Home Staging Marketing: Winning Over the Null Set

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

If you remember the null set from your school days, or as likely from your kid’s math homework, you might recall it being used to describe those who did neither a or b but nothing at all.

You put a lot of effort into marketing your home staging services and sometimes get undercut by your competitor, and that hurts.

Marketing is essential in our competitive world, particularly in adverse times. Most people realize it’s all the more important to invest in marketing when times are tough. But do they realize that sometimes the biggest competitor isn’t the gal down the street with that “other” designation, but rather the null set.

In this case, the null set includes the people who come to your web site because they are considering home staging, but then decide to do without.

That’s one of the reasons the little gift or bribe I wrote about yesterday is so effective. If you offer visitors something of value on your web site and then follow up with them; you have a far better chance of getting them to use staging and most importantly your services to stage their home.

If you don’t, it’s like betting your business on one cut of the deck, high card wins.  They either are sold on your services when they see your web site or not.

In contrast, with a little gift, and follow-up you have a chance to continue that conversation for days, until they either say yes or no. You get multiple chances to share with them the value of staging and win their business. You won’t win over the entire null set, but you have a better chance at getting more of them to use your services.

This process is at the heart of the Market Maker system.  Market Maker will be launching very soon. You want to be part of it.

http://homestagingbusinesstips.com/MarketMaker/ComingSoon.html
Now I confess I have been stressing the need to sign up before your competitor does in most of my posts.   And while it’s true that market maker will give you a distinct advantage over your competitor, a good part of that advantage will be in turning members of the null set into customers.  People who otherwise might not have staged at all.

Effective marketing isn’t just about beating your competitor to the job, it’s about getting more people to use your services.  Market Maker does both.

That said, it’s still true that only one home stager will be allowed to join the program from any one telephone area code.  So it’s important that you at least take a good look at Market Maker as soon as possible. And then decide to join or not.  Don’t let your friendly competitor take your option to join away from you by beating you to the punch.

Home stagers who sign up on the advance notice list will get a half hour head start to join and advance notice of the actual start time.  Word to the wise, I would sign up for that head start today.
Market Maker
http://homestagingbusinesstips.com/MarketMaker/ComingSoon.html

Earl Netwal
Micro Business Specialist
www.HomeStagingBusinessTips.com/blog

To get on the advance notice list register your company at
http://homestagingbusinesstips.com/MarketMaker/ComingSoon.html

Technorati Tags: Home staging marketing tips, marketing

Listen to this Audio Post on Why People Aren’t calling you to stage their homes.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Last week, internet marketing expert Frank Kern launched a new product that sold for $2,000 each. In less than 24 hours he sold 2,000 units.  That’s $4,000,000 in one day.  Not too shabby.

Who would have thought you could sell such an expensive product to so many people so fast in today’s economy? How did he do it?  Well, that is actually the information Frank was selling.  How to sell goods and services on the internet.

Part of Frank’s success stems from his willingness to share a good deal of valuable information with his prospects before he launches his product, and I am going to share one of the key tidbits he  offered with you today.

Frank would say there are just three reasons people aren’t buying your home staging services today.

• They Don’t Want It
• No Money
• Don’t Trust or Believe you

They Don’t Want It.

Some never will want your services. And while others just need to be educated a little, it’s a mistake according to Frank to be spending too much time on people who don’t want your services.  Instead look for ways to market to people who do.

No Money

Frank makes a more important point here. While no money may mean no money, it usually means that they don’t want it badly enough.  If people are telling you they don’t have the money, you haven’t yet found a way to increase their desire.   You may need to focus more of your marketing efforts on what’s in it for them.

For your home owner, it may be a higher sales price, or a quicker sales, but it also may be just getting help doing everything that needs to be done to get ready for the big move.

Make sure you are clear on the real motivations of those you have already worked with, and then share these with those you hope to work with.

Don’t Trust/Believe You.

Your prospect needs to not only believe that your services will benefit them, they need to trust that you are someone they can work with.  Someone they like.

While credentials may help, social proof is far more effective. A list of past homes staged, testimonials from happy customers are powerful tools to help bridge the trust gap.  These should be part of your standard presentation.

But in addition, you should find ways to reach out to your prospects and share. Provide them with good useful information, and keep in touch over time.

Little gifts in the form of useful information on how to prepare for a move, provided via luncheon talks to a local church group or social group not only give you visibility and credibility, it offers value.

Little gestures along this line, activate a sense of reciprocity, in which the recipient begins to feel a bit of an obligation to return the favor.  This can lead to you at least getting a chance to bid a project.

I recommend that home stagers web sites offer a free gift that viewers can download, and then follow up with over time with a series of additional tips. This helps build that reciprocity response, and more importantly helps build a sense of friendship. And we tend to trust our friends.

Technorati Tags: Home Staging, Home staging marketing tips, Internet marketing, marketing