Jemila Winsey
Broker/Owner
RE/MAX Legacy Living and RE/MAX 1st Class
Richmond and League City, Texas
remaxlegacyliving.com
Region served: Houston, Texas
Years in real estate: 21
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 65
No. 1 tip to prepare for the upcoming summer market: Work with builders to identify new markets that you can explore. Also, work on carving out niche prospects who can purchase and move up while educating them on the market opportunities.
Having recently started your RE/MAX brokerage, can you talk a little bit about the value of the brand and how it has helped your business? Our affiliation with RE/MAX is vital to our brokerage goals. When we were looking to purchase a franchise, we made a checklist of all the items we needed to have, and RE/MAX checked all the boxes for us. Philosophically, the story of RE/MAX and its value proposition aligned perfectly with ours. The original disruptor, RE/MAX changed the game of real estate, and being with a franchise that challenged the status quo was a match made in heaven for us since we are out-of-the-box thinkers. The technology, tools and support we receive give us the edge we need to compete in today’s marketplace, allowing us to focus on our agents and clients.
What’s your secret to staying relevant in today’s ever-changing real estate landscape?Â
In this crazy and unpredictable new real estate normal, we have to stay nimble so that we can pivot quickly. We’re a modern brokerage, and technology is at the heart of everything we do. It’s essential to keeping our daily activities and processes streamlined. My background in information systems and marketing allows me to understand and quantify our agents’ systems and tools quickly. While we operate two brick-and-mortar locations, we have systems and tools that enable our agents to do business both virtually and physically, thanks to our franchise affiliation with RE/MAX.
How do you stay in touch with your clients?Â
We stay in touch with our top clients monthly via normal distribution channels (email, video, market updates, home value updates, etc.). Our Top 50 clients receive regular items of value. One of the most successful campaigns we launched this year was re-introducing ourselves to our clients by sending intimate story letters, which provided an increase in referral opportunities.
In what ways have you helped your agents cope with the challenges associated with the pandemic?Â
We have continued to stay in touch and involved; we simply check in to see if they need anything and offer more than just agent services. We’ve been subject-matter experts to our communities by providing helpful resources. Our efforts included volunteering to provide meals and PPE supplies, providing business resources at the local level by consulting with impacted landlords and tenants on the commercial and residential side as to their options, even testifying on behalf of REALTORS® to our local council in order to make real estate an essential business in the county we serviced during the onset of the pandemic.
How do you attract the top agents in your area?Â
I’ve always considered myself a broker-consultant rather than just your traditional broker. Agents are attracted to us not just because of systems, tools, training and support (which we have)—but because of our culture of building enterprise businesses. We also provide opportunities for real estate investment training. We always tell our recruits not to convert if they’re looking to make a lateral move. Our culture is about growth.
Where do you see your business in five years?Â
We hope to continue to grow and expand across our city and state. We want to be the brokerage of choice for agents who are looking to elevate their business and looking for more than just the status quo.
For more information, please visit www.remax.com.
Jameson Doris is RISMedia’s social media/blog editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jdoris@rismedia.com.
