“Things your real estate agent won’t tell you for fear of offending you”
I had a consult with a potential client earlier in the year. It was obvious that she’d done a lot of de-cluttering, re-arranging and cleaning of her classic Queenslander before I arrived. From the way that she showed me around the house it seemed as though she was almost ready to list. As I walked around the house with her I had my usual inner tussle of thinking, “this house feels dark and dated and I’m not sure buyers will be fighting over it” Vs “she’s done a good job and she loves her house”
I knew that I needed to have a courageous conversation with her. So I had one. It must be so hard to hear a relative stranger tell you that 70% of your furniture needs to go and that this is going to cost money. In the consult she gave me permission to put a plan together of my recommendations which I sent that day. She sent an e-mail straight back saying “thanks for your honest appraisal and your refreshing suggestions” saying she would like to proceed.
It’s hard to unpack what went on in that consult and why my client agreed to my proposal - a mix of showing value, demonstrating a safe pair of hands, idea generation, empathy and understanding, rapport, vulnerability, courage, trust, honesty. It certainly wasn’t about the cushions.
Living room ‘before’ This room felt dark and cramped so I turned it into the dining room
‘After’ as a dining room. I reused some of my clients furniture but lifted and lightened the look and added artwork that was appropriate to the house
‘Before’ The dining room had a lot of heavy timber furniture and was in the largest room so I moved the living room to here and took away a lot of the heavy furniture.
Again, I lightened the look with more contemporary pieces that were still in keeping with the style of the house
After the install my client sent me the following testimonial
“I really appreciated Imogen's refreshing honesty and professional approach to what my house needed for successful marketing. She is not afraid to have "difficult" conversations in the most respectful manner. I would call our conversation: "Things your real estate agent won't tell you for fear of offending you!"
Imogen chose a style to suit my house, key pieces and art and worked hard to make my home look fantastic, ready for buyers to fall in love with. I have no hesitation in recommending Imogen for home staging projects!”
My client raises a really important point. As an agent it is often very difficult to have difficult conversations around the presentation of a property, either because you would like to win or keep the listing and don’t want to rock the boat or because you know that the house doesn’t look quite right but you can’t articulate why and how it needs to change. This is where stylists demonstrate their value. We can have difficult conversations with your clients so you don’t have to in order to deliver a happy client and a house that presents and sells well.
So what happened to the house? Fast forward a couple of months and right in the middle of the COVID pandemic my client was ready to list. The install went smoothly and the house sold at Auction. We’re picking up the furniture this week. A good result all round. I’m so glad I spoke honestly and that my client felt able to listen
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