In this episode of Stay Paid Real Estate Marketing, Luke Acree and Joshua Stike sit down with guest Krisztina Bell, a seasoned real estate agent and professional home stager. With nearly two decades of experience, Krisztina shares her insights on building a successful home staging business, fostering collaboration with partners, and using education as a tool to generate leads and strengthen professional relationships. From creating paint color charts with industry giants to developing meaningful connections with fellow stagers, Krisztina highlights key strategies that have fueled her long-term success. Tune in to learn how consistency, collaboration, and a client-first approach can elevate your real estate marketing game!
Podcast Transcript
Luke Acree:
Welcome to Stay Paid Real Estate Marketing. Unlock the secrets of success in the real estate world where each episode delivers valuable tips and strategies to elevate your marketing gain and help you succeed in both life and business. Brought to you by Reminder Media.
Joshua Strike:
Welcome to Stay Paid Real Estate Marketing. I’m Joshua Stike, along with Luke Acree. And our guest today is Krisztina Bell. Krisztina is a Georgia real estate agent and professional home stager owning two Atlanta-based companies. No Vacancy Inc. and Virtually Staging Properties Inc. Her work can be seen on HGTV shows such as House Hunters and the Property Brothers, as well as featured in Realtor Magazine, New York Times, truly.com, and many, many others. Christina, welcome to Stay Paid. Thank you so much for being here.
Krisztina Bell:
Thank you guys for having me.
Luke Acree:
Krisztina, we are excited to have you on the show. Josh, you missed something in the intro. She’s one of our biggest fans.
Joshua Strike:
Biggest fans.
Luke Acree:
Maybe not of Josh and I podcast, one of our longest time listeners, one of our longtime listeners. Christina is amazing. We I guess got to know you through the podcast and just reaching out, I think through social media and that’s stuff, and then got to know you a little bit more over the years. You’ve had me come and speak to your group. We want to talk today about you’re a master relationship builder and networker and especially around this topic of collaboration marketing. How do you collaborate to grow two businesses at one time in a way with partners naturally that are synergistic to your business. So it’d be awesome to hear that, but I would love for you to share with people your story of how you got into home staging, how that business even developed.
Krisztina Bell:
Sure. So basically, believe it or not, would you believe it’s 19 years in the home staging business? My husband and I have been staging vacant properties all over Atlanta and have built relationships with, of course, real estate agents, builders, developers.
Luke Acree:
Do you know Glenda Baker?
Krisztina Bell:
Yeah, well, I haven’t met her formally, but I do know of her and yes, I think she’s awesome. She very much likes to express her opinions, but I love her videos and she tells it like it is. I go, you tell ’em, Glenda, because that is so true and people don’t understand that there’s a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes that people don’t really understand and know about in the real estate market, and you just have to be smart and knowledgeable. And sometimes these sellers, I’ve seen some sellers get duped or have worked with unprofessional real estate agents and you really need to interview and be on it and really be knowledgeable about it before you buy or sell a home.
Luke Acree:
1000%. But yeah.
Krisztina Bell:
She’s fun.
Luke Acree:
So you got into the business 19 years ago and obviously it probably wasn’t an overnight success. Most businesses are not. It’s a long term of consistency and grind. What has been the thing that you look back over the 19 years as you’ve built the business from an actual entrepreneur standpoint, what have been some of the key things that have helped you grow the business?
Krisztina Bell:
Sure. The one thing that I’ve learned ever since working retail was the customer always comes first and the customer experience needs to be positive from the beginning even to the end. And secondly is listening is so key. I mean, especially in sales things. I’m not a good negotiator. My husband is the negotiator person, but I am really good. I pick up on things like it’d be nice if I had a photographer, do you have somebody you could refer to help me list my property, or I really need somebody to come out, look at my property.
It’s these days you’re going to start to see that corporations are wanting people to have that experience and it’s all about customer experience. And it used to start in person. It still kind of does if you get out there, but nowadays it starts online. It’s on your website. I mean, I didn’t even really think about that, but the customer service experience literally starts as soon as they land on your website. And so what are you providing them? And now that we have social media, a lot of people need to push the limits now and expand their marketing. It’s not just in person anymore. Now you have to keep it. Also biggie, biggie thing is consistency. That is my big thing. I always keep it consistent every time I don’t go, all my friends are like, you just keep doing the same thing. I’m like, yes, because it works.
Luke Acree:
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Krisztina Bell:
I don’t go out of my zone. I don’t do design. I don’t offer other various types of home staging services. I stay in my lane, so to speak. And that’s definitely helped me quite a bit.
Luke Acree:
That is a golden nugget right there, the idea of staying focused. We have a multitude of products now at Reminder Media, but our flagship product is a customizable magazine. I mean, you’re a client of ours, and I never realized us sticking to the magazine for the first 13 years, 14 years of the business, it felt at the time we were missing out on so much opportunity. But now that we’re on the other side of the coin, where we’ve done now a bunch of other products, I realized it actually was a superpower of ours, of staying focused, only selling the magazine, only staying in that referral lane. Once we started adding geographic farming and paid advertising and email marketing and social media—all good things—they added so much complication to the business, and I honestly do not believe we would be here today if we would’ve done that five years into the business. I think it would’ve eroded the business. So, I think that’s such a valuable nugget that you’re saying there.
Krisztina Bell:
Yes. The other thing that we’ve really done is focused on the customer, because I’m like, okay, this is great, we’re doing marketing, the jobs are coming in, but what more can I do? And you had mentioned, I really started to go back to, it’s actually funny, my brother and I… because I lost my brother, and he and I worked really well because we collaborated. So, he worked basically for senior living communities, and we were bringing them out of bankruptcy. I was the behind-the-scenes marketing director, so to speak, and helping him do that. And what we did was collaborate. We were like, okay, marketing director, go out, check out the competition, maybe go talk with the competition, maybe even take them to lunch. So that’s what I did last year here in Atlanta with my staging company. I thought, you know what? Maybe this is a good idea. I really would like to know what these other stagers are doing.
Some of my friends are getting out of the business, some are going in different directions, some are getting older, and then there are some newbies that have come into Atlanta. So, I thought, you know what? I’m just going to call them up and say, “Hey, let’s go to lunch. I want to know what you’re doing, what I can do for you, what kind of business you’re getting.” Because I would like to get more referrals and start building more of that business and getting it from other avenues besides my website. We’ve built that relationship and reputation, but how else can I tap into other avenues in case the economy takes a downturn tomorrow? You never know what’s going to happen.
We also collaborated with a nonprofit organization, and that really took us to another level. I think that really showed agents and even our clients that we do care about our business and we do care about their business. But look what you guys are helping us do to give back to the community. We decorate homes for families that are coming out of homeless shelters. It’s an amazing organization; it’s called furnishwithlove.org. They’re in their third year going on their fourth year, and they actually asked me to help with business development. I said, “Oh my gosh, I have so much on my plate, but I’ll try to see if I can get some sponsors for you.” But I do raise money, and we decorate one home every year. I collaborate with some of my stagers… not competitors—I like to call them colleagues. I stay in my lane, in the neutral zone here.
Luke Acree:
That’s a great way to frame it.
Krisztina Bell:
It’s worked out really well. They’re like, “Oh Krisztina, do you mind if we be a part of your project?” And I’m like, “Sure.”
Luke Acree:
Have you guys fed each other referrals since making that phone call?
Krisztina Bell:
Yeah. So, a lot of lunches and some dinners, and now some of us refer business back and forth. It helps solve problems too, because collaboration marketing can be kind of a problem solver. It can save you time and marketing costs when you join forces with other companies that have the same values and goals as you. That’s the thing—it’s a gut feeling. I didn’t just randomly call up an organization. Someone talked about it, I heard about it, I thought about it, and I stewed on it. Then I thought, you know what? I think it really is a good fit for me. That’s the thing—are these other stagers people I feel comfortable referring business to? Do I feel comfortable taking on their client if I need to be a backup?
Luke Acree:
These people are in your zone. You didn’t even go outside of your zone. You literally called the competition that’s in your zone where you live.
Krisztina Bell:
Yeah, I know who the other stagers are. We’ve gone out to lunch and dinner, we’ve become friends, and we do refer business to each other.
Luke Acree:
It sounds like corporate espionage on the highest level. I love it.
Krisztina Bell:
We share costs, and sometimes it’s like doing a behind-the-scenes market analysis, but in a different way.
Luke Acree:
It’s an audit.
Krisztina Bell:
Yeah, exactly—an audit. I think that’s what’s allowed us to stay successful for 19 years. You have to keep marketing. You thought about calling these people, and you took action.
Luke Acree:
So, as far as marketing goes, staging is such an amazing tool that agents can use to showcase the value they bring to the table—especially if they can get before-and-after photos. Those make great posts for social media. Are your agents using that approach, and is it helping them attract more business?
Krisztina Bell:
Oh, absolutely. It shows potential clients that staging can help sell a home faster and possibly for a higher price. That’s what we promote. In fact, I’m going to the International Association of Home Staging Professionals conference in Vegas in a few days. What I’ll be telling people there is that it’s not so much about working for your clients anymore; it’s about working with them. I’ve always believed in teamwork—whether it’s with other stagers or with clients. Agents want quick, professional results because it also reflects well on them when they’re working with vendors who are on top of things.
Luke Acree:
It sounds like you’ve mastered the art of follow-up too.
Krisztina Bell:
Yes, I’ve forced myself to become good at following up, even though I hated it at first. Now I joke with my clients, saying, “Hey, it’s me, your personal secretary, just checking in on the progress.” Sometimes I have to call and bug people because things don’t get done otherwise. It’s all about being proactive.
Joshua Strike:
Yeah, that’s the only way to get things done sometimes.
Luke Acree:
Talk about your virtual staging business. You mentioned earlier that you started that back in 2008.
Krisztina Bell:
Yes, we started the virtual staging business during the economic downturn when people didn’t have the budget for traditional staging. Virtual staging allowed us to digitally place furniture and décor into photos of vacant homes. It’s still a service we offer, but people generally prefer physical staging. With the rise of AI, virtual staging might evolve further, but we’ve stayed in our lane by focusing on vacant properties and avoiding things like digitally changing wall colors or flooring, which can be deceptive to buyers. My husband and I have real estate licenses, so we strictly follow the code of ethics.
Luke Acree:
That’s smart. You don’t want to get into trouble with the National Association of Realtors.
Krisztina Bell:
Exactly. I also write blog articles for the National Association of Realtors about design trends and staging tips.
Luke Acree:
It seems like you’ve built your success by using education as a bridge to form connections. You’ve done webinars, CE courses, and you even write for NAR. It’s a brilliant model for relationship building.
Krisztina Bell:
Yes, it’s been a consistent effort. You always have to keep marketing, even when things are slow. I remember during COVID, we were stuck at home, and you suggested calling up clients just to say hi. That was a great idea, and it inspired me to host a webinar. I even hired someone to teach me how to use Zoom. Now I’ve done hybrid CE classes, which are tricky, but it’s been worth it. You have to stay in front of your clients because real estate agents have so many other vendors trying to work with them.
Luke Acree:
That’s a great takeaway for our listeners. Every agent could partner with a stager, lender, or even a local Sherwin-Williams store to offer free education. It takes effort, but if done consistently, it can generate leads and strengthen relationships.
Krisztina Bell:
Exactly. It’s all about taking action. You can’t wait for things to happen—you have to make them happen.
Luke Acree:
Nothing great is built overnight. Your 19 years of consistency and dedication are proof of that. Congratulations on all your success. I know you’re nervous about speaking at the conference, but you’ll do great.
Krisztina Bell:
Thanks! I’ll definitely take your advice about recording myself and practicing in front of the camera. That’s a great tip.
Luke Acree:
You’ll crush it. Thanks so much for being on the podcast. Let people know how they can connect with you.
Krisztina Bell:
They can visit my website at novacancyatl.com or find me on social media under @krisztinabell. I’d love to collaborate with anyone interested in real estate or staging.
Luke Acree:
Let’s do it. Thanks again, Krisztina.
Joshua Strike:
Thank you, Krisztina. And thanks to everyone for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone you know. You can also find show notes and resources at staypaidpodcast.com. Until next time, take action!
