The e-PRO is the first new certification to be offered by the National Association of REALTORS® in years. And according to the e-PRO course architect, Michael Russer, it will be among the most challenging to earn. The very visibility of the e-PRO will mean the polarization of the real estate industry separating those who can cut it on the Internet and those who can't.

Seldom has a NAR initiative sparked more interest or appeared more timely. "Never has such a massive project been undertaken before," says Russer. "There will be whole new ways of learning as an educational system. The implications for the industry are that e-PRO is the bridge for a very real chasm. You won't be able to participate in what will be the online transaction unless you have these skill sets."

"A lot of people will get on board for the differentiating potential, but e-PRO is designed explicitly for those who would never make it otherwise to qualify," he says.

The e-PRO course will be 16 hours, long for a certification when you consider that in Massachusetts, it only takes 25 hours to become a broker. Where the e-PRO will also differ is in competency testing.

"They (agents) are not going to know when they are being tested," reveals Russer. "The system will interact with them in ways they don't know they are being interacted. This won't be a pat-on-the-head, you're-certified course. It is designed to structurally change behavior, because if we don't, then we would be preparing them for slaughter instead."

Realty Times brings you everything you want to know about e-PRO, with information based on interviews with the two people who are most instrumental in its development, Internet trainer Michael Russer and the educational director for Websuite, the course engineers, Dr. Barbara Hoffmann.

What is the e-PRO?

The e-PRO is the first course for certification of its kind to be sponsored by any trade organization for its members. The NAR is ahead of its time to create such a course as a professional tool for its members. The e-PRO will be a visible certification that agents can use to demonstrate to the online home buying and selling consumer that they are Internet-enabled and trained to help them in the world of electronic commerce.

Where can I take the course?

The e-PRO course is still in development, and scheduled to be beta-tested beginning in late January. When it is rolled out in the spring of 2000, you will be able to take it through the NAR University. The course will be offered online only, which will mean that applicants will have to meet certain criteria in order to qualify to take the e-PRO course work. Other locations to take the course may be possible later in the year, but they have yet to be announced.

What do I need to know to qualify to take the e-PRO course?

You must be a licensed REALTOR® and you must have working knowledge of computer basics such as browsers, Windows 95, and Internet tools such as email.

What if I still need some mastery of these skills?

You can take computer and Internet courses anywhere you wish, but Websuite, the engineer of the e-PRO course is bundling five courses into an inexpensive package called Internet Basics that will specifically prepare you for the e-PRO course. For $99, you can prepare yourself with Internet basics, computer basics, browsers, Windows95, and Internet tools. Realty Times will let you know when Internet Basics is available. To take the Internet Basics courses, you can click on www.Websuite.com, or the course may be available through your local MLS. You can also click on the Internet Basics button which will be featured on Realty Times in the Agent News section.

Special note, the Internet Basics course will not have the look or feel of the e-PRO course. Advance word is that e-PRO is tantalizing.

What is the e-PRO course going to be like?

The Internet Basics courses deal with the prerequisite technological skills you will need to become an ePRO. The e-PRO course, surprisingly, is not about technology. It is about learning to leverage your people skills online effectively.

Learning will take place in a mastery-based environment, not test-based. The e-PRO student will learn by assignment to create tools to use in their business.

Initial development outlines the e-PRO course into four major sections; operational, protocol, standards and behavior, and positioning.

The operational section tentatively will cover using the Internet in your business, publishing on the Web, building and managing a web site, creating effective online marketing, publishing on the Web, building and managing a web site, evaluating ISPs, email and other forms of Web communication, and using the Web to find and deliver information, and multimedia, to name just a few topics. Protocol will teach students how to deal with the Internet-empowered consumer. Standards and behavior will delve into Internet risk issues, disclosure, privacy statements, RESPA, and other jurisdictional concerns. Positioning will be about online transaction management and the paperless transaction and running your business on the Internet.

These are just the broad outlines, and will include many detailed exercises such as how to create an online newsletter, how to find material and properly publish on a personal Web site, and how to develop a niche on the Internet.

Whatever you are expecting from the e-PRO course work, get ready to be surprised and to conduct your business in a whole new way, says Russer, who designed the e-PRO course based on his Internet courses.

" Many of the things we are taught about interacting with consumers and how to take control of the transaction will actually work against licensees online," says Russer. "Any attempt to take that power or control away from the Internet-empowered consumer will backfire."

"The course participants will come away with stuff they can actually use," says Dr. Hoffman. "They can build things, interact with programs on line and evaluate them and they will actually create product that they can use in their businesses. "

What questions do you have about the e-PRO certification? What would you like to see covered in the course curriculum? What effect do you think the e-PRO will have on the real estate industry? Will the e-PRO change the way REALTORS® do business?

Click here to pre-register

Published: November 24, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.