I think I have just created a POST to the forum. Forgive my ignorance. However, it is clearly NOT clear to me if this is how it’s done? Can anyone see this? Please LMK.
Also, we’re interested in HIRING an iGuide trainer - someone close to Northern VT or NH who can spend 1/2 a day showing us how to get started. We have a NEW Planix Pro.
$75/hr?
Save yourself the money. There are a ton of how to videos on the iGuide website. It’s pretty simple really.
You can literately practice scanning any space, your apartment/house/office. I started by scanning my apartment. Realized it was quite easy.
Thanks! I’m setting up and will learn trial and error and from VIDS.
BTW: DO you have a rate sheet you are comfortable sharing. We’re in Vermont - probably not competition, and have no frame of reference for pricing. TY!
Hello! Do you mind sharing your experience with the equipments? I plan to join and try myself. I’m a little bit hesitant because of the hot markets right now. But I feel it is a great service that could help realtors to win differentiation.
I bought last year and it’s definitely good to have for when your clients need it. But I see the need for just Had ohitis right now.
The one’s I am doing are for flippers, builders and commercial business.
The average home to sell, not so much. Unless it’s tenant occupied to reduce foot traffic.
How to advertise locally? I am in Charleston and not sure how to get into this market. How do you target builders and house flippers?
I agree with Gary. You don’t need someone to train you. Just go out and do a property, any property. You will be amazed how simple it is.
A good rule of thumb to start with on pricing is between $8 and $10 a square foot. That is typically where the competition sets their price.
My prices is very simple. Up to 1500 sq ft is $179 to 2500 is $199 to 3500 is $239 and to 4500 is $269. over that I quote. I rarely have anyone complain.
Learn to sell the advantages.
I am contributing – and support gary & peter. I don’t toss many comments, but I feel as I understand where you may be commenting from.
In any learning adventure you wish to do well. We all know this current world is learning via eLearning. Its good & poor sometimes. I do believe mentored learning is good also. iGuide actually is fine via eLearning & self-initiative so you have the basics set as your foundation. Don’t laugh, but when I learned about MPM & DOS and then about Windows 1 it was via heavy self-immersion. At a point, it clicked in my mind and I had a 25+ yr career in tech sales (channels & direct sales, not engineering).
Peter provides a solid frame work of six points that are spot-on.
iGuide is simpler than windows. You can totally play, make mistakes, practice, learn and then feel like you are a Pro. This doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions - You can. And people do share ideas how to solve minor issues. Me – I started with 1600 sqft and have evolved to 7,000+ sqft with multiple floors. You can do it. Believe. -Matt
Really great recommendations on how to market the iGUIDE. These are points I have built into my broker presentation about iGUIDE.
BTW, I think maybe you mean $.08-$.10 a square foot? $.10 x 1500 = $150.00, or another way to calculate is price/sf = price per sf: 150/1500 = .10, so from there you can chose determine much you want to charge a client per sf.
#peter.molley10
iGUIDE bills .03/sf so I’ve calculated my COGs and added a markup to get my price/sf to between $.08-$.12
Where the “Billed by iG” is what they charge me for drafting.
Just go out and do a few, frankly after one you will see what you need to do to improve. The technology is not difficult, it’s the little things you can do to improve the viewer experience that are key.
After my first one I found that line of sight camera placement is important. For example, it is confusing for the viewer if they see that the next click point is through the wall to get to the next room instead of through a doorway.
It’s also important to shoot a pano in any room with a closet, once with the closet open, and once with it closed—open so the drafters can provide proper measurements (then hide this pano from the tour), closed to include in the tour where the viewer doesn’t need to see an open closet door.
Honestly, we would be well served by iGUIDE with a document that has a bullet list of these kinds of tips that then link to further how to discussions. As it is, you have to dig to find these tidbits.
~Jsj
@peter.molloy10 makes some great points about selling iGUIDE. You will find on the iGUIDE support link all kinds of marketing material for operators to use including copy you can put on your website, logos, and pdfs.
https://manage.youriguide.com/support/sw/24
~Jsj
Right, but what if you are the only iguide game in town? Nearest one is 2 hours away.
Jarid, Thanks for catching that oops!! You are absolutely correct. cents not dollars.
For basic real estate I have those fixed prices, but for commercial or greater than 4500 sq foot homes I use the price per square foot. (but being brutally honest, I’m always very flexible. Especially with new clients)
I’m always anxious to try to build more commercial clients, but I need to remember that this is not a hobby. It’s a business. I need to ask for what I’m worth.
You definitely have a big advantage if you are the only iGuide, but don’t push your prices so high that you invite competition to come in and underprice you.
You have a great chance to claim the majority of market share.
Deliver great service and make it as difficult as possible for someone else to take away your clients.
I have a couple of realtors that simply refuse to spend the extra money on a virtual tour. This will happen and it’s been impossible to change their minds (even on $700K + property) The market has been so hot, a few properties sold with only one exterior image on FMLS. Now they think photography and especially virtual tours are not necessary (they also ‘believed’ that this crazy buying frenzy was never going to end…its ending and ending rapidly.
There are also realtors who refuse to use anything but the dreaded ‘M’ word for virtual tours.
Again, we can work on changing their mind, but focus on the people who see the value in iGuide.
Well, the real estate market is already cooling off. I probably do need to lower the price a bit, and try another google adwords campaign.
Before I even tried doing sms campaign for local businesses so they could be part of google earth and no luck. Tried to give away two iguide scans to build up local portfolio and no one even wants the free, no one replied. It was a local business owners sms list that the company provided.
I laugh becasue I made that same mistake when I first set up this calculation, before I realized it couldn’t possibly be dollars per square foot.
~Jsj
Before you spend too much money on Google adwords, this is a people to people business. Get in front of Realtors. Go to open houses and Realtor offices. You will make better connections, faster than you would ever with adwords.
Try looking at recent listings with terrible photos and see if they would like a sample of your work for free.
You don’t have to give away the farm to build a reputation, but a few free shots will give you a great start.
Be careful spending on Adwords and SMS lists and SEO. I have dumped a bunch of money into this myself and had a google search putting me at the top of page one when searching for tour resources, and it had little effect. Word of mouth and me personally reaching out are what has driven most of my business.
@RuslanMTP I agree with @peter.molloy10, you don’t want to push too high; price your services for the market, even if you are the only game in town, and for your value as an operator. Figure out what you want/need to make for your business and the value you bring to your clients—value is the one or two things that make you different, and that provides your client with something special. That’s the key IMHO, the $$s will follow in volume based on referrals.
~Jsj
