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Is the Quality Really Worth the Price?

When it comes to the things we buy all the time, like food and clothes, the answer is obvious. Filet Mignon costs more than a fast food burger, and it is easy to see what that difference in cost is buying. A custom-tailored suit costs more than a store-brand t-shirt, and again it is easy to see why. Even with larger purchases, it is very easy to see why a Ferrari costs more than a Honda. The higher quality items in these examples are worth the higher price. It makes sense. There are times, however, when the difference is not so obvious to everyone. Especially when it comes to things that are more similar in nature, or things that require a more in-depth understanding, it takes a little more effort to see the difference in quality. Is that custom-tailored suit really worth the higher price over one in a department store? To some, maybe not. And that’s fine. This message is not directed at them. This message is directed at those of you who want to know why some vendors charge more for their services over others, and who want to know if it is really worth the extra cost. When it comes to Real Estate marketing, I can tell you that it is.

When it comes to Real Estate photography, there are some key things that you should be looking for in your photos. Let’s start with the basics. First, does the photo have the appropriate lighting? What is the appropriate lighting? You should have a well lit room, and still be able to see out any window and see any light fixture’s details. If your room is dark, it is not inviting or appealing to anyone. No buyer is going to want to see a dark house. If glorious views of trees or water outside the window are replaced by bright, distracting white light, how is anyone going to know they exist? You cannot attract a buyer to beautiful views if they cannot see them. Same goes for light fixtures. Second, the photo MUST be level. Nobody wants to feel like they are falling over. Want to see what I mean? Let’s get visual:

Posh Chalet This photo is of a cabin in the mountains overlooking beautiful green trees and had a clear blue sky when it was taken. Can you tell? No, because the windows show only a bight white overexposed light.

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These light fixtures have really elegant designs on the glass, giving them a marbleized look with the mixture of frosted and clear glass. Can you see it? Me neither. Oh, and the windows are too bright again.

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Isn’t this a pretty basement? Oh wait, that’s a keeping room on the main level in the early afternoon… At least you can see outside, right?

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Does anyone feel like they are on a sinking ship?

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There, much better! You can see out the windows, you can see the detail in the chandelier, everything is level, and the room looks warm and invitingly bright. That is a room that buyers will want to check out.

Now we ask the question: is it worth the extra cost to get the better pictures? If you care about your brand as an agent, and if you care about exceeding the expectations of every client you take on no matter what the price point is, then the answer is a resounding YES! Some people are in the business to take on as many listings as possible and to sell them as quickly and cheaply as possible. I am not talking to those agents. I will never be able to convince them to stop taking pictures with their iPhones. The ones I want are the ones that want to elevate their brand, because they realize in this industry that is the only way to grow. When you are able to sit down with a potential client, and show them that you will market their house with photos like it was destined for a magazine spread, you will begin to move up quicker than you expect to those higher-end listings with the bigger commission. You will NEVER get luxury listings with poor photography, and if you do happen to get lucky and land some you will not get very many, or you will not hold on to them through closing. And, if you really want a strong brand, you will treat every client the same. If you would do it for a luxury $1.5 million listing, do it for the $200,000 listing. Why are they any less important? If you form a strong relationship with that $200,000 client, and years down the road they need to list their $500,000 home that they upgraded to when you sold theirs, you want them to call you. Not only that, you want them to tell all of their friends to call you. You never know who any of your clients know, so I strongly urge you to take care of every single one of them. You cannot do that with bad marketing, and that starts with the photos.

Next up is video. Luckily, it is pretty easy to spot a bad video. The camera shakes, you can tell every step the person filming it takes. It makes you feel like you are watching your dad’s home movies from your trip to the Grand Canyon he shot on his HandyCam. The quality is grainy and out of focus. Like with the photo examples above, the windows are bright white rectangles, light fixtures are bright white circles, and the room is still dark. Video is more difficult to get proper lighting than with photography, and correcting it is more time-consuming and requires some know-how. Basically, not everyone can do it right. And despite what some photographers would like you to believe, you can not get high-quality video from a low-end DSLR camera on a cheap stabilizer. If you see your photographer put the same camera he used for photos on a long rod that they try and hold steady to take your video, please stop them immediately and find someone else. Same thing goes for drone cameras. If they try to use a drone camera and put it on a hand-held device like the DJI Osmo, you need to understand something – drone cameras are meant to take video outdoors with even lighting. The term for it is “Dynamic Range,” and it refers to the least and most amount of light a camera can handle and still record details and proper color. Outside, you have one source of light – the sun – giving you a very small and narrow dynamic range. Inside, you have many sources of light, giving you a large and wide dynamic range. Drone cameras were not meant for that. They can only handle a very small dynamic range, and the quality of the video from them for interiors has poor lighting, gives you purple streaks from windows and lights, and loses a lot of the detail that I am sure you want to be there. They should only be used outdoors, no matter what. If you are going to spend the money for a video, understand that you might as well spend a little more and get something you actually want to show people. It should be under 4 minutes, unless the property is gigantic, because nobody will watch the whole thing if it is longer than that. I try to keep mine between 2-3 minutes. If I can’t sit through the whole thing, why should I expect anyone else to?

The last things I want to mention are drones and 3D Virtual Walkthrough Tours. For drones, if your property has a lot of acreage, or has and landscaping features that are highlights of the house, spend the money for a drone. For just pictures, it is extremely inexpensive compared to the return you will get from the photos. If you are already doing an interior video, hopefully you found someone that also does drone video. If that is the case, adding drone to that video should also be very inexpensive and really adds that “Wow” factor that your video is just begging for! All of the companies that provide these services should have examples on their website, and luckily you now know what key things to look for for the photos and video! Proper lighting, realistic colors, level images, and smooth movement in the video.

With 3D Virtual Walk-through Tours, they are the new hot trend in real estate. I assure you, however, that it is not a fad. It is here to stay, and it is getting bigger and bigger every day. High-end sellers are starting to demand them from their listing agents, and if you want to land those clients you HAVE to do them. If you are not familiar with them, they allow anyone, anywhere, to virtually walk through any enclosed property from their cell phone, tablet, or computer. They are the most hands-on experience of any marketing tool, and they allow potential buyers to see the actual layout of a house as a whole. No matter how good the photography, or how good the video, you cannot show them this:

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That is called the “Dollhouse View,” and it is just one of the many advantages of Virtual Tours. When you are actually in the tour, you can spin that around and tilt it up and down. You can separate each individual floor if you want, and even view them overhead as a floor plan. Then, you get to actually go into the house and walk around as if you were there. The advantages are endless. For the buying and selling side, it allows you to show the home to a much larger number of potential buyers. You can post the tour anywhere you want online, on any form of social media or on any website. It cuts down on showings that walk in and walk right out, because they already know exactly how the house is laid out and how it looks in person. I wish this technology was around when my wife and I were home shopping. It would have saved us, and our agent, a lot of unnecessary time and driving miles to look at houses we were never going to buy, but had no idea based on just photos or video. From a marketing standpoint, I urge you to walk into any listing meeting and show your potential client the Dollhouse View and the Virtual Tour. You will walk out with the listing contract. In a business where everyone offers the same basic service, the goal is to offer things that others do not. Of course that starts with your amazing service and attention to every client, but you will also need tangible things that you can show. You can also add your contact information, highlight special features of the home, and provide a guided room-by-room slideshow to the tour itself to add even more value.

The answer to the question depends completely on you and what you are trying to accomplish in this business. If you are trying to provide the best service for your clients, then the answer is an obvious “Yes.” Hopefully, I have provided you with enough knowledge to be able to tell for yourself what the higher quality service actually is. It is easy to see when they are pointed out to you, so make sure you pay attention to those little details when they are not. If you are trying to simply sell things as quickly and cheaply as possible, on the other hand, I want you to think about something. Obviously, the reason for going about the business like that is money-driven. But ask yourself: “What if the easiest way to make the most money was through a different way?” What if, instead of trying to sell a lot of things cheaply and quickly – which will keep you at a certain lower price point – you instead focus on doing what is necessary to get the higher-dollar listings? You won’t need nearly as many to match or exceed what you are probably working your butt off to sell now, and you can use all that free time to actually enjoy the money you’re making. It really won’t require much more work on your end, all you need to do is spend the extra money on those that do more work on their end. That is really what you are paying more for – the vendor’s time, effort, and expertise. It takes a lot of time to set up lights, or correct things in photoshop, or edit and color-grade a video. It takes effort and know-how to properly set up a photo, or learn how to properly film a property to make sure you get the shots you need. It takes really expensive equipment to do all of this work at the highest quality possible. Luckily for you, these are all things that us photographers and videographers have to worry about. The only that you need to worry about is the answer as it pertains to you and your business – is it really worth the extra cost?

For an example of a high-quality video, click this link: Real Estate Video

For an example of a 3D Virtual Walkthrough Tour, click this link: 3D Virtual Tour

For many examples of proper photography, click this link: High-Resolution Photos

VantagePoint 3D offers the highest quality of every visual marketing service for any kind of property, residential or commercial. High-Resolution Photography, 4K Ultra HD video on both drone and video walk-through, and 3D Virtual Walk-through Tours. Visit us at http://www.vantagepoint3d.com and take a look at all of our past work and testimonials. There is also a form to go ahead and book any of our services for your next property. For any questions, email us at preston@vantagepoint3d.com and we will be happy to help you.

preston cohenIs the Quality Really Worth the Price?