When the market slumps or you get stuck with a hard-to-sell property, you may have to ramp up your efforts -- market a little more heavily, spend more time on the phones, pound the pavement, and generate enthusiasm at showings and open houses.

Another strategy is to simply try to make the house look nicer than the rest of the homes in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, when you are dealing with sellers, they are often reluctant to take on much of the work to beautify their homes. When you offer the awkward advice that they need to remove the clutter, clear out their closets and other storage areas, and make their home spotless, many sellers simply think that you expect them to do your job.

One way to get around this situation is to team up with a staging specialist. Brandon Fairbanks of Montecino & Associates Real Estate recently partnered with a home staging specialist in his area to announce free home staging consultations for sellers: a $250 value.

Teaming up with a home stager offers two important benefits. First, if the home is a mess, it saves you from having to break the bad news to the homeowners. The Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) can inspect the home and provide the homeowners with a complete list of what they need to do. Secondly, assuming the homeowners follow the free advice (or hire the ASP to deal with it), you have a much easier job selling the home.

When Montecino & Associates Real Estate signs a listing contract with a seller, one of the first things they do is send in the expert, Teri Lucas, an Accredited Staging Professional, to inspect the premises. Teri enters the home and takes notes as she views the home from the perspective of a prospective buyer. She then prepares a detailed written report that she presents to the seller. This report can be 12 to 20 pages of ideas and suggestions that, if followed, can make the home sell for more money and in less time than if it were not properly prepared for sale.

What sorts of suggestions does an ASP usually make? Here are some tips for properly staging a home:

• Remove the clutter and clear out the closets to make the home appear more spacious and orderly.

• Remove family photos, religious symbols, or any other items that may prevent a visitor from envisioning themselves living in the home.

• Furnish the home, but don't overdo it. A vacant home looks spacious but has no emotional appeal. Add furnishings, so visitors can envision themselves living in the home.

• Bring the outside in. Open the windows if it is nice outside. Bring in fresh flowers and greenery. Steer clear of scented candles, incense, and artificial air fresheners—they can turn off prospective buyers.

• Do a thorough cleaning and dusting to make the home look immaculately clean.

It is a proven fact that staged homes sell faster and for more money. One of Teri's clients had her home on the market for over a year with another agent. After Teri gave her a written consultation and the seller followed all of the suggestions in the report, the home was in escrow four weeks later with a full price offer!

As a real estate agent, you do not have to be a home staging specialist to offer this service to your clients. You can find certified home stages at the following websites:

• Home Stagers at www1.stagedhomes.com

• International Association of Home Staging Professionals at www.iahsp.com

Simply contact a specialist and work out a deal in which you put the home stager in touch with every seller you contract with and pay the stager a nominal fee (typically about $75) to provide the free consultation. If the homeowners do not want to do the work, they can then hire the staging professional to do it, and if the homeowners don't want to pay for it, you may consider paying a portion or all of the staging fees. The important thing is that you get the staging professional inside the home to offer a recommendation. You can then decide how to proceed from there.

Don't let a lackluster housing market get you down. Fight back by offering your clients the tools and resources they need to make their properties more competitive!

Published: May 1, 2008

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Once dubbed by TIME Magazine "the best-selling REALTOR® in America," Ralph R. Roberts, CRS, GRI is an award-winning and internationally recognized real estate agent, author, coach, and speaker. Throughout his career, Ralph has proven his commitment to helping other real estate and sales professionals build upon their past and present success, grow and expand their businesses, and provide a rich and rewarding future for themselves, their customers, their employees, and their families. As president and CEO of Ralph Roberts Realty, Ralph has personally helped thousands of consumers realize their dream of homeownership. While selling over 10,000 homes (and buying and selling over 3,000 investment properties) throughout his 30-year career, Ralph has made the time to mentor and coach hundreds of professionals in real estate, sales, and a host of other fields. Ralph is a recognized authority on Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud; Residential Real Estate; Personal Salesmanship; and, Sales Force and Office Management, Motivation, and Design. Ralph's numerous websites, blogs, seminars, and speaking engagements engage, entertain, and educate both consumers and professionals. Ralph is also an accomplished author with several successful titles to his credit, including: Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Team Mortgage Myths: 77 Secrets That Will Save You Thousands on Home Financing (John Wiley & Sons) Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons) Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud: Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership (Kaplan) Foreclosure Investing For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons) Advanced Selling For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons) Flipping Houses For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons) Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman (HarperCollins) Real Wealth by Investing in Real Estate (Prentice Hall/Penguin Group) Sell it Yourself (Adams Media) 52 Weeks of Sales Success (HarperCollins) To learn more about Ralph, visit AboutRalph.com or check out his daily insights on real estate and mortgage fraud prevention at FlippingFrenzy.com. You can reach Ralph at RalphRoberts@RalphRoberts.com or by calling (586) 751-0000.