How This Home Stager Grew Her Consultations by 300%

For Massachusetts home stager Jennifer Lemaire, psychology and home staging go hand-in-hand. To many people, going from pediatric occupational therapy to home design may not seem like a natural transition, but to Jenn, it made perfect sense.

Master Home Stagers design listings with the psychology of the buyer in mind. In fact, at Staging Studio, we teach that home staging is part decorating, part marketing, and part psychology.

“That’s something I really liked about the Staging Studio Design Professional® course," Jenn said. “They really do talk a lot about the psychology of the buyers and how to use that to make better recommendations for your sellers.”

Jenn is so right! Knowing the psychology of the buyer and being able to reflect that in your staging will make a world of difference. Here are 5 simple home staging secrets that we teach our experts to give you a sneak peek.

Something home stagers and real estate agents have to understand is the emotional side of purchasing a home. When a buyer is looking at pictures or walking through the home, the appearance is speaking directly with the limbic system. This is the brain’s seat of action, the deep central core of the brain.

It’s responsible for adrenaline flow, emotion, sense of smell, pleasure, memory, motivation, and behavior, making it the decision maker for emotional response. Then, the cerebral cortex kicks in trying to justify those decisions – like whether or not to buy a home – with logic.

With her understanding of psychology like this, and her eye for creative design, staging was the perfect fit for Jenn. In 2018 she took a jump and became a Staging Design Professional™, and soon after earned her Master Color Consultant® certification.

“Every homeowner is different, their goals are different," Jenn explained. "Once I’m gauging where the buyers are coming from, I can make better recommendations. The psychology background really helps with that.”

As home stagers, we want buyers to have an emotional connection to the property so they will be committed throughout the purchasing process, including issues like repairs and low appraisal.

Home staging creates that deep emotional connection that gets buyers to the closing table, even through setbacks. In fact, over a quarter of buyers (27%) are more willing to overlook property faults in a staged home, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Around 5 years into the business, Jenn and her assistant Sarah Burianek made the trip to San Antonio for hands-on staging training.

Already a successful stager, Jenn was a little skeptical about the master class.

“I thought it would be for beginner stagers only and I wasn’t sure how much I would get out of it," Jenn said.

Despite her reservations, Jenn decided to make the trip to learn how to use Stageforce, organize her warehouse, and other inventory strategies. At the end, she came away with far more than she imagined.

Jenn said, "My consultations are up 300% now!"

Here is our interview with Jenn:

Staging Studio: What did you learn at Master Class and how have you implemented it in your business?

Jenn: We had a workshop on social media that was so helpful. How to use home staging hashtags, when to post, how to post. I adapted my social media using their recommendations and it’s already starting to garner new business.

Since the master class, we have started implementing the systems we learned. I bit the bullet and got Stageforce. We are looking to hire new team members, and I want to be sure that I am the person driving the business forward, and the other pieces can be implemented by my team.

SS: What advice would you give to other home stagers whose businesses are experiencing rapid growth?

J: It’s really about systems. You need to have systems in place to make sure you can handle the growth in a way that’s not overwhelming.

Have an inventory system, have a team that is well-trained, works well together, and knows what they’re trying to do in each house. I am talking through the goals of each house with the team before they go in, so I know that they are doing the best job for the homeowner's end goal.

SS: You stage in Massachusetts. What makes your market unique? What did you learn from other stagers across the country at the Master Class?

J: One of the unique things about our market is that it’s not really saturated yet. There is still room to grow here as a stager, which is fantastic.

There are definitely new stagers coming around who I’m seeing on social media. They’re becoming successful and I love to see it. A rising tide lifts all boats!

I think the thing that really stood out for me with the stagers that I met around the country was just how resilient they were. It was really inspiring.

Staging is such a unique industry because the majority of the people starting staging businesses don’t have a business background, which is terrifying.There are so many things you don’t know. How to bill, get insurance – there is so much information you need to start out.

The people who self-select to be stagers are OK with failure and learning from it. I think it’s so important to learn from people who come before you. And I love that Staging Studio has all these different pieces of education to help you with each part of your business.

You can be like Jenn and grow your business with our proven strategies, too! Join our next the Staging Studio Master Class.