Download - RE/MAX: Stronger Than Ever
8Transcending Barriers: How Technology is Enabling Global Real Estate – Page 40
September 2013 $6.95
STRONGER THAN EVERRE/MAX Helps Agents Stay
Ahead in a Changing Market
[email protected]/rismedia
Dave Liniger, Chairman and
Co-founder of RE/MAX:
Dave Liniger, Chairman and
Co-founder of RE/MAX
66 September 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2013 67
Real estate agents want to align
themselves with an organization that
can help them stay ahead in an ever-
evolving market. With 40 years of success and
continuous leadership behind it, RE/MAX is a
perfect ft for many of them.
Leadership. Guts. Passion. Drive. Heart. Agents with
these qualities know how to get the job done, especially
as the real estate market continues to improve. These
agents get results for their clients. They like being in
the driver’s seat and in control of their success. And
they’re exactly the kind of entrepreneurs Dave Liniger,
RE/MAX chairman and co-founder, wants—and has—in
his organization.
For 40 years, Liniger and his wife, Gail, have built a real
estate empire on the simple notion that agents should
be in business for themselves but not by themselves.
The Linigers’ leadership has inspired legions of real
estate professionals to look for opportunities amid the
challenges.
That’s why RE/MAX, a force of more than 90,000
agents in more than 90 countries, is so well positioned
to help professional, productive real estate agents ele-
vate their careers and capitalize on the positive momen-
tum in today’s real estate market.
Inspiration to All
The RE/MAX story can’t be told without mentioning the
leadership of Dave Liniger, one of the most vocal advo-
cates on matters that improve the industry for profes-
sionals and consumers. After working as hard as anyone
to help agents, brokers and distressed buyers and sell-
ers through the diffcult days of the economic downturn,
Liniger entered 2012 on an optimistic high note. He
knew the recovery was beginning to gain steam. What
he didn’t know was that he’d soon be fghting for his life.
In February 2012, a life-threatening staph infection
nearly killed him; on Valentine’s Day, he actually fat-lined
for a short time. He endured months of hospitalization
and multiple surgeries, partially paralyzed for much of
the time. Told he might never walk again, the extremely
active and tough RE/MAX leader fell into despair.
Liniger ultimately leaned on the optimistic, goal-orient-
ed mindset that had guided his own success, and that of
RE/MAX. He knew he couldn’t give up, and shouldn’t give
up, so he decided he wouldn’t give up.
STRONGER THAN EVER
RE/MAX Helps Agents Stay Ahead in a Changing Market
by Maria Patterson
68 September 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
From that point on, Liniger focused
completely on recovery. He attacked
physical therapy with his trademark
tenacity. He set benchmarks and
goals: If he could walk 10 steps, he
could walk 100—and then 1,000.
He struggled along the way, but
kept moving toward self-suffciency.
Finally, with limited mobility despite
months of rehabilitation, he returned
to work in July 2012.
Fast-forward to the RE/MAX R4
Convention in February 2013 and
an unforgettable Opening General
Session. Liniger, who a year earlier
had missed the convention for the
frst time ever, appeared on stage
and shared his story with a crowd
of more than 7,000 RE/MAX Asso-
ciates from around the world. When
he fnished his emotional address,
he stood up from his motorized
wheelchair and, with only a cane,
walked off the stage to a thunder-
ous ovation—an electrifying mo-
ment in RE/MAX history.
The overwhelming support for the
RE/MAX leader at R4 confrmed that
his struggle, detailed in his New York
Times best-selling book, “My Next
Step: An Extraordinary Journey of
Healing and Hope,” was well worth
the battle.
“We all have moments in our lives
when we have to choose whether to
give up and admit defeat or press on.
It could be a medical problem, the
loss of a loved one, or a professional
situation like the real estate down-
turn we all went through,” Liniger
says. “The thing to always remember
is that you can get through it. It’s not
easy, but with the right attitude, de-
termination and people around you,
you can reach any achievable goal
you set for yourself.
“During the worst hous-
ing market in decades, our
agents chose to get train-
ing on distressed proper-
ties and return to the ba-
sics that helped make them
successful in the frst place.
And they made it through. That’s
one of the main things I love about
RE/MAX people—they never, ever
give up. They always fnd a way.”
That top-down resiliency perme-
ates the RE/MAX organization. A
can-do confdence has always been
a RE/MAX strongpoint, and it shows
in the performance of the sales
force, which has kept RE/MAX No. 1
in the United States since 1997 and
No. 1 in Canada since 1987.
The 2013 RISMedia Power Broker
Report of the 1,200 largest U.S.
brokerages that chose to participate
provides a good snapshot of current
trends. RE/MAX agents in the report
averaged 16.8 transaction sides in
2012, more than double the 8.1 av-
erage of all others. No other national
franchise topped 11. What’s more,
when the 1,200 frms are ranked by
transaction sides per agent, 90 of
the top 100 are with RE/MAX.
40 Years of Success, Evolution
In addition to the return of Dave
Liniger, the 2013 R4 gathering
also marked the 40th anniversary
of RE/MAX. Other networks have
come and gone over the past four
decades, but RE/MAX has pushed
forward while staying true to its
roots.
“Our company is built on the
strength of individual entrepreneur-
ship and innovation,” he says. “Gail
and I realized in the beginning that
we would succeed only if our agents
succeeded. A lot has changed in 40
years, and we’ve evolved with shifts
in the industry, but what hasn’t
changed is our core principle: at-
tracting the best agents, and then
supporting them, so they can deliver
outstanding results to their clients.”
That principle drew Susan Coveny
to RE/MAX more than two decades
ago, when she was already a suc-
cessful agent with more than 15
years of experience. Over the past
23 years, she has earned more than
$20 million at RE/MAX Prestige in
Long Grove, Ill., qualifying her for the
RE/MAX Luminary of Distinction ca-
reer award.
During the downturn, Coveny went
from about 24 closings per month to
just two or three. But she didn’t give
up.
“It was my job to keep things going
and get us through the hard times so
we could be on top of the game when
the market came back. And here we
“I really don’t think
an agent can
thrive without a
brand like
RE/MAX behind
them. We have so
much excitement,
energy and synergy in
this company; I’d never
consider leaving.”
- Susan Coveny,
RE/MAX Prestige,
Long Grove, Ill.
Dave Liniger signing a copy of his New
York Times best-selling book, “My Next
Step: An Extraordinary Journey of Healing
and Hope.”
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2013 69
are,” says Coveny, who’s now felding
more leads and business than ever.
“I really don’t think an agent can
thrive without a brand like RE/MAX
behind them. We have so much ex-
citement, energy and synergy in this
company; I’d never consider leaving.”
Innovation Leads to More
Productivity
With home sales and prices on a
steady rise, the U.S. housing market
has regained its glow, shifting from a
buyer’s market to a distinct seller’s
market.
RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly, who
appears regularly on national news
programs to discuss housing trends
and the market’s positive momen-
tum, says it’s no surprise RE/MAX
added agents in 2012 and even
more in the frst half of 2013.
“The agents who join us want the
support, the brand name visibility
and the credibility of the RE/MAX
brand behind their business,” Kelly
says. “Part of the reason RE/MAX
appeals to so many entrepreneurs
is because we’re always looking for
ways—through technology, educa-
tion, resources, advertising and
more—to help them stand out and
increase their business.”
Innovations are the norm at
RE/MAX. In the past 20 months,
RE/MAX has rolled out three game-
changing websites: www.theremax-
collection.com, a luxury-home search
site; www.global.remax.com, for
international property searches us-
ing local languages and currencies;
and www.remaxcommercial.com, the
RE/MAX commercial property search
portal. The new sites fortify an al-
ready vibrant web presence centered
on remax.com, which attracts about
50 million visits each year and was
ranked by Hitwise as the industry’s
top franchise site in terms of annu-
al traffc in 2012. Since 2006, the
site has delivered more than 12 mil-
lion—and counting—referral-fee-free
leads to RE/MAX agents.
National advertising is another
longtime RE/MAX strength that
benefts every agent. As competi-
tors have cut back or eliminated
national advertising, RE/MAX
keeps investing in it—and
the results are telling. In a
recent MMR Strategy Group
survey that asked U.S. and
Canadian homebuyers and
sellers to name a real estate
brand, RE/MAX was mentioned more
than any competitor—and named
frst more than any other company.
That brand awareness is powerful.
When people see a RE/MAX ad, they
think of the local RE/MAX agent they
know or have heard of.
Education provides a different
kind of edge. The award-winning
RE/MAX University, which has
helped RE/MAX lead the indus-
try in professional designations
and certifcations for many years,
launched a revolutionary eLearn-
ing platform called MyRU in 2012.
It delivers an interactive, multi-
platform learning experience to
RE/MAX agents on a 24/7 basis
and further solidifes the network’s
commitment to education.
“The competitive advantages
RE/MAX offers simply can’t be
matched,” Kelly says. “The best part
is that RE/MAX agents use them to
build their personal business.”
Forging Their Destinies
Many RE/MAX agents embrace the
resources and transform them into
more business, more profts and,
most importantly, more happy clients.
Georges Bardagi is a perfect ex-
ample. Bardagi, a Team Leader with
RE/MAX du Cartier in Montreal, Que-
bec, has been an elite producer for
two decades. He started his career
at RE/MAX in 1991 and kept fnding
new reasons to stay.
Over the years, Bardagi has suc-
ceeded in great markets and in bad
ones. Right now, Montreal is riddled
with for-sale-by-owner listings, all or-
ganized on a regional website that
poses a unique challenge to his
business. When Bardagi approaches
those sellers, who are often
“RE/MAX has 40
years of support
and results
behind it, and
nothing beats that.
I never have to sell
the brand; I only
have to sell my
team’s abilities.”
- Georges Bardagi,
RE/MAX du Cartier,
Montreal, Quebec
Margaret Kelly, CEO RE/MAX
70 September 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
frustrated after months of no activ-
ity, he’s backed by the brand locals
know and trust.
“RE/MAX has 40 years of support
and results behind it, and nothing
beats that,” Bardagi says. “I never
have to sell the brand; I only have to
sell my team’s abilities.”
That’s not a problem for Bardagi,
whose team has closed more than
$70 million in sales so far this year.
“At the end of the day, if you have a
great brand but the agents don’t pro-
vide great service, business will suf-
fer,” Bardagi says. “RE/MAX agents
are the best. People know they can
trust us to do a great job.”
That’s wisdom Ryan O’Neill can
agree with. In 2012, he was the
RE/MAX system’s No. 1 Team Lead-
er worldwide for transaction sides.
O’Neill, 38, represents the next gen-
eration of RE/MAX agents: young,
tech-savvy, and as driven and pas-
sionate as their predecessors.
Like Bardagi, Coveny and thousands
of other RE/MAX top producers, O’Neill
uses the tools—remax.com, Lead-
Street (a management system for free
remax.com leads), RE/MAX University,
etc.—and forges his own destiny.
“What I love about RE/MAX is that
you’re in charge of your own value
proposition,” says O’Neill, who leads
the 50-agent real estate team with
RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Lakeville,
Minn. “I offer an environment that
fosters happiness, rewarding work,
and the ability to generate new leads
and business. The market is always
evolving, so we have to work hard to
stay ahead of what’s going on.”
O’Neill’s market didn’t experi-
ence the crash other metro areas
did across the U.S., but low inven-
tory and strong buyer demand is
creating a different kind of challenge
for his team members. Being with
RE/MAX reinforces their credibil-
ity with consumers and instills con-
fdence in their ability to overcome
any obstacle.
It’s really no secret why agents like
O’Neill are successful at RE/MAX.
They have the drive to go the extra
mile, and they’re willing to work hard
and do whatever it takes to make
their clients happy.
At RE/MAX, they’re in control of
their results—and that’s just the way
they like it. RE
For more information, please visit
www.remax.com.
RE/MAX Balloon Celebrates 35th Anniversary It’s one of the most recognized corporate symbols on the planet, and
understandably so. At seven stories tall, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon
grabs attention wherever it fies. In October, RE/MAX will mark the 35th
anniversary of its iconic balloon.
First introduced at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in
1978, the balloon perfectly represented the RE/MAX network’s “Above
the Crowd” commitment to quality. Today, the nearly 120 RE/MAX Hot Air
Balloons in operation comprise the largest feet in the world.
“What I love
about
RE/MAX is
that you’re
in charge
of your own value
proposition.”
- Ryan O’Neill,
RE/MAX Advantage Plus,
Lakeville, Minn.