This July, Inman’s editorial theme is Teams — what it takes to build and join one, how to optimize your team for summer 2020, and even when to consider leaving one. And if you’re not already a subscriber to our Teams Beat email newsletter, sent every Thursday, sign up now.
Pulse is a recurring column where we ask for readers’ takes on varying topics in a weekly survey and report back with our findings.
Last week, given the likelihood of a more lasting shift toward WFH, we asked our readers to talk about the invaluable digital tools that have made work and life easier throughout the pandemic. There were certain obvious names that we were expecting (to be more specific, Zoom) to crop up on the list — like, a lot.
But the results we received were far more diverse — ranging from tech that has had a direct impact on work to ones that indirectly boost productivity (that includes Spotify, Audible, and without a doubt, the mentioned four-probe smoker). Here’s what you had to say:
- A gimbal, helpful for virtual open houses and up-close-and-personal virtual showings.
- 360 tours, Matterport and FaceTime agent previews.
- Asteroom’s Pano Kit for 3D virtual tours has made a big difference! I got three offers sight unseen, except for the 3D tour and my listing photos.
- BombBomb!
- A cellphone gimbal and a Ricoh 360-degree camera. The gimbal upped the level of our virtual tours — and all the video work we do, really. The Ricoh camera allows us to provide a nice service to lower prices homesellers or homes without full commissions easily and quickly.
- Matterport 3D videos for listings.
- Online meetings instead of face-to-face. If you don’t have listings, you are not getting called. No open houses means not being able to meet new clients.
- BombBomb and Zoom.
- Video tours and virtual showings.
- Google Hangouts and Zoom are great for virtual meetings, training and presentations because of its screen share function. Also, the ability to record and save a session (instead of reteaching) for an agent who was unavailable is helpful.
- Zoom is a must-have! Also, Asana for project management and Slack to communicate with my team.
- There are a few:
- Audible: for audio books to further career growth.
- Spotify: to listen to music and keep me in the zone during content creation.
- G Suite: for all my files and planning.
- Slack: for team collaboration.
- Zoom: for webinars and client meetings.
- BombBomb: for video email and text.
- Elevated Network: for CRM.
- I’m guessing my awesome four-probe smoker/grill thermometer with remote RF receiver doesn’t really count. But it does help make a terrific smoked pork shoulder.
- Ah, if only the trifecta of a severe shortage of homes for sale, no affordable housing, pandemic death and unemployment could be solved by using Zoom instead of the phone. With that said, I don’t think I could survive this without my Kindle and the ability to check out books from our still-closed library and the NAR members library.
What did we miss? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: These responses were given anonymously and, therefore, are not attributed to anyone specifically. Responses were also edited for grammar and clarity. Inman doesn’t endorse any specific method and regulations may vary from state to state.
