1) Is this a viable business?
"I hope so! I’ve been producing St. Augustine virtual tours now for five years! All kidding aside, it is a very viable business. Virtual Tours are in demand even more so now than when I started in the business because of the slowing economy and slow home sales. While many Realtors have left the business, the ones that are still around are the true professionals that realize the value in Virtual Tours and online marketing.
These people understand the need to spend money marketing their real estate listings and the Virtual Tour is the best marketing investment one could ask for. Your market price point is perfect for Virtual Tours. The price range in our market vary quite a bit from entry level $150k homes up to multi-million beachfront mansions, but the vast majority of our business comes on houses right in the price range you mentioned or slightly higher."
2) How much can you make?
"That’s totally up to you. The property marketing business has no limits, but you have to remember that you’re in a sales business first, before you’re in the Virtual Tour business. If you have a focused marketing plan, and you get out on the street and meet realtors and other potential clients, there is no limit to how successful your business can be. In the five years we’ve been in business we’ve constantly grown month over month and year over year. And we’ve seen a lot of other Virtual Tour companies come and some go in the various areas of the country.
The common thing I’ve seen in the ones that don’t make it is they don’t market their services effectively. You can take the greatest pictures in the world, but if you don’t have a client that’s willing to pay you for them, you’re spinning your wheels. All the Virtual Tour companies that I’ve seen that make it, focus on making sure they’ve always got something in the pipeline. Like I said, you need a focused marketing plan, and you need to get out to Realtors offices and market you services and the limit on how much you can make is up to you.
3) What is your experience with RTV?
"My experience has been very positive. Jason and the rest of the staff are always available to help. Even five years in we occasionally have a question or want to get an opinion on something, they’re always very receptive and helpful. They’re constantly coming up with new ways to make the Virtual Tours better and stay on the cutting edge of technology, they’ve got the marketing support as well as tour track program (which are national accounts RTV sends out to photograph for them) and they send leads out to us somewhat regularly as they come into their website.
Quite frankly they’re business model depends on all the dealerships like ours being successful, so they’re invested in seeing us succeed. There are other Virtual Tour companies out there, but none of them I’ve seen come close to the comprehensive system and support that RTV provides. Finally… don’t forget while Real Estate Virtual Tours are the bread and butter of our business, just about any type of property or facility such as meeting halls, restaurants, campgrounds, etc can benefit from Virtual Tours.
These clients provide much more lucrative opportunities, but they do require additional leg work to get the sales. We just shot a 17 scene Virtual Tour of the Daytona Beach Convention Center for example, the final price was equivalent to 17 of our regular real estate Virtual Tours!!
We shoot a lot of Model Homes for new builders, and they’re priced 2 ½ times higher regular Real Estate Virtual Tours so the bottom line is that there's a lot of opportunities out there to make a successful Virtual Tour business, If you have any additional questions, please feel free to respond or visit our website anytime."
Cathal & Michelle Duffy
Daytona Virtual Tours
http://www.VirtualOnlineTours.com
Order a Palm Coast Virtual Tour Now: 904-688-0372
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