So you want to increase your customer base and convince more clients about the value of home staging? A part of any professional home stagers job description is selling their services. Part of selling is showing how your services add value and create a win-win situation for your clients. So how do you show this value?
These are my Top 4 Tips for convincing your clients of the value of home staging:
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Show them the stats
The majority of clients enjoy hearing and analysing the statistics around home staging and its results or return on investments for vendors. There is a lot of literature on the internet that is floating about to support the use of home staging and pre sale property styling – the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) has a yearly publication as do a few other American and Canadian Associations.
However presenting off shore data to clients that has been derived from what they may consider to be a completely unrelated market often results in objections and questions about the transferability of the data.
The best way to counter this is to collect your own data. When you collect your own rigorous and consistent statistics based on local sales and your workmanship, there can be little challenge to their relevancy.
2. Assess your business model
I constantly get asked how can I increase my customer base. Sometimes it is less about selling, and more about assessing your business model. The first thing you need to do is ask yourself the following questions!
Q1 – “Do you have a database, or a list of your customers?”
Q2 – “When was the last time you connected with your customers online and offline to re-build your relationship with them?”
Q3 – “Can you re-structure your payment options and make it more attractive for existing customers to pay upfront, in advance or on a monthly payment plan?”
Q4 – “Have you considered a low cost referral program that could reward your current customers who introduce their friends and family to your service?”
Q 5 “Are you testing and measuring your marketing efforts to gauge the best ROI on your marketing dollar?”
Armed with these five simple questions, you can now assess your current situation and take the appropriate action towards increasing the sales in your business.
Record your answers and have them ready for your next business planning meeting.
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Network like a boss
Networking is a cost effective way to generate new business leads and make connections with other like-minded people. I strongly believe networking is an important part of having a successful business. Here are some tips I always follow:
- Always have business cards with you. You can build your network anywhere! Waiting for the kids to finish school, at a birthday party or at the shops.
- Listen! Even though networking is about you, it is important to listen to what somebody else is saying in case you can help them.
- Be interested. Showing that you are interested in somebody is a vital part of networking.
- When you have to speak, make sure you have a speech ready to go, introducing yourself smoothly and confidently.
- Follow the top communication rule: giving eye contact!
- Do not stay talking to the same person for hours at an event, make sure you make the rounds giving everyone a piece of your time, allowing you to meet new people and possible business associates.
- Following up is essential – send everyone you met a card, email, Facebook message, tweet, text or even give them a call.
- Make sure you stay in touch with people you felt like you could work with in the future because chances are, you probably will.
Following these tips will has countless benefits including greater exposure for your business and further opportunities.
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Use social media
Facebook… one of the most popular social media outlets on the internet. Most of us carry it with us everyday on phone and tablet devices. Facebook is a great way to market and attract more traffic to your business in so many ways, no matter how you run your business or what type of work you do!
Promote your business by getting friends and family to support your work and like the page, and also liking and talking to other business owners in a similar area of interest to you. While creating a social stir you may find that your page gathers more attention from different people/businesses, more likes and comments, and more general interest for what your business is really all about! (Eventually leading up to larger numbers of clientele!)
Ask your social media audience questions and engage them in your work! This is always fun and puts the spotlight on the audience, rather than only talking about the business itself. You can gain insight into what your clientele like and dislike through this method by asking the questions and getting the feedback, ultimately building confidence for your business due to the market needs! Always keep in contact with your clients and audience by answering any questions that they may ask – do not ignore them!
These 4 tips will help you on your way to strengthening your business and legitimizing the value of home staging for clients.
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