S1/EP 6: Robert Koenekamp from Aerial Look

Robert is Founder & CEO of Aerial Look, a service & technology company changing the way people experience real estate utilizing drone, 3D and VR technologies.

Aerial Look has been in business for five years; they got into drone business early in game. They were developing hardware and software until he realized that, from having been in the real estate business, it would be a good tool for that industry. From 1-2 real estate videos per day, they quickly began being asked to do 5-10 per day. Keeping customers happy was taking time away from research and development on the drones so they had to pivot. They soon realized that the drone could be used to for content creation. Robert wants to be in the place in the market that he is the best product for the most competitive price. In real estate, no one wants to pay fees, so they had to change the way people experienced real estate. A drone operator needed to be able to do a drone video in under one hour. They went from drone exterior video to interior video. They took some high-priced US properties to get business in China. They now work with different builders and developers across the globe.

When in manufacturing and research, he had a genius CEO who made a lot happen. They thought of many different applications and each application had to be scalable. They knew a rotor on the drone would help them go further. Another drone had a scanner that could be used for security certificates. They decided a few of these applications could be used for agriculture. This could be used to analyze the field in terms of watering, planting, etc. They then came up with a drone that could also go to disaster areas. All these areas were popular, but they were also expensive. They kept trying to find new ways to use the drone.

As they got into drone services vs. drone research, they began focusing on real estate. As they became more involved in the industry, they saw themselves as not just a drone company, but a content creation, media or marketing company. The drone business is really a service business.

“If you can build a service, then you build a market. If you start the service first, you don’t have to spend as much money to get the business because you offer a valuable service. With that, you build market share. With market share, you control things.”

Robert implies that as soon as you take out a drone, people are interested, they want to know what you’re doing...that means you are constantly in front of a client base. Robert says he had to utilize the market to build the business. By building partnerships, he built his name. He utilized the drone to build a market of new services for realtors. He then saw a market to do business with builders and now he rarely takes out a drone, yet it all came from the drone. Basically, he used the dron to get market share and then used marketing to get revenue streams outside the basic drone industry. Robert believes you must hustle but you don’t have to try so hard—if you have business skills, you are ahead of the game. If you see development, you shoot with the drone, you go home, do video and send it to the developer. You have to be creative.

His business now has in-house deployment and they subcontract. They have added drone deploy and 3D services. They can also take on work anywhere in the world, because their drone operator network is large and they have exclusive rates. In his opinion, it’s a waste of time to go to a realtor, and ask what they need, he says he tells them what they need. Robert’s company also works on minimum deals and gets paid by a firm...sometimes on retainer. Robert says that even if you think what you charge is expensive, the truth is the firm is paying more than that in marketing—you just have to convince them that you can do it cheaper and provide more value. What Robert says works for him is that he finds the value of the service, then break it down to a per listing rate. From there, it’s easy to decide what to pay a subcontractor, he pays them more and then he has an ongoing valuable and stable relationship...what everyone wants.

Robert has set up his company to get paid from conception, i.e. when a developer is buying land. He gets a pilot to fly a drone over the land and sends them video, which almost always turns into a deal. Then before models come in, they do CGI animation, virtual reality sales centers, etc. At the end the drone comes in for a final fly over of the community. In between, everything is being done on computer. They do 3D tours, neighborhood profiles, etc. and he uses all of this to help the client market the home, community, neighborhood, etc.

“If you’re going to shot video and hand off to client, you will not stay relevant and you will not scale up because not everyone knows what to do with it.”

He started the drone company because he didn’t want to rely on other people. He knew he could do much better by putting the controls in his own hands. As a pilot, he would go into meetings, and help potential clients by telling them how this would change their market. He says doing it with confidence and providing the data creates opportunity and value. By thinking of how to enhance your business, and telling that to the client, they will pass on the information to look good to others. That’s another way that when you help people, that can be used to help you and them. He says he builds 10 times the value of something before he asks for the value of the service. The drone captures attention and he figures out how to use that.

After a while of doing drones, Robert had to think of things on a different level. He knew there was value, but with scalability he knew he could turn hundreds or thousands into millions. In his opinion, people who get there have knowledge and determination. He would sell a meeting and figure it out as he’d go—not fake it as you make it—but figure it out as he went along. By doing that, he became better and more knowledgeable. He was forced to learn, and it became easy to give REAL value.

For a new person entering the drone industry, Robert advises “Go To One To Reach 1000!” Anyone can be an influencer. Robert says, at an elementary school, he can see opportunity galore—athletics, drones in class, new school photography—people would be interested in seeing it. Robert would go to builder of school and give drone video as a gift. Then, Robert would ask how many more schools he is building. Then he would advise how to use the drone in other projects. He can come up with many ways to show how much money they could save with 3D maps, video, etc. Robert sees opportunity everywhere.

As a businessman, Robert believes:

“This is all common sense. Being a businessman is about being hunting to feed yourself—not just with nutrition, but financially, emotionally, and physically. It’s in all of us, you just have to want to go do it.”

Connect with Robert

• Website: www.aeriallook.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com
• Aerial Look Email: info@aeriallook.com
• Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/aeriallook
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/aeriallook
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/aeriallook

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