How to Increase Association Revenue Through Modern Realtor Education With Les McGehee

Description:

Les McGehee is the president of Rialto Academy, the leading provider of localized Realtor education for associations and MLSs. He helps real estate organizations increase revenue and member service while reducing staff workload through modern education strategies.
This episode explores how consultants can design scalable, productized education services that position them as category leaders.

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Links:

StreamYard (for guest): https://streamyard.com/kh3gxcmv2m
YouTube (for sharing):    • How to Increase Association Revenue Throug...  
Apply to be a guest: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to...

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Les's Bio:

Les McGehee is the president of Rialto Academy, where he helps associations of Realtors, MLSs, and real estate organizations increase revenue and member service using modern, localized education strategies, without adding staff labor.
A longtime entrepreneur, trainer, and performer, Les co-created “The ONE Thing” Trainer Certification program and authored Plays Well With Others. He has delivered thousands of events across the U.S. and internationally. Rialto Academy is the category leader in localized Realtor education, serves more than 500,000 Realtors, and partners with leading organizations including the Council of MLS and RAMCO. Les has coached and presented for NASA, Disney, PwC, IBM, AT&T, MBA programs, and global real-estate groups.

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Show Notes:

Les has built one of the most recognizable education engines in real estate. Through Rialto Academy, he helps associations and MLSs grow revenue, improve member satisfaction, and reduce labor demand, all through localized, modern training programs. More than 500,000 Realtors now learn on Rialto’s platforms.
His background is unusually broad: comedian, presenter, author, improvisation coach, and master trainer. That mix of performance, facilitation, and curriculum design gives him a unique lens on what makes education actually work. And it shows in how Rialto’s programs engage learners, not just meet compliance needs.
In this conversation, we break down how Les built an education-based consulting model at scale, how he designed partnerships that endure, and what consultants can learn from an industry where education directly drives revenue and adoption.

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Proposed Interview Structure:

1. You’ve built a career that blends performance, education, and consulting. What first pulled you into the consulting side of your work?

2. When you think about your role today, what core problem are you solving for associations and MLSs, and why is that problem meaningful to you personally?

3. For Rialto’s education partnerships, who are your ideal clients and decision-makers, and what signals tell you an organization is the right fit for your model?

4. How do potential partners typically find you, and what has been most effective in building authority and demand in such a specialized niche?

5. Selling into associations and MLSs can involve long cycles and multiple stakeholders. How do you navigate those conversations and ultimately bring a partnership across the finish line?

6. Once a client is working with Rialto, what do you personally do to keep them engaged, ensure they see consistent value, and build long-term relationships that keep them coming back?

7. As a consultant and leader running multiple programs, where do you find yourself most stuck right now, if at all?

8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities for your work over the next few years, and what shift do you think you personally need to make to capture them?