Last night, I did something really fun, and certainly worth blogging about.

Phyllis Patterson is a colleague at Coldwell Banker, and she works out of their Old Town Office in Alexandria, VA. She hired my chamber group to help “stage” a house she’s just listed for a very different kind of Open House.

Here are the basics of what she did:

First, it’s a beautiful home – new construction in Wellington, a neighborhood of the George Washington Memorial Parkway north of Old Town.

Second, Diane Duston, who staged this home, used a minimalist approach I love. Her staging does not distract, but it does help the prospective buyers imagine how they would live in the house.

Third, the food (Diane also did the catering) was fresh, simple and delicious. There was lots of good wine, Perrier (for all those designated drivers and the flute player), interesting cheese and fruit.

Fourth, she (for the second time) hired my chamber group to play background music (we played Haydn, Mozart, and Telemann). We were staging an empty room with amazing acoustics that made me sound like maybe I really had studied flute with Julius Baker and Jean-Pierre Rampal!

Fifth, and this is the really smart part for Phyllis, she sent out 150 invitations to neighbors, friends, colleagues and her past clients. And guess what? They must love her, because the place was packed by about seven o’clock! So, with this event, she was telling the neighbors “This is the kind of thing I do to market my listings,” and to her old clients, “Come have fun and see this fabulous house I just listed!” Do you think her colleagues might have gotten a little listing envy? And, who knows, I’ve had a lot of neighbors pass the word on to the people who actually bought some of my listings. She could easily get lucky!

Every year, I throw a huge party for friends and clients (most are in both categories) at my own home. And for many people in my client base, this is the only time of the year I really get a chance to see and talk to them. Now, I’m rethinking things. Next time I list something as fabulous as Phyllis’s new listing - it’ll be party time!

This is the second Open of this type that Phyllis has done this year, and I was left thinking that she is a master of multi-tasking when it comes to combining marketing, schmoozing and keeping up with her past clients in a way that they will never forget her! She really did kill a flock of birds with one brilliantly thrown stone!

And to my friends and clients who may be reading this, don’t worry! I’m still going to have my annual Christmas party – assuming the contractors have completed my bathrooms by then!