“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” It’s ironic that home stagers tell their clients this when referring to the pitfalls of putting an un-staged home on the market, yet don’t see the correlation with how they put themselves on the market.

Home staging is an image business and YOUR image counts!

Dr. Phil and others have done shows on what your profile picture says about you if you’re in the online dating world. But make no mistake, when you’re running your own business, you are still selling yourself, just with a different goal in mind.

If you dress provocatively, you won’t be taken as seriously or worse, you might have the wrong kind of clients inviting you over.

If you look like you couldn’t bother to brush your hair why would anyone think you’ll take care with their home?

If your wardrobe looks like you’re dressed for New Year’s Eve, a 1970s basement party or a 1980s power lunch, you’re not communicating that you are up on design trends or that you understand how to package a product. When you are selling your staging services you are the product. They have to trust your design sense to want to buy what you do.

Your head shot is about appealing to prospective customers, the buyers of your home staging services. It’s not about being “pretty” enough or “young” enough or “thin” enough. You don’t have to look like a professional fashion model, you should look like a real person.

Here are some great examples of head shots used by some Staging Diva Graduates; each one has a personality that shines through even if you don’t know anything about the person yet.

Your goal should be to look current, professional, creative, friendly and approachable. Of course, your head shot should be in focus and free of distractions. I’ve seen incredibly blurry photos shot in front of sunny windows or with multiple items in the background. All these detract from your face and look less professional.

Consider subtle makeup for the photo shoot, even if you don’t normally wear it. That goes for men too. Even the business tycoons in magazines are made up for their photo shoots.

For more tips to getting a great head shot for your home staging portfolio check out the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning clients with the perfect home staging portfolio. It includes tips for how to write about yourself, get a great logo, take before and after photos, and more. A “portfolio” is a key tool in presenting your talents to the world and can make all the difference in whether you’re successful as a home stager or not.

Check out the full list of what’s in this important guide for home stagers.