Remax Brokers: How Repeatable Systems, Not Lofty Goals, Are Driving Brokerage Growth

Real estate broker-owners looking to grow in a shifting market are focusing less on lofty goals and more on repeatable systems — from intentional recruiting to AI-powered operations and culture-driven accountability.

During a panel discussion at REMAX R4 2026, leaders from Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina shared how process, authenticity and clarity have fueled expansion inside their firms.

For Shayla Wilhoit — owner of Missouri-based RE/MAX Heritage, a RealTrends Verified brokerage — recruiting starts with treating agents like a sphere of influence. She emphasized identifying target agents in every conversation and building a deliberate follow-up plan. If an agent isn’t ready to move, she adds them to a “top agent list” and nurtures the relationship with invitations, notes and goal tracking.

“It’s not a matter of them being ready to come right now,” Wilhoit told attendees. “It’s a matter of you wanting to be the spare tire. You don’t have it in your car with the intent you’re going to use it. You have it in there with the intent that there may be a day you’re going to need it. That’s what I want to do for those top agents.”

Tyler Morton, owner of Ohio-based REMAX Victory + Affiliates, said recruiting gained traction when he shifted his mindset from pitching to providing value. “It’s led to recruits joining us six months later,” he said. “It’s led to recruits who are now on drip campaigns, and it’s definitely a long game. Yeah, you get lucky every once in a while and you catch them at the right time. That happens and that’s great. I also think setting your boundaries and making sure that you’re recruiting to your culture is one of the most important things that you can do.”

Authenticity remains key

Tad Fulford, director of vision at South Carolina-based RE/MAX Southern Shores, another RealTrends Verified brokerage, said culture begins with authenticity.

“I think authenticity is the king of all,” Fulford said. “If you don’t genuinely like people, it sounds silly to say in a room like this, but if that’s how you feel, I think you need to have a conversation with yourself.” He believes clarity about who you are — and who you are not — strengthens recruiting and retention.

“I don’t have a mission statement for my business and a mission statement for my personal life. They’re exactly the same,” Fulford said. “It’s just who I am. You know who that attracts? People like me. Everyone needs to know who you are. I believe so much in my heart, that (recruits) will have a better life if they’re with us. You have to find that authenticity and that passion.”

Measuring accountability

Panelists agreed that accountability must be tailored. Morton checks in frequently with newer agents but avoids over-coaching top producers. “You have to meet them where they’re at, and I don’t know if there’s a correct cadence for every single agent,” he said. “If I checked in with my top producers every single week, they’re going to start saying, ‘Why are you calling so much?’ But my newer agents need that help, that accountability.

“I was checking in with a newer agent quite often for the last month and a half, because she was struggling, and we worried she might be on the fence. There’s not some sort of one-size-fits-all solution.”

Fulford frames accountability around personal ambitions. “If you can figure out what someone’s dream for their life is, you are escorting them there,” he said. “Hold that dream in front of their face.”

Wilhoit detailed some of her firm’s tracking methods for new recruits and those tasked with bringing them into the fold. “Every one of our directors reports to a scorecard every month,” she said. “The recruiters are reporting who they’ve brought in, who’s experienced and who’s inexperienced. We report who we’ve removed. The director of development is also reporting the percentage of people that are attending his classes.

“So as an owner, we can take a peek at that for all three offices and make sure that each of our directors are reaching their benchmarks that we hire them to reach.”

Onboarding and AI

Wilhoit said onboarding must function like an operational assembly line — with clear ownership of tasks and defined goals. “The last thing you want is to promise an exceptional onboarding, an exceptional transition, and then you or your staff fail at that,” she said, warning that agents evaluate their decision in the first 72 hours. Technology, checklists and automation have been invaluable in preventing breakdowns for Morton.

Like Wilhoit, he cited feelings of regret after a company newcomer has a bad experience through no fault of their own. “There’s nothing more embarrassing than having an agent leave after 30 days because you suck,” he said.

Morton has invested heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), even developing an internal AI app to unify disjointed systems — from messaging platforms to document storage. The tool answers common agent questions and reduces repetitive interruptions.

“We had so many disjointed systems; Slack for some things, WhatsApp for other things, a different calendar system and Dropbox for logos,” said Morton. “We wanted to put it all together, and I think it’s allowed for so much more ease of use for the agents. We also built a layer on top of the AI to answer common questions like what document is needed to terminate a buyer-broker agreement.

“We’re not even at the cusp of what (AI) is capable of. I’m so excited for what’s coming. We have a huge opportunity to leverage this. You don’t have to build your own app to do that.”

Fulford offered a generational perspective. His 24-year-old son, who is 18 months into the real estate business, credits AI with compressing work time dramatically.

“He told me, ‘I already saved myself so much time looking back at what I did last year,” Fulford said. “He said things are now taking him about one sixth of the time. He said, ‘I’m going to spend more time with my wife. I’m going to coach basketball. I’m going to do things that I want to do, like work out more. You know, we tend to get more time and use it to do more business. My son taught me a lesson.”

Getting over any degree of impostor syndrome, gaining confidence and knowing you belong in leadership is also a huge part of overseeing growth, Fulford added. “You are enough,” he said. “I think we get punched in the face a lot in this business, a lot. We get run over. We can be unappreciated. All of your experiences are how you were created and all the horrors that you’ve had in your life were for a reason, and you were enough.

“When you go home, get 30 minutes by yourself and have the courage to say, ‘This is the life I want to live. Don’t just do it for your agents. Do it for yourself.”