Hi

Inspired by previous threads and a wish to expand my business to going full time I will try and target High End realtors in Denmark. Meaning realtors selling properties of 1mil USD and more.

The problem in Denmark is that the realtor market is dominated by a dusin chains, and they are very hard to get in contact with. Also these chains sell both the cheap and the expensive properties, so there are not that many realtors to target.

On the positive side, no one really use Tourweaver or similar solutions. They just use stand alone panoramas, and often thay are not very good. There is 1 of the major suppliers of online presentations to realtors that use Tourweaver. (see it at www.acplan.dk - click on the red link "EKSEMPEL ....." My advantage is that I make better panoramas then they do.

I would like your suggestions on how to reach the realtors. I have tried by calling a couple of them, sending different materials and examples and so on, but they are used to be contacted by other providers so it does not lead to anything.

I am now considering to call some of them and offer them to make a virtual tour of one of their listings for free. What do you think of this procedure?? It would be a waste of time if it does not lead to anything, and I will properly have to make serveral tours to serveral realtors, so is it worth taking the chance?? 

If I do this, should I just make a simple tour with regular panoramas, so the realtor can see the different features as a floorplan with compass, thumbnails, scene describtion, and then explain all of the other possibilities like including full screen panoramas, links to pdf files, customized buttons and so on, or should I let it all go and design the tour with all possible features, a layout matching their existing designlines, making a copy of the tour optimized for a cd and so on.??

If I do the latter, I am just afraid that I will do a lot of work with out getting anything out of it, and I currently have a very low income so it is very important for me to focus on paying jobs. Or should I offer them a reduced price??

What are your experiences??

I know that some of the arguments they will have are.

- We are doing very good with our current way of displaying the properties. It is sellers market so it is no problem finding buyers.  

- We don't want to use virtual tours, we want the customer to see the house in person. This way it is easier to sell

- Our clients do not want the inside of their house exposed on line.

- There is no money in our budgets for this. (I will have to charge a price that is much much higher then my competitors)  

- It is a "nice to have" feature but not a "need to have" feature

- We already have someone doing our online presentations.

What kind of arguments do you run in to??

What is your experience regaring pricing? Should I focus on not being to expensive, or should I focus on delivering a product that blow away my competitors, and then charge a rediciously high price compared to my competitors, hoping that the can realise that it is also much more valuable then their current way of selling??

All of your comments are much appreciated.

Best regards

Morten Andersen

- a newbie trying to improve 

Do you haved a "Multiple Listing Service" over ther like we do here in the states?

If so seach the mls and list the results by price witht he highes price being first. Send them an email with the subject line that includes the name of the propery and mls # tagged with "virtual tour" at the end. Like this

598 sailfish lane mls #15396 - virtual tour

Send this email out to every realtor with a listing in your target range. Start at the highest price listing. Then keep sending them until you get to the lowest ones.

Wait about a week and follow this up with a phone call. Wait another week and call them again. Whatever their story is just say you are there for them when they need someting special.

At one time I drove around and shot panos of the front yards of listing and then sent it to them "as an example"....not free for ever. That got them to call me. I let the free image be up for about a week or so and then took it down. I then got some more calls because it wasn't there anymore.

If you can get one of the top realtors with a good listing that is the key. Because then you can send out an email stating what you are doing for their competition. That makes them feel like they are missing out on something they should be doing.

The next tip is to look in your areas magazines for full page ads by realtors or ones who are spending money on nice glossy print ads. This means they have a marketing budget. The realtors with no ads anywhere are a waste of time usually. Call these. Mention saw there ad and how "good" it was.

You are going to make some kind of marketing stuff. No way around that. You won't be wasting your time. But, I would keep the example tour simple. No floor plans or other bells and whistles. This is distracting. You want them to focus on the quality of the image at this point and not the presentation. Once you get them interested then tell them the other features they can have.

General Lee

This is an example of an email I sent out.....buy the way I have not had to do any free tours yet. They call and want to order.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Jim
I am contacting you regarding a virtual tour for your listing located at 630 Gulf Shore Drive.

My name is Troy Ward and I am a panoramic photographer and owner of VacationLand Virtual Tours. I am not affiliated with any franchise such as Ipix or Egg solutions, my work is all custom and I produce the highest quality virtual tour available.

My panoramas are spherical which allow you to pan and rotate the image in any direction including up and down. My tours feature stunning window views with vibrant color that is crisp, clear and sharp.

We also offer aerial photography for any location in Northwest Florida.

My virtual tours start at $??? for 4 large format images. Discounts are offered for multiple properties.

I am also offering you one FREE full screen image of any listing you have to prove the level of quality that I can deliver. Your satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed.

Recent projects:

The Empress Penthouse

277 Water Street, Rosemary Beach

See my World Wide Panorama Submission
The World Wide Panorama is a compilation of panoramic photographs submitted by an elite group of photographers from around the world.

Call me today to schedule your next virtual tour.

Very good points maserati!

Another point that I think our maserati drivin' realtor friend will agree on. Many realtors here do not buy the virtual tours to sell the property, its just a bonus if it does..they buy the virtual tours because the home owner wants the virutal tour! If the home owners want the virtual tours, then the realtor can gain a litle bit of an advantage over the other realtors by offering virtual tours if you list with them.

The point: For the realtor, it is a better "listing" tool than it is a "selling" tool!

Approach the realtor in this way: Realtors that use virtual tours have a ____% more chance at "getting" the listing than those realtors that choose to not use VT's.