If I had not read/heard your material on marketing myself and being mindful of what my services are worth, I might have undercharged the client. They were thrilled with the results and never knew it was my first project."

Congratulations to Lisa Allen, Staged Rewards (ON) who took what she learned in Staging Diva Sales & Market Secrets and landed an "Ask the Expert" column in her local newspaper.

I used these marketing methods to grow my own staging company, Six Elements, to a considerable size in under 2 years, never placing an ad or even printing a brochure!

Staging Diva Students and Graduates, send me your successes so we can celebrate your triumphs and inspire others!


3 Tips to Choosing Staging Colors

1. Wall color effects how everything else in the room looks. Before finalizing your recommendations, always put any color swatch you are considering up against the floor, trim, furniture and art.

2. When you've selected your palette, spread out just those color chips together to ensure they all work together. That way, when one room is visible from another, the juxtaposition of each color will be pleasing.

3. Unfinished concrete floors can be painted and dramatically improve the look of an unfinished basement, laundry or furnace room. Don't paint the concrete gray (as most people mistakenly do), then it still looks like concrete!


  These are only 3 of the 30 Tips to Choosing Color for Home Staging Projects that you'll find in the new "Staging Diva™ Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects".


Learn more
Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide
 

"The Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide is immensely valuable! It saved me hundreds of hours. Within 45 minutes, I had my own Staging Fan Deck put together. It's easier to carry, less daunting for clients and reinforces my professionalism and expertise. Debra, your suggestions are brilliant. I cannot tell you how inspiring you are!"
Leigh Olson, Velvet Plum (WA)

Have you been stumped flipping through a paint swatch book? Are you worried about quickly coming up with paint recommendations at your next client meeting?

In addition to my 30 Tips to Choosing Colors, in the Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide you'll learn:

  • When and how to discuss color with your client
  • What paint sheen levels to use and when
  • How to deal with wallpaper
  • Top Color Collections for US and Canada
  • The Staging Diva's top 80 Color Picks
  • The Staging Diva's 15 Color Palettes
  • How Clients can use your recommendations
  • How to get your own paint swatch designer kit
  • The Staging Diva's favorite color books

You can order "Staging Diva™ Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects" and have it emailed to you within 24 hours. 

Learn more


Staging Diva In the Media

This CityTV News at 6 feature highlighted one of my staging projects and gave solid evidence of the significant returns a homeowner can earn hiring a home stager.

I was only able to stage one of the 5 new projects that came my way because of the story. Others were referred to Staging Diva Graduates.
 Staging Diva on TV


Entrepreneur Magazine The Staging Diva Training Program will be featured in Entrepreneur's StartUps Magazine, Summer 2006.

The Official Pre-Mover Savings Guide features my tips for preparing a house to sell. Written to entice readers into learning more about what a Professional Home Stager can do and distributed by Coldwell Banker and Century 21 agents throughout the US. An excellent lead generator for Staging Diva Graduates! The magazine will be repeating the story in future issues.


Read more media info

 

What does Staging Diva media attention mean for you?

With more media exposure and more Internet traffic to http://www.sixelements.com/ and http://www.stagingdiva.com/, more people are educated about what staging can do; which makes your sales job easier.

The value of your Staging Diva training increases because you can say that an internationally recognized home staging expert personally trained you.

Traffic to your profile in The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers increases exponentially without you working to get this added exposure. And, you don't pay extra for it either!

With every media appearance, I get calls from people looking for a home stager in their market. During the first week of May, I referred 10 projects to Staging Diva Graduates. I also turned down 8 projects because I had no one to refer them to!

98% of the time, the Graduates who actually get work from my referrals have a page on the Staging Diva Directory and/or their own website. It's rare for someone to hire a stager when they can't see samples of their work.

What projects are you missing out on? What is that costing you?

Visit:  

http://www.stagingdiva.com/

http://www.sixelements.com/

Email:  

debra@stagingdiva.com

™Staging Diva and the Staging Diva Logo are trademarks of Six Elements Inc.
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Republication or dissemination of this content is expressly prohibited without written permission.
For more information contact: 416-691-6615.