So I'm better off than Elvis, but not quite on par with Tiger (no pun intended).  What's a Stager (or Realtor) to do?

I went to an evangelism conference at my church Monday night.  The keynote speaker, trying to encourage the pastors, told us a great story regarding Van Cliburn, the world renowned pianist.  In case your are not familiar with Van Cliburn, here are the basics:

• he was a child prodigy
• first performed at the age of 4
• played a performance of Tchaikovsky with the Houston Symphony Orchestra at age 13
• at age 14, performed at Carnegie Hall
• graduated from Juilliard with top honors
• won numerous competitions and played major concert halls
• has played for royalty, heads of state, and every president of the US since Harry Truman
• etc., etc., etc.

Where am I going with this?  In his home he has a grand piano in every room.  Every night he puts on full concert dress, sits down at one of those grand pianos, and plays the scales!  Yes, this man who was a child prodigy, an honored graduate of Juilliard and has played for presidents and kings still plays the scales every night!

So what's the point?  In this economy, or any economy; whether you're at the top of your game, or just starting out; if you're young or old, you must NEVER STOP doing the rudimentary, elementary, everyday things that lead to success.  If Van Cliburn at age 74, with all of his accolades, is still playing the scales every night, then I'm going to get back to doing all the little things that add up to a lifetime of success. 

Yes, Elvis is dead, Tiger is back, and I'm sitting down to play scales again.  Care to join me?

I am both an accredited home stager and a licensed agent, but not selling.  (I was thrown under the bridge one too many times early in my illustrious RE career and decided I didn't have the stomach for it, but I digress.)  The point is, I know the business from both sides.  As a home stager, may I be so bold as to remind you of something I share with other agents when I give home staging presentations in RE offices?  They always seem to appreciate hearing this.  Here it is.

The online photographs of your listed properties are MUCH more important than your virtual tours.  Do you know why?  Because the photographs pop up instantly on the page, whereas the VTs take time to load.  If those shopping on the internet for a home are unimpressed with the pictures, they are not going to waste time by waiting for the VTs to come up.  They have clicked on to the next listing.

Forgive me if I've insulted you by mentioning the obvious, but many agents I come across don't seem to have thought through that one.  I want you ALL to know how much I admire you by being steadfast agents in a very tough market.  I wimped out, but landed where I am happy and feel I can do the most good.

I'm leaving you with a couple of recent before & after shots.  Please partner with your local home staging professional to help you get your next listing sold!  Thanks for listening.