Jim Willis

WORDS FROM A LEGEND

By Robbyn Moore

Photos by Stylish Detroit

Growing up, Jim Willis watched both his father and grandfather have successful careers in the real estate business. He was inspired by their tenacity and drive for success. While Jim loved the industry, he wasn’t quite convinced the sales aspect of the business was for him. However, in 1978, after encouragement from his father and a shift in his mindset, he obtained his real estate license and went on to build a name and legacy for himself.

Jim watched his father become one of the state’s top real estate professionals — averaging 200 sales a year by himself — and he realized how well an individual could do in real estate if they really wanted to make a go of it. Jim also said it was after he married his wife, Janice, that he found purpose and focus, which was a major driving factor moving forward in his real estate career.

Jim began working at Mayfair Realty in Livonia with his father and stayed there for 12 years. At the time, he was closing 70 to 100 units a year with an average sale price of $50,000. His plan was to move to an area with higher sales pricing, which would permit more time with his family and the likelihood of earning more money. “I strategically picked the Northville area, as it would allow me to marry into a higher-end market and yet, not divorce myself from the client base I had obtained in the Redford and Livonia markets for years,” Jim recalled.

He had hoped to expand the Mayfair franchise and relocate the business further west. However, when that expansion fell through, Jim moved to RE/MAX Realty 100. There, he realized his true passion was managing an office as that was the role he was most familiar with at Mayfair. “I followed my instincts and took a management position at Century 21-West, which was a small office in Novi,” he said. “I was tasked with growing the office by agent count and production.” In a short amount of time, Jim successfully leveraged the business into a Double Centurion office. It was eventually renamed Century 21 Associates.

Soon after attending a national convention in 1997, Jim took notice of Century 21 Town & Country. “I had heard great things about this company and was presented with an opportunity to help open an office in downtown Northville,” he said. “The broker, John Kersten, challenged me with recruiting over 80 agents to an office that hadn’t yet been built and had only four agents.”

Jim successfully recruited more than 80 agents by the time they opened for business. The team of agents quickly became one of the top producing offices for the area, and the firm became one of the top Century 21 offices in the world for homes sold. “John Kersten gave me a great deal of knowledge from the brokerage side of the business,” Jim explained.

Unfortunately, the financial recession of 2007 proved to be too much for the Northville office of Century 21 Town & County, resulting in its closure. Jim was once again forced to make a tough decision. “With two daughters attending college at the University of Michigan and an office that was about to close, I decided to open a business center for Keller Williams in downtown Northville,” Jim shared.

Jim’s only hope to make this new venture a success was to recruit 30 agents very quickly. With his exceptional recruiting skills, he opened his business center with 35 agents in less than 90 days. He also worked tirelessly to combine the business center with the Keller Williams Novi Market Center. “I was then contacted by an individual at Coldwell Banker, indicating that the Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel ownership was looking for someone to build their Northville location back to the glory it once held,” Jim said.

Today, Jim is the managing broker for the Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel Northville office and the regional manager for four other Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel offices in the area. “We built the office we have today from a solid group of 17 agents to our current count of 72,” Jim said. “We hold the #1 position in the market share for the Novi/Northville markets and closed over $300 million in sales with nearly 1,000 homes sold. I am proud to say that our average agent production is over $4 million annually.”

Jim’s love for building a business and a team is reflected in his incredible loyalty to his team of agents. “We have assembled an amazing group of agents who are some of the best in the business,” Jim said. “It’s the winning attitude of our agents that sets us apart. They like to sell lots of homes by doing it the right way. We have a top-notch marketing department along with an award-winning relocation department.”

“I maintain the core values of our brokerage while also looking at the business from the agent’s perspective, and then I build a culture in the office to support it,” Jim explained.

Jim is extremely passionate about coaching and mentoring his agents. “I like to teach my agents how to ‘fish,’” he said. “My father always told me, if you list, you will last. ‘Listers are lasters,’ he would tell me.”

Jim enthusiastically shows his agents how to prospect and win listings. “Listings will fix everything in their world, regardless of the market. This is the path to longtime success in the business,” Jim advised.

Jim shared that every real estate agent must have an appetite to win. “Someone is always trying to eat your lunch,” Jim said with a laugh. “The minute you become complacent, you take the risk of another broker eating your lunch. We have been very fortunate to have very little turnover in our office. While I may have lost a few, many of them come back home. Our office is truly a home to our agents.”

While Jim’s most rewarding aspect of his business is watching agents grow to whatever degree of success they want to achieve, he does value the lifestyle that real estate has afforded him. “It has come with hard work and long days and nights, but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing,” he shared.

“There is an unlimited opportunity that exists in the real estate business,” Jim said. “Watching the office grow because of the agent’s success is very rewarding to me. I believe success is achieved when your goals are achieved. Understanding your big ‘why’ and being able to achieve it is my definition of success.”

To unwind, Jim and his wife enjoy boating at their cottage on Lake Columbia in the Irish Hills. They also relax with a round of golf or watching different shows on Netflix. The couple has two grown daughters, Gina and Deanna, who are both married and live nearby. They are additionally blessed with a granddaughter, Dexie, who celebrated her first birthday this year.

With more than 40 years of real estate experience, Jim has become a beacon to many agents — guiding them with smiles, candor and enthusiasm. He has built an office with a family-like atmosphere and a culture for production and laughter. He advises his agents to never give up, as there will always be challenges along the way, which he says should be seen as opportunities to grow and become better. “Never become complacent and never give up on your dreams,” Jim said.

Jim added a final piece of advice to other real estate agents: “Remember to respect your fellow agents and understand that there are no shortcuts to this business.”

Celebrating Leaders: Jim Willis