I recently referred a homeowner to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers and was told she’d been there but didn’t like the portfolios of the stagers in her area. That’s when I decided to write about the five most common mistakes I see stagers make with their home staging portfolios.
The first three mistakes I talked about covered the importance of strong before and after photos and a professional logo and website. Today the mistake I’ll talk about is not giving a homeowner proof that you’re the right home stager for them to hire.
Not explaining why you’re the right person to hire.
If you only talk about home staging in general terms and do nothing to demonstrate your own specific expertise, you are just another “me too” home stager. Even if you’re still looking for your first client, how you talk about what you do should demonstrate the skills you bring to this career.
Unless you’ve been a home stager for at least a couple of years, don’t mention when you started. If someone asks, you must answer honestly, but you don’t need to volunteer the information.
Not including testimonials or having ones that don’t say anything more compelling than “she’s great.”
A good testimonial will explain a problem and how you solved it, or clearly state the benefit of working with you. Here’s a great example of a testimonial written about Staging Diva Graduate Christine Leonard of Stateline Staging & Redesign:
“I am proud to say that there is no greater testimony to Christine’s hard work and skilled staging techniques than to say that our home sold in 8 days for full asking price!”
If you’re serious about building your business and learning how to attract clients instead of scaring them away, please check out Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning Clients with the Perfect Home Staging Portfolio.
100+ pages of essential information sent to you by email as soon as you order. Download and print the guide, or save it to a disk and take it to an office supply store to print it for you.
Here’s what readers have to say about the Portfolio Guide:
“Everyone interested in the business of home staging should read this fantastic guide,” says Laura Jensen (WI)
“The Staging Diva Home Staging Portfolio Guide is practical, motivating, real-life stuff,” says Judi Collins (Australia)