International Association of Home Staging Professionals®
Setting Standards of Excellence, Education and Ethics since 1999
Make sure to get registered for the 2018 IAHSP Conference! Get the SUPER-EARLY BIRD Price and lock in your spot as a VIP!
Go to www.iahspconexpo.com to register now!
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Earn the newest industry designation offered by the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) and taught by Stagedhomes.com, the World Standard in Staging Education…
Buyer Trends Specialist (BTS) on June 20, 2017 – 4PM-7PM MST – $175 investment
Your BTS Designation will allow you to speak confidently with Sellers to advise them on what to do to prepare their houses for sale. Not only will you be able to share what they need to do based on the target buyer for their house, but also be able to advise them on any modifications/updates based on trends that are buyer and budget friendly.
Topics:
To register go to http://www.Stagedhomes.com or call 800-392-7161.
You shared, we listened. Our Bootcamps are now moved to “after hours” so that our members that are productive in their Staging businesses or cannot attend during the daytime can now attend at POWER HOUR from 6 PM – 7:15 PM MST (except for the Business Planning & Goal Setting sessions that is a double session from 6-8:15PM)! We have 11 different Bootcamps created to help YOU succeed, grow and thrive in your business! Sign up for the Bootcamp Bundles and save $$! We are developing more topics that will be rolled out soon!
To register go to www.iahsp.com or call 800-392-7161!
It is nice when an attendee summarizes our event so well on her own- it had to be shared as these are her words and experience – unsolicited – but so great! Thank you, Courtney, for allowing us to re-blog your blog post!
After a whirlwind weekend in Ft. Lauderdale I have finally returned home. I had a great time and learned a ton at the annual IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals) conference and expo. The theme of the conference was “Raise the Bar”, and I felt like they certainly did that! The first morning was jammed packed full of information. The energy in the room was so high and everyone was excited to be there. Great music was played throughout the day to keep people energized and focused.
We kicked it off with Jennie Norris, the President and CEO of StagedHomes.com and IAHSP Chairwoman, telling us how we can “Raise the Bar” in our lives and careers by being clear about what we want, staying connected, and practicing good habits. She used the BAR acronym to show us ways to “Raise the Bar” on business, communication, staging work, involvement, and attitude. Jennie was a dynamic speaker and had great advice.
The next presenter was a real estate photographer who stressed the importance of professional photography and building a “Brand”. We learned that, in order to brand yourself and your business you need to stay consistent and be comfortably YOU. She also stressed that our job is to sell “Welcome Home”.
Blair Hamaty, the CEO of Setting the Space was a fun, energetic, and entertaining speaker. He prides himself on being the “YES man” and says that saying YES is what got him to where he is today. Blair’s advice is to accept any challenge presented by a customer, help them solve their problems and to never say “NO” to any price. He also expressed the importance to diversification, thinking outside of the box, and finding other ways to improve your business and to make more money.
After a quick bite to eat we were back at it and learning from Sandra Holmes, the president of Home Staging Concepts and IAHSP Vendor Affiliates Director, about buying wholesale and partnering with local artists to bring unique pieces into your staged properties. I took about 6 pages of notes in the short time Sandra was speaking and I could have listened to her the rest of the day. Everything Sandra had to say was very relevant to me and our business. I think after hearing about all of Sandra’s success we might finally bite the bullet and buy wholesale…couldn’t hurt to try! “Buy low, rent high, sell high!”
After this power-packed morning we had a few of the event sponsors talk about their products. SURYA was the main sponsor of the event and surprised us with a few great deals just for being at the conference. I just received my 830 page SURYA catalog in the mail last week, so I was excited to learn more about the company and how their wholesale program works.
The main event!! Jeff Lewis from Bravo TV’s “Flipping Out” was our last speaker of the day. Everyone was excited to meet him and hear what he had to say. HE WAS AMAZING! Exactly like what you see from him on the TV show. He was hilarious and entertaining. He started off with a little gossip about the women of Real Housewife’s and talked about his baby girl, Gage and of course Zoila. He answered every design question we threw at him. Yes, he still likes and uses gray! He went off on a playful side-splitting rant about how much he despises millennials that had the whole room rolling on the floor. After Jeff’s inspiring talk it was time to meet him! Somehow, I got lucky and went out a side door to get in line, this is where I basically ran into Gage! I immediately told him how much I loved him and how his and Jeff’s relationship is like Jon (my husband) and mine. I am the type A, go-go-go personality type (like Jeff) and he is the calm, cool, and collected one (like Gage). He got a kick out of that and took a selfie with me. After waiting in line for what seemed like forever I finally got to meet Jeff. I was beyond star struck and could barely talk besides telling him how much I love him. He posed for several pictures with me and complimented my necklace which I was super excited about. Time to head back to my hotel room and de-brief from this intense day.
After a quick wardrobe change I headed down to the hotel bar for drinks with friends. Two glasses of wine later it was time for the dinner and awards banquet. After a typical “banquet” dinner the awards ceremony started. I knew I had entered INhance IT! in for an award so I was on the edge of my seat with excitement the whole time. With this being my first time having any involvement with the organization I thought there was no way we would win, but we DID! INhance IT! won Home Staging Team of the Year! I was beyond excited! A huge Thank you to everyone at IAHSP for recognizing all of our hard work this past year. Almost 11pm and its time for bed!
Day two of the conference was just as jam packed with great information. The first speaker on Sunday was Kristie Barnett, The Decorologist. Let me just say, she is one of my most favorite presenters EVER! Even though I took her three-day course (EPS) I took pages and pages of notes and loved looking at her amazing transformation pictures. Krisite is a class act and extremely comfortable on the stage.
Next up was Joanne Lenart-Weary, the president of The JLW Company. She taught a great two hour class on color. We explored our new SW paint decks and learned how to divide the deck into four parts to find the perfect color for your client. JoAnne is extremely knowledgeable and had great advice on choosing paint colors for any room and being confident in ourselves to make the right decision.
Between Kristie and Joanne’s presentations we all received our “IAHSP- CB Color Basics Designation”. I think that getting a designation while at a conference was the icing on the cake! What a great value-add!
Kevin Htain, CEO of Identity Home Staging, lead an entertaining talk on design trends for 2017 and beyond. He is not only a great speaker but also hilarious! I thought I knew it all when it came to design trends but I learned a ton from Kevin. Flamingo wallpaper is IN! Enough said!!
Home Staging contracts and how to protect and represent your company is something all stagers, new and old, need to revisit from time to time. David Peterson, Co-owner of Synergy Staging, gave a great presentation on the different kinds of contracts and what each should include. One of my favorite pieces of advice from David was not contract related but something I am going to implement right away-pin towels together to prevent people from using them. Genius!
Theresa Thomas, CEO of Stage Right! Home Staging, was the speaker I took the most away from. When she made the statement “It’s always about price” it really hit home with me. We have been struggling with pricing because of what our competition is offering, but once she said this it all clicked for me. We just need to get in the door and upsell! She also talked about charging what you are worth and how to understand your value. I am going to take my notes from her session and really think about what Is holding me back and who we are!
I must say, I admire, Mary Scalli, owner of North Huston Blinds and Simple Elegance. She commits to taking 10 weeks of vacation a year. She had tons of great advice on how to run your business so that you can step away and still be efficient! Her ideas on how to use Pay Pal to its fullest extent might change how we do business.
Nick May, a business entrepreneur and marketing expert, had great advice on how to write effective blogs and where to draw inspiration for the blogs. I learned about backlinks and guest blogging in order to get traffic to our website. Facebook adds can drive business to our website as long as we are doing them correctly.
As the conference came to a close I had to jet out and catch my Uber to the airport. Sad that it was over, but energized to get back and implement the things I learned. A huge Thank you to everyone that put this together and made it such a great learning opportunity for stagers from all over the world. Looking forward to October 2018 and the conference at High Point!
Are you in Control of your Business and Clients?
By Jennie Norris, ASPM®, IAHSP-Premier®, ASP-SRS®, ASP-REO®, IAHSP-CB, President & CEO, Stagedhomes.com, Chairwoman, IAHSP®
Someone once wisely taught me that we are in a people business and since we deal with people we cannot control what they do, think, or say. Thanks, Barb Schwarz, for that valuable life and business lesson I learned back in 2002. That principle has served me well over the years as I have grown a Home Staging business serving sellers, Realtors, builders and investors, and now am at the helm of a Staging Training company and home staging industry association. People are our business. Even though we cannot control other people we can control our process, practices, and how we educate our clients, ultimately remaining in professional control of our business.
Have you ever had a seller of a vacant house tell you they don’t like your Staging or the items you used to prepare their house for sale? I call this client “The Controller.” Have you ever had a seller of an occupied house tell you they are not going to do what you recommend? This client is “The Resistor.” Any Stager that has been in business has definitely encountered both of these types of sellers. They don’t like change. They also are not thinking about the selling process in the right framework. A house has to appeal to the BUYER – not the seller.
I met a couple selling their vacant house and as I toured the house to take photos, the wife wanted to know what type of furniture I was going to use, the colors, placement, and style (The Controller). It is one thing to be curious but another when they insist on knowing the detailed plans. When I shared that I don’t work that way, I don’t solidify the plan until I am hired and make selections based on what I know works for their house based on their budget and Staging for the target buyer, I am not sure she “got it.” A seller that fancies themselves to be a “designer or decorator” and who wants control of the “look” is going to find themselves either paying much more than necessary for “staging” or be disappointed at the “look” because the Staging is not to their decorating taste. We are not providing a custom design project that would be 10x the Staging price. I have learned to set the expectation UP FRONT and share with the seller, “You may not like some of the things I bring in and that’s OK. The items are not being put in the house for you because you are not buying your house back. The Staging is for the buyer – and I have the same goal as you do – to get your house SOLD in the quickest time and for the most money.”
I had an older couple decide they were not willing to do much of the Staging Consultation recommendations. It surprised me when I hear this because when I left their house they were on board and had already started making piles of things that were going to be packed. For them it is about change being hard and the physical aspect of having to pack and remove things. This type of seller (The Resistor) can be brought around by letting them know they have help whether you as the Stager do the hands-on or their family members and friends are engaged to help. Physical limitations are much easier to overcome than mental or emotional ones. Checking the motivation of a seller that initially seems on board and then backs off on doing anything to the house is key. When a Seller is not truly motivated to sell – and thinks, “We will sell IF we get our price, but if not, then we don’t HAVE to move.”
When we encounter these Sellers it might be hard to identify them up front and they don’t reveal themselves until after the Staging is completed. So the goal then becomes bring up the concern BEFORE they do – by educating them how you work and reminding them of the goal of the Staging. It all boils down to education. When we fail to do this, and engage with these clients, we end up frustrated and spend time fixing what is broken when all we had to do was handle concerns and educate them up front – and decide if we want to engage them as our client. We do have choices.
The fact is, for both The Controller and The Resistor, they do not have to like what is done in their house. Since they are not the buyer, the Staging is not being done for THEM – it is being done for the unknown buyer who we have not met. We do not know anything about the buyer except they have money to invest in a property and are looking in that neighborhood. We know nothing about their background, age, race, faith, family status, work status, or education. A seller has to understand that even though they might be paying for the Staging it does not mean they have input on what is done and it does mean they have to trust us as the 3rd Party expert. It’s all about trust and establishing our professional leadership at the onset of the relationship. It is about having a solid Staging Agreement that clearly communicates your professional policies and terms – up front. When all parties are in agreement up front, it makes the process much smoother as we journey down the road to a successful sale together.
Engaging with people is always a learning experience. When things don’t go as planned the key is not to beat ourselves up over what went “wrong.” Instead, praise yourself for what went well, identify what did not go so well, and then make a change in a business practice, policy or dialogue with future clients so that we get the results we want and have a smooth process.
WOW!! We are thrilled with how our 2017 IAHSP Conference & EXPO turned out! So many of our members have shared their positive feedback during and after the event! A special thanks to all those involved with putting this event on from our IAHSP Leadership Team to our IAHSP Board Members, our staff and volunteers! THANK YOU for helping make this event one of our best yet! A few of our highlights are below . . . many more photos were uploaded into a drop box and a link to photos from the whole event will be put on the IAHSP.com site.
For those of you that were unable to make it – make sure you don’t miss our 2018 IAHSP Conference & EXPO that is already in the planning stages! We are going to be in Charlotte, NC for our next event and will offer an ADDED BONUS for those that are interested in going to HIGH POINT MARKET – the WORLD’s LARGEST FURNITURE MARKET with expert wholesale shoppers and mega business owners that will take you through the market to the key vendors that you want to partner with for purchasing inventory! Stay tuned for more details on this upcoming event!
Thank you to our EVENT SPONSORS – we appreciate your support and look forward to having you with us for our even bigger and better event in 2018!! Please look for their info on the 2017 IAHSP Conference site and on our soon to be updated IAHSP website Vendor Page portal.
Our Conference Facebook Page is full of great photos that many have shared and we are just so thrilled at how much we packed into two and a half days! Join the page if you have not already and stay connected with the attendees! IAHSP 2017 Conference Facebook Group
Congratulations to all the AWARD WINNERS for 2017! Those of you that missed out – make sure to submit yourself or a deserving colleague for our 2018 AWARDS as we believe in recognizing industry excellence!
Please let us know how we can continue to serve you as our member! Get involved in your Regional IAHSP Chapter if you are not already engaged – and continue the learning, camaraderie and sharing that is part of our association.
All the best,
Jennie Norris, IAHSP Chairwoman
Inventory Management System
Regardless of the size or type of your inventory, managing your assets makes good business sense! And it does not have to be complicated or costly. Darby Inventory allows home stagers to manage their inventory, customer lists, and vendor information in one place. As stagers, you know the value of photos. Attach photos of all of your inventory so you know exactly what each piece looks like. Know what you paid for it and when you bought it for tracking and incomes tax purposes. You also get fast access to sales and purchasing information through a rich set of detailed reports.
We are looking forward to having them at our event!
Our event is a little over 2 weeks away and we are still getting Sponsors that want to be with all of us at the awesome 2017 IAHSP Conference & EXPO! They know they will be around top Home Staging business owners from around the world and want to meet everyone! Please join me in thanking them for their support of our event! For more info go to www.iahspconexpo.com
The next round of Marketing & Business Bootcamps starts Feb 23rd! These Power-Hour Webinar training are topic-specific to help your business grow and thrive! We have added a NEW Marketing Bootcamp – “Mastering Social Media” that is scheduled for Feb 23rd. Sign up for ALL the Bootcamps using the “BUNDLE” option and save $$. Attend one or attend them all – they are geared to help YOU with your Marketing & Business growth for longevity and success! Go to Marketing & Business Bootcamp Registration to sign up or go to IAHSP.com – Bootcamps to find out more about each Bootcamp. Current Bootcamp session end Feb 7th so make sure you are selecting the dates for the Bootcamp you want to attend Feb 23 – April 18 2017.
International Association of Home Staging Professionals® 