By opening up its business opportunity beyond home staging and management, Showhomes turned in two of its best months in brand history in May and June.

When you’re a brand in the business of transformation like franchise Showhomes, it’s nice to treat yourself once in a while. The brand took the opportunity to do just that in 2019, expanding its core offering beyond just home staging and management into the design updates and renovation space. The result? Two of the best months in the brand’s 30-year history in May and June, indicating Showhomes’ evolution into a full-service solution for real estate professionals and homeowners alike.

“We've had a major repositioning over the last few years by moving from one revenue stream to four,” said Showhomes COO Matt Kelton. “It’s taken some time to turn it up, engage our entire franchise system and roll out our new services—this is the culmination of many years’ work.”

It’s clear that work has paid off, as evidenced by a year-over-year sales increase of 59% in June 2019, best in the brand’s history. Fresh off of that systemwide success, Showhomes held its annual conference in Nashville, where it honored the franchisees and home managers that helped get the brand put such a crooked number on the board. 

The Showhomes franchisees honored at the 2019 conference included:

• Best in Home Manager Staging – Frederick and Lorraine Pierson or Showhomes Raleigh, North Carolina

• Best in Traditional Staging Design – Portland West Catherine Chandler

• Best Makeover Design – Barbara Bliss of Showhomes North Shore-Barrington, Illinois 

• Best Update Design – Michael Callahan of Showhomes Fox Valley, Illinois 

• Showhomes Ambassadors – Lisa and Chris Gulliver of Showhomes San Diego, California

• Shooting Star (Largest year-over-year increase in sales revenue for 2018) – Allyson Piccolomini and Monica Estes of Showhomes Main Line, Pennsylvania

• Rising Star Franchise of the Year (Open less than 12 months) – Catherine Chandler of Showhomes Portland West, Oregon

• Franchise of the Year – Marisa Salas of Showhomes Coral Gables, Florida

Nancy Jones is another Showhomes franchisee who has played a role in the brand’s continued success, particularly of late. As one of the early adopters of the brand’s newest revenue streams, Jones is experiencing incredible results taking on new projects in the newest segments of her business—in fact, Jones is trending toward having one of the biggest years on an individual basis sales-wise in brand history. She set the Showhomes record for highest monthly revenue in June 2019, a feat she attributes to two well-timed projects that increased significantly in scope as a result of her expertise and insight.

“Both turned into huge design and renovation projects, each of which came through referrals,” she said, noting that she’s learned to approach traditional staging projects much more open-minded as a result of Showhomes’ broadened offering. 

“There’s so much opportunity—with the exception of a brand new house, every home needs some sort of update to sell better,” Jones continued. “The biggest thing to impress upon homeowners is that making the necessary updates on the front end will save them three times what the same project would cost them in buyer discounts in the process of the sale. For me, helping my clients explore all of the options available to them through our services helps them see me as a resource, allowing them to trust me to help them get the best ROI in the selling process.”

The success that Jones and other Showhomes franchisees have seen thus far is something Kelton hopes will achieve systemwide buy-in, effectively taking the brand to a new level of performance come 2020. 

“I think the results we’ve seen so far will play a huge role in bringing increased awareness to our expanded service offerings and encourage our franchisees to expand their businesses at the local level,” he said. “2019 is a pivotal moment for Showhomes to fully embrace our new identity as a full-service home design, staging and remodeling solution. We’re starting to work with builders and real estate entities around the country, forging the necessary partnerships to take Showhomes to the next level and gain considerable market share in an industry worth $100 billion and growing."