Terrylynn's Blog

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.

Active Rain has brought us together as a real estate/staging community. We are all looking for camaraderie, people who know our business and share our concerns and challenges, a place to bounce arounds ideas with people we can relate to and who relate to us.  Along with that we hope to gain recognition by the public and our peers and increase our business or market share.  It IS about relationships and cross country networking made easier. Here at AR you will be challenged if you are out of line, nudged  a bit if needed, and supported when we agree.  But you know pretty quickly whether we like an idea, as we will give an opinion and tell you. THIS is the perfect sounding board for your new ideas, products and business models.  You come here and get support, encouragement and I think genuine, honest  support and good wishes that you do well; Peers who want you to make money doing your work, whatever that is.

We are all SELLING SOMETHING.   As Realtors, we are selling our services to homeowners and we sell their homes.  BUT we have to sell ourselves first or we don't get the opportunity to sell the home, right?  As stagers we sell ourselves to Realtors and to homeowner or we don't get the staging work, right?   We sell ourselves whether we sell a home, staging, a book, seminar, class, prop, couch, book, blinds, drapes, whatever it may be.  WE ARE SELLING A OUR TALENT AND OUR SERVICE or we don't really have a business, do we?  We ARE in the business to make money, right?  Otherwise what ARE we we doing?  Is this a hobby, a charity? or a business?  Maybe there are some that can afford to do this work for free because they love it so much, but for the Realtor, the cost of a listing, marketing it, etc; or as a stager the inventory, storage, trucks, gas, and other things are daunting, it's an expensive hobby if that's the case, whether real estate or staging.  There are hobbyists in both professions actually and they sometimes kid themselves that they are running a business. They don't keep track of the cost of doing business and sell themselves and the client short as they generally can't afford to take classes, own the tools,  or do the things that make the difference for the client's bottom line.  (That could be the computer, website, truck or education they need to specialize and keep up with the current trends and demographics.  THESE are the marketing tools that aid the client behind the scenes, and so many more.) 

I am selling homes -

Connie Tebyani is selling gorgeous bedding http://activerain.com/blogsview/894229/This-Home-Stager-is-Now-Your-Independent-Distributor-of-Eastern-Accents-Bedding

Joanne O'Donnell is selling Dewey Color Classes  Click here

SO when you give genuine support do you mean it?  Do you want your peers to be successful as long as they aren't more successful than you are?  Do you want them to grow their business in ways that support the industry but think they should not make any money doing it?  Do you think that the efforts you put out on your business should not be rewarded?  Of coure not!  So why then should others efforts and industry contributions not be rewarded?  The truth is if the service is not needed, it will not be rewarded as we have a free society and we have the right to partake and purchase or not...it's a self governing system.

WE are all selling something and truthfully the person I would rather buy from or take a class from IS someone in the industry who has paid their dues and comes from a place of KNOWING my business and sharing their expertise.  There is a comfort in knowing they have a history that we share, a knowledge base that I can relate to and something to share.  But that's me.

2009 Staging Innovator of the YEAR - StagersLIST.com (Kym Hough and Terrylynn Fisher)

OOOOHHHHH MY We are going to get to meet Wendy Timmons, and Connie Tebyani and Annie Pinsker-Brown...and lots of others of you from LA...and of course see our friend Michelle Minch whom we've already met.  It's going to be such a fun event.  Hope to see lots of you there.

 This is an except from a newsletter I sent out to my clients in mid year 2008.  It was telling them that no matter how bad the market, some people find it the optimum time to buy... SO, did these people buy???  Here's the rest of the story!

Hi all, It has been awhile since I wanted you to know that Bob and I have been selling real estate even with the challenges in today's market.  We are fortunate to have buyers to assist, who recognize the opportunity of the market.  Could this be you?

Buyer #1  Connie has been saving for over 10 years to buy something and really would have been a condo buyer, until this downturn in the market.  She looked at a fixer in a neighborhood near where she grew up and because of today's market was able to get the house across the street, in much better condition for a good price!!!  UPDATE-Connie is enjoying her new home and yard and doesn't have any neighbors above her.  YEAH! 

Buyers #2, Virginia and Tom have been looking for about a year!  We have seen a lot of homes together and they have seen as many or more at open houses.  We have made offers on less than perfect condos and cluster homes, good buys perhaps, but no bank cooperation on the short sales.  We were just guardedly persistent and voila, found the perfect home with yard, corner lot, new windows, beautiful flooring, updated and charming gardens and it's NOT a short sale... In a market where everything appraises for UNDER the asking price no matter what that is, this one appraised for a little over, a sign that the appraiser was affirming what a great value it was.  A single family home 3/2 with family room corner lot, $480,000!!!  Talk about happy?!  UPDATE-Virginia and Tom have actually been able to refinance at todays lower rates because the price we paid was already below market for the condition and neighborhood that they still have the value to do so.  Pretty good in a down market.

Buyer #3, Kristina, patient Kristina.  We are looking for a home, also would have had to take a condo or cluster home a while ago.  We just made an offer on a 5 bedroom, 3 bath fixer in a good neighborhood for $415,000!!!  We'll see if it gets accepted.  We'll find something as Kristina and her family won't give up and the bargains just keep coming so we're confident we'll find something before the market turns. UPDATE-This home upon inspection had BIG problems and we had to back off, in the meantime the market flip flopped. Kristina, like many buyers today had to regroup when the market took some blips with credit score requirements and such, so is saving more money and is waiting for a bit, but still anxious to be a homeowner as possible.  We're keeping on the lookout for her for the perfect place the moment she has the downpayment.

Another Buyer Dennis, just purchased a condo nearby where he was living.  Truthfully you can't afford to rent at these prices when you can own.  I saw him in Safeway the other day and he's contemplating buying another with the market so favorable for buyers.  UPDATE-Dennis decided to wait on buying the second unit but he truly likes having his own place and the independence it gives him.

ARE YOU THINKING YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED AN INVESTMENT PROPERTY, OR KNOW SOMEONE LOOKING FOR THAT FIRST HOME?  Well, just ask any of our buyers above, we are persistent but it pays off in the end, they got a house.  If we can help you or anyone you know, give us a call, we'd love to get you in at the BOTTOM!!!  Interest rates are so good, it makes the payments as good as rent in most cases.  And, you can invest your IRA money in real estate now.  So, if you want to chat about real estate or just get together for a barbeque to catch up on things, give a call or email. 

The  rest of the story is that success is what we strive for and like many Realtors, this year we couldn't anticipate everything for everyone, but our clients were taken care of the way they needed to be and are still working on obtaining their dreams of home ownership.  We just guide them through the maze and when we hit roadblocks we reevaluate and regroup and move forward.  We are fortunate to have their loyalty and trust.  AND, look forward to the buyers and sellers of 2009 and seeing how we can help them.

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Terrylynn and Bob Fisher, Diablo Realty, Walnut Creek, California  If you are looking for persistent and hardworking Realtors who will tell it like it is and guide you through the reality of the market we are in, we're here, ready, willing and able to help you assess your real estate needs in 2009.  Call us, won't you?                             925 876-0966                          Terryshomes@astound.net