Stepping on "accredited/certified” stager’s toes…AGAIN!

I've said it before... staging talent is NOT just acquired by sitting in a weekend seminar or EVEN a week-long workshop. I have worked with people that have NO formal training and they have "it".

Real Estate staging is having an eye for symmetry, balance, scale, proportion, and color. It is also a keen and innate talent for marketing and visual merchandising, as well as, having a sense of organization, cleanliness and flow. It is an understanding of sales demographics and how they can impact the "setting" of a property for sale in the market place.

I DO NOT think that what I described above is something one "certifiably" LEARNS in a weekend workshop. I question what the industry is NOW calling "accredtied/certified" stager.

WHERE is the test of one's TRUE understanding of EACH staging skill I describe above? If a Realtor must be tested, if a Mortgage Broker must be tested, and if a Home Inspector must be tested... then why not a Real Estate Stager? If it is an "accredited" SKILL then let's do so, but not by paying $300 to$3,000 and sitting for a long weekend in a hotel conference room. LET'S accredit/certify stagers based on tested KNOWLEDGE and SKILL.

But if for now, one gets in touch with these skills, talents and passions by attending a seminar or workshop ... THEN it is money WELL SPENT. But just because one has spent the money does NOT make them qualified or suited to do what it takes. It only can make them aware to what is possible, but ultimately they need to have TALENT.

I am passionate for providing the public with a service that ULTIMATELY benefits them. I do not want them "bamboozled' by amateurs. It makes my job harder and more importantly ROBS sellers from what REALLY is possible when a professional is hired. It is NOT much different than the argument of what a WELL TRAINED professional Realtor has to offer when compared to a discount broker.

In my opinion (and that is ALL a blog is to be)... "Certified/Accredited" stagers shouldn't be so quick to defend their training... I believe one should be quicker to fight for and defend the benefits staging brings to a seller and make certain EVERYTHING in the industry protects those benefits.

I am not better... I am just ahead of most (not all) other stagers. I learn more and more every day.

Craig