Home Staging

The Market Maker program is now live and available for Home Stagers interested in getting more business from their existing web pages.

As you look through the rest of this lens, you will learn that I did a survey of home stagers last year. One of the things many expressed disappointment in was how little new business they got from their web pages.

Since then, I have held a tele-seminar, and written dozens of articles on how to turn that around. Yet relatively few home stagers have applied the secrets well known and taught in professional internet marketing circles.

I recognize the problem in myself. I often know what to do, but doing it is often another story.

Properly setting up your web page to get customers isn't about nicer and fancier before and after pictures. It's about attracting people potentially interested in home staging from YOUR market place, and getting them to identify themselves, so you can directly market your services to them.

The steps required include: changing some techie things about your web site; adding an opt-in box, which used to mean you needed to redo the front page of your web site; writting a special report; and then a long series of email marketing pieces.

Now none of these are too difficult, if you know how to do them, and seemingly impossible if you don't.

And so, most people didn't.

That's why I developed Market Maker. Market maker will do all this for you. Develop new Meta Tags for your web site that will help more people from your town find your web site. Create an opt in form that doesn't require you to redo your existing web site. It provides a great "ethical bribe" that will encourage people that visit your site to let you know they were there. Let you know they are interested in home staging and most importantly giving you permission to tell them more about you and your services.

Market Maker will dramatically boost your business.

Market Maker improves your marketing in two ways.

First it helps your home staging company stand out among your competitors. You will be the one that catches and keeps your prospects attention. This will get you a larger percentage of the existing business in your community.

Secondly, not everyone who thinks about using a home stager ends up doing so. With Market Maker, a larger percentage of them will, and when they do decide to use a home stager, it's highly likely they will pick you.

To get more information go to Market Maker

To see a site that uses Market Maker go to www.StyledandSold.com

Over the last nine months, I have studied hundreds of web sites prepared for home staging companies. And while most of them are above average in visual appeal, virtually all of them suck in the two most important functions any business wants from it's web site.

The first function is getting traffic. Being able to be found. A web site is worthless, if a prospect looking for home staging services can't find you. A web site is like a billboard for your company. If you put your billboard on the freeway where tens of thousands of people travel daily, the odds are a few people interested in your services may see it. If instead you put your billboard on a desolate country road where only crows, gophers and an occasional farmer on a tractor pass by, you probably won't get as many calls. No matter how nice your before and after pictures are.

Most of the home staging web sites I've looked at are effectively planted on that country road. And their owners don't even know it.

The second function you want your web site to accomplish is to get visitors to take action. To call or email you and at least begin the conversation if not outright buy your services.

Here most home staging web sites really do resemble billboards in that they are totally passive. They just sit there. They can't answer any questions the passerby may have, they can't take orders, they can at best offer an email or phone number and hope the passerby will take action.

With a little effort, these web pages could and should do a lot more.

Now lest you think I am picking on Home Stagers, let me assure you that this is not just a problem facing the home staging industry. It's true of most small business web pages in virtually every industry. The problem is that most web pages are created by tech savvy people. They may well understand how to code a page, but don't understand marketing. They are two different mindsets, so this isn't all that surprising. What is surprising is that no one has brought it to your attention before. And that's because those who understand how to do the marketing keep these details a secret. After all, it gives them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Let me spill the beans.

In the first instance, while Google is constantly breaking new ground and helping locate businesses that are geographically relevant when a person does a search for a business, they do not yet have the entire search market. In fact, 40% or more of all searches for Home staging services are probably not done on Google, but rather Yahoo, Ask and any number of other search engines. These other search engines still rely on what are called Meta Tags.

Meta Tags are a hidden code behind every web page, where you can place keywords that are relevant to your web page. I have seen pages that had none, most often I see a smattering of keywords such as home staging, interior design, and maybe at town name or two each separated by commas.

These are inadequate. First off, I have evolved a list of 124 different terms people use to look for services provided by home stagers. These are often variations on a theme, but represent the different phrasing people actually type into their search engine. Search engines are powerful but dumb. The don't know that someone who types in phrase "house staging" is looking for "home staging."

Secondly, if you did a Google Search for "Home Staging" you would see that it finds over 6 million web pages. Where do you think your page is among those six million, on top? Not likely. When you use a keyword like "home staging" you are competing with every home stager in the world.

Instead, you want to use what I call Geographical Long Tail Key Words. These marry the relevant keywords with the appropriate geographical locations people might use to narrow their search in your local market. Thus I might search for a Minneapolis Home Stager, or a Twin Cities Home Staging Expert, or a Hennepin County House Fluffer.

You have no control over what I type into the search engine, so you need to use your head to come up with a good set of appropriate keywords and then concatenate them to a list of appropriate geographical names from your market.

I charge $75 to do this for people using my list of keywords and your list of up to 8 geographical terms. Those for whom I've done this report that there site metrics show a distinct increase in traffic.

The second major flaw in home staging web sites and most others is the lack of an opt-in page.

Most people looking at home staging web sites are not necessarily ready to contract for services. Many are browsing in anticipation of maybe needing your services at some future time.

I believe every small business web page should have a prominent opt in form on the front page of their web site. This should offer what I call an ethical bribe, a free report or other incentive offered to the reader designed to get their email address and at least first name, so you can begin a two way conversation with them regarding your services.

This need not disrupt your existing web page, with new formats such as the light box feature offered by http://www.BuildRelationships.Aweber.com With a light box format, a form floats over your existing web page after a specified period of time and in essence grabs your viewer's attention. It contains your free offer and the viewer either signs up or pushes a close button. If they push the close button, they are immediately back at your web page. If they sign up, they are also taken immediately back to your web page, but this time you have their email and a way to contact them over the coming months to explain just what services you offer and to build a relationship with them.

Because you are offering something for free, and it is worthwhile, they are happy to sign up, and if you follow-up with additional useful information that will help them see that you are good at what you do, and worthy of at least a chance to bid on their business.

That's a lot better situation than hoping they will remember to call you, and is different than all the other home staging web sites they will look at that same day. You they will remember, not the others. Even if one of the others has a better before and after portfolio than you.

To see what a Light Box looks like, go to my home staging business tips blog. http://www.HomeStagingBusinessTips.com/blog

While there you can get a free copy of my report on "Why Most Small Business Web Sites StinK!", which compares the functions of a web site to that of a trade show. It helps communicate the ideas of what a web site should be doing in non technical terms. I think you will enjoy it and will get a better appreciation of what your web site should be doing for you.

The results of the survey discussed above are available for purchase. As you will read below in the module called, What was the most interesting finding in the survey report, those home stagers who have read the report have found it meaningful and useful. I offer a 30 Day 100% money back guarantee, so if it turns out to not meet your expectations you can get all your money back. Fair enough? You can use paypal or your credit card to pay.

Get the full Home Staging Report here for Just $27. Click the button below.



If you prefer, you can get the Executive Summary for only $17 by using the button below.

In our survey of 186 home staging businesses, Home Stagers were asked their opinion as to whether Staging tended to benefit clients most in terms of having a faster sale, or a higher price.

Respondents were not allowed to say both.

They were also asked the same question for three different time frames:

1. their entire career


2. past six months


3. projections for the future.

The clear majority respondents overwhelmingly felt that the primary benefit was faster sales in all three time frames, but especially so for the past six month time frame.

While still predominantly picking faster sales, noticeably more people picked higher prices as their projections for the future.

Realtors were particularly strong in seeing the benefit as faster sales.

The "top dogs" were among those most likely to predict home staging generating higher prices in the future, although the majority of the "top dogs" also thought quicker sales the primary benefit.

The next most bullish group for higher prices were those with less than 2 years experience.

Conjecture: The nuances of this question suggest that newbies may be reflecting the optimism they bring from their classrooms and fresh positive attitudes.

The fact that those with 2-4 years experience were among those strongest to suggest quicker sales may reflect more practical experience in the recent market downturn, while the Top Dogs may be delivering a stronger product in the marketplace, resulting in more higher prices.

There is clear overall consensus that quicker sales is the dominant benefit. This suggests that this it the point that Home Stagers should then be emphasizing in their marketing. For many of today's markets that is just the message many homeowners want to hear.

Over half of the 123 Home Staging Professionals who answered my survey question on the "Climate of Competition" in their markets rated it as "Mild, we are all friends." Only one rated it as "Hostile, we are fighting for every advantage"

That said, those with 2-4 years experience were the least likely to claim competition as Mild. My guess is after two years of business, they were more likely to have run into competition and not necessarily come out ahead in every case.

The "Top Dog" category in the survey seemed to share this attitude, although a few seem to have arrived at the point where they had developed strong relationships with Realtors which was providing them with a steady stream of new business. For them the competition was less relevant. In in many cases it may have been seen as asset as it provided an overflow valve when they were too busy.

The unasked question I refer to in the subtitle, was the "Null Set."

The biggest competitor Home Stagers face is the number of Realtors and Home Owners who decide to not stage at all. Or who never consider the possibility.

While a few markets report large percentages of homes being staged, that is not true in most markets.

When you think about competition in that light, I think most markets could accurately list competition as being very competitive.

One of the more surprising aspects was the fact that over half of the survey respondents reported calling fewer than five Realtors in the past three months as part of their marketing efforts.

This floored me. In the survey report, I break out seven different categories of respondents, and it turns out in this case that those with more experience are far more active in contacting Realtors, than are the newer stagers.

The new guys should, in my opinion, be burning up the telephone lines to get their businesses in front of as many Realtors as possible. How else are they going to get those initial jobs to develop their portfolios and referral business?

One anecdotal comment captured in the many essay questions on my survey suggested that they were calling a lot more than the three Realtors they were advised to contact in their training course.

I have to believe this was a misinterpretation of a comment that maybe all they needed was three regular Realtors to build their business with regular referrals. At any rate if this is being taught, I have to wonder about the wisdom of the instructor and the school employing them.

In my teleconference on How to get more people who Visit your Web Site to Do Something, I mentioned the need to put an opt in box on the upper fold of your web site's front page.

Doing so is not as difficult as you might think. It requires a subscription to an Autoresponder service like Aweber.

Once you have signed up with them, you will want to create your first lists.

If you have multiple web sites as I recommend, one for Propsective Home Sellers and one for Realtors you will want to set up two lists. (Aweber will let you set up an unlimited number of lists at no extra charge.)

Then you need to write your "Ethical Bribe." This is a report of 1-7 pages or so, in which you itemize useful information such as, "10 tips to get ready for your big move", or "7 things to do before you call the Realtor", or something similar that will appeal to homeowner prospects who come to you web page.

For the Realtors, You might offer a report on 10 things they should know about Home Stagers, or perhaps 7 things that should never be seen in an MLS photo, room by room.

To be effective, these need to be good, but you don't necessarily need to write them yourself.

This first report is your ethical bribe. It must be meaningful to the browser who happened across your site. Meaningful enough to convince them to leave their name and email address on your site in exchange for the information.

Think about what someone who is contemplating a move in the near term would most want to know, and give it to them. 10 tips on how to stage your home yourself could be a real winner, particularly if you include in the discussion all the things you can do as a professional that they might not have the eye, skill, knowledge or time to do themselves.

Then you will need to create 7 or more short articles on the same topics or completely new subject matter that you will send them at intervals.

The first message should probably come in about 3 days after they first download your initial report. Then another in 3-5 days and then maybe every 7 days after that. You don't want to be a nuisance, but you do want to be in their email box regularly, and with good information that they can use.

That way when they are finally ready to call a home stager, you can be sure to be on their short list. Maybe the only one on their short list.

Why, because you have already developed a relationship with them, even though you won't even know their names, they will know you.

And they will feel indebted to you by virtue of what Psychologists call the law of reciprocity. You have given them good information, they will feel as though they should at least give you a chance to bid on their project.

If you would like them to call you before they call the Realtor, you might include that idea somewhere in your initial report or follow-ups.

If you want them to de-clutter before they call you, you can tell them what to do and how, and what to leave for your professional advice.

You can set the stage for price conversations by explaining the considerations that go into pricing a job, and the alternate levels of service available by a reputable firm such as yours.

Now don't worry about creating a masterpiece. The rule of thumb is do as good a job as you can and get it posted. You can always edit and refine it later. The biggest mistake people make is trying to write a masterpiece before they put anything up. You are better off, putting up a so so piece and improving upon it over time than waiting weeks and months and years and never getting anything up.

There's tremendous value in the drip. But it all starts with the auto-responder. You need to set up your account, and view the videos and how to tutorials Aweber offers. They will explain how to get the code you will need to put on your web site to set up the critical "Opt in Box", viewers will fill out to get your free report and begin the drip process.

If you handle your own web site you will discover that the process is a simple cut and paste, but you will also want to sell the free report on your site.

If you have outside help with your web site, you can provide them with the code you get from Aweber and they can install it. But set up your own Aweber account so that you have control of the lists and not someone else. There is no reason for you to pay cost plus to others to run your auto-responder or web hosting, or domain names for that matter.

Always retain these in your own name, if at all possible. They are fundamental building blocks of your online presence. Things and relationships change over time. If they are in your name, you control them. If a vendor goes out of business or changes ownership, you could find yourself at square zero without your list or website, and that will be a very bad day for you. It's happened to thousands of others as well as myself. Learn from our mistakes.

If you don't already have an Aweber account you can sign up for a free trial at the link below. It will take some work at first but the beauty of the system is that once it's set up it works automatically forever after. It maintains contact and builds relationships with prospect until they are ready to call you. It's marketing on steroids, its cheap and its very effective. A starting Aweber account will cost less than $20 a month and can handle and unlimited number of lists, and messages.

AWeber Demo


Less Work - More Sales

Sound good? AWeber's unlimited follow up autoresponders increase sales, lower costs,
build lasting customer relationships, and increase your profits!

Find out how with Unlimited Autoresponders.

Many but not all web hosting services utilize C-Panel for their user interface.

You can find out if your hosting service does by typing in your URL in your browser and adding /cpanel to the end. Example:
http://www.yoururl.com/cpanel

If your web hosting service uses cpanel, it will pop up. That's good. It means you have control of your web site. With a little knowledge can take charge of it. But you need to know how.

Discovering how to control my C-panel was the most significant bit of learning I've done to date on the internet.

Controlling your own internet presence is critical. Even if you decide to let someone else have the keys to your internet presence, it's wise to understand what's involved. (Particularly, how easy it is.)

I took a video course from Bob the Teacher called Discover C Panel. In a series of short videos I learned in just over an hour how to take control of my internet destiny.

I highly recommend this program. DiscoverCPanel.com - Step-By-Step Video Tutorials

Having a Cpanel interface makes it easy to set up a Wordpress Blog, to upload files to your web site without needed an FTP Program and much more.

In the coming weeks, I will be conducting several tele-seminars to discuss the survey results with those who have obtained one of the two survey reports.

I recently took several valuable courses on doing teleseminars. It turns out that they are much easier and less expensive to do than I would have thought.

The Best course I took was from Bob the Teacher. I was so impressed I joined his inner circle program.

He has given me permission to offer you a free introductory program on teleseminars. I highly recommend it to you, particularly if you cannot imagine every doing a teleseminar of your own.

All you need do is click on the image below. Again no cost, no obligation and very highly recommended.

Most of my Squidoo lens to date have been on philatelic topics. I have been and continue to be an active internet marketer of Postal History items.

This has been my hobby and hobby business for some time. My professional life is far more multi faceted.

I have been a licensed Real Estate Broker in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and was awarded a CCIM Designation by the Realtors National Marketing Institute in 1989.

About ten years ago I returned to the University of Minnesota to do graduate work in Regional Economic Analysis, after doing significant economic development work in rural, and urban areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

I am intrigued by the growth and development of new micro niches in the US Economy. I believe the Home Staging niche may well be a new emerging industrial sector, and one that may eventually change the economic model that currently exists between home owners and real estate agents.

I hope to do an overview of the industry from an outsiders perspective. I am not tied to any of the existing schools or personalities that have been building the industry.