The Importance of Continual Marketing

I wanted to take a minute to talk to everyone on this beautiful Friday morning about the extreme importance of continual marketing as we go forward with the launch of our new RealTour Fusion virtual tour software system. By now so many of you have seen just how much the Fusion system has to offer and how we are integrating the system itself to be used as a great marketing tool. With powerful items now just a click away such as integrated flyers, exposure engine, video ripper, the gyro enabled mobile tour, and more we're giving you a huge opportunity to give your customers feel a sense of ‘shock and amazement’ at how far above and beyond your tours are from any other virtual tour company in the world!

But, take aside the things that Fusion does for you and think of how you can get in the game and do some outside marketing of your own. The importance of continual marketing is something so vital; no virtual tour provider can live without it. You may be asking me, “What if I simply don’t have the revenue to pay for marketing?” The good news is there are easy and inexpensive (even free) ways to constantly market yourself that you NEED to be utilizing.

For starters you can start looking for agents that use virtual tour technology on Realtor.com. These agents will be using a variety of virtual tour systems and the good thing is that they already understand the value of the tool.  Start making a list of their names and contact information as you will want to connect with this group of individuals first. 

Secondly be sure that you're carving out a little time on Social Media. It is one of the MOST IMPORTANT tools you can use today and again this is completely free. Here are some places to go and set up free accounts:
•    Facebook
•    Twitter
•    LinkedIn
•    About.Me

These outlets will give you access to the people in your community that can see your virtual tour business growing as you create interactive virtual media in your community.  You need to be interactive and ENGAGE with the people on these sites, especially Facebook and Twitter. It’s free and will create a larger audience for you as you start pushing virtual tours. I know at a recent trade show that Jim and I attended many realtors stopped by our booth and said, "We see your tours and posts all the time on facebook."

Another thing I would like to tell you to start doing is a simple thing called Cold Calling. That’s right. Pick up the phone and start calling businesses in your area that you think could use your services. By calling as many as twenty new potential leads a day, you will see results from free marketing that will boost your sales and give you the extra income you’re looking for.  Not sure who to call??  Call people you already know. That's seriously the very best place to start.  Where do you go to the gym? Who cuts your hair? Your spouses hair? Are your children in a daycare or in preschool? What church do you belong to? How about your doctor or dentist?  A local spa or massage therapist that you go to is great.  Do you know the chef or owner of your favorite restaurant in town?  See there, you already have a list going and we've just scratched the surface!

 On top of cold calling, I also suggest that you send out e-mail notifications, or a newsletter.  Start gathering e-mails from people in your area. Businesses that may need your services will have their e-mail addresses on their websites or media outlets and you can compile a very useful list for yourself without paying a cent! Make sure that when you do these free e-mail blasts that you are putting something intriguing and useful in the subject line and not over doing it. Send out a nice e-mail once a month or so.  Try to do it only when you have something truly important to say.  With Fusion you'll be busy for months to come. You’ll quickly brand yourself in the person’s mind and they’ll start feeling comfortable with seeing you in their inbox.

Social media, cold calls, and e-mailing that I’ve mentioned above are all free! Now, if you want to expand your wallet a little and get more direct results you can always try a few different things for being on a tight budget. Making sure you have eye catching business cards is HUGE! Instead of cold calling, take a day and swing into the establishments you’re looking to target. Drop off your card and engage with them first hand.

You'll find as you start doing these things that there are so many ways to market and brand yourself that there is really not enough time in a day. As a final note please don't put all of your eggs in a single basket. Meaning if you're spending all of your day facebooking or list building or even cold calling you will want to try and spread things out a bit more.

Good luck out there everyone and get ready for launch!

Yours sincerely,

Jason

RTV, Inc
Virtual Tour Software & Digital Marketing Training
http://www.RealTourVision.com
Order a virtual tour today: 866-947-8687

Sphere: Related Content

A Dallas Virtual Tour Provider Heads North

Thanks Jason, Jacque, Ben and the whole team at RTV for putting on the best virtual tour provider conference in the world.  My trip began by flying from Dallas to Grand Rapids, MI and driving up with my good friends Dawn Frees and Chris.  What amazing people we have as part of the RTV virtual tour network.   Mario Spaghetti -aka Dawn- did an excellent job of driving in the sometimes torrential rain.  On the drive, we were keeping in touch with others in route via the RTV Facebook Fan Page. 

I was excited to see there were lots of other Disc Golfers in our group.  Thursday evening I ran into Larry Jennings and he and I decided to play at 6am the next morning.  Thanks for bringing the plastic, Larry!  I am not sure if I would have been so excited if I had realized that 6am Traverse City time was actually 5am Dallas time.  Ouch, that 4:45 wake- up call was pretty brutal.  At any rate, Larry and I played 9 holes of disc golf to begin our conference experience on Friday morning.  A most excellent start to the weekend!

Disc golf out of the way, I was ready to be amazed by the new RealTour Fusion virtual tour system training.  I was NOT disappointed.  The Fusion virtual tour system has everything we need to take our virtual tour businesses to the next level -  virtual tour narration, You Tube uploads, flyer creation, exposure engine, lead grabber, 360 x 360 spherical support, full motion video, amazing animated hot spots, and more - this system has it all!  Fusion is going to transform real estate virtual tours, as well as give us a fresh look for those commercial virtual tours.

Next up was Jacque Burke and Gabe Clark discussing the new Tour Track system.  As a career sales person, I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have a company basically giving you FREE leads.  As part of the RTV network we have the chance to be a part of nationwide contracts, adding to the business of each virtual tour provider. Keep those leads coming, we won't let you down!

The rest of the weekend was full of valuable information for my Dallas virtual tour company on everything from floor plan creation, Photoshop, photography tips and some really great sales training.  Thanks to Dawn Frees, Donna Bigg, Dale Hart, Chuck Gullet and Paige Mitts for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.  Something really great happens when you have a bunch of private business owners getting together and sharing what has made them successful.  Jimmy Plessinger and I had a great conversation about his marketing strategies.   I hope to use them to get closer to his 600+ virtual tours year!

Besides the classes, it was great to catch up with friends I met last year and build some new friendships.   One of the things I find difficult about having my own virtual tour business and working from home is that I miss the camaraderie of an office.  You can begin to feel like you are on an island. Besides, some of my best friends I have met by working side by side.  Thanks RTV for giving us a place to get together with other  virtual tour providers and discuss what works and what doesn't and build new friendships.  The dealer network that RTV has provided is a strong group.  I look forward to growing my Dallas virtual tour company,  being a part of the RTV family and building these friendships for many years to come. 

Lisa and Michael Castro

Dallas - Fort Worth Virtual Tour Company

www.pro360virtualtours.com
Local - 817-676-7176

Sphere: Related Content

An Adventurous Virtual Tour Provider

I’ve always been one to try adventurous new things.  I’ve taken lessons to fly a helicopter, followed a mysterious, mumbling Chinese woman into a dark New York apartment because I thought she said she had a good deal on a knock-off watch and against all advice and common sense, even rented a car in Rome.  Why was Traverse City, Michigan so nerve-racking?

It had only been 6 months since I first spoke to RTV. At that time, I would have sworn the conversation was about his Christmas plans and the weather here in Tulsa, but after hanging up, I realized that I had just become a RTV dealer and a Tulsa virtual tour provider. Now, I was on my way to RTV’s 2012 virtual tour provider convention.  I imagined a tight-knit group of virtual tour jockeys and photography nerds with cameras dangling from their necks. They would be bursting into laughter at geeky photography jokes with punch lines like, “… not with THAT spherical aberration, I won’t!” Would I be expected to prove my skills at shooting a 360 virtual tour?  Would I be laughed out of the building because I havethe wrong lens? My fear and anxiety grew as the plane got closer.

I walked into the conference room the first morning and found a seat. As the session was about to start,the man next to me made a funny comment in a strong New York accent.  I laughed and he introduced himself as Dale.  I knew that I had at least one friend in the room.  Over the course of the weekend, my adventurous nature came back. I made a point of introducing myself to the amazing and patient Ben, who never once said, “Would you PLEASE stop calling and emailing me with questions!?” like I’d imagined he would.  At the awards banquet, I stalked Jason until he finally got tired of the woman stalking him and got a free moment.When I took the chance to say hello, he actually remembered who I was and where I was from.  (I choose to believe it’s because I’ve totally impressed him, not because I’ve got a memorable last name and bother him with lots of e-mails.)  On Saturday evening, I stepped out of my shy comfort zone and joined the “cool kids” at Zaiky’s.  Had I not gone, I would have missed the opportunity to sit across from Paige Mitts – one of the most talented and lovely women I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.  In fact, she was so captivating, I hardly noticed the disgruntled Middle Eastern man throwing a phone at his customers.  (Well done, Paige!)

My flight home was cancelled and I had to spend an extra day in Traverse City; but I was okay with that. I took a long walk through the pretty downtown area, my mind filled with new information and great ideas on how to build my virtual tour business and make it successful.  I also thought about my fellow RTV dealers and how generous they had been with their advice, help and patience with the newbies. 

I’ve started another new adventure and the old saying is true, “it’s the journey, not the destination that’s important.” Because of my previous journeys, I can now hover in a helicopter, miss appointments because my crappy knock-off watch stopped running and I’ve had the most wonderful Italian meal at a tiny place I’d never have found had I not gotten lost driving in Rome. And no matter where my virtual tour business ends up, I’ll always remember that the first leg of this journey began in Traverse City, Michigan.


Go RTV!

Jeanine Persichini
Tulsa Virtual Tours
https://www.facebook.com/VirtuallyAmazingMedia
Order a virtual tour: 214-566-5916

Sphere: Related Content

Cocoa Virtual Tour Company

My husband and I had just joined the RTV Virtual Tour Provider family at the beginning of April. I had been with one of the competitors previously and was a little hesitant at first because of the experience we had with the other Virtual Tour Company. We had not planned on attending the virtual tour conference because we did not think we had it in the budget then we robbed our piggy bank.

We decided we had to make the investment in ourselves and our virtual tour business if we were going to make it work. We wanted to meet the owner/founder of Real Tour Vision, the rest of the amazing RTV team. What a staff!! Additionally we were excited to meet so many virtual tour providers from around the world. Most importantly we wanted to see if Jason was for real!!! He had been a breath of fresh air after my past experience. He was very exciting to talk with and very passionate about his business. He was very responsive and always had time for me if I called with a question. We were pleasantly surprised and relieved to meet Jason and see he was for real, truly an honest business man who cares about our success.(not just his success) RTV was for real, they are the picture of the AMERICAN DREAM and an opportunity for anyone who wants to put some sweat equity into growing a photography and virtual tour business. (A dream come true)

Our flight from Detroit took 2 ½ hours instead of 30 minutes due to storms in the Traverse City area but we were very excited about the RTV Conference and weren’t going to let anything stress us out.

We had to stay at the Holiday Inn down the road because the Park Plaza Hotel was full of RTV dealers when we decided to make the trip. We met another new RTV virtual tour provider at the restaurant Thursday night dinner, Steven Kheir who is going to offer Dubai Virtual Tours. He was amazing and a joy to talk with. The Holiday Inn was a very clean hotel; we had a wonderful room on the Lake. The meals at the Holiday Inn were great and the morning and evening walks weren’t too far and was a nice walk. Gave a chance to see the amazing Traverse City, It is a very clean, friendly town, reminded me of our little hometown here in Cocoa Village, Florida.

 We had the opportunity to meet and connect with some amazing RTV virtual tour providers, some who have been RTV virtual tour providers for 5, 8 even 10 years. We had the opportunity to meet Ben who is a wonderful trainer; he shared with us the new technology and the new XS rotator head for spherical panoramas. We attended classes on photography skills from Dale Hart and Chuck Gullet, Photoshop with Donna Bigg, (the photoshop guru), we learned about the Shutterbot (got one on order) Jason and Ben shared with us the changes coming down the road the RealTour Fusion (RTV’s new virtual tour software platform), Paige Mitts shared her expertise with us and the A, B, C’s of Sales and Marketing. Her husband/partner Gregg shared with a few of the newbie’s his work flow and how he sets up and shoots his Virtual Tours, how the Shutterbot works, some tips and things to look for when we are shooting our virtual tours.

We also met the amazing Jacque Burke who did a fabulous job organizing the conference and keeping Jason and the team on schedule. The overall impression was this team is well organized they have a mission and know how they are going to get there. We are anxious to be a part of the journey.

All of the RTV virtual tour providers were so eager to share their virtual tour knowledge and experiences with all of us. It was so exciting and a pleasure to meet everyone. We are so excited about being apart of this team of RTV virtual tour providers and look forward to the growth of our Cocoa Virtual Tour Business. I am proud to be apart of a professional team of individuals who have wonderful products to offer our customers.

We are already planning ahead to attend 2013 RTV Virtual Tour Conference, even though the Holiday Inn was great we would like to stay with the rest of the group next year.
Can’t wait to see everyone again and how we have all grown…..

William & Gay Colleypriest
Cocoa Virtual Tours
www.Coast2Coast360VirtualTours.com
Order a virtual tour: 407-353-5524

Sphere: Related Content

Ashtabula Virtual Tour Company Heads North

Well, I recently attended my first RTV virtual tour software conference – a gathering of professional virtual tour photographers who specialize in 360 interactive virtual tours.  It was presented by RTV, Inc. – RealTourVision.com – and held in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan.  It was quite a thrill in realizing that my photography business, Scenes From Above, LLC, would be continuing to expand into the realm of being a virtual tour provider.  There were so many memorable moments during the long weekend – I left my home at 8:15 am on Thursday morning to drive to Cleveland Airport – and, like many others, had I kept right on driving, I’d have arrived in Traverse City before my flight actually did!  There were weather delays on the connecting flight from Detroit to Traverse City, and a one hour flight became a three and a half hour ordeal!  But that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm… I knew that Jason LaVanture, Jacque Burke, Ben Knorr, and the ENTIRE RTV team would be putting on quite a show for all of the virtual tour providers attending.

Part of my trip had a diversion built in – I am an avid disc golfer, and I knew of Hickory Hill Disc Golf Course, just west of town.  I had intended to play Thursday evening, but with my flight arriving so late, that idea was squelched.  Not to worry, our first class didn’t start until 10 am the next morning – so at 6 am the next morning, Lisa Freeman Castro and I took a taxi to the course, getting there just before sunrise.  We told the taxi to be back at 8:30, so that gave us time to play about 14 holes… very nice course, and we got to see several deer frolicking around the woods.

So the classes started at 10 am, and we were exposed to the new RealTour Fusion Virtual Tour System.  THIS THING ROCKS! I can’t wait to start presenting it to the real estate agents ordering their Ashtabula virtual tours from me. I’m also planning on presenting it to some of the local restaurants, lodgings (bed & breakfasts), and other tourist  businesses here in North East Ohio.  The next two days continued with other presentations by RTV employees and virtual tour providers – all the presentations were certainly worthwhile and interesting – and it was rather refreshing to hear different points of view about how individuals performed their work (with flash, without flash) – and the clever, creative ways that they get their foot in the door with prospective clients.

After a day of classes, it was time to unwind at the top of the Park Place Hotel – there was such a beautiful view of the city and the lake from the top floor… after dinner and drinks there were several speakers and awards given, but the crowning moment of the evening was the emotion that was summoned up by Jason LaVanture, as he thanked his team – and he brought ALL of us so much closer together, and he made us realize what he and his team have worked so hard for: To give us what will be the BEST VIRTUAL TOUR system on the planet!

More classes on Saturday, with the same high impact messages being delivered by RTV staff and other virtual tour providers as well.  I think that everyone was satisfied with the content, and by the end of the day, we were all looking forward to a nice dinner at a local Greek restaurant.  And even though there were some delays and other issues at the restaurant, a good time was had by all, especially due to the unique entertainment that ensued there… It’s not like we had anyplace to go…. EXCEPT for room 209… but then that’s another blog all together!

Thanks to all the great people that I met and learned so much from – Jimmy, Cyndi, Lisa, Nancy, Claudia, Glen, Dale, Bobby, Patty, Chuck, Paige, Greg, and all the others: ‘Til we meet again!  Keep shootin’ in circles!\

Larry Jennings
Scenes From Above, LLC
Ashtabula, OH 360 virtual tours
www.scenesfromabove.com

Sphere: Related Content

Tour My Town Traveles To TC

Well folks, I did it!  I traveled to Traverse City, Michigan to attend the RTV 2012 virtual tour conference.  Not only did I meet the owner/founder of Real Tour Vision and the amazing team, I had the opportunity to get connected to the most amazing group of RTV virtual tour providers.  Traverse City – clean and the friendliest place I have ever been.  Had I drove, it would have been a six hour trip….the plane ride there was 9 hours and lost luggage, but returning home was a whole other thing – 18 hours, and yet again lost luggage.   Was it worth it?   YES, YES, YES!!!!

My goal, was to meet Jason and Ben and to learn a lot about running a virtual tour company.  I was so excited and certainly not disappointed.  As for meeting my fellow virtual tour providers from around teh world, I have to say the first one to “captivate” me was Paige Mitts.   It didn’t surprise me to later discover she was a super successful virtual tour provider throughout the USA.  Then I met Nancy Bain, the sweetheart of sweethearts (a fellow Canadian) Patty Haessig thanked me for keeping her calm on the plane (but she doesn’t know it was the other way around) and Kristen Plaisance is a true southern belle.    They were all so eager to share their virtual tour knowledge with me.   Right along with them I met the wonderful Glenn Farrell (another fellow Canadian) and I will never forget Dale Hart – he kept everyone in stitches.  My bud of all buds was Larry Jennings.  He was super and oh so very helpful.  It was a pleasure to meet them all!

I attended classes on photography, photoshop, RealTour Fusion (RTV's new virtual tour software platform), learned about the ShutterBot and small business management.  Well organized and informative classes.  Jacque Burke did an amazing job organizing everything and I am sure we all can’t thank her enough.

I didn’t quite get to see all of the goings on at Zakey’s Saturday night.  My friend that traveled with me and I, were a tad late getting to Zakey’s and were seated in a booth.  We were unable to be seated at the table with everyone else or share in the conversation,but when we discovered we weren’t able to have a glass of vino with our meal, we quietly left and had a fabulous dinner at the hotel.  We must have had some insight that getting served, let alone getting our meal was going to take a very very long time. By the way, props to choosing the Park Plaza Hotel to have the virtual tour convention at.  They were amazing!

Being a Northern Ontario virtual tour provider has been a great thing, but being a virtual tour provider with RTV was the best decision I have ever made.  I am also a real estate sales representative.  I had a client that would only list with me if I did a 360 virtual tour.  I didn’t have a clue.  So, onto the internet.  Who was number 1 on Google search for 360 virtual tour providers???? RTV!!  I called and got to speak with a sales rep who in turn “gave me” the opportunity to do an immediate V-slide and I was floored at the ease of use (I am no techie – Ben can attest to this)  I jumped at the chance to be an RTV virtual tour provider.

I can’t wait to see what this group of wonderful (and yet crazy) team at RTV has in store for us at the 2013 RTV virtual tour Conference. 





Cyndi Ingleton
Tour My Town
705-669-8213
http://www.TourMyTown.ca
Northern Ontario Virtual Tours

Sphere: Related Content

Thanks for your persistence!

One of the challenges in making cold calls for our virtual tour business is knowing when I’m being ignored and when I’m dealing with someone who is just busy.  We will be shooting a school virtual tour tomorrow...four months after our first email.  I called and emailed the Director of Marketing in January then called again about a week later to see if my email had gotten to her.  It took over two weeks before she responded and her response was like many I have received...

Hi Paige –

I’m not ignoring you – as a matter of fact, XYZ company would be very interested in talking to you. Unfortunately, our marketing budget is depleted for the year, so it doesn’t really make sense to talk now. Could you please contact me again in April?

It can get frustrating to send out multiple emails and leave repeated phone calls and not get responses but it’s part of the process of building our virtual tour business.  This particular client told me that she had kept my emails in her inbox but she just hadn’t gotten back to me because things kept coming in that were more urgent.  It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in what I was offering - she absolutely was!

It’s been a while since I have been in the corporate world but when I was, my contact information was usually posted on the website of the company I worked for because I was usually my company’s marketing person.  In fact, my face was posted on the website as well in many cases.  As a result, I got dozens of unsolicited emails, phone calls, and lots of snail mail every week from people who wanted to sell something.  That in addition to the hundreds of emails we all receive on a regular basis meant that I had to prioritize what got my attention.

To this day, I have a folder in my inbox labeled “Follow Up” one called “Research” and one called “File”.  I have to move things from my working Inbox or else they get lost.  By having the Follow Up folder, I can move things that are important but not urgent and deal with them when I have time.  The Research folder is for things that sound like they may be interesting but I need more information to decide whether I want to follow up.

When I send out emails now, I figure I have about five seconds or less to make it into the “Follow Up” folder or be deleted.  The key to sending an email that will actually get answered is to provide enough information to capture the readers attention without overwhelming them.  I have to provide everything they need to know if that email -- if they have to go to my website for more information, then I will likely end up in the trash.

Greg and Paige Mitts
Charleston Virtual Tours
http://www.VisionQuestVirtualTours.com
Order a Charleston, SC virtual tour: 404-863-9769

Sphere: Related Content