The event started out Friday night with the 2016 exhibitors welcoming our attendees with a trade show. Our 2016 exhibitors included:
- CORT
- Certified Staging Professionals
- Hallmart Collectibles
- Props America
- Staging Studio
- Home Staging Resource
- Botanical Home Collections
- Darby
- The DSA
- The Decorologist
- Forty West Designs
- Pen Ex Insurance
- The Staging & Design Network
- Trade Services which includes: Wayfair|Birch Lane|All+Modern|Dwell Studio
- The Network-America’s Window Covering Buying Network
This year’s attendees were very happy with the addition of several new exhibitors. The exhibitors are reporting they LOVED our attendees as well and are looking forward to doing business with you.
RESA’s CEO Shell Brodnax welcomed our group and spoke to the group about the “power of focus.” This powerful keynote reminded attendees to keep their focus on their own “mastery” as opposed to focusing on what the competition is doing. At the core of her message: By changing your focus, you change your business almost instantly. Shell gave a 2016 Mastery Challenge to the group. Have you completed your Master Mission Statement? Post it on the R
ESA Facebook Group. We would love to have everyone share his or her 2016 Mission Statements.
Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer kicked off our first day with a more than enthusiastic presentation on how to develop a trust relationship with potential clients by using the power of testimonials and social media.
The rest of the day attendees had the opportunity to attend three out of nine available classes. The following industry professionals conducted classes:
- Michelle Minch – Hack Your Home Staging Business
- Angela Brooks Osborne – Pricing, Packaging, and Presenting to Secure the Job!
- Debbie Boggs – Art and Staging
- Kristy Morrison – Set Your Business Up for Success with Systems
- Catherine Lewis-Brown – Stop Wasting Your $$$ Marketing to the Clients You Don’t Want to Work With!
- Audra Slinkey- 7-Steps to Getting Your Marketing on “Auto-Pilot” using Facebook
- Barb Perez – Confessions of a Real Life Stager – How to Manage Your Clients So They Don’t Manage You
- Katie Matthewman – Grow Your Business By Creating a Team
- Julie Young – 2016 Design Trends
In the final session of the day, the group broke up into three groups by number of years in business. They held discussions on real life dilemmas they were all experiencing and provided solutions based on the experience of others in attendance.
Saturday night was the 2016 RESA Home Staging Industry Awards 9th Annual Banquet. The banquet was started with a beautiful tribute to RESA’s Executive Vice President Kathy Nielsen, who passed away in April, and to RESA’s NY State President Jay Hart, who passed away in June. Karen Otto was presented with the Kathy Nielsen Spirit Award for her dedication and efforts in advancing professionalism and excellence in the staging industry.
Leadership awards were presented to honor RESA’s amazing leadership team for the work they do throughout the year.
- Kathy Nielsen Spirit Award – Karen Otto
- Local Chapter of the Year – Massachusetts Chapter
- State President of the Year – Karen Eubank
- RVP of the Year – David Peterson
- National Board Member of the Year – Maureen Bray
- Instructor of the Year – Karen Eubank
- Provincial President of the Year – Lisa McIntee
Awards were also presented in the following categories:
- Top Ten Professional Stagers of the Year, Vacant Category, USA
- Top Ten Professional Stagers of the Year, Vacant Category, Canada
- Top Ten Professional Stagers of the Year, Occupied Category, USA
- Top Ten Professional Stagers of the Year, Occupied Category, Canada
- Top Ten Rising Star Home Stagers of the Year
- Top Ten Home Staging Teams of the Year
- Top Ten Redesigners of the Year
Awards were also presented to:
Professional Stager of the Year – Brad Fletcher
Professional Stager of the Year, Vacant USA – Brad Fletcher
Professional Stager of the Year, Vacant Canada – Red Barrinuevo
Professional Stagers of the Year, Occupied Category, USA – Kara Woods
Professional Stagers of the Year, Occupied Category, Canada – Susi Pereira
Rising Star Home Stagers of the Year – Tianna Woods
Home Staging Team of the Year – studio D
Professional Stager of the Year International – Paula Bullard
Redesigner of the Year – Tina Singh
Most Innovative Product or Service of the Year – The Decorologist
For a full list of all the award winners and their submissions, please click here. For all the photos from our professional photographer Mike, please visit our Facebook photo album by clicking here.
On day two, attendees were able to choose an additional three classes to attend out of nine classes available. The following industry professionals conducted classes:
- Todd McAllister – Day to Day Staging Tips and Tricks – Warehousing & Buying Wholesale
- Shell Brodnax – Trail Blazing Marketing Strategies for Home Stagers
- Shauna Lynn Simon – Operating your mobile business on the road – effectively!
- Karen Otto & Lance Selgo – Staging & Photo Styling, The Big Picture
- Tammie O’Brien – Inventory Management – Getting Down and Dirty
- Sandra Racz – Decorating in the Zone for Selling and Dwelling
- JoAnne Lenart-Weary – The Power of Color – On a Space & In Your Business
- Marianne Cherico – Three Game Changers to Grow Your Staging Business
- Bobbie McGrath – Managing Difficult Clients – It’s Not What You Say It’s How You Say It
Our final keynote speaker was HGTV’s host of Property Virgins and Flipping Virgins, Egypt Sherrod. Egypt shared the importance of how to build a reputable brand and how to create an amazing relationship with agents. Egypt was warm and friendly with plenty of no-nonsense advice for professional home stagers.
Egypt took time to sign her new book, KEEP CALM… IT’S JUST REAL ESTATE:
Your No-Stress Guide To Buying A Home. If you were not able to pick up a copy of her book, please visit www.KeepCalmItsJustRealEstate.com and get your copy today.
Our attendees have given RESACON2016 the highest rating to date!!! RESACON2016 was closed by a special visit from George W., who closed out our event in typical Las Vegas style.
We would like to thank our exhibitors, speakers, and the 300 amazing attendees who made the trip to Vegas for this groundbreaking event. Stay tuned for information on RESACON2017.
- RESA Ambassador Shares Her Experience in Leadership Roles - October 5, 2021
- Making Houses Into Homes For The Holidays - January 10, 2018
- RESA® Phoenix Chapter Holiday Gathering - December 27, 2017
