In an industry that celebrates making rain, GCI, units and volume, it’s really easy to lose sight of why we got into real estate in the first place. Most of us got into this for our families and for freedom to spend time with them. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we forget and find ourselves working too much, prioritizing the next meeting,  appointment and commission check. 

 

It’s only when we have a smack-in-the-face moment that we realize that we’re running our businesses all wrong, and that we have to refocus on the original goal. A lot of what we hear from the stage doesn’t share this truth, and what the road to refocusing on what matters looks like. 

 

The great thing about this business is you can build it, find out you built it all wrong, burn it all down, start over and build it right. You can regain the vision and start doing it in alignment with what matters to you. It’s certainly not an easy thing to do, but following through on it is worth it. It gives us a business that puts pressure on the things that really move the needle and nothing else. Shonna Ruble shares her own path through this process, from realizing it was built wrong to building it right in a new city and becoming the top team there. 

Quotes 

 

It’s crazy how much real estate you can do when you’re sitting in your car while your kid is at dance or swim class. -Shonna Ruble

 

If you make the recruiting door wider, make sure someone on your team can kick them out the back door or you’ll lose so much money on that. -Shonna Ruble

 

We’re always going to be fighting battles, but I don't like to fight somebody on their playing field. I want to fight it on my own. -Shonna Ruble

 

There’s no secret sauce, programs that I bought or shiny objects that I found to make me successful, other than my phone. -Shonna Ruble

 

Leading with profit is something a lot of us don’t do. We get caught up in the numbers and the awards. What we award is units, GCI and volume, not net worth statements, bank accounts and profitability. -Kevin Kauffman  

 

Life is always going to happen, but you can’t slow down when life happens. -Shonna Ruble

 

Life is going to happen and it will get in the way, but we have to focus on the big picture of things. -Shonna Ruble

 

Run your own race, don’t be running someone else’s. -Shonna Ruble 

 

There’s so many shiny objects in our industry - there’s more people selling picks and shovels than there are people actually mining gold. -Kevin Kauffman 

Key Points  

 

Smacked in the face

What led Shonna Ruble into real estate was making sure her children could get what they needed, after her son needed a $700 nebulizer she couldn’t afford. Again, her children are the reason she ultimately decided to build a business and stop working all the time. Sometimes, we get so lost in rain making we forget what matters, but a slap in the face moment got Shonna to refocus. 

 

Prioritizing what matters

It’s crazy how much real estate you can do when you’re sitting in your car while your kid is at dance or swim class. Shonna learned how to work while her kids were doing something so that she could be there for them. Then after time with her family in the evening, she’d go back to the office. That level of focus is what allowed her business to grow. 

 

Great people, not-so-great systems 

We can have really amazing people on our teams, but if we don’t have systems, everything falls apart if those people aren’t there anymore. It’s so important to take the time to document what has made you successful because that’s what will keep you going through staff changes. From how we do client events to how we celebrate birthdays on the team, you need to have everything written down. 

 

Focus on profit 

Leading with profit is something we’re not taught enough in our business. We get caught up in the numbers, awards, units, GCI and volume, not net worth statements, bank accounts and profitability and it gets us in trouble. Shonna learned how to make focus the priority and it gave her staying power while everyone’s business tanked. 

 

Put pressure on the things that matter most 

A lot of team leaders think you get a new agent ready by teaching them the CRM. The truth is, we have to put pressure on things that move the needle. The onboarding doesn’t end when they sign a contract, it ends when they get their first deal. We have to get them into production and get them to understand the importance of being prospecting-based. That’s what gets them paid and gets them into a deal. 

Even if we have the best recruiting system, it’s impossible to predict who will be great in the long-run. Even the people who interview well can end up just being all talk and nothing more. No matter how detailed your process is, you can never really tell or predict who will be successful. That means we have to open the door for more people, let people prove who they are by their actions, and then also keep the back door open so that the wrong ones get out the door quicker.

Guest Info

 

Shonna Ruble is the Owner/Broker/Auctioneer/Freedom Real Estate & Shonna Key Team.  She launched her career at the age of 23. In 2008, she opened her first brokerage, Freedom Real Estate. In 2009, Shonna Graduated from a worldwide auction school. Freedom Real Estate has grown to include offices in four states, as well as Freedom Auction Services. In addition to being a broker for her own firm, Shonna has also had the privilege of being the principal broker for two additional real estate firms. In 2018, Shonna and her team founded the Shonna Key Team. She has worked tirelessly to be one of the most respected real estate offices and dedicates her time and energy to improving the lives of each agent and client. Shonna holds a spotless real estate record and so does every agent that has been under her brokers license. In her spare time, Shonna enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies, and enjoying a slow-paced, simple life. She is a passionate and honest person who loves that her job allows her to constantly change the lives of others for generations to come. For more information, connect with Shonna on LinkedIn or find her on Facebook. 

CTA

 

​​Please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/nla