The 5 Money-Smart Steps of a Home Staging Consultation

Getting a home staging consultation is probably one of the best kept secrets in the real estate market. Instead of wasting money on updates you hope buyers will like, imagine having an experienced professional essentially hand you a cheat sheet to success.

Sounds easier, right? Not to mention better for your ROI!

This is exactly what a home staging consultation does for you. But first, what is home staging?

What is Home Staging?

At its heart, home staging is strategic marketing. We all know that a company wouldn’t expect great sales if they never invested in marketing their product, and the same is true for homes. 

To get the highest offer for your property, we need to prepare the home in a way that entices target buyers, addresses their needs, and offers the lifestyle they dream of living.

THAT is home staging. And it all starts with that home staging consultation I mentioned...

What Happens During a Home Staging Consultation?

If home staging is the design and preparation of the home, your consultation is the strategy session. Some people might think that a consultation includes us coming out to your property and walking around to see it, but this barely skims the surface.

Here are the 5 steps of this action-packed session, and yes, they all prioritize your ROI:

1. Understanding your home’s target buyer and the features they’re looking for most

First things first: identifying your target buyer. In any marketing or business plan, the target buyer (or client) is the center point that EVERYTHING else focuses on. If you’re not serving people well, you’ll have a hard time succeeding. We take this same approach to preparing your property.

Maybe your property is located in a great Dallas school district and is ideal for families. Or maybe it’s in a neighborhood that consistently attracts business professionals. We’ll do the research for you in advance of our home staging consultation to identify the buyer most likely to meet you at the closing table!

2. Identifying the home’s best features and how to play them up to your advantage

Now, we use our knowledge of your target buyer as the lens through which we assess your property. What features will attract that target buyer most? Which are less important? Are spare rooms better presented as a home office or a child’s bedroom? Is creating an open concept floor plan going to sell your home for $20K more and in the blink of an eye? (Sometimes, that’s the case!) 

Once we’ve identified the home’s best features, we can make a plan for any updates and design options.

3. Discussing your budget for updates and home staging

Next, we’ll talk about your budget and how much you plan to invest in preparing the home for sale. I can give you all of my best suggestions for updates that will sell your property (#4 below), but if these updates don’t fit into your investment strategy, there’s no point. 

In other words, we take your ROI very seriously, have decades of experience with budgeting, and an MBA to boot. We’ve got your back.

4. Providing a consultation for updates that raise value

Combining all of the information above, we’ll offer suggestions for updates that will raise the perceived value of your home, promote a fast sale, and support your ROI. Updates could include fresh paint, a new color palette, small or large repairs, updated lighting or materials, etc. 

We’ll also advise you on which updates AREN’T worth the time or money. Waste not. 😉

5. A home staging design that depicts the lifestyle your target buyers want

The last piece of the puzzle is a layout of furnishings and accessories that paint a picture of the dream lifestyle your target buyers want. This includes the look, flow, functionality, and livability. We’ll create a home staging plan for you that checks all of these boxes... and has the wow-factor!

So, what do you think? Did you know that ALL THIS happens during one home staging consultation? Most of our clients are surprised by just how much we do, too!

It’s also worth mentioning that if you decide to stage your home with us, we credit the cost of the home staging consultation back to you. Just another way we uphold our mission of stewardship, integrity, and trust. 🙂

I’ll close out this post here for now, but you can book a discovery call with us here or download our free guide to profitable staging here.

Until next time, here’s to your most profitable sale!

Keti