Rudy Gutierrez, Tour Builder's Blog

Happiness 101

Rudy Gutierrez, Tour Builder www.OnView360.com (OnView 360) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:41:50 -0500

I’ve often thought it would be great if there were classes on how to be happy. I would go to every class available. Here is a short list of things that I think would be taught:

• Developing deep friendships – even if it’s only one or two.

• How to take time to think – Time spent thinking helps set us on the right path and sharpens our focus.

• Set goals, but enjoy the journey. -- Find joy in the doing as well as in the final outcome.

• Do the right thing. -- Each one us knows when we’ve been wronged or have been treated right, so apply the Golden Rule. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” James D. Miles

• Find the best in people and situation – not the worst. “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Be thankful - “It is not right to ask when a sorrow comes, 'Why did this happen to me?' unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way.” Unknown Author

• Strive for personal excellence. – This is personal, so compete only with yourself. “Just make up your mind at the very outset that your work is going to stand for quality... that you are going to stamp a superior quality upon everything that goes out of your hands, that whatever you do shall bear the hallmark of excellence.” Orison Swett Marden

I think I would start studying these seven rules and if the class is ever offered, I hope I’ll be at the top of the class.

Do you have any suggestion for happiness? Or a great quote you live by I would love to hear them.

Here is mine: "Remember that happiness is a way of travel — not a destination." Roy M Goodman

Much Success and Happiness!

Rude (Rudy)

Post Question

Rudy Gutierrez, Tour Builder www.OnView360.com (OnView 360) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:59:09 -0500

I'm new to this blogging game, but I've had some success with posting questions to potential clients in emails. I would think asking questions or seeking advice in blogs would work the same. Questions could be about:

How to improve business processes
What clients need to improve their business
How clients market themselves and what could your business do to help them
How to improve your job skills
How to market yourself
Does anyone know who, how, where, what ...?

Questions like this bring many new ideas and connections, one after the other. You can't think of everything and developing a connection to others may bring new ideas you may not have considered. It's a less blatant approach of publicizing yourself, then a flat out sales approach. I'm not saying it is the only way, just one way. Your questions should be well thought out, so the answers you get will be helpful to you and others.

Customer Service

Rudy Gutierrez, Tour Builder www.OnView360.com (OnView 360) — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:04:06 -0500

To be successful and happy as a photographer, you need an artistic eye, technical skills and passion for your work. But realistically, you might have all that, but you need to be able to tell others about yourself. Success is the ability to market yourself and this is the part that trips most would be entrepreneurs. Self promotion has been the most difficult thing for me to overcome and it may be for others. So, here is some (free) advice and a little self promotion from a photographer who has built a successful business with no business background, just a passion for photography, a commitment to customer service and striving to provide the best virtual tours and photography I can. To gain a potential clients attention and eventually their business try following these tips.

1. Instead of talking sales, engage in a conversation.

Find out what they need first, don’t force your sales pitch. Instead, when calling to follow up on an e-mail, open the conversation by asking a question. Seek their opinion rather than their immediate interest in your offer. For instance, inquire about what sort of marketing have they been using and what types of marketing could help them. Know your business and understand theirs so you can offer good advice. Many realtors have asked me how they could improve their photos, so I offer some of the basics such exposure tips, framing a shot or balancing objects in a photo. Establish yourself as a valuable resource. Many clients I have are not even the first person I spoke with, but who were told about me from someone who valued my advice.

2. The Importance of Good Customer Service.

Good customer service matters because keeping existing customers is easier than finding new ones and satisfied customers will do a lot of our advertising for us. Most people consider doing business with a certain company because of recommendation by a friend or acquaintance. Dissatisfied customers spread the bad news, which is never good. Also, the feeling I get from a job well done is very satisfying and good for my self esteem. It is satisfying hear from a client who was blown way by the virtual tour or photos. It is always nicer going home at night feeling that I’ve done my best and was able help someone. Working closely with your clients to understand their needs, will build loyalty and inspires referrals.

3. Be Quick to Respond.

Whether it is a new client or a current client, remember that a quick response to an email or phone call can often mean the difference between having your company do the work or the client calling someone else. Always return messages, even if you don’t have the answers or the news the client wants to hear. Besides behaving in a professional manner, you’re establishing integrity and building your relationship with your client. Responding quickly to clients' needs increases satisfaction and builds loyalty.

There is a lot more that could be said, but these tips can make a difference if applied. They are often forgotten or neglected in the hustle and bustle of the day. So, stop just for a moment each day think about helping someone through what you do, take a little extra time to apply these tips and watch your business grow.

About OnView

OnView 360 has full-time professional photographers who specialize in architectural and virtual photography. We have been in business since 2004 and work with a variety of clients both in real estate and small businesses to photograph and create virtual tours of their homes and businesses.

Partnering with Real Tour Vision has allowed OnView 360 to swiftly create high quality images and tours for our clients. See samples of our tours at www.onview360.com. We also create 360 x 360 tours, slideshows and flyers.

OnView 360 is one of the fastest growing virtual tour companies in the Phoenix Metro area. We have photographed Engineering Labs to Penthouses and everything in between. For more information call 602-885-5974 email info@onview360.com or visit our website at www.onview360.com.

Contact: OnView 360

Rudy Gutierrez

Tour Builder

Phone: 602-885-5974

Email: info@onview360.com

Virtual Tour Technology

Rudy Gutierrez, Tour Builder www.OnView360.com (OnView 360) — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:23:32 -0500

Virtual Tours

From - Wikipedia - A virtual tour (or panaramic tour) is a simulation of an actually existing location, usually composed of panoramic images, a sequence of hyperlinked still or video images, and/or virtual models of the real location. They also may use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text.

There are many ways to create virtual tour. What technology do you use and why.

I currently use Real Tour Vision for 360x180 tours and Panoweaver for 360x360.

The RTV software and hardware make it easy to create tours. RTV is great for most Real Estate and Commercial tours. With RTV virtual tour software and process, tours can be created with 360 degree panoramic images, partial panoramas, and even still images. The RTV rotator is specially designed to take a maximum of twelve photos at a pre-specified overlap. These twelve overlapping photos are then seamlessly and automatically stitched into a 360 degree panorama using our Photo Stitching Process virtual property tours can be quickly created, uploaded, customized, and distributed quickly. I use a Olympus 5060w camera with the RTV Rotator.

Tour that require a complete 360x360 view, Panoweaver works well. Panoweaver stitches types of image into panorama. With different equipment, you can get different types of images. Drum images, full frame images, full circular images and wide angle zoom lens images are all compatible with panorama software Panoweaver 5.00 for stitching 360º panoramic photos. I currently use an Canon XT Rebel with a 8mm lens and a Nodal Ninja 3 rotator.

Like many of you I want to learn more, so I'm asking "What technology do you use and why?". If you have question for me please let know.