Each year, many of us look back on the previous year with thoughts on how to improve ourselves in the coming year. Well… not all of us – but most of us, at least.
Sometimes we look to improve our looks. We vow to eat less and exercise more.
Other times it might be a resolution of faith… or charity. The giving of ourselves in service to others.
This year, I am making a commitment to increase my value to my clients. Not my apparent value (although the recognition would be nice) but rather my true value. I am looking to provide a better return to my clients than previously possible.
In the past, I have tried to stay a step or two ahead of the pack with innovative technology… sometimes too many steps ahead. It wasn’t that long ago that while most agents didn’t have a website – I was running streaming video tours of my listings. Not the crappy ones, mind you – good ones. I spent over $15K to have the equipment to produce quality video… and that’s exactly what I did. For a while, anyway.
In my opinion, however, quality still photography is a better medium than video… and if you combine still photography with a flash presentation complete with voice-overs and background music – you’ve got the best of both worlds. A multimedia presentation that the viewer can control.
I am a firm believer in the concept of communicating the features and benefits of a particular property to buyers and their agents, alike. I believe it serves my clients well to have the best exposure I can give them. Here is a draft of a presentation I am working on now. Keep in mind that it’s not finished… and the audio will have to be re-recorded as I did this while still feeling very ill and short of breath.
So set your sights on the New Year soon to be at hand.
What will YOUR resolution be?
Richard Riccelli says:
wow. is the cost of this included in your fee? (if so, please come to boston and sell my house…)
December 2, 2006 — 8:20 pm
ardell dellaloggia says:
That’s a lot of house for $359,900!! Very nice. I have to say with a tour like, that…50 photos…one almost doesn’t have to come and see it.
I usually don’t like “video” tours, but I definitely like that “still shot” version. How do buyers find that tour when they are searching for property?
December 2, 2006 — 11:37 pm
Doug Lindstrom says:
Please tell us how you made the flash presentation. I currently use virtual tours but so does the rest of the world. Like the Bloodhound, I will try and differentiate myself as much as possible.
Thanks for the sharing.
December 3, 2006 — 9:46 am
Kris Berg says:
Doug, Tres Magnifique! I like the voiceover, and that is one of my resolutions. I’ll put a little plug in for Ubertor, because I like their platform. It allows me to accomplish most of what you have with very little headache. My music doesn’t loop :(, but it has the voiceover capability if I just take the time to record it, which I will be doing shortly. Here’s a sample of one of my property listings. Not as flashy as yours, but maybe a lazy second place. Great work!
December 3, 2006 — 10:45 am
Doug Quance says:
Hey guys… I’m in the hospital right now using one of their data computers to post, so I have to keep it short before I get caught.
Richard, yes, full service listing gets full service. 🙂
Ardell, lots of nice houses for the money in Atlanta.
Buyers would find the tour the same way they find any other tour… usually linked somewhere. By using the street address for the URL, a rider can be made to fly over the real estate sign to direct.
Doug, there are several around. This one is called Sellfolio. Most software makers have downloadable trial versions to check out. You may find one that is better than the one I used.
Kris, if I was at home I could tell you which mp3 recorder I used. It was cool, and free. Free is for me!
I gotta go back and lay down. I am in much worse shape than I thought (doc says I could have died if I didn’t make it in when I did) and they’re keeping me in the hospital for a few days to try and get my lung capacity back to an acceptable level.
I’ll try to check in again when I can.
December 3, 2006 — 5:54 pm