Twenty-seven years after its initial launch, agent and broker education platform RE/MAX University has gotten a major makeover. The platform now has a mobile version on iOS and Android where RE/MAX professionals can access thousands of training videos, downloadable resources, webinars, certification courses and help from a virtual coaching bot at the touch of a button.
“This is a major enhancement to our industry-leading services,” RE/MAX President Nick Bailey said in a statement. “We’ve built an app and system that helps make great agents even better at helping homebuyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals.”
“The reinvented RE/MAX University puts agents in control of when, where, what and how they learn,” Bailey added. “Like never before, they’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to building their business and sharpening their skills in the areas they find most important. At RE/MAX, we believe the more you learn, the more you earn.”
Agents will be able to complete training modules about marketing, lead generation, caring for buyers and sellers, nurturing a robust repeat and referral business, alongside additional certification and designation courses.
Meanwhile, brokers’ modules will focus on agent recruiting and development, broker marketing and business development. Also, brokers will have the opportunity to upload unique written, video and audio content that’s only accessible to their team, or specific members on their team, such as new agents.
Lastly, RE/MAX University users will have access to a virtual coaching bot that provides course recommendations, course reminders and helps users navigate the app.
In a phone call with Inman, RE/MAX University Learning & Education Vice President Casey Denby said the update to RE/MAX University has been long overdue, especially as real estate professionals have shifted to relying upon mobile platforms for all their business needs.
“The platform we’ve been using for some period of time now was just old and tired, and it wasn’t keeping up with technology,” he said. “It also wasn’t keeping up with how the RE/MAX affiliates, or adults in general, want to learn.”
“It wasn’t mobile-capable, first and foremost, and it wasn’t as intuitive or organized as newer platforms that are out there today,” he added. “[People] are less likely to engage when the technology isn’t friendly or convenient. We’re trying to drive that engagement level [up] because when agents and brokers learn more, they do more.”
Besides the improved interface, Denby said he’s most excited about RE/MAX University’s recommendation algorithm that helps guide agents and brokers to new courses and content they weren’t necessarily looking for, but might find useful.
“[The recommendation feature] is very similar to the most popular streaming services. It learns your preferences over time, and then it starts to populate content for you,” he explained. “Most people in the education space know 70 percent of all content consumed on YouTube is consumed because of recommendations by the algorithm itself, not because users actually went looking for it.”
“We are super, super excited about that component of the platform for agents because one of the biggest complaints we had was ‘I don’t know where to start,'” he added. “[This new feature] is going to recommend content for you and it’ll take a little bit of that pain away.”
Denby said the rollout of a new RE/MAX University is part of the brokerage’s overall mission to “level up” its agents’ and brokers’ standard of service, and help them become leaders in a fast-paced and rapidly-changing market.
“Our intention is to help level up the professional skills of our REMAX affiliates, bottom line,” he said. “Leveling up to us is as simple as providing agents with everything they need to improve their professionalism, their credibility, their knowledge and skillset, etc. to the next level.”
“We’ve conducted a data analysis of content consumers, not just people who log into [the platform], but consume other content such as books and podcasts and pay for boot camps and seminars,” he added. “Agents who engage with RE/MAX University, on average, closed 29 percent to 38 percent more transactions and earned 31 percent to 233 percent more in commissions.”
“They’re doing more deals, and they’re doing bigger deals on top of that,” he added. “The reason for their success is that they’re engaging in the learning process.”