Terrylynn's Blog

Listed yesterday, on the market today.  They called me to list their home and had read and learned about staging through their home search.  Perhaps looking at my newsletters and listed properties helped too...I'd like to think so.  SO, this is literally the FIRST and probably ONLY home I've ever listed that I didn't have to rearrange something, stage in some fashion.  It's just about perfect.

Martinez Bungalow (California)- double sized lot included for $299,999!!!  Great Price, Great Property.

This charming home is a 2 bedroom that has been updated to the maximum.  It boasts stainless steel appliances in the new kitchen.  Updated flooring, new windows, forced air heat, new plumbing and electrical, detached garage, inside laundry room and so much more.  This property is a true value with nothing left to do for you to move in.  www.1331Delacy.com See for yourself.  Website done by Chris Fisher, www.StagersLISTWebsites.com  email ChrisFisher@stagerslist.com and these property websites are so affordable, so professional looking and delivered in time for the weekend. 

Your DVR (Digital Video Recorder) has nothing but Disney movies

You could eat lunch from the fare found in your couch cushions

Every sharpie or felt pen in the house is dried up, caps hovering in the corners

Your trunk holds frisbies, kites, water, sweatshirts and goldfish

Your Friday night movie is Home Alone or High School Musical

You actually DO have a favorite Jonas Brother

"Date Night" is grandpa taking the 11-year-old to the girl scouts dance

1882 Camino Estrada

Kirkwood, not your usual rental! Dual paned windows, hardwood flooring and new carpets, eat-in kitchen and formal dining, family and living room, fireplace, inside laundry, 3rd bedroom office or removable cabinets for bedroom, private yard with newer pool. HUGE underneath storage, double garage. Call Bob at 925-360-9477 to view. Available 3/1/09. $2,450/month with a $2,500 deposit.

1856 Camino Estrada

Kirkwood 3 bedroom home with high ceilings, fireplace, master bedroom slider to patio, fenced yard, living room, formal dining and eat-in kitchen, family room, master with private bath, double garage, walk to trail, Safeway. On the bus line, good schools (Ayers, Diablo View, Clayton Valley). Available now. Call Bob at 925-360-9477 to view. $1,700/month with an $1,800 deposit.

Sierra Vista Court

Available Now. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, side access parking, pool, inside laundry, living room, family room with fireplace, formal dining and eat-in kitchen, master with tub and shower, backs open space with views of city. Double garage. Call Bob at 925-360-9477 to view. $2,250/month with a $2,500 deposit.

1598C Schenone Court

Beautiful condition, updated kitchen, newer carpet, inside laundry with washer and dryer included, dining area with room for hutch, large master bedroom with two closets and balcony to wooded open space. Community pool, parking for 2, near Ayers School, Pine Hollow and Clayton Valley High. Walk to SEARS/KMART, Albertsons, Safeway and more...on bus route to Concord Bart, etc. Call 925 360-9477 Bob or Terrylynn 925 876-0966 for showing. $1500/month, deposit $2000, available now.

1511B Schenone Court

Diablo Creek 2 bedroom in great location, 1100 sq. ft. dining area with room for hutch, breakfast bar, ref included, fenced patio/yard, storage, decorative only fireplace, bedrooms almost equal in size, one with balcony, one with walk in closet and bath in between them, walk to safeway and albertsons, tuesday morning, and so much more. Ayers School, Pine Hollow, Clayton Valley...pma 925 360-9477 Bob or 925 876-0966 Terrylynn...available now. Rent $1125, deposit $1200.

We are all in the real estate business -Realtors, inspectors, escrow people, home warranty companies, sign companies, printers, PROFESSIONAL HOME STAGERS.  It starts with the client and Realtor, and these days the home staging professional.  The first line of contact is Realtor and home stager, sometimes a termite  or inspection company.  So, it helps to have a relationship with those people because we can cross refer for business. 

I was recently talking with a group of home stagers and was told that their ratio of direct calls and consultations from  homeowners was up about 25%.  In years past that might have been 10% as most of their referrals came from Realtors.

So do you want to know what they know?  Meet the vendors & service people they utilize?  WANT THE INSIDE SCOOP?  What do home stagers bring to the table?

What are the staging and selling trends?  How can you collaborate with home stagers for more business for both of you?  What about marketing?  Can they help you market your business?  What about feng shui?  Websites?  Cross-marketing?  Client communication models?  Ancillary products, revenue streams?

You might think you'd have to pay hundreds of $$$ to get this kind of information all in one place.  WRONG!  Realtors and the public are invited.  Would you like to know all this and meet the vendors & service people that home stagers use and purchase their inventory and accessories through?  Join us at StagersLISTExpo.com in Orlando on the 17^th of March for all this and more.  Orlando is a great place for a vacation and for all of the Florida Realtors, just a hop skip and jump.  Hope to see some of you there... you'll gain valuable insight into the staging arm of the real estate industry.  And get some business skills training to boot.

February 9th, ONE DAY.  OK Disneyland... but If you couldn't go to Disneyland and... If I only had one day to move my business forward and gain the most knowledge packed into that day, what would I do? Play along with me, now. 

Would I spend it hearing about how Realtors want MORE from stagers and what that more is???  Would I want to know that one word that will change the relationship between stagers and Realtors and how it would put a stager on the Realtor Team, instead of ON CALL???  And why it works and how easy it is to do?

Would I spend it learning about marketing and how consistency and tools differentiate me; learning WHAT tools and WHAT things bring a return on investment?  Ohhhh that's a good one, hum that would be hard to choose.  After all, doing what I love is great, but to make money doing it would be the ultimate business model, wouldn't it?

Would I spend it learning about the  trends for today, Tomorrow and NEXT year in design and staging?  What about the boomers and their likes and tastes, oh, and the Gen x and Gen y's... they are totally different and so much the same in some ways.  That would help my staging and real estate business too, wouldn't it?  Oh, it's getting harder to choose.

Would I want to know why GREENING of my business and including it in my work will get more clients and make an impact on the world?  (Did you know that there is a survey that says "92% of people surveyed say green features are important when buying a property"?)

Would I want to be at a meeting where we can talk about joining forces and moving the industry forward so that we all have a standard of excellence, networking capabilities, sharing and education, common goals and image with the industry and the public? 

Would I want to know how many photos cause more people to look at listings on the internet?  How many buyers search the internet before choosing a realtor (that number is dramatically different than last year)... and more NEW and cutting edge info such as that? 

Would I want to touch and feel the best greenery for the money BEFORE I buy?  Would I want to see the new Method products and see how they FIT the staging model for most homes?  Would I just want to chat with Cindy Lin, and Lori Kim, and Connie Tebyani and Wendy Timmons and some of the other AR people we are so lucky to be online friends with and meet them in person?  Or do I finally want to meet Chris Fisher and see if she's really as cool as her AR friends think she is (hehehehe, she'll kill me for this but she knows more AR friends than I do, so she can introduce us)? 

You can do ALL of that in ONE DAY!!  February 9th, Los Angeles at the StagersLIST Expo.  $65 including lunch!!!  Join us won't you?  Sign up here. 

And then if you didn't get enough on day one, there's a whole 2nd day of workshops, like feng shui and how to use it in your staging business, that will WOW you and give you more time for networking and spending time with friends.  There is a discount for signing up early, but there will be sign-ups that day as well if you decide something is just too good to pass up for Day 2.  We bring the mini-convention to YOU...

In my recent acknowledgement post for the privilege of competing with incredible entrepeneurs in the 2009 RESA Staging Innovator of the YEAR, http://activerain.com/blogsview/895802/They-LEAD-they-SHARE-they-GIVEwho-are-they

Mark Watterson made a comment "Congrats on the success.  It nice to see people get positive recognition for their hard work"  I had not seen Mark comment on my posts before, but decided to go and get to know more about him.  And what did I find???  

Mark Watterson - My Belief System in Action "It's not about the Money It's about life long relationships that are based on Customer Service Excellence"...then he says "You should expect the highest level of service and you deserve it.  The right property and YOUR goals, YOU deserve the best." Here is where you can find out more about Mark Watterson.  Wow, Mark is my kind of guy.  The purpose of my post was to say that I am fortunate to be in a business surrounded by excellence and to be nominated among them and be in the industry with them is a privilege.  And that's how I feel about my clients.  I knew there were Mark's out there who deserve "positive recognition for their hard work", just as Mark said to me.  The beauty of it is that his clients have that person in Saratoga Springs, Utah.  Your recognition Mark is their testimonial to your work on their behalf.  And my thanks for giving a good name to Realtors in Utah and everywhere.

SO, what do you do on a daily, weekly, yearly basis or what have you done that deserves recognition?  I know that it's hard sometimes to toot your own horn.  But reality is that sometimes it's nice to tell someone or have them discover it.  I would love to discover that in YOU.  The business we are in is difficult and challenging these days in particular.  Wouldn't it be nice if our clients knew our differentiator and about the things we do that deserve recognition.  What should you win the award for?  Do share, that idea or incident where you went above and beyond and the daily or one time effort that brings a GOOD emphasis on our industry.  Let me tell the world for you.  Come on now...

Kathy Nielson commented on that post as well "Yes, you could have gone on a roof top and shouted.  Instead, you chose to highlight the other candidates.  Bravo." When you have some time, read Kathy's blog and get to know her...She's a wonderful photographer and spends a great deal of time on her photographs...amazing.  She's an amazing person too.   

And then there is Gary Woltal.  Gary is probably mentioned and thanked in more posts than just about anyone for making people think, reflect, feel good and uplifting them.  Thanks Gary. 

Well, I'll tell you mine.  My talent is finding that thing in others that they should be recognized for, that thing they might not tell readily or are too humble to tell.  We live among such incredible and complex people, it's what makes the world and the work interesting and I would rather tell about your gifts than mine.  So, come on now, your turn.  Make it about YOU...do tell what do you deserve an award for?

The richness of rewards are how they make you feel.  The extra validation that you get when peers deem you competent and better than competent.  Priceless!  However, grateful we are that we have been voted the 2009 Staging Innovators of the year for RESA, it is richer because of the company we keep.  The nomination was a gift in itself and look at our worthy opponents???  Their presence in this challenge makes it all the more meaningful.  And we thank them all and all who voted for us.  These are the leaders and the voice of our industry.  They LEAD, they SHARE, they GIVE of themselves and their wisdom and passion for this business.  And we are proud and blessed to be among them.  That you see us as LEADING, SHARING, GIVING as well is a true honor.  THANK YOU guys for sharing the stage. Here are their entries and their profiles...      http://www.realestatestagingassociation.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=304550&module_id=52199    

              Melissa Marro    DesAnn Collins    Cindy Lin        Sandy Dixon      Lori Kim Polk

Kym Hough, Staged to Sell, Danville,California & Terrylynn Fisher,Realtor,Walnut Creek, California. www.StagersLISTExpo.com  INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS OF THE 2009 RESA INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR.