Are You a Tweaker?
by Jennie Norris, ASPM, IAHSP-Premier, SRS, REO
Owner, Sensational Home Staging
Helping Sellers and Realtors Achieve their Goals since 2002
No. I am not asking if you
are a Meth-head. I am referring to
Staging.
Are you a Tweaker when it comes to your
hands-on Staging projects? Whether occupied or vacant home Staging
projects, I have encountered Staging Tweakers – and the fact is Tweakers lose
profit and drive themselves insane because they just don’t know when to stop!
I have witnessed Tweakers in
action during the many Staging projects I have supervised both as a Trainer and
as a Company owner. These are the people
that adjust an item over and over – moving it slightly here, slightly
there. Taking it away. Bringing it
back. Agonizing over whether the items
they are using are “right.” Making
changes to the finished product repeatedly.
Even driving back to the house once the Staging is done to adjust things
one more time.
When I have my Staging Crew
– I make it clear up front that we need to execute the plan in each room and
move on.
If I find I have brought a tweaker with me I have to do an intervention. I need to step in and let them know what
they’ve done looks great – and let’s move on to the next area. As compelled as they are to go back and
adjust, they are not allowed to do that.
I say we need to lovingly help Tweakers to help them
get away from tweaking. The reason I feel strongly about this is I
want my colleagues to earn the MOST from the Staging creativity and
expertise. When we start tweaking beyond
what is truly needed, time does not stop and we may end up taking much longer
in a room or house because of our need to make it “perfect” versus sticking to
the plan.
Here are the steps you need to take to
get out of Tweaker mindset and in to a Stager business mind set.
1. Understand that Time is Money. If you need
more explanation on that just read my blog post on that principle and it will
become clear.
2. You have to
make a plan and stick to that plan. It’s not that things cannot change once you
get into the Staging and another great idea pops into your head – the key is to
settle on the final product and be happy – and move on. When the Staging is done, it’s done. Think about if you finish earlier than
planned? That is a good thing – you have extra time for yourself and made more
than you planned!
3. You need to
ask yourself, “Will my adjusting this item from where it is right now really
make a difference in the Staging?” If the honest answer is yes – then by all
means do it. If the answer is no and you
are just over-analyzing the room and Staging - STEP AWAY FROM THE ROOM. And Move on to the next area to be Staged.
4. I think we
all need to “tweak” our Staging just not to extremes – the final product to assess how it looks from the
doorway – are tags showing on pillows, is the comforter straight, are the
chairs placed in the right spot? But
taking it to extremes reveals a compulsion in some of us that we need to stop. Because it is costing you money. It is costing you sanity.
The fact is whether the
plant is 3 inches to the right or left really is not going to make a difference
in the Staging. Whether a picture is
hung 3 inches to high or low or too far to the right or left WILL make a
difference – so fix it.
5. Be
Confident in Your Staging. Staging styles differ with some Stagers bringing in a
lot of décor and others bringing in more minimal – and the key is whatever you
decide to put in a room, on a surface, on the wall – you need the CONFIDENCE to
know it looks great and give yourself permission to move on. Just who do you think is coming in the
room? I will tell you who isn't - the
Staging Police – who will slap the letter “L” on your forehead because you did
something “wrong” in your Staging!
If your challenge is about
confidence in your work, then I recommend shadowing with an experienced Stager
and study the before/after photos of Staging projects to really understand what
it takes to be successful.
6. Final Stamp
of Approval. At some point in all our Stagings we need to
give the stamp of approval for the room and move on. Never drive back to a house because you saw
some small “flaw” (to you) in the photos.
Remember that Staging makes an overall impression on the Buyer and very
few are really scrutinizing what was done close up – unless they want to go
into the biz. Some Stagers bring an iron
to all their projects and take out all the wrinkles in fabric as they make the
bed. I say, get bedding that does not
wrinkle! I have a steamer and will use
it as needed but when our budget it tight and we need to stick to the clock I
am not whipping out an iron to get rid of wrinkles when I can avoid them from
the start by bringing products that make me most efficient.
In summary, Staging is
subjective and we have guidelines for what we know works for both process and
presentation. Simply follow those
guidelines and have confidence in YOU and your creative talent. That
is the cure for tweaking.
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