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Direct University
59 free, plain-English lessons on running real estate cold outreach with Direct REI — from connecting a mailbox to automations, compliance, and AI calling. The same lessons ship inside the app.
Getting Started · 21 lessons
Quickstart — your first send in 10 minVideo walkthrough + the five steps: connect a mailbox, add contacts, generate a sequence, and send your first batch.8 min read · ▶ video
Your Home dashboard & daily workflowThe KPI strip, Drafts inbox, Needs-attention queue, activity feed, and next-action cards — your daily driver.4 min read
Getting around fast — search, shortcuts & making it yoursCmd+K to jump anywhere or find any contact, tables you can reshape to your own workflow, hiding the menu pages you never use, dark mode, and using the app on a phone.4 min read
Install Direct REI on your phone (iPhone, Android & desktop)Direct REI installs straight from the browser as a full-screen app with its own icon, an unread badge, and push notifications — no app store. Here is how, per device, and what changes once it is installed.4 min read
Notifications: choose what pings you, on your phone and computerSettings → Notifications decides what reaches you and where: push to this device, pop-ups in the app, and emails — per kind (calls, texts, emails, team chat, tasks), with quiet hours, a test button, and a list of your devices.4 min read
Oliver — your AI acquisition managerAsk for a whole campaign in one sentence and Oliver does it: pull county records, import, skip trace, write the sequence, enroll, go live — with spend limits you set.7 min read
Connect Gmail / Outlook / SMTP without spamVideo walkthrough + the deliverability essentials: app passwords, daily caps, warm-up, and mailbox rotation.6 min read · ▶ video
Set up your phone with Telnyx (recommended)The recommended way to text and call from Direct REI: create a Telnyx account, connect it in one click, get a number, register for texting, and turn on calling.6 min read
Set up SMS with QuoVideo walkthrough + connect your business number, register webhooks, configure signing secrets. Plus TCPA basics.6 min read · ▶ video
Get approved for business texting (10DLC)What carrier reviewers look for, and how Direct REI builds your opt-in page, fills in the form, and checks it all before you pay.5 min read
Get your calls answered: caller name and spam labelsCalling needs no approval, but the name people see and "Spam Likely" labels decide who picks up. Two free steps fix both.4 min read
Connect multiple Quo numbers (rotation + capacity)Add more than one Quo number to rotate sends, raise daily SMS capacity, and isolate sender reputation.5 min read
Call from your browser (softphone, ringing & recording)Turn Direct REI into a phone: dial with a headset, take incoming calls in the tab, send unanswered calls to voicemail, and record both sides of the call.6 min read
The CRM: contacts, tags & the deal pipelineBuyers / Sellers / Other tabs, statuses, tags, filters, import/export, and the drag-and-drop deal pipeline. Includes a video walkthrough of importing & exporting your list.7 min read · ▶ video
CSV import template — the best format to uploadDownload a ready-made spreadsheet for buyers, sellers + properties, other contacts, or deals. The columns map themselves — replace the sample rows, save as CSV, import.5 min read
Custom fields — track what your business actually cares aboutAdd your own fields to buyers, sellers, other contacts, and properties — then filter, sort, and export by them like any built-in field.4 min read
Add your team — seats & rolesGive a VA, acquisitions manager, or partner their own login. How seats, roles, and account switching work.4 min read
Connect Zapier & the API (leads, campaigns, webhooks)Push leads in from any form or tool, pull your CRM out, create and launch campaigns from your own system, put properties on your websites, and get a webhook for every reply, call outcome, click and website form — with API keys and webhooks from Settings → API & Zapier.5 min read
AI Call Agent: let an AI answer your phone and work your listAn AI that answers your inbound calls and places outbound ones from your own number — 25¢ per AI minute from credits. Setup, the persona, the consent rules, and how to read what the calls actually produced.9 min read
Sending domains: buy a domain in-app and add more mailboxesScale your email volume the right way: buy a lookalike sending domain inside DirectREI (we publish all the DNS for you), set up Google Workspace with a guided checklist, and connect 2-3 fresh mailboxes into your rotation.6 min read
Profile photo: put your face next to your emails in GmailThe picture Gmail shows beside your name comes from your Google Account, not from DirectREI. Here is where to set it for each mailbox you send from, what recipients actually see, and why an animated GIF will not work.3 min read
Outreach Tips · 8 lessons
Property Records — build a county owner list by filterSearch nationwide county parcel records by county, land use, delinquency and acreage, then import the owners straight into your CRM as sellers with linked properties. Priced per record.8 min read
Finding the right leads with AI researchVideo walkthrough + prompt strategies, contact-type selection, and how to filter junk before it hits your CRM.7 min read · ▶ video
Skip tracing: find phones & emails from an addressTurn a name + mailing address into the owner’s phone and email. Credits, the confirm flow, and when to use it.5 min read
Build & launch a sequence, step by stepVideo walkthrough + the full click-path: create a campaign, write or AI-generate the messages, set the cadence, then send to your contacts.7 min read · ▶ video
Save & reuse sequences across campaignsTurn a sequence you like into a reusable template, drop it into other campaigns, and manage your library — without campaigns ever stepping on each other.4 min read
Writing sequences that get repliesWhat the AI does well, what to override, and the structure of a cadence that converts.9 min read
Direct mail 101Ready-made postcard designs or your own, list-building, mailing cadence, and how to measure response rate.7 min read
Cold-call workflow with the dialerVideo walkthrough + a focus card you configure, multi-line dialing, quick-action outcomes, and the one-click "Interested → deal" promotion.6 min read · ▶ video
Best Practices · 30 lessons
Getting the most out of OliverReady-to-use requests for every part of your business, a daily routine, and how to make Oliver repeat work for you — plus how to keep it fast, cheap and safe.9 min read
Number health — spot a burned number before it costs youA per-number scorecard for answer rate, delivery failures, opt-outs, and volume — so you find out a number is being filtered from your dashboard, not from a month of silence.5 min read
When AI replies vs when you should take overAuto-send vs draft mode, the Drafts inbox, and the action-required flag — what triggers it and how to handle red contacts.6 min read
The Inbox — one place for every replyA three-pane workspace for triaging replies across email and SMS: lanes, drafts, unknown texters, snoozing, and replying without leaving the page.5 min read
Tasks — My Day, the board, and who does whatTrack the follow-up work a CRM stage can not express: due dates, assignment, recurring tasks, comments, and the optional AI task manager.5 min read
Link click tracking — see who clicks the links you sendAdd a link or a button to any email or text campaign and every click is counted: see who clicked, how many clicks, and which links in one Link clicks report — plus the contact card, the CRM and Analytics.5 min read
Vary wording — a slightly different message for every contactTurn on Vary wording and AI writes other ways to say each sentence of your campaign messages, so every contact gets their own mix — the same offer and facts, never hundreds of copies of the exact same email or text.5 min read
Personalized line — one researched sentence for every contactPut [Personalized Line] in a campaign message and, just before it sends, the AI writes one sentence for that contact — something from an investor's website or public profiles, or something local near an owner's property.6 min read
Automations — rules that do the follow-up for youBuild if-this-then-that rules on your CRM: twenty-two triggers, eighteen actions, IF/AND/OR conditions, and a flowchart view that shows exactly what each rule does.7 min read
When your messages actually go outThe send window, per-step send hours, the queue that drains every 15 minutes, and why a message you queued at 9:02 does not go out at 9:02 — by design.5 min read
Duplicates & data hygiene — keep the list worth workingMerge duplicate contacts without losing history, stop imports creating twins, and use the bad-number and returned-mail flags so you stop paying to reach dead ends.5 min read
TCPA + CAN-SPAM for real estate outreachThe rules that govern cold email and cold SMS. What you can and cannot do legally.8 min read
Reading cross-channel attributionHow to interpret which campaign earned each reply when leads switch channels.5 min read
Analytics, team numbers & KPI goalsBuild as many dashboards of KPIs and charts as you like, see each team member's numbers, set goals for each person (Team goals), and attach goals — "200 calls a day", "under 5 opt-outs a week" — to watch progress on every card.8 min read
Plans, caps & credits explainedWhat each plan includes, which actions count against monthly caps, and how prepaid credits work.6 min read
Refer & earn — 25% recurring, for lifeRefer other investors and earn a share of everything they spend, for as long as they stay a customer.3 min read
Files — keep the paperwork on the record it belongs toAttach deeds, photos, title docs and contracts to a contact, deal, or property — and have signed agreements land there on their own.4 min read
E-signatures: send & sign contracts in DirectREIUpload a contract, place the signature fields, and get it signed — by text, email, or in person — without anyone leaving DirectREI.7 min read
Websites: launch a property site that feeds your CRMPublish a real website straight from your CRM — a listings site with photos, maps, and filters, or a "we buy land" lead-capture site. Every form submission lands in your CRM as a lead.7 min read
Team page: time clock, announcements & your script libraryRun your people inside Direct REI: a time clock with timesheets, announcements with read receipts, a roster that includes people without a login, and one place for call scripts, objection answers and training.6 min read
Payroll prep: pay, overtime, bonuses & time offWork out what each person earned this pay period — hours, overtime, paid time off, bonuses from the numbers Direct REI already tracks, and reimbursements — then close the period and hand the CSV to your payroll provider. Plus time off requests and balances.7 min read
Scheduling: build the week, open shifts & cover swapsBuild each week's schedule on the Team page, post it when it's ready, let people pick up open shifts and swap shifts, collect when everyone can work, and get reminded before a shift and when someone hasn't clocked in.5 min read
Meetings: set a time, or find one everyone's freeSet up a meeting at a time you pick, or let your team mark when they're free and pick the best time. Invite teammates and people outside your team, add your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams link, and everyone is told, reminded 15 minutes before, and can add it to their calendar.6 min read
Team documents & onboarding: paperwork, e-signatures & checklistsKeep each person's paperwork in one private place — W-9s, IDs, licenses and signed agreements — ask people to upload what you need, send an offer letter or contractor agreement to sign, and give every new hire an onboarding checklist that ticks itself off.6 min read
Scorecards, reviews & 1:1s: see how each person is doingEach person's numbers in one place — hours against their usual week, calls, conversations, interested leads, deals and their team goals — plus written reviews, 1:1 notes and private notes, shared when you're ready and acknowledged by the person.5 min read
Team Chat: message your teammates inside DirectREIChannels and direct messages for your team — threads, reactions, quote-replies, search, file & picture attachments, voice dictation, linked CRM records, meeting polls, unread badges, @mentions, desktop notifications, and who can do what.4 min read
Block spam callers & texters (blocked numbers / DND)Stop spam and anonymous callers from hammering your lines: block numbers from Settings or any contact card, and what blocking does on each phone provider.4 min read
DNC & litigator scrubbing: check numbers before you dial or textScreen phone numbers against the Federal & state Do Not Call registries and TCPA-litigator lists — 1 credit per phone. What the flags mean and what the app does about them automatically.5 min read
Ringless voicemail: drop a message without ringing their phoneRecord a voicemail once and drop it straight into leads' voicemail boxes — no ring, 15¢ per delivered drop from credits. Setup, campaigns vs one-off drops, and the consent rules that make it legal.6 min read
Something isn't sending — work through this firstThe checklist for "my texts/emails didn't go out", "no replies are showing up", and "the AI didn't answer" — in the order the causes actually occur.7 min read
About Direct REIDirect REI is an AI cold-outreach platform and CRM for real estate investors. Its AI acquisition manager, Oliver, pulls county property records, finds the owners, and runs text, email, direct mail, calls, and ringless voicemail from your own mailbox and phone number — replying in your voice, and placing the calls itself when you ask.
Start free — let Oliver run the outreach.
Free plan, no card. Oliver finds the leads and runs email, SMS, and mail from your own accounts.