Dave Liniger: ‘Align With Great People’ is First Lesson of Business

RE/MAX has thrived in its first 50 years in part because the network has always embraced change, RE/MAX Holdings Chairman and Co-Founder Dave Liniger told more than 9,300 attendees at the 2023 RE/MAX R4 Convention.

“We’ve been #1 in the world for years because we’ve adapted to change the whole time,” Liniger said in his Opening General Session address February 28. “Yes, the market’s tougher and the industry’s changing – just be ready to adapt.”

In his address, Liniger – who launched a new podcast series called “Ambition and Grit” the first day of the convention – said five key lessons helped shape and guide the network from its beginnings to its present-day status as an industry-leading, global network of more than 140,000 affiliates.

Lesson 1: Align with Great People

Liniger, who strongly believes people are influenced by those around them, said RE/MAX was built by high-quality individuals in every facet of the organization.

“Productive people are our #1 competitive advantage,” he said.

That advantage, he added, began with the very first person he hired.

Five decades ago, shortly after the January 30, 1973, launch of the brand that changed real estate forever, Liniger was interviewing candidates to join the fledgling company. His 28th interview – and first hire – was Gail Main, a college graduate with multiple degrees who was skilled, charismatic, confident and optimistic. In the early years, Main – who a decade later became Gail Liniger – managed virtually all aspects of the operation while Liniger focused on growing the business. In an emotional OGS moment that drew a thunderous ovation from the crowd, Gail Liniger – the beloved RE/MAX Co-Founder – joined her husband on stage.

Lesson 2: Be Fearless, Do the Right Thing, and Earn People’s Trust

Liniger’s second lesson rose from a difficult time in the company’s second year. Dennis Curtin, a young entrepreneur from Kansas City, had expressed his interest in owning a RE/MAX franchise in Missouri – potentially the first expansion outside Colorado.

Unfortunately, Liniger had unknowingly gotten entangled with a con man – a situation that threatened the future of the company ­- and it was Curtin who stood up and made it clear he was standing with Dave, Gail and RE/MAX moving forward. Others followed suit and the brand survived. Now, nearly 50 years later, Liniger recounted his friend’s memorable expression of trust. And Curtin – still the Region Owner of a seven-state area from Kansas to Alabama – was on hand to hear the story and receive the applause of the crowd.

Lesson 3: Invest in Building Your Brand

One of the biggest competitive advantages in real estate – the RE/MAX brand – was and is fueled by the power of collective purchasing. Having affiliates contribute to regional advertising funds, Liniger said, remains one of the best decisions made for the network. From print marketing to regional TV and radio to the 1978 launch of the iconic RE/MAX Balloon, the power of promotion spread the word about RE/MAX agents and the difference they made.

The strategy went into overdrive in 1999 with the advent of a U.S. national marketing fund, which to this day invests in the development of national campaigns and innovative, relatable content that affiliates can leverage in their respective markets.

“(The 1999 launch of) national advertising revolutionized the network,” Linger told the crowd – with all aspects of the business rising to a higher level.

Lesson 4: Always have a growth mindset

Growth has always been a RE/MAX pillar. The entire system is designed to help agents and teams grow their business, to help brokerages grow their market share, and to help regions grow their footprint. A RE/MAX concept called Premier Market Presence, developed in the 1990s, helped articulate the many advantages of growth. More RE/MAX agents meant more yard signs, more visibility, more leads and more transactions. And for its first 34 years, RE/MAX agent count grew in every year-end tally.

Steady, constant expansion of the brand required leaders with an unstoppable growth mindset. And in his address, Linger credited two of them as being the most important catalysts of all.

Walter Schneider and Frank Polzler, who took RE/MAX into Ontario and the Atlantic provinces of Canada in 1980, exemplified the growth mindset more than anyone. They not only helped RE/MAX gain #1 market share in Canada – they also developed several major U.S. regions and expanded RE/MAX overseas into Europe.

The mid-1990s move into Europe set the stage for incredible global expansion over the next 25 years. In fact, the brand’s presence outside the U.S. and Canada crossed the 60,000-agent milestone late last year. Sadly, Polzler passed away in December, but Schneider, like Curtin, was in attendance and recognized.

Lesson 5: Adapt to Change Quickly

To illustrate his fifth lesson, Liniger referenced the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession.

“We knew early on that ‘riding it out’ wouldn’t be possible. This would require thinking about the business in a whole different way – and taking action,” said Liniger, who traveled several times to Washington, D.C., to help policymakers address the worsening situation.

The “new way of thinking” also meant helping RE/MAX Broker/Owners and agents learn about REOs, short sales and foreclosures. It meant helping educate more than 20,000 agents via the Certified Distressed Property Expert program. It meant cutting costs at RE/MAX Headquarters – and encouraging brokerages to do the same. The damage was still significant – the network ended its long record of constant agent-count growth and lost roughly 30,000 agents from 2008 through 2011. But year-end growth returned in 2012 and has continued ever since.

RE/MAX President and CEO Nick Bailey followed Liniger on the Opening General Session stage and echoed the importance of adapting to the times.

“We have to focus on what we can control in our businesses and not what we can’t control,” Bailey said in response to the currently rebalancing market.

As relevant as ever

Focused on the future, Liniger said the five lessons are as relevant as ever today – and will continue to be so. He put context around today’s interest rate environment – noting that the 30-year fixed rate has averaged 7.76% the past 50 years – and said buyers and sellers will adapt after a decade of unsustainably low rates.

When reflecting on the near future of the current market – and the role RE/MAX plays in it – Liniger points to the value RE/MAX places on the opinions of affiliates.

“Leadership is constantly meeting with Broker/Owners and agents who are suggesting great ideas,” Liniger said. “And so many of those ideas that have been implemented in this company have come from the field.”

With affiliates prepared to tackle any challenge, and leadership poised to help ensure the most productive environment in the industry, RE/MAX will continue to pave the way in real estate.

“This industry is changing. And we’ve been at the forefront of changes all along.”

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