Diplomacy is key!

I just happened across the website of a designer/stager today and saw something that I found a bit surprising. In her gallery of photos, she highlighted a photo of a kitchen redesign she completed for a home that was having trouble selling. In her verbiage, she said "The client was told by her real estate agent that she would need to install granite countertops and tile floor in order to sell quickly. We disagreed and made the above changes and the house sold within 3 weeks of the first Open House!"

I was shocked to see that this stager was openly advertising that she disagreed with her clients' Realtor. I'm not shocked that it happened, as on occassion a Realtor and stager might have a differing opinion on a staging strategy -- but to advertise that does no good for our industry, or her staging business.

Just for the record, if you're a Realtor reading this, a good stager's talent should go far beyond their design expertise and their real estate knowledge. Diplomacy and people skills are key. A key part of a real estate stagers job (or any vendor a Realtor recommends) is to help Realtors grow and strengthen their business. That doesn't always happen through the act of staging. It also happens through the facilitation of relationship and trust building between the seller, the Realtor and the stager. A happy seller/client = strong businesses, more referrals and a rewarding experience for all involved. I know that I hold each and every vendor we hire to the same standards as I would an employee we hire. We have mutual trust, respect and a common goal. The same holds ture for the Realtor/Stager relationship!