How AI Can Help Make Real Estate Businesses More Efficient with Damon Remy CEO of REI Blackbook

All right. Good morning and welcome, Wicked Smart listeners. I'm your host, Chris Prefontaine, for another episode. And this is sort of a pre-QLS Live episode. We have that amazing yearly event coming up. It's in Boston, Mass., this year, September 23rd and 24th. And I want to make sure that you're there. So I wanted to interview anyone that's going to interact with us at that event. And this guest is no different. Damon Remy is the founder of REI Black Book. And there's a couple— I'm going to say it in the episode, so I won't, I won't spoil it here. But there's a couple of reasons I like dealing with Damon. There's 3, and I'll say that in the, in the show. For those of you that haven't been to a QoS Live event and/or aren't on our customized REI Black Book, because some of you might be on it, but we have inside the Wicked Smart community all the workflows, everything customized. So when you get it, you plug into our community, you don't have to go out and program that junk. And I can tell you from a non-tech person, I love it. Damon's really the chief everything officer of REI BlackBook. He's just telling me how he revamped— when we were off air, how he revamped a lot of his company. So he literally has got his fingers on everything. Before starting REI, just to have a little backdrop, he was on episode 379. You can go get a bigger background. But before doing that, he actually struggled with a traditional job, a W-2, like so many other people. And he's like, you know, I could do so much better on my own. So that was the driving force behind getting him to start REI BlackBook. You'll hear much more detail in the episode, but he focuses on innovation. In future building. And one of our values in our company is we constantly innovate and improve. It's one of 4 or 5 values. So that's one of the reasons we align. So I spoiled that there. But he, he actually absolutely has a way to constantly do that. And this particular year, 2024, is no different. He said to me before this show you're about to witness that there are some new things coming out that literally will be coming out at our event. Like our event will be the first time you're going to see this. Well, what better way for you to innovate your business or start your business by having some easy inroads to a CRM? I used to never use one. If you're in our community, you know that. And I'm on— I'm on it myself. So it's absolutely super important that you're there. He's going to talk about how AI is interacting with the REA BlackBook and frankly, your business and changing your business if you take full advantage of it. So constantly innovate and improve. Let's make sure you get there. I'm going to give you some links throughout the show because I want you to get there for half off. All right, guys, I want to make sure you remind you about our QLS Live event. We've been hosting this thing since 2016 in a basement, and now we have a brand new facility in Boston, Massachusetts. This year, 2024, it's going to be September 23rd and 24th. That's a Monday and a Tuesday. Makes it easy for travel. It is literally right next to the airport. Go to smartrealestatecoach.com/qslive and use the coupon code PODCAST50. That's going to give you 50% off. I'll see you there. All right. With that as a little intro, Damon, welcome back to the show, buddy.

Hey, thanks for having me, Chris. Excited to be here as always.

Yeah. The last time I was looking at my notes here, the last time you were on was episode 379. I think it's probably 100 or so ago. So it's a while. That's probably a year or two.

Oh, wow. Wow.

Time flies. I think it was when you entered the studio, right? You came into our studio.

Yeah, probably so. I mean, that's, that's about that time frame.

All right. So let's dive in here. This is exciting because you're going to be at QLS Live again this year. And for the listener, I'm going to play devil's advocate for the listener that goes, yeah, he was there last time or whatever. I want them to know that you're always on the move. I said, if there's one of our speakers, it's always like innovating. It's you. And that's one of our values in our company. So what's new? Like, what's, what's going to happen between now and then and why should they come see us?

You know, the cool thing about what I get to do, in fact, this is a pretty big reason, I think, that I got so attracted to technology and everything else all those years ago, literally probably 30-plus years ago now at this point, that's kind of crazy thing about, is that technology is always changing, right? And so if I don't change with it and, uh, the, and, and if you guys don't change with it, uh, then you get left behind. But the good news is, uh, I've actually really committed my life, my career to, to being that technology manager. For our our tribe, right? And so we've got a ton of new stuff. I mean, the the the market you know market shifting. I'll leave that stuff to you guys. You guys are experts on that. But the technology is shifting as well, especially with some of the AI stuff that's out there. So we've got a lot of new AI stuff. I'm going to talk about how we're using AI, how smart investors are using AI today. And it's not just the cool thing about AI. It's, I mean, there's so many ways that you could use AI today. I personally use AI in my business every single day. I think my wife thinks I'm seeing somebody else, but it's really just ChatGPT. You know, it's like, yeah, that's, so really excited to show you guys how we're using AI, not just to create content, right? To create content, but to actually help analyze and review, for example, incoming calls, examining conversations that you're having with your contacts, examining your database to kind of help you highlight what are the priorities and where you should be paying, paying attention. So, and the AI piece, it's so damn smart and it's getting smarter every day. Not only can it help you analyze all that stuff, it can give you intelligent suggestions on what to do next, just based upon the conversation that it can analyze as well as you telling it what your objective is. So that's just one sneak peek.

Yeah. So before we do more sneak peeks, that sounds like whether they're brand, brand new, because this is what the event is catered to, brand, brand new and seasoned, whether they're brand new or seasoned, it sounds like they need to start or keep innovating by grabbing some of this stuff. Like, I know it's something we all do internally, On our own, on our own properties, we just stay tied with you. And then of course, the associates for sure.

Yeah. Yeah. So it's always that question, you know, what came first, the chicken or the egg? When, you know, it's like, when do I build the foundation of my business? Well, it's like the same time you build the foundation of your house, right? In the beginning, because if you don't build that foundational piece. So the AI piece, honestly, I think new investors today, it's kind of one of those things. You know, as you get older, Chris, I know I reflect back and I'm like, man, kids today, they got it so easy, right? It's like new investors today, they have it so easy. They have, you know, back in the day, it's like, you remember when the MLS was actually a physical book, right? It wasn't even, it wasn't even a computer. You know, I'm dating myself a little bit. No, no.

Unfortunately, I remember too. And I remember taking a— this is really— I had to print the driving instructions from the The internet, put it on my folder and then go in the car.

Yeah, right, exactly. So, you know, back in my day, right? But it really is pretty cool in the sense that investors today, they especially coming out of the gate, you have access to a lot of tools, a lot of technology, and it's getting easier and easier to use every single day. You don't have to be, you know, a programmer to be able to use and leverage some of this technology. And even if you don't want to use the technology on a daily basis, it can be working in the background and just sending you updates on your phone. You know, I mean, it's just simple stuff like that is really, you know, ways to use, utilize and leverage the technology for sure.

So I have a question about a current thing that I think you guys are working on. So I don't know if you're in the loop. I wasn't until Rick's been updating me with one of your guys. And that is because, because the students that I told that this might happen, they'll go like, oh my God, it'd be huge. So a new student comes on, they're brand new, they get a website now through you guys, actually through the REI Black Book. And I heard you're working on populating just the Wicked Smart community properties that are available. Is that forthcoming soon?

Yes. I mean, we actually, we're pretty close to that.

Okay.

And so here's what we actually have right now live today. We share our REI Black Book community properties. So if you build a website today and you say publish the community properties, your website will have inventory on it from day one. So even as a brand new investor, you're credible. All right. That's pretty awesome.

That's huge.

Now, the one challenge with that in your community, that is literally my entire community of thousands of investors all across the country, whether it's wholesale deals, whether it's flips, you know, whatever. And I know that's not necessarily your guys's a complete niche and focus. And so what I've talked to the team about doing is saying, what if we just created just a category specifically for Wicked Smart so that your students could come on and just hit the Wicked Smart button and then it instantly filters out that inventory and only shows your tribe's community or your community's inventory?

Yeah.

And the way that we do that Well, first of all, so as a seller, if you're like, hey, wait a minute, I don't want to put my properties inside of our BlackBook, that if you're just going to go publish it out, well, first of all, guys, we're just helping you sell the property, right? And what we do is if like, let's say that you've got a property, Chris, you've got 123 Main Street and you're looking for, you know, a new tenant buyer and I can then And you have the option, you can say publish this to the community. Right. So as soon as you just check that box, now what I do when I build my website, I say, hey, look, publish the inventory from the community. So it pulls your property onto my website.

All right.

And so now if a new prospect goes and views that property, right, they can actually inquire on and say, hey, yeah, I want more information. Well, that information, I get an email And I get an email with your contact info. And so, and so, so just basically just say, look, you know, Chris has got the property. You got Joe, you know, Joe Buyer over here. He just inquired. Here's Joe Buyer's info, but here's Chris's info. He's actually the owner of the property that they inquired on. And then at that point, you know, you guys make the decision as real estate investors, business owners, how do you want to handle that amongst yourselves?

I love it because it keeps coming up because if they're brand new, first of all, I gave them the right script. If a seller says, why are there no properties on your site? That's because I My goal is to not have properties on my site, is to sell them. But it would be better if or when we have them all there. So you're brand new as a Wicked Smart listener to hear this. You're brand new, you come in and you have access. Your site looks like it has all the— well, has all the properties for our entire community. So just another benefit with REI. What else is coming down the pike that they should be watching for, concerned about, and/or what we're talking about at QLS Live in September, David?

So, I mean, like I said, a ton of AI stuff. We have a lot of new updates. So we're updating the interface. I've spent probably, well, not probably, I can tell you how much money I've spent. It's been a lot of money. It's been about half a million bucks and about 2 years developing a whole new front end, a whole new front end. And the front end, what does that really mean? The UI, user interface. It's just basically the look and the feel of it. To make it easier and to make it more intuitive. We're going to be rolling out a lot of that stuff. Quite frankly, your audience will be the first audience that really gets to see a ton of new updates we've been working on. So we'll make it easier. We've got some AI stuff. Data is becoming easier and easier. So we're looking at some, some data components as well. New web dialing, new phone, phone technology, making it easier. to connect. Lots and lots of new stuff. I mean, it's a new Trello board, kind of Kanban board style, so you can drag and drop your properties throughout the process and just more visual aids and just easy is really the key. I think that's what I keep telling my dev team and everything else. I just want this ridiculously easy because there's a lot of complex stuff that we do in the backend.

Yeah.

A lot of complex stuff, to be very candid. But we want you guys as users to not even recognize that complexity.

No, it's super. I mean, I'm always looking forward to your presentation because of the energy and the innovation. And then third, you're usually giving them some really cool things, like you're giving them nuggets while they're there, not just presenting. So I don't know if you have anything in mind yet, but we'll leave that as a cliffhanger, I guess.

Yeah, well, it's always good to give you guys updates. And the truth is, Chris, I know A ton of stuff will happen between now and then. Yeah, that I don't even know yet entirely what we'll talk about, but I always have a pretty good idea. But it's always— it'll always be updated and current what's really going on in today's market for sure.

Great, great. So we'll load you guys up. QLS Live. I want to give you guys a 50% off. So just go to smartrealestatecoach.com/QLSLive and use the podcast— sorry, use the code for the for the podcast, which is PODCAST50. That's your coupon code. Okay, David, anything else that I didn't ask you that we want to share for that?

No, I think the only thing I would want to add is I think this is the second, maybe the third time that I've attended your guys' QLS. And, you know, I have a very— I've got a cool background and story, and our stories have always been very aligned, very similar. But one of the things I've been able to do is I've traveled the country literally with lots of different training educational companies, some massively big, some small. And I'm always blown away. Literally every event I walk away and I tell you and Zach, you know, with all sincerity, every single time I'm always blown away at how much you guys really give your community. Even if Zach and I were joking about it on a call the other day, I was like, dude, you guys feed your people better than any— like, you must charge a ton of money for your tickets because just the food alone is freaking amazing, man. You don't, you don't leave hungry, that's for damn sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Yeah.

So you guys feed their minds and their bodies, man. I mean, it's, you know, it's pretty awesome.

Yeah, no, I appreciate it. And one, I want you guys all should go back to episode 379 and get a little bit more of Damon's story. But Damon, you just hit upon why you and I enjoy working together and what I always look for, frankly. And that is we both went through some hairy stuff in '08. So we've got some cool stories that we share there. You've got longevity in the business. That's what I look for, you know. So, and lastly, we don't bring people to QLS Live that we don't interact with and use and utilize. So All of the above reasons you guys need to be there. It's myrealestatecoach.com/QLSLive and use that coupon code because we want to get you 50% off. And no, we don't charge an arm and a leg for the tickets. We want your butt there in the seat. And I guarantee you'll consider it time well spent, guys. So let's, let's make sure you get there. And by the way, Damon, unlike— you've been in the ballroom 2 years with us. Unlike that venue, we're in Boston. We're at a very nice facility, but it's limited. I think it's 135. ish is the limitation. So it'll, it'll, it's going to max out. You guys that are listening, grab your tickets and come see Damon and I. Damon will be on stage, but Damon also hangs out. I don't want to put words out there that I can't live by, but you're going to be hanging out with us too, I think.

Yeah. Mike, Mike, Mike. Well, first of all, anytime I go to an event, I'm always, you know, trying to hang out after hours, everything else. And whether it's, if I'm not hanging out, I guarantee my team is hanging out. I always bring my team as well. So they're there to share and And execute. At the end of the day, we want you guys to take action and move stuff forward while you're there. Like, not just— don't make it just another event. Let's take some action and move your business forward for sure.

Yeah. And you guys that are busy, I know a lot of people ask me all the time, okay, well, I'm busy, I got a job. Everyone does. So no kidding is my answer. And let REI Black Book be one of the things that helps you innovate to go ahead and operate and not worry about your time schedule, because one of the many pieces that I call stacking in your arsenal that you can do to go ahead and operate here part-time until you see the light, so to speak, and make it full-time. Damon, I appreciate you hanging out for a few minutes. I just want these guys to hear from you for QLS Live. We'll see them all there and we'll see you there, buddy. Thanks so much.

See you guys.

Okay, Wicked Smart listeners, that does wrap up our time today with Mr. Damon Remy, Chief of Everything Officer. If you enjoyed the show, guys, at any level, please share it with someone so they can get to the event too. We have limited, as I said in the show just a couple of seconds ago, to how many seats we can fill there. It's a beautiful facility, but it's limited. And also, if you could take a couple of seconds and give us a review, we really appreciate that as well. Go off and make it a super productive week and we'll see you in September in Boston. I will say this. I don't think I said it during the show. If it's— if I did, it's worth repeating. I will tell you that you will consider the best 2 days time spent for you in 2024. If you can't say that at the end of the event, come up to me. I'm going to personally be there. and say, Chris, it wasn't what you thought— what I thought it was. It wasn't what you said it was. I'd like my travel expenses back and we will pay you back on those. Okay. I've never had that happen because I'm super, super laser-focused on making it the greatest event for you.

We'll see you there. Thanks for listening to the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast. If you're ready to invest in yourself and take your investing to the next level, check out our 90-Day Jumpstart Program by going to smartrealestatecoach.com/jump. That's smartrealestatecoach.com/jump, because now is the time to act boldly in this unprecedented market shift.