Over the last fifteen years, I’ve helped style over 1,000 homes for sale. I’ve worked with some of the best stylists, home stagers and photographers in the country, and I’ve picked up some tricks and tips that have helped me build an agency of my own.
If a house is untidy, over-personalised or just poorly presented, you won’t be able to get a flattering set of images with which to market it. And like it or not, that will reflect on you and your agency. I know it’s not fair, but nevertheless, it’s what happens. An agent is only as good as their listings, and their listings are only as good as their photographs.
That’s why it’s really important that you understand how to talk to your client about the presentation of their property, so they understand how it can affect the number of viewings they get, and ultimately, the size of any offer.
Of course, this assumes you know how a home needs to be styled for photography and viewings, so if you don’t, these ten tips should help you to appreciate the basics, and also how to find the professional help you may need:
Tip 1 – don’t talk about home staging; they won’t know what it is. Instead, call it ‘home styling’, or ‘property styling’. It’s a much clearer way of explaining what you are trying to achieve with your guidance and advice.
Tip 2 – when you discuss the styling of their home, make sure you explain that your aim is to present their house in the right way for photography and viewings. That way, your clients will understand that the styling has a specific purpose, and is not just to improve their home; a concept they may find disrespectful.
Tip 3 – make sure your clients appreciate that you are not making any kind of judgement about how they live their lives in the house, or their taste in décor. You are seeking to present their home in the best way online, so that they achieve the highest level of interest, and therefore viewings, right from the start.
Tip 4 – ask for permission to share your thoughts and ideas with your vendors. Don’t just blurt out that they need to repaint their living room; as they show you around their home, ask if you can make any suggestions for any tweaks or if you see anything that would be better moved, as you look around. They will always say yes, and in this way you’re not offering unsolicited advice, you have instead sought their permission in advance, and therefore your advice will be received with a greater acceptance.
Tip 5 – as you have the tour with the vendor, choose something very small to mention. Perhaps a cushion, or bed linen. Gauge their reaction, and if it’s positive and appreciative, you can try for a more substantial change, like moving a piece of furniture, or pressure-washing a patio. If you go in too strongly with large requests, you risk alienating the client at a potentially delicate stage of your relationship.
Tip 6 – when you explain to your client what needs moving, and why, describe any items you don’t want in shot as ‘distracting’. This way, you’re not judging any particular item as being good or bad, just as a distraction on a viewing. Explain that each room has one or two special features, and you want the online browsers to notice these, and the viewers to remember them, and not the African ornament, or the full-length nude oil painting. Your clients will be much more receptive to your advice if they understand your reasoning behind it.
Tip 7 – make a list of anything you need to bring with you on the day of the shoot. Bringing a bouquet of flowers is a nice touch, and we always leave them for the client to keep.
Tip 8 – on the day of the photography shoot, arrive early – at least an hour – to make sure the house is properly prepared for the photographer. If you’ve built a firm foundation of trust and advice with your client, you should find the house ready. But just in case it isn’t, you need to allow plenty of time to make sure the photographs that are captured are the best they could possibly be.
Tip 9 – make sure the client is going to be present during the photoshoot. I know it’s tempting to encourage them to go out, but if you do, you’re missing a valuable opportunity for them to see exactly how their house needs to be presented for viewings. Also, once they see the images, if they have been absent, they may feel mildly (or even strongly) insulted by your moving their furniture and accessories. Best to get buy-in right from the start, and begin the relationship on a firm foundation of trust and respect.
Tip 10 – take photos of each room on your phone to remind yourself what needs putting back, where. Also, you can use your phone photos to demonstrate to your client anything that needs moving, and why. It’s much easier to explain using a photo, than pointing at the room in person.
If you’re not sure about how the house needs to be styled, or you don’t feel confident discussing it with your client, maybe it’s time to bring in an expert. Home stagers and property stylists have the skills and experience to deal with often difficult situations, challenging vendors and awkwardly presented houses. So let them tackle the project. If your fee is generous, perhaps you can absorb their cost into your fee. If not, get a fixed fee quote from the stylist and present it to your client. You could agree to add it onto your fee on sale, or if your client is amenable to using a stylist, and appreciates the need for one, they may well agree to cover the fee.
Keep the end in sight – remember why you’re going to these lengths, and what result you’re hoping for. You want the very best for your client, of course, and a good offer to make it all worth the effort expended; but you also want to show off your client’s home, looking amazing online and in your brochure, so that you can demonstrate your property marketing skills to other valuable vendors.
We can help you use home styling to sell homes and win instructions
We can teach you how to style every home so your homes not only stand out above those of your competitors, and get the highest clicks on Rightmove, but also allow you to demonstrate in a very tangible way how skilled you are at styling and marketing, and thus draw to you the very best instructions in your area. Even those that are currently marketed with Savills, Knight Frank or Fine & Country – what we’re going to share with you will beat them all, hands down.
If you’re interested in taking your property styling and marketing to a whole new level, read on….
We want to share with you what we know, the mistakes we’ve made along the way – so you don’t have to! We’re offering you the chance to use OUR experience to YOUR advantage.
But why us?
My partner Phil Jones and I have a combined 17 years’ worth of experience of unique and exclusive property marketing. We’ve worked with over 1000 vendors, 1200 independent estate agents and 150+ industry suppliers, including photographers, home stylists, stagers, designers, copywriters and printers.
In short, we know more about exactly what property marketing appeals to high-fee homeowners than anyone else in the industry.
We’ve built a growing group of the best estate agents in the country who are always sharing their support and ideas including tried and tested bespoke marketing techniques. If you’re wanting to find out more, read on…
There’s only so much you can absorb from reading, and I’m sure you’d much rather learn by getting away from your desk & office and going somewhere nice, right? Well lucky for you we regularly host special Behind The Scenes days here at AshdownJones HQ in the gorgeous Lake District! (Windermere, to be precise.)
These days are specifically designed for you to see how we do things the AJ way, live and in person. You have the rare opportunity to meet and chat to us and our amazing team. We produce the bespoke marketing each and every one of our clients receives when selling their home with us. You can ask all the styling questions you have in person with instant answers and advice!
Securing those high-value instructions that we all strive for is now within your grasp, and we want to help you take that final leap into building the estate agency of your dreams. You CAN do it; we know because we’ve done it too. Using our very own bespoke marketing, to attract and win high value homes, we listed 50 homes in our first year, with a combined listing value of half a million pounds.
Click here to save a space at our next BTS at AJ event. Spaces are limited and we make a promise of no competing agents amongst the day’s attendees.
Did we forget to mention? Lunch is on US!
Here’s some photos from the last Behind the Scenes at AshdownJones Day…
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Sam
P.S. Here’s that link in full to save your spot:
http://www.ajmastermind.co.uk/events
This is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Brief but very precise info… Thank you for sharing this
one. A must read article!