What Marissa Cartwright's Credentials Mean for Your Listing
The training behind pricing, presentation, and negotiation, and where each shows up in your sale
September 2026 · 4 min read
Most sellers compare agents on personality, marketing, and commission. Fewer ask what training an agent has completed, or how that training applies to their home. Credentials don't sell a house on their own, but each one represents coursework and practice in a specific part of the process. Here is what Marissa Cartwright's designations mean in plain terms, and where you'll see them in your transaction.
Pricing
Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA)
The PSA certification from the National Association of REALTORS® covers the skills behind a sound list price: choosing comparable sales, building a comparative market analysis (CMA), understanding how appraisers approach value, and reading market conditions such as inventory and absorption. For you, that means a price backed by evidence you can see, and an agent prepared to explain it to buyers, their agents, and appraisers.
Presentation
Staging is where Marissa's training runs deepest, and it's the part of the process sellers most often underestimate. In the National Association of REALTORS®' 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 83% of buyers' agents said staging made it easier for buyers to picture a home as their own.
Accredited Staging Professional® (ASP®)
The ASP® designation comes from StagedHomes.com, the program founded by Barb Schwartz. It trains agents to evaluate a home through two lenses at once, the market and the design, so pricing and presentation are planned together from the first walkthrough.
Certified Luxury Home Staging Specialist (CLHS)
Awarded by the International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP®), this designation focuses on presentation for upper-tier homes, where buyers expect a higher standard of furnishings, art, and finish, and where the details of a room carry more weight.
Buyer Trends Specialist (BTS)
Also from IAHSP®, this designation covers current buyer preferences and how they're shifting, so a home is prepared for what today's buyers respond to rather than what sold several years ago.
Investor Stager Consultant (ISC)
Also from IAHSP®, this designation covers staging strategy for vacant homes, investment properties, and builder spec homes, where the goal is a clear return on what's spent to prepare the property.
Negotiation
Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE®) and Master Certified Negotiation Expert® (MCNE®)
Both designations come from the Real Estate Negotiation Institute (RENI). According to RENI, it is a member of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and draws on negotiation research from around the world in developing its courses. The CNE® is the foundation, covering negotiation across the full transaction. The MCNE® is RENI's highest designation, consisting of six courses in negotiation theory, technique, and real estate application:
- Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE®) Designation Course: a foundational two-day core course.
- Advanced Negotiation Techniques for Listing Agents: a one-day advanced course.
- Advanced Negotiation Techniques for Buyer's Agents: a one-day advanced course.
- Mastering Email Negotiations in Real Estate: a one-day specialized course.
- Cultural Factors in Real Estate Negotiations: a three-hour module.
- Negotiating Across Generations in Real Estate: a three-hour module.
In practice, this training shows up when an offer comes in low, when inspection requests arrive, and when appraisal gaps need to be resolved without losing the deal.
Luxury Marketing
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist™ (CLHMS™)
Awarded by The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, the CLHMS™ requires both luxury marketing training and documented sales experience in the upper tier of the agent's local market. For sellers of premium properties, it signals familiarity with how those homes are positioned, marketed, and shown.
How It Comes Together
- Before listing: a price supported by a documented CMA, plus a complimentary staging and color assessment at every listing consultation.
- On the market: presentation planned for both the listing photos and the in-person showing, with luxury marketing for upper-tier homes.
- At the negotiating table: trained negotiation on price, terms, inspection requests, and appraisal issues.
- Investment and vacant properties: staging calibrated to the return on what's spent.
Credentials are only useful if they change the outcome. Each of these was earned to be applied to a real listing, from the first walkthrough to closing.
Schedule Your Listing Consultation
Contact Marissa Cartwright at Cartwright Realty, LLC, (910) 777-4759, to schedule a listing consultation, including your complimentary staging and color assessment.
Request a consultation or email Marissa directly
Sources
- National Association of REALTORS®, 2025 Profile of Home Staging: www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-05/2025-profile-of-home-staging-05-06-2025.pdf
- StagedHomes.com, Accredited Staging Professional® (ASP®) program
- International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP®), CLHS, BTS, and ISC designations
- Real Estate Negotiation Institute, CNE® and MCNE® designation programs
- The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, CLHMS™ designation
- National Association of REALTORS®, Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) certification
Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information, not legal, tax, lending, or insurance advice. Survey results reflect respondents' reported experiences; individual results vary by property and market.