Rick, could you explain more about what they don’t see value in? They did not re-order. Why?
We would be glad to speak to your clients through the webinar but it also tells me we need to do a better job educating operators as well and operators should also spend time understanding everything that makes an iGuide an iGuide.
If you knew the answer, you would wonder why everyone is not using it.
I don’t know, specifically, why they aren’t ordering it. They just don’t know what to do with the iGuide once they get them. They don’t know how to use them. They don’t know how to create a banner, etc.
Honestly, I really don’t know why this is so hard to understand. We sell them on the iGuide, it’s great we tell them, it’ll get you lots of business we say. Then they get the iGuide and it’s like, now what?
As operators, we really don’t have the time to sit down with them and train them on all of the things you can do with them. As I’ve said before, I don’t even know everything.
It’s a very common thing for the manufacturer to hold regular training webinars in the technology field. This helps educate the end users and helps the people who are selling the service sell more of them.
I don’t get why there is so much push back. It’s something which would benefit ALL operators, which, in turn, benefits Planitar because we’ll sell more iGuides. Two of my builders–DR Horton–the largest in the US–and Dreamfinders–big here in this area–are no longer ordering them. If they were, I’d have almost double the number of iGuides completed. They have no idea what to do with the iGuide once they get it.
Hi Rick. No push back at all. Is a great idea and I will start working on it when I get back.
It would be good to zero in on key issues and address those first.
Are there key topics or concerns that any of you would like to see right away?
Thanks.
The basics:
-How to create an account to log in and do all of these things.
-Working with banners.
-What can they edit on the iGuide?
-Marking a property as sold.
-The measurement tool.
There’s more that I don’t even know to ask about.
I agree that the webinars would be a huge benefit to ALL operators. It would definitely give us an advantage over local competitors as well, giving our customers the feeling that they really do have ongoing resources to learn how to use our tools to the best of their abilities.
We’ve been offering free one hour training sessions for the past few months and I’ve been carrying these out on my own.
Yes, they are time consuming, and can be a headache to squeeze in around our busy schedules. I, for one, have actually really enjoyed the sessions. I’ve sat down with several teams and looked at how they are using the product. EVERY SINGLE TIME, we have found several ways that they could be using it better. It’s also given them a chance to meet me face to face and learn more about me, who I am and where I’m coming from as an entrepreneur. Coming out of these sessions, each client has shown a greater level of respect for my time.
Like Rick says, showing these people how to use the product, the capabilities behind it and what’s available to them is only going to help in the long run for everybody. I can’t imagine being able to produce these on my own in webinar form or short how-to videos. I’ve discussed having somebody else produce them but haven’t taken any concrete steps towards having that done.
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I wish I had time to do this–I used to be a trainer–I just have absolutely no time for anything any more. I’ve got photos processing in the background right now and about to start processing a video. I can’t process the photos for the iGuide I did yesterday (I do some work on the photos in Lightroom before Stitch) because Lightroom is busy processing the 6 shoots I did today (I still have to do 6 iGuides for these shoots today–next week).
Well done Jordan! Not to call you out but you had some incredible success, your first year, last year. We did not know how you would continue to grow, yet you are.
Tools like these to ender yourself to existing clients while winning new ones are great.
We will schedule some webinars, the service I am looking at will hold 49 attendees.
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Just a thought here, but why not use this group to farm out some iGuide post processing work? I’m busy myself, but if there is an operator who might be having a slower time, it might be a way to make a few bucks, and the person that needs the work done won’t have to explain anything.
I wonder about this thing, it’s been discussed before:
I feel like I can do all my post processing work in the same amount of time (almost) as it would take me to upload media for someone else to do it. Which is why I continue to do it.
How long does it take you to process a typical iGuide, including still images?
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I might have missed this along the way. can I make a banner for the address of the house for each individual house? I can add branded material to my MLS. but i can have the addrsss of the home.
Hi Jim,
I hope I was able to answer this question for you on the phone this afternoon!
If you have any more support related inquiries, feel free to email me directly: adriana@planitar.com or use the support section in the iGuide Forum this way your questions/concerns don’t go unanswered.