Observations from a Domus User
If you attended the NAR Legislative meetings this year, you may have met Lauren Tuey from Solid Source Realty. Lauren has been a power user since our earliest days with our very first client, Sierra Nevada Realtors. As a REALTOR® and in-house trainer for her brokerage, she's uniquely qualified to represent the "voice of the user" for Domus. Lauren joined us at the Expo booth to offer her real-world perspective and insights. Here are her reflections on the event.
What surprised you most being on the vendor side of the booth?
Realtors typically fell into two categories:
A) they either belonged to an Association with Domus, and obviously were familiar with the program
or
B) they did not belong to an Association that provides Domus, and couldn't articulate well where their stats were coming from (if anywhere)
I was surprised by this because I have always had access to Domus as a user, and I presumed Realtors everywhere had tools that were equally advanced and useful.
What questions did people ask you that stood out?
There wasn't a particular question that stood out to me. However, what I did notice was that current users take this opportunity to ask about updates (the recent 5.1 release being the most talked about)
How does being a Domus user shape how you explained the product?
As a user, I look at Domus through the lens of "How does this tool advance my business?"
When an MLS adopts a program like Domus, they are equipping their users with a program that is easy to learn and implement. Domus is easy to integrate into any real estate business to attract new clients and to retain past clients. Uses are endless, but some I like to highlight are:
- Sharing with a newsletter to your sphere of influence (and highlighting the differences between national news and what's actually happening locally)
- Using the consumer facing data as a greenscreen on social media to educate what is happening in the market
- Pricing insights helps sellers to visualize their competition on the market and to make better educated decisions about pricing
- Stats can play a critical role in a buyer consult to educate on what's happening locally in the market (for example: educating on what will likely happen to pricing as interest rates to drop)
What made you feel proud or energized at the event?
What I found most energizing was the opportunity to network and to learn about what is working well (and what the challenges are) in other marketplaces around the country. As a Realtor, my work is hyper local so learning about these differences, and then looking for ways to apply these lessons here in Reno, is really fun for me.
Any advice for other agents/brokers considering a product like this?
Implementation and education go hand in hand. Demonstrate to your users how the program is easily adoptable, no matter the user's level of comfort with technology.