For people who buy and sell real estate, there is a basic understanding that there are few guarantees in any housing market. In most regions of the country, the real estate industry can be fickle when it comes to sales activity. Market conditions will always vary depending on current local and national economic outlooks.
Additionally, because there are seasonal buying trends standard to the industry, sales during the winter months and the summer tend to be slower countrywide except in tourist areas.
Market trends for buying and selling real estate are cyclical. Therefore, most people who are involved in industries that support the real estate industry (for example, mortgage companies, home staging companies, home inspectors, and pest control companies) know their businesses will be cyclical as well.
The good news is even during more stagnant markets; the top performers in any of these industries find ways to stay busy with proper marketing regardless of the cycle.
Home staging companies can build a steady flow of new clients even during leaner real estate markets and slow seasons, and the trick to achieving this is implementing quality marketing strategies throughout the year.
For people who are home staging professionals, it is vital to prepare for the off-seasons and to build a business so that the downtime is much less frequent. The best way to accomplish this is by building a regular client referral base so that your business stays steady.
Here are our proven ways to grow your home staging business:
Ask for Referrals
Asking for referrals is one of the most basic but effective ways to get new customers.
If a customer is satisfied with your work, giving them incentives to refer you to home, sellers can be a big boost for both you and your clients. While some home staging professionals simply encourage referrals, giving rewards for successful referrals will usually increase the likelihood of being referred.
Build a Great Website
Many homeowners only know the basics about home staging. Because of this, typical homeowner’s who want their home staged will often search online for a company in their area. Having an excellent website that shows a gallery of work and transparent pricing will usually bring in many more new customers than companies that have little online presence.
Build Strong SEO Marketing Through Blogs
While having an effective and well laid out website is essential to proper marketing, designing it with the right SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will help ensure customers find your company.
Define a Clear Marketing Strategy
Marketing for any business is multi-faceted. You should not count on only one form of marketing to generate business. Successful companies usually have several platforms for marketing going on simultaneously to ensure they are growing their business through a variety of sources.
Create a Defined Market Audience
When it comes to real estate, it is essential to build a business with a primary market focus. Catering directly to people selling their homes is one avenue of marketing that can be effective. However, marketing to real estate agents, banks, and property investors is another avenue for marketing that can be important. It is essential to define your most significant potential market areas and then gear your time, effort, and resources to that area.
Proper Pricing
This is an area that is often overlooked. People whose prices are out of line with their competition will find they lose more business than they can create no matter how many friendly referrals they have.
People who are selling their homes are always looking at their bottom dollar, and if they are spending out too much money on staging, it will cut into their profits from the sale. This is a major deterrent for most sellers. Checking what the going rate is in your area for staging and then pricing accordingly is wise. In general, most professional staging companies charge an initial two-hour consultation fee and a fee for furniture rentals while the home is being marketed.
Advertise
General advertising for people in the home staging business is not the best place to spend advertising dollars. Money on advertising should be spent on ads in real estate sections of your local newspaper, targeted ads on platforms like Facebook and advertisements in real estate magazines. Other good places to advertise can also be online real estate marketing platforms.
Attend Real Estate Agent Social Events
This is an excellent way to market to realtors and mortgage officers. Gatherings that are geared towards realtors often have real estate supportive business professionals in attendance.
Market to Agents
This is the number one way to get business. Since real estate agents list homes for sale, they are the best resource for new clients trying to sell their home. While not all people who sell their homes want to invest in staging, realtors who are handling hard to sell properties, high-end properties, and vacant homes will often look for a staging company to help with the presentation.
Realtors understand the importance of first impressions on potential buyers. Because of this, they often encourage their sellers to make upgrades to get the home ready for a sale. Typically this includes encouraging them to invest in at least some essential staging of their home.
Doing presentations to real estate offices showing a gallery of work and success stories can be a great way to boost business. Real estate agents who believe in a product or service for the benefit of their clients are more inclined to encourage them to invest in it.
Do Staging Workshops
Not all home sellers who consult with professional staging companies use their furnishings and full services. Some people will opt to use them for consultation and design and choose to do the rest themselves.
Selling an entrance fee to a staging workshop for real estate agents is a great way to earn extra cash. It also often leads to finding new clients, or people that can introduce you to new clients. The late winter, early spring, and late summer are a good time for this type of marketing since spring and fall are usually the busiest real estate markets.
Summary
Building any business takes time and effort. Don’t be surprised if it takes you a few years to build up your business. When it comes to real estate supportive businesses, you will need to invest your time, make lots of contacts, and create a proper marketing campaign. These are are the best approaches for this type of business.
Real estate agents and companies thrive on networking with other people, business owners, and companies. Most real estate offices are used to having presentations from real estate supportive businesses. Usually, agents are very open companies and services marketing to them. They are always looking for businesses to show them what their services can do for their real estate sales and their clients.
Calling to schedule a meeting with a new real estate office each week in your area is a great way to start your in-person marketing campaign. You’ll face a lot of “No thank you” emails, but you will quickly gain you more business recognition.