Would you like to know how experts stage homes to get them sold fast and for top dollar?

Today I’m going to show you a step-by-step process for staging both the inside and outside of homes you list.  Now I know you’re probably experienced in staging, but the ideas below will probably shed some light on important areas you may regularly miss – so at worst it’ll be a great reinforcement for you.

But before I share the steps for staging success, there are 3 rules you should know about dressing homes for sale:

Rule 1:  Most buyers are very literal.  They only know what they see.  They have very little imagination.  You must create their imagination for them (via staging) to sell effectively.

Rule 2:  First impressions are lasting with buyers.  Buyers decide whether they like or dislike a home within seconds of entering.  It either hits them or it doesn’t.  You must enhance the first impressions of the home.

Rule 3:  Your home will sell because of emotion, not logic.  The only way to stimulate emotion is to make your home a place where people can really “FEEL” at home.  Make it warm and inviting.  Emphasize the special benefits of the home and lot.

Remember not to talk about dressing the home with sellers, or improving home deficiencies until AFTER you have taken the listing.  People can be very sensitive about their personal belongings or how their home looks prior to staging.  So let’s begin…

STEP #1:  Assess the Current Situation

Be honest with sellers about what needs improving.  You’re a team now.  If a floor is marred or a room needs painting, say so.

Also, let your clients know that there’s a difference between how they live in a home, and how we show it for sale.  They may need to change their home and lifestyle for a short time to accommodate this rule.

For the outside, take a walk across the street from the home.  Examine the curb appeal of the home.  Make notes of items that are unsatisfactory from a buyer’s perspective.  Remember, buyers are very literal.

You can even tell your sellers to get into their car and start driving away from their home.  As they do so, ask them to take a look back at their home.  Make notes about what looks good, and what needs improvement.

STEP #2:  Eliminate Clutter

The key to showing homes effectively is getting rid of clutter.  Make counters clear, get rid of pictures on the wall and tables, store excess furniture if necessary, put books in boxes.  Your clients are doing this anyhow for their move, they just need to do it a little early.  Here are other household items to put away:

• Clear away kitchen and bathroom counters.  These are areas where you need to show the most space and neatness.  So put appliances and kitchen-items away.
• Re-arrange furniture so rooms look larger.  Store old furniture or cluttered items in another location — at least while the home is for sale.
• Get rid of as many “personal” things as you can.  Buyers have a hard time visualizing “their” new home with the seller’s personal belongings everywhere.  Try to make the home look neutral, as if you don’t know who lives there.

And just like the interior, you need to get all the clutter out of the yard.  Put hoses away, store garbage cans, put away the sprinkler and kids toys.  The neater the area looks, the better the first impression.

STEP #3:  Spruce the Home Up Before Showing

Make improvements to the home, but only where it will make the biggest difference to the sales price.  Getting the biggest bang for your clients buck usually means getting a fresh coat of paint on strategic walls and areas.  New paint is an inexpensive way to show a home.

Check the paint condition of the INTERIOR of a home by removing pictures off walls.  It will probably need painting.  Remember to get inside painting done first, before any cleaning.

Check the paint condition of the entire EXTERIOR of the home.  If it’s pealing or worn, the buyer will notice it immediately.  Don’t devalue your home by trying to sell it in poor paint condition.  Pay particular attention to the front door, mailbox, garage doors, and walkway areas.  These are where the buyers will be walking and noticing problems.  You should also consider the following items with sellers:

• Professional Cleaning.  Get a professional firm in to CLEAN the entire home.  Floors, ceilings, windows, fireplace, carpet, drapes — everything!  Also, check for ODORS.  If the owners have a pet, they’re home probably needs to have carpets cleaned or deodorized.  Any odors make a home less attractive.
• Home Inspection.  Check for termites and functional obsolescence.  Many homeowners actually have their home inspected prior to putting it on the market.  It makes a good impression to the buyers when you have your own inspection completed by an independent company.  It will also save embarrassing situations with buyers who discover problems.
• Landscaping.  The landscaping should look immaculate.  Make sure the lawn is groomed, flower beds are clean, leaves are removed, and weeds are pulled.  Check the bushes and trees for grooming also.

STEP #4:  Show the Home In the Best Light

Always turn on the LIGHTS when showing.  Tell your clients to turn on all lights around the home before a buyer gets there.  If you show the home, make sure you turn on as many lights as you can for the buyers.

These include the mailbox light, front door, entry (especially if the entry is dark), and dark hallways.  Make your home alive, by being inviting and bright.  Bright homes sell better than dark homes.

Leave all front area curtains and drapes open.  Have you ever seen model homes?  The drapes are always open at night, and the lights are on.  Why?  Because it shows the home better.  Also, when you keep drapes open during the day, people touring through the home will experience more natural light.

BONUS TIPS:  After you complete the dressing of the seller’s home, you need to make 2 statements that will help set the stage for your relationship.  You want to say the following:

1. You may get some agents not showing your home because of the listing price.  At this time, don’t worry about it.  But if we get too many, we’ll need to revisit the issue.

2. You will get offers all across the board.  There are those who just make low offers to see if a seller will bite.  Some may be as low as 20% below your listing price.  Regardless of the price or terms of the offer, let’s make sure we examine and discuss all offers that come in, OK?

You may want to type up a list of home-staging items for your sellers to address.  You can use this 4-step process as an outline to work with sellers, get more offers, and sell your listings faster.

[Ed. note: To find out more about how to sell your listings faster including the best strategies top agents use to get price reductions, learn more about our new program Superstar Closing Secrets™ by clicking here...]

Would you like to know the painless, 4-step process to get price reductions and sell your listings in record time?

Well, take just a couple minutes to review the steps (and sample scripts) on how to have a successful price reduction meeting with your seller-clients.

The best time to “set-up” a price reduction is when you take the listing (you already knew that, right?).  But if for some reason you’ve taken an overpriced listing and need to get a reduction, you can use this process to correct the situation – and save yourself months of carrying expenses.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step…

Your price reduction meeting with sellers will be similar to your original listing presentation, except you now have accurate, historic information about the seller’s home.  In my program Superstar Closing Secrets™ I give you a “cheat sheet” for this important meeting with questions and responses to establish control.

STEP 1:  Present an Updated Market Analysis

Before the price reduction meeting, you’ll need to prepare an analysis similar to your original CMA (or “Maximum Home Value Audit™”).  During the meeting, compare your seller’s home with all of the other listings, pendings, and sales in the area.

Analyze other statistics such as average time on the market, price ranges, list price to sales price reduction percentage, and the percentage or number of listed homes sold during the same period as the seller’s listing.  After presenting the market analysis, ask your clients 2 questions:

STEP 2:  Present Your Completed List of Marketing Tasks

Go through your original marketing plan, and discuss every action you’ve taken to market their home.  Explain the impact or exposure of each action on generating prospective buyers.

You can also explain the historic impact each task has had on selling other homes you’ve listed, or homes sold in the area.  Your objective is to reinforce the seller’s confidence in your ability to market their home.  At this point you want to ask another 2 questions:

Some sellers value open houses, others want to see more agent showings — everyone makes their own expectations, logical or not.  Listen carefully here.  You can adjust your marketing plan to better fit their expectations if it’s warranted.  Nevertheless, the sale issue will always come back to pricing the home — the seller’s responsibility.

After the sellers finish sharing their thoughts on the marketing of their home you can move on to the feedback you’ve received…

STEP 3:  Present Feedback and Areas For Improvement

Take out the comments you have from touring agents, showings, and open houses.  Review the comments relating to price and showing condition of the home.

These comments are very important because they are honest, third-party opinions about their home.  Sellers may get a little upset at this point, but it’s important they hear feedback that will better motivate them to sell their home.  At this point, you want to ask the following question:

If some of the comments made require physical improvements to the home, you need to open that discussion and start making plans for improvements.  But, don’t get the issue confused — there’s still a price issue to be discussed…

STEP 4:  Ask For The Price Reduction

The first thing you want to tell sellers at this point is you’re doing everything possible to promote the home, as shown from the activity and marketing plan.  Second, tell them that your efforts will be fruitless unless "we" adjust the price to get closer to buyers expectations.  Then tell them the following:

IMPORTANT TIP:  Notice I used a percentage, not a dollar figure?  Percentages are more relevant and palatable when making adjustments.  Clients will probably want to know how much that means in dollars, and you should tell them, but present it first as a percentage.

Then ask the following question:

At this point, they’ll either say "OK", or they’ll have common objections.  Remember, objections are just unanswered questions revisited.  Handle each objection keeping in mind that seller’s have many emotional attachments to their homes, which can compromise their rationality.

And one final thing…don’t forget to complete and sign the agreements for the price adjustment AHEAD OF TIME.  Keep the “price” field empty, but complete the rest of the agreement.  You’d be surprised how many agents forget at the end of this long (but now much easier!) process.

[Ed note:  If you'd like proven answers to price-reduction objections, learn more about our new program Superstar Closing Secrets™ by clicking here...]

“When the market slows, I have three goals:  first, add more prospects to my database, second, practice my sales skills, and third, make money.  Here’s how I accomplish these and come out of hard times stronger than ever…

I follow these three steps in slow times to build my business:

Step 1:  Show Rental Properties

I search the MLS and identify good rental properties to show.  I also start advertising rental properties on free websites or put cheap classified ads in the local paper.

Here are two great (and free) places to post local ads for renters online:

• Craigslist.org
• Kijiji.com

Here’s an example classified ad I use to pull in renters:

Renters!  Find your perfect place.  Free

consumer report shows you how to

negotiate your lease and save money.

Call 24 hr. recorded msg 888-8888

Step 2:  Provide Excellent Service

Even though I’d rather sell someone a home, with renters I want to build a life-long relationship for future business.  So, I take them through the same process as I would with buyers and provide just as excellent service to WOW them.  This really pays off in referrals as renters are around other people who are just like them—ready to find another place to rent or buy a home.

Step 3:  Follow-Up After the Transaction

After a renter signs their lease, they get added to my database and I follow-up with them throughout the year until they are ready to buy a home.  You can use regular post card mailings or a monthly newsletter for this since you know their exact address!

Rentals usually pay anywhere from $200-$500 and I now have a prospective home buyer. I love it!  And these steps will help you too during this slow market.”

Here’s a strategy to get clients to agree to a price reduction at the listing presentation.  This virtually guarantees your listings won’t sit on the market for months.

Agent Francine Hoffman created 1) a simple script that educates clients on why they need a price reduction and 2) a form that spells out the adjustment details in crystal clear terms.  This way there’s no begging, arguing or hard feelings.

You can use this price reduction script and form “as is” or modify it to fit your personality.  Either way it helps to overcome tension and allows you to get an agreement from sellers before it’s too late.

Here’s Francine’s description, script, and form below:

“I created this many years ago when I sat back in my chair one day and asked myself this question, ‘What is the worst thing I have to do in my real estate business?‘

I thought for a few minutes and this is what I came up with.  I hated calling my clients up and asking for a price reduction.  It is such a negative call and no one is happy at the end of the day.  So I came with a way to make it a more pleasant process for everyone involved…

When does the client love you?  Answer:  When they sign the listing agreement with you.  So why not stay a few minutes longer and educate the client on what will happen from that day forward.  This is how my script goes:

Next, I pull out my form that I call my ‘Price Adjustment Schedule‘.  Here’s a snapshot of what my form looks like:

click to enlarge image

Now this is signed at the same time as the listing agreement.

This way the clients know what to expect.  They have signed the agreement and now when I call them I say, ‘Folks, I have some good news and I have some bad news.  The good news is we have had ‘x’ showings.  The bad news is we do not have any offers, so we will have to put plan ‘B’ into place, the Price Adjustment Schedule.’

They already have a copy and you ask them to pull it out and you can go through it with them.  Also make sure they have a copy of your marketing plan so they know that you are not just adjusting the price of their home, you are doing other things as well.

This form and process works wonders for me and I don’t feel like I am beating people up anymore, they know what to expect.  And as a result I’m able to sell my listings faster at realistic prices, and build a base of clients who respect me and stay with me for the long-term.”