We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacqueline Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

In my early twenties, as I began my first sales career, the thought of becoming a realtor always crossed my mind. However, it took me a few years to gain confidence and take that leap of faith to complete the courses and become self-employed. I knew it would be an uncomfortable transition, going from receiving a steady paycheck with commission every two weeks along with health benefits and mileage covered to being only commission based and now paying out of pocket for medical insurance. I was nervous but very excited to jump into the world of real estate. My first year was the most difficult. I was rejected phone call after call, and it took me 6 months to close my first transaction. My first few transactions were under $150,000 each, so my commissions received weren’t enough to cover my bills. I had to keep transferring money from my savings account to make it through and to spend on marketing expenses as well. I remained patient and persistent, regardless of the many days I wanted to give up and go back to a comfortable salary doing something I wasn’t passionate about. After surviving the first couple of years in real estate, friends started to see my value and they started using me. My business became more consistent, and I began to receive more referrals. When the pandemic unexpectedly hit us in 2020, I knew this was my moment to focus more on my marketing strategies and how to rebrand myself effectively. My broker allowed me to design my own logo with my own colors, as I want to eventually expand into a team. I chose Jacqueline & Company as my group name, to incorporate my name, and added the slogan of “Your House Professional,” with HOU emphasized in “House” to add the Houston representation with a creative and straightforward flare. I paid attention to how other realtors were designing their logos and what colors they were using, and I wanted to stand out, yet remain clean and aesthetically pleasing. I have always been fond of sage green, and I wanted to use that color in my logo, as I haven’t seen that in any brokerage or real estate team design. Sage green is a soft and pleasing color that most people respond to in a positive light. A lot of real estate logos incorporate a house of course, but it’s how you incorporate it into your logo. It needs to have a purpose and a personal detail. As I live in the Heights and service that area the most, a lot of homes in the Heights have a colored front door. As this is an adorable characteristic I appreciate, I wanted to use my sage green color as the front door of my logo. I’m also a huge plant lover, and believe landscaping makes a big difference in curb appeal, so I wanted my house in between two plants. The designer of my logo sent me a few renditions, and I loved the house with clean and simple lines, incorporating cathedral style ceilings. Having my own logo that I envisioned come to life brought even more passion into my business. I began to invest more into branding materials to add into closing gift baskets, such as keychains and t-shirts with my logo, as a way for them to remember me but also represent my business. As a business owner, it’s smart to always represent yourself, and when you have friends and clients who love your design and ask for t-shirts, hoodies, and more gear, so then your clients are spreading the word for your business. When purchasing my first home last year in the Heights and renovating it, I made sure to have it painted to look just like my logo. I am truly passionate about my business, not only for the design and branding aspect, but more importantly for the relationships I have created and built, and the consistent support received.

Jacqueline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have a very competitive background, which helped me fit right into this industry. Real estate is clearly a competitive industry and you have to be tough, as you handle a variety of obstacles as well as a variety of personalities. One thing some people may not know about me is that I used to compete in pageants. I competed in Miss Texas (Miss America Organization) as well as the Miss Texas (Miss USA Organization) both a couple of times. I was Miss San Marcos (MAO) 2014 and Miss Galveston (MAO) 2015, and I represented Harris County at the Miss Texas USA pageant in 2018. With my training for these pageants came a lot of discipline. I had to be in the best physical condition in my life, while having a talent to perform perfectly, while also having to know every single thing current events wise and how to answer difficult questions, and also making enough time for community involvement. The volunteering was the best part of it, but the training in every category shaped me into a stronger public speaker, as well as someone who can think quickly on her feet. In addition to pageant training, I was an NBA dancer for a season for the Houston Rockets. I always dreamed of being a professional dancer either in the NBA or NFL world and to accomplish this was huge for me. Trying out for a professional team takes a lot of training and courage. I have tried out for a couple of teams in Houston, and I remained persistent and continued to train hard while tuning out my competition. Dancing for the Houston Rockets while being a full-time realtor was honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m forever grateful for the dream I accomplished and my experience; however, 41 home games along with practices and appearances was very difficult to manage with showings and appointments for clients. I’m grateful to have my business as my number one priority and remaining flexible for my clients. All of my competition experience has made me a stronger person, as I have faced rejection and I’ve also won by remaining in my tunnel vision. Rejection didn’t keep me from pushing further. I always believed in myself and knew my worth, and if you don’t believe in yourself, why should other people believe in you? My public speaking skills are beneficial for every event I host with my partnered lenders or first time home buyer seminars, as well as my video marketing. I have a large group of pageant friends and dancer friends who support me and my business. Another layer to me is that I’m big in the fitness community in Houston. I teach pilates on the side, just a few times a week, in Montrose at Method Pilates. I have been teaching for almost five years and thoroughly enjoy encouraging people in their fitness journeys. I have been able to meet so many other instructors from different studios and love supporting their classes and being connected to all communities of fitness here in Houston. Having a discipline for my body and my health is just as important to me as having a discipline in my business.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Marketing and brand awareness is everything in this business. I have monthly newsletters to keep my previous and current clients informed on the current market, as well as information on Houston events and maybe some personal snippets in there. I am an old-fashioned soul and believe in the art of hand written cards. I make sure to send hand written cards for multiple holidays, as well as occasionally doing a pop-by with a holiday cake to show my clients appreciation. I’ve had more previous clients ask for more branding gear, so I’ve been making more keychains and retail with my logo that I add into closing gifts for my clients. Closing gifts are big for me. I disagree with the realtors and agencies who say realtors shouldn’t be attending closings, they should be prospecting. Most clients, especially first time home buyers, want their hand held from the very beginning to the very end. To not show up on their most anticipated day as that last cherry on top and to not show them your appreciation is disrespectful in my opinion. I pride myself in being there from beginning to end, and I like to make my gifts personal. If someone is a cat lover, I make sure to include some cat treats in there. If they’ve told me their favorite coffee shop in town, I make sure to throw in a gift card to that coffee shop. A big part about building relationships is listening.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

It’s normal for people and friends to be hesitant to use you when you first start a business and don’t have enough closings or reviews to share with people to gain trust. The more closings I had and shared what obstacles I overcame and what negotiations I made for my clients, the more questions my friends began to ask. They began to realize not only how difficult the industry is, but they were also impressed with terms I negotiated and how well I kept transactions organized. A lot of friends would say they didn’t receive the same experience with their realtors or that it was the most stressful process they experienced. Not every transaction is going to be perfect, but it’s important that we learn from each one and continue to add value. I began adding more value with more educational videos, as well as hosting first time home buyer seminars. In addition to educational videos are my home tour videos which I receive a lot of positive feedback on. Whether it’s my listing or a new construction community that is a new development, I like to have professional videos to share to stay in front of my sphere of influence.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yourhouseprofessional.com
• Instagram: @missjacquelinemarie
• Facebook: @YourHouseProfessional
• Youtube: @YourHouseProfessional
• Other: TikTok: @missjacquelinemarie

Image Credits
Noxdel Studios