Kelly, Realtors, an independent, full-service brokerage in Waco, Texas, does more than sell real estate — they also give back to their community and fight for everyone's right to homeownership.

Kelly, Realtors was founded in Waco, Texas in the early 1990s by Stewart Kelly. A graduate of Baylor University, Kelly began his career by managing property on the university's campus through his father's business, The Kelly Company. Eager to expand into selling residential and commercial real estate, he opened Kelly, Realtors.

Kelly, Realtors is an independent brokerage with about 70 agents. It's a full-service firm, with multiple divisions, including commercial, residential, land and ranch, and property management. They have two separate property management divisions: one for properties on Baylor University's campus and one for everything else.

Today Leah Cox serves as the Broker and Owner of Kelly, Realtors. Leah was the President of Kelly, Realtors for more than 20 years before Stewart Kelly sold the company to her in 2019. Since the acquisition, she has found great success by giving her team access to the best technology she could find, ensuring there are plenty of continuing education opportunities and team-building events, as well as continuing to make Kelly, Realtors an asset to the Waco community, and all of Central Texas. Kelly, Realtors' membership to Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® extends their reach to a global scale, so Leah always ensures that they are ready to play on a local as well as a global level.

Leah Cox, Broker/Owner of Kelly, Realtors, and Russell Cox, Relocation Director of Kelly, Realtors attended the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Global Symposium in Dubai in 2021.

An Industry Changed by Technology

Leah recalls just how much the real estate industry has changed along with the advances in technology over the past 30+ years since Kelly, Realtors was founded. She thinks back to a time when brokerages had to make an MLS book by hand to keep track of listings. "When I started, we had what you would refer to as the real estate book," she says. "Everybody gathered around a fax machine at 3 p.m. every day because that's when the local association faxed over all the information. You had all your lists. It was called the hot sheet, and you had the list of new listings, what went under contract, what closed, what sold, what price was reduced, etc,. Then you had staff or designated agents who would update what they would refer to as the company MLS book, and that book had to be updated every day because that was your "bible" for real estate." 

Leah acknowledges how the internet was responsible for the drastic shift in industry operations. It changed everything from job descriptions to the way consumers search for new listings. It used to be that real estate agents were the exclusive keepers of all the information on the market, but that's no longer the case.

Leah says, "When our first online MLS system came on, job descriptions changed. The way REALTORS® gathered their information changed. Then you had, obviously, the internet. Realtor.com was in the mid-90s. At that point, we were still keepers of the information. A fundamental thing for REALTORS®, dating back from when you became a real estate agent, as early as the profession began, was being able to practice real estate and collect commissions. This has fundamentally changed because, for years, we were the keepers of the information. Then all of a sudden, the members of the public were slowly but surely starting to rely on somebody else to know that there was availability of what was happening with the market. What we encounter now is an informed consumer with whom transparency is key, and provides the challenge of always remaining up-to-date on the latest information and tools."

She feels that the next greatest change to the industry is going to be AI, and she's interested to see what happens as that technology becomes more popular and continues to advance.

"I think the newest technology that's coming our way is going to be a fundamental change also, and that's probably AI, the way leads are gathered and dispersed and where you're gathering them from," she says. "I think that's going to be a fundamental change in how brokers have their company set up. I don't have any fear of any of it. It's going to be interesting to see how the next two years affect real estate."

Leah mentions that many of her agents are already using AI and that she thinks the technology is amazing.

"I think it's amazing technology," says Leah. "I think it's just another tool that we're going to have access to. My agents already are utilizing it, especially ChatGPT. And again, it will scare some brokers, it will scare some agents, but I think overall, it will just be another tool."

Kelly, Realtors is an avid supporter of local Chambers of Commerce. Pictured here are agents at the quarterly event - 'Hour Economy' which Kelly, Realtors directly sponsors. From left to right: Terry Harris, Jenny Arnold, Brittney Cox, Debra St. Clair, Jackie Fatten, Bobbie Bills, Becky Bass, Kati Garrett, Laurie Zimmerman, Ashley Weist, Nate Embry, Maritza Perez, Gaye Lynn Rast, Leah Cox, Tera Kiger, Bailey Gonzales, and Kathryn Townson.

Choosing Delta Media Group® as a Tech Partner

Kelly, Realtors researched many technology providers before choosing to partner with Delta Media Group. They rolled out to their agents in mid-2021.

"I started my journey by looking at all of my competitors," says Leah. "I was looking at their websites. I was calling agents. And then I would go and do research, and I started doing all of these pitches where they're coming in and giving their sales pitch on their product."

From the numerous sales pitches she heard and meetings she had, Leah felt that Delta stood out.

"The first thing that I noticed about Delta was they had it together from the very beginning," says Leah. "They had a list of questions for me as a broker/owner, what I needed, what I was trying to get out of it. It blew everybody else out of the water. I would probably say I had over 20 sales interviews."

Delta's approach to their day-to-day dealings with clients was crucial in the decision-making process for Leah, as well as the way the contract was worded, based on client needs, rather than constricting the client to dates and fees.

"I liked the way Delta Media had their contract written," she says. "I liked that they were very user-friendly with my wants and needs because I did want a different footprint, but they made it happen. And I really appreciated that."

She liked that Delta Media Group asked her what she was looking for in a technology partner, rather than telling her what was possible.

"In the past, as a company, we offered and paid for them to have basically a page on our page," says Leah. "We paid for our website, and then all the agents had their small website, which did not do much. It was really just a landing page. They should have a website that's bringing in X amount of leads and so forth and so on. So for them, they were able to drop any products that they were doing extra. It saved their bottom line right there because I'm able to provide that through the Delta product."

Leah feels that a website is like a "virtual storefront," so it needs to look well-branded and professional. Just like buying property, it's a good investment.

She says, "There are brands out there who no longer believe in brick-and-mortar and do not need a storefront. I, as an independent, still believe that you do. But on the second level of that, I think it's just as important to have your virtual storefront, and that is your website. You can't have a storefront that looks professional, that looks like what Delta Media offers unless you're investing in it."

A unique feature on their brokerage website that Leah and the Kelly, Realtors team loves is the translate button that enables visitors to translate their website content into various other languages. She notes that this is especially valuable given how much business they do internationally and with clients who speak different languages. Kelly, Realtors is a qualified member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, a by-invitation-only network of independent brokerages, working together to assist a global community to relocate all over the world.

"We work with our local chambers of commerce and do a lot of the economic development for the city, the community, and the chambers, and we have international people coming in all the time," says Leah. "So they use our website because we have the translate button and our website translates to languages such as German, Spanish, and Portuguese. It translates to whatever the client needs when they're making a decision to move their company to Waco, Texas. So that has been an amazing tool for me as a broker."

Lastly, she loves the fact that they can connect multiple MLSs to the website and give customers information on listings not just in the Waco area, but in surrounding cities as well. Kelly, Realtors is a member of various MLSs spanning the state, covering a large portion of the state, especially the ever-important stretch of I-35. Additionally, their membership to Leading Real Estate Companies of the World means that brokers and agents from all over the globe communicate with them in order to find the most suitable solutions for their clients.

"It's the ease of me being able to connect to all those MLSs, so I'm not just showcasing Waco, Texas, I'm showcasing my state, and you guys made that so easy, and it makes us look so brilliant," says Leah.

"We have companies who may choose not to move to the McLennan County, Waco area, but they're still using our site because our site is still giving them information on Austin, Dallas, or other areas of Texas. We're still giving them information because I'm connected with all of that data."

Leah Cox pictured alongside Meagan Froh, Outreach Coordinator for the Texas Broadband Development Office. Meagan visited Kelly, Realtors where she offered an overview regarding the Texas Broadband Development Offices' mission, its impact on the community, and real estate. She also recorded a podcast episode with Kelly, Realtors Commercial agent, Nathan Embry- CCIM.

The CRM That Does it All

Leah also finds that the CRM is extremely valuable for herself as a broker and for her agents. She enjoys the fact that she can use it from anywhere through the DeltaNET mobile app. "I have a CRM as a broker and my relocation department uses it extensively," she says. "I still want to consider myself relevant with technology. I'm not scared of it. So being able to use it on my app, because I'm an app user, versus sitting down on my laptop or my iPad and logging in, it's easy for me when I'm meeting people at a conference to just sit there and fill it in as if I'm doing my contact on my iPhone."

She feels that DeltaNET has changed the way she does business with how simple it is to complete tasks. One of her favorite features is receiving automated task reminders from her auto-generated to-do list.

Leah says, "For me, it's fundamentally changed how I've done business. All I have to do is do a quick click. I think the CRM is beautiful. Click, click, and all of a sudden I'll get a reminder to myself that says, 'Hey, you need to send a thank you note.' It's wonderful." 

Leah additionally utilizes the email drip campaigns and loves how they can be customized.

"I use the drip campaigns that you guys offer because they can be customized and distributed as needed. I use my knowledge and insight, as well as industry trend predictions to assist with their customization and distribution."

When it comes to DeltaNET, Leah believes that My Customer for Life, Delta's automated newsletter system, is one of the most powerful tools available.

She says, "My Customer for Life, I think that is probably the most powerful thing that you guys offer. And no one else did when I was going through a couple of years ago looking at it, at least not at that level, with the ease of use Delta offers. It's a keep-in-touch system that is just phenomenal. A personal touch without being 'in your face.' I just like that soft touch."

Aside from having tons of useful tools that make life easier for current agents, Kelly, Realtors has found Delta's all-in-one CRM platform to be a great recruitment tool, especially for the younger generation.

"When I open up about what we offer and who we are, they're blown away, the younger generation, because they see Delta, they see everything that we have access to, they see everything that we do in the system. They see the potential," says Leah.

Changing the Way They Train

Like with many real estate businesses, the changes in technology have changed the way the leaders at Kelly, Realtors conduct training, along with what subjects they teach. They have adopted a training model that enables agents to tune in virtually to live training sessions.

Leah says, "I set up my training room to where the cameras are all built into the walls, and that makes it so all I have to do is use a little remote control, turn it on, and everything's smooth. As a broker, that was a little bit of an investment, but it sure has made training virtually so much easier to deal with."

The team at Kelly, Realtors finds the Tech Tuesday videos hosted by Harley Wolfarth, Delta's Product and Technology Manager, to be a great training tool as well. Leah notes that this allows them to teach agents to use a specific tool or feature in DeltaNET by simply showing them a short video.

"You can pop agents into a meeting, offer them some pizza, and just say, 'Hey, watch this. It's 20 minutes, 30 minutes,'" she says. "And it will give them some new insight on either an update to a system or maybe just an introduction to something that they may have known was there, but they've never utilized and now they're going to." 

A group of Kelly, Realtors agents participated in a Park Clean Up in honor of Earth Day. Pictured from left to right: Brittney Cox, Rebecca Whitfield, Laurie Zimmerman, Becky Bass, Kyla Dieterich, Leah Cox, Ashley Weist, Denise Davidson and her daughter, and Maritza Perez. Kelly, Realtors has adopted 'Lawson's Point", a park within the Cameron Park System in Waco, Texas. Cameron Park is the second largest inner-city park in the U.S.– right behind Central Park in NYC.

Donating Their Time to the Community

Ever since Kelly, Realtors got started over 30 years ago, they have been involved in their community. One of their top priorities as a brokerage is giving back and being active contributors to the community they serve.

Leah says, "We are heavily involved in our community. We have a value system that we give back. We're heavy contributors to all aspects of the community, whether it's through the Rotary Club, the Business League, the Chamber of Commerce, political forums, whether it's city council or sitting on committees with the city itself, we're there. We do it. And if we're not sitting there, then we're going to be at the table because we want to know, we want to offer our insight into the growth of our community."

Since giving back to the community is such an important aspect of the company culture at Kelly, Realtors, Leah is always looking for community-oriented agents to join her team. She feels that while both are necessary, donating your time to your community means more than donating money.

"If it's not collecting school supplies or food for families, the best thing and the most valued thing that you can give is your time," she says. "I would say it's easy to put money into something. But when you're giving your time and you're cleaning up parks, you're helping mow lawns, helping paint houses, that's pretty special, in my world. When I'm talking to agents, I really stress to find out who they are, not necessarily what they've done in real estate, but what they do to give back to the community, to get involved. This is one of my top priorities as a broker. I also encourage agents to build community within the brokerage. We host events, meetings, info sessions, etc. where agents can come and share, as well as learn from one another."

Another way Kelly, Realtors gives back to their community is by hosting their annual St. Patrick's Day Party.

"I have a St. Patrick's Day party once a year, where I host an event and invite members of the community to come have a beverage and connect with them and make sure they realize that we're still advocating for them and working for them," says Leah. "Our agents love the gathering, as it gives them a chance to connect with clients, friends, and leaders in the community."

Kelly, Realtors has seen many younger agents come in who want to give back and get involved in the community. This is something Leah enjoys.

"I'm really surprised at the amount of youth that's coming in that really are embracing the give back mentality," says Leah. "They're embracing community and getting involved, and I love it. They truly want to give back. Show up and do the work, often without recognition, it's admirable."

Advocating For Property Rights

Leah was recently inducted into the REALTOR® Political Action Committee (RPAC) Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. for her work advocating for property rights. This is a cause that she is extremely passionate about and feels that it is her duty as a broker to serve her community by making property ownership more accessible and ensuring representation.

When speaking about the issue, she says, "Under all is the land. Every single one of us at some point has to have a key to something, whether we rent something, we own something, or we're unlocking a door somewhere. If we're not advocating for homeowner rights, then I'm a transactional broker."

Another reason she feels this is so important to advocate for especially while living in Texas, is that Texas has such high property taxes.

"In Texas, we do not have a large tax base," says Leah. "We do not have a transfer tax. We do not have a state [income] tax. We do have a state sales tax that a lot of other states have. So the homeowners seem to get beat up a lot. Our property taxes are pretty high. Advocating for that, for the state, and then advocating that on the national level, that's a big deal." 

She notes that homeownership is what the American dream was founded on. It was an opportunity for anyone to build wealth by buying property. So by taking away the right to homeownership, you are essentially getting rid of the American dream.

"Homeownership is the first way to build wealth," says Leah. "It's the first way for people who have never been able to have wealth or to build that wealth, to start building that wealth. I mean, that is how the American dream was built. That's why people left their countries to come over here in order to buy a piece of property and farm it and feed their families and make it their own."

She also mentions that the real estate world affects the entire economic system, saying, "Real estate is 25% of the economy for our nation. It affects us all. It affects our infrastructure."

Advocating for Property Rights, and making sure the general citizenry has representation, is a passion of Kelly, Realtors agents – here are some of the agents pictured that participated with a delegation from 'Waco Association of Realtors' at the 'Realtor Day at the Capitol'. --Not all agents pictured are with the Kelly, Realtors Brokerage--

Preparing the Next Generation of Agents

Due to the wonderful culture that their leaders have cultivated and the services they provide, agents at Kelly, Realtors tend to stick around for quite a while.

"My tenure for agents is probably about 14 years, so I have very low turnover, which is unheard of in a real estate brokerage house," says Leah. "But when they come, they stay."

That being said, they believe that their younger generation of agents is the future of the company and want to best prepare them to take over one day. 

"I've really been trying to, in the last probably five years, bring on the people who are going to replace all of us." Leah continues, "We've got to train our replacements, right?"

With the newest advancements in technology, Leah foresees there being some serious changes to the industry over the next few years. However, she feels that as long as agents are prepared, everything will be okay.

"We're going to have some pretty relevant changes coming in probably less than two years," says Leah. "And the trees are going to be shaken. A lot of the nuts are going to fall off. That's okay. But some leaves, they're going to fall off too. But that tree is going to bend and the real estate industry is going to flourish. We're going to be okay. It will be changed forever. The internet changed us forever also, and we survived."

Leaning on Delta For Support

As these changes in technology and within the real estate industry occur over the next few years, Kelly, Realtors will have Delta Media Group to lean on for support. Delta will ensure that they not only have the most up-to-date technology but that they also have the proper training needed to use it effectively. And with a broker who always has her finger on the pulse of the industry and puts supporting her community and her agents above all else, Leah will surely continue to lead Kelly, Realtors to success despite the changes ahead.

To learn more or get in touch with Kelly, Realtors, visit kellyrealtors.com, call (254)741-1500.