Tweet

Home staging fee setting tips

Guest post by: Debra Gould

Article Overview: The Staging Diva discusses the importance of setting the right fees for your home staging services.

Home staging fee setting tips

Home staging expert Debra Gould built a profitable home staging business from scratch in a very competitive market and she says, "A stager will struggle to make money when they don't charge enough for their home staging services." Here, Gould shares 3 tips to help establish the fees for a home staging business:

1. Remember all the time you won't be getting paid for.

As you're figuring out your fees, if you feel $75 or even $200 per hour is too much to charge a client for your home staging services, consider the many hours you put into your business that no one pays for. As a home stager, you spend time on many non-paying tasks, like:

• researching design trends
• tracking client expenses and time spent on each staging or redesign project
• bookkeeping
• researching and staying on top of the local real estate market
• standing in line at the bank
• shopping for office supplies
• maintaining your home staging website
• writing home staging blog posts and newsletters
• networking with real estate agents, home owners and home sellers
• negotiating with suppliers
• preparing for client appointments
• answering potential clients' questions in advance
• scheduling and re-scheduling appointments
• traveling to and from meetings and running business errands
• follow up calls (before, during and after the staging or redesign project)

2. Think of the many benefits you're bringing to your staging clients.

You must believe that you bring real value to your home staging clients or else it will be very difficult to convince them to pay much for your services. Start thinking about the many benefits you can bring to a client if you do the job well.

Gould, founder of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Programsays, "Don't start feeling embarrassed about your rates. Done well, a home staging project should generate anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 profit for the homeowner. So, why shouldn't a professional home stager be paid well?

This was Debra Gould's client's house. It sold for $71,000 over the asking price. The client invested about $950 in Gould's advice during a home staging consultation.

Someone might say, "wow, $950 just for advice, that's a lot of money!"

But instead if you asked them, "what if you could invest $950 and make $71,000?" not many people would consider that too expensive.

If you're thinking, "it's a slow real estate market, my clients aren't going to make that kind of profit on my services", there are thousands of "proof home staging works" examples of homes that have languished on the slow real estate market for months (or years) until they were decorated to sell.

If home staging can save a client from the costs of carrying a house they don't want, not to mention saving them from the emotional costs of having their lives on hold waiting to sell, how much is that worth?

When determining your rates remember that home staging is an investment in a potentially significant return for the client.

3. When you're in a service business you're selling your time.

Everyone has a limited "inventory" of time. There are 24 hours per day - we all have the same amount. Since you can't manufacture more hours in a week, the only way to earn more money is to charge more for your time.

Gould cautions stagers that, "You will never make real money in home staging until you get your pricing strategy right!"

Related Articles
  Home Staging in Rochester, New York
  Staging Diva Announces Resource To Help Stagers Effortlessly Promote Their Services
  5 Steps to Starting a Home Staging Business Part 1
  California Interior Designer Finds Success as a Home Stager
  Is the Home Staging Business Right for You
  Staging Diva Graduate helps home sell at first open house
  Why Home Stagers Don’t Need to Provide Furniture Rentals – Part 2
  Staging Diva Home Staging Tips for the Attic
  Part Time Home Staging Business While the Kids Are At School
  Denver Home Stager Makes a Believer Out of a Skeptical Real Estate Investor
  5 Steps to Starting a Home Staging Business – Part 2
  Home Staging Offers Job Security
  Ideas and Tips for Selling A Vacant House Fast through Home Staging
  Staging Diva Calls Home Staging Consultation Reports a Waste of Time
  Staging Diva’s Top Photography Tips for Home Stagers: Part 2
  Home staging anxiety may never go away
  Slowing Economy a Boon for Home Staging Entrepreneurs
  Staging Diva’s Top Photography Tips for Home Stagers: Part 1
  Part-time home stagers just as likely to succeed
  Obtaining Home Staging Client Testimonials

Article Tags: debra gould, Home staging, Home Staging Fees, home staging pricess, home staging services, Staging Diva



Related Forum Posts
Re: 9 Ways to Use Video to Promote YOUR Business - Video is still on my "To Do" list for 2011. Thanks for the link to the article. It has some good suggestions and tips for videos. Right now I'm making more progress with audio and am setting up an audio podcasting site. Once that is up and running I hope to turn my attention to video.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff
Do you have an article you want published? - We are always on the look out for interesting articles that can help people setting up and running their own small business. It can be on any subject from IT tips to sales, from finances to PR. It's a great way of advertising your own business at the same time as helping others with theirs. If you have anythingyou would like to submit send it to me at liz.heckford@exceptionalthinking.co.uk
Re: February 27 Triple Crown Leaders - Thanks for the update Evan, The referred and approved articles sections are all close and exciting and will probably go to the wire this time. David is setting a cracking pace in the forum articles so it's up to everyone else to try and catch up but well done for setting such a great pace, regards, Mal.
Re: 5 Ways I've Used Twitter This Week To Grow My Business - Thanks for the tips guys. I don't use Twitter much because I don't see much use for it so any good tips I can get might just change my mind.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Hypotheticals, Scenarios and Foresight

Adapting to Technology and the Internet

Leader's Success Secret: Celebration

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.