RE/MAX Broker Spotlight: Q&A with Former Independent Brokerage Owner Howard Payson

One day, while still working in my previous job, I was catching up with a friend when they introduced the idea of pursuing real estate, a career that provided opportunity for long-term success. I was licensed within weeks of that initial conversation, and within two years, had earned my broker’s license at 27 years old.

What ultimately attracted me to RE/MAX was that I had a clear vision of making a bigger difference in the real estate industry. I led a small but strong team and was the number one agent at my previous brokerage, but I felt like I had hit the ceiling there. I knew what it was like to be with a small independent and saw how great a franchise could be. I wanted to be in that environment, nurture agents, and create a culture of helping people who are passionate about helping others.

When we were opening a new office and undergoing a transition period, I felt supported the whole way through. I especially appreciated attending Broker 101 – it offered so much value and provided me a chance to understand RE/MAX from the top down, and how brokers are supported from a corporate level. Meeting other new owners was also very helpful and created a sense of camaraderie that I wasn’t expecting. I feel fortunate to have met different brokers from all over the world, and these are people I stay connected with and can turn to when I have questions.

We opened our second office last fall in October 2021. We were rapidly growing and I saw an opportunity in the market. We landed on Yorktown, a market about an hour south of our first office, found a great location, hired a Chief Customer Experience Officer, and soon realized we have more influence in that market than we thought. We’re now up agents and are focused on building up our Yorktown office.

The first RE/MAX office I opened was closer to home for me, but out of my original market. Initially, moving into an area where people didn’t know me was hard. It was a lot of door knocking and doing things differently to get noticed. I was doing video emails at a time when no one else was. I was making cold calls to agents to introduce myself. My commitment has really shown agents that I’m there with them and I’m here to help them grow their business. We’ve doubled our transactions in three years and increased gross commissions in our third year. I think the market has embraced us and I’m excited to see where we can go from here.

We started with six agents and have grown considerably. We were honored with the RE/MAX Eagle Award and named the Fastest Growing RE/MAX office in a small market two years in a row! Culture is the main thing that has helped us grow – we have a very good core culture that we work hard for. We have an agent leadership alliance team, and with that, we want to create an environment that our agents are proud of and comfortable in.

Support. If you can understand what the agent’s challenge is in their business, support them there. It takes business training, strategizing and making sure your goals align. We offer support to our agents where they need it and I think that’s what separates us from the rest.

I am proudest of our growth, from the leadership team to the agents’ growth, to our office as a whole. I think that’s what the RE/MAX network does really well – it helps you master the fundamentals of business and teaches you the advanced techniques needed to consistently get better.