RE/MAX and Its Technology Moment

At the start of 2020, Josh May could see a big year ahead.

Projections and early numbers weren’t just good for the team leader with RE/MAX of Grand Rapids in Michigan; they were setting up for what looked to be the best year yet.

Then the reality of 2020 poured a tall glass of ice-cold water on things.

“Michigan had some of the most restrictive rules for real estate with the pandemic,” May says. “For two-and-a-half months I didn’t meet with any clients. We were down 90%.”

But where many stopped, May saw an opportunity to grow himself and his team. He reached out to his community, his partners and his office to see how he could help. He set up and joined virtual masterminds.

Mostly, he saw the chance to get better. So he jumped into the world of RE/MAX technology. He knew there were tools to help him reach out to the right person at the right time with the right message – he just needed to harness them.

With time on his hands, May chose not to sit back and worry. Instead, he dove deeper into the advantages he had.

“I’ve always been a huge advocate of what RE/MAX does,” the Titan Club Team leader says. 

A Tech-Forward Company

From its beginning in the 1970s, RE/MAX has always been a real estate trailblazer.

In recent years, that’s meant adding its trademark hustle to technology. RE/MAX re-upped its modern approach and tech-driven focus in 2018 with the acquisition of the award-winning tech firm booj.

It didn’t stop there. RE/MAX partnered with Photofy in 2019, where with a couple simple clicks, agents can take RE/MAX exclusive graphics and videos and send them via social media or text. 

Then, at the 2020 RE/MAX R4 convention in Las Vegas, the real estate leader introduced several more technology tools that empower agents to build their business.

One was an app from First, a North Carolina tech company acquired by RE/MAX in December 2019. The First app analyzes an agent’s personal contacts and identifies those most likely to sell in the coming months.

It provides a better experience for consumers, who end up working with someone they already trust, and a better outcome for agents, who avoid the pain of seeing homeowners they know list with a competitor – often one not as familiar with who they are and what they’re all about.

RE/MAX also introduced an in-house marketing tool called Megaphone, which serves as an agent’s digital marketing agency by helping drive traffic to online listings, websites and social media pages. In just a few minutes, agents can create digital ads, place them where they want, create brand presence and generate leads.

Fundamentally, RE/MAX created a perfect technology storm, where agents can reach the right people (Megaphone) with the right message (Photofy) at the right time (First).

Tools for Growth

When May saw a chance to get better at using the RE/MAX tools, he jumped at it. At the top of the list was Megaphone.

May started out with one listing as a test. For him and his team, the upsides were apparent.  

By plugging a listing into Megaphone, May instantly showed value to sellers. He could provide his clients with detailed analytics on where the ad lived, how many impressions it received and if it created any leads. 

Megaphone also got May’s team in front of people on multiple platforms, serving as a prime branding tool. Now, May allocates budget for Megaphone with every listing.

“To us, it’s been really easy to use and really cost effective,” May says.

Megaphone’s benefits were similar for Dean Eshelman of RE/MAX Best Choice in Missouri. The veteran agent used to spend lots of time working on his social media accounts to promote his business. Now, with Megaphone, what used to take hours takes only a couple of minutes.

“I don’t have to spend a whole afternoon anymore,” he says. “The biggest benefit is having the visibility out there on your platforms. You get your name and face in front of a lot of people.”

A large part of the effectiveness of Megaphone is how it pairs with MLS photos, custom content or other RE/MAX offerings like custom listing videos or Photofy.

For many agents, creating a custom ad is as easy as finding the RE/MAX branded template in Photofy, creating the image and then pushing it in front of an audience on Megaphone. The marriage between the two streamlines the process.

“Both Megaphone and Photofy make it easy to get the right message out there,” says Sharon Beck, director of agent services at RE/MAX Heritage in Missouri. “It’s a beast when you have two separate programs and you’re having to download stuff. All I do is create something on my phone, and then I can share it, whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram or just texting it to people.”

The New App on the Block

With the ability to pair content and audiences with Photofy and Megaphone, First already helped RE/MAX agents become more efficient.

The app helps agents spend less time hunting for business and more time building it. First closes the gap of missed deals in an agent’s network by identifying contacts who are likely to sell a home in the next year – and suggesting an action plan to solidify the connection.

They simply have to connect – or reconnect – with the contacts prioritized by the app and they’ll start to uncover unexpected new deals, sometimes with people they haven’t thought about in years.

Agents can sign up in less than five minutes. There is no learning curve with the First, and the easy to use app walks an agent through sign up, uploading contacts and flagging those likely to sell.

When a 3-star contact is flagged, a RE/MAX agent receives a notification to reach out.

“So many agents make the mistake of not keeping up with their sphere of influence,” says Cameron Keegan, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Moves in South Carolina. “Behind the scenes, First helps in a subtle way – it corrects that mistake in a simple way.”

And as RE/MAX technology continues to adapt, improve and evolve, the outcome for the No. 1 brand in real estate remains the same: Its agents continue to be top producers.

Technology is just another way RE/MAX empowers affiliates with guidance and progressive ideas to help them find sustainable, entrepreneurial success as real estate agents.

Agents like Josh May, who instead of furloughing himself during a pandemic, decided to get better.

He jumped into RE/MAX technology and has started to reap the benefits. Remember being down 90%?

May and his team are back on track with their projections and are on schedule to have their best year in 2020.

“There’s a reason I’ve been with RE/MAX half my life,” he says.