Episode 360 - Russell Shaw - Russell and Wendy Shaw Group, Realty One Group

Description:In this podcast episode, Bill Risser and Russell Shaw delve into the fascinating world of real estate and career success. They explore the evolution of Phoenix real estate, from a small town to a bustling metropolis. Shaw's unconventional career path from selling life insurance to comedy and then real estate is also discussed. The concept of "carte blanche" is explored, emphasizing the importance of freedom and authority in one's career. Effective communication skills are highlighted as crucial for success in the industry. The evolution of real estate advertising is examined, with an emphasis on understanding consumer needs. The significance of systems and replicable success is also discussed, with insights from expert Gary Keller. Building trust and treating clients with respect are emphasized, and valuable resources for homeowners and real estate professionals are mentioned.Episode Outline:(00:00:00) The Evolution of Phoenix Real Estate(00:06:30) From Life Insurance to Comedy(00:13:02) The Power of Carte Blanche(00:20:07) The Importance of Communication in Real Estate(00:26:28) The Evolution of Effective Real Estate Advertising(00:33:35) Real Estate Success and Systems(00:40:48) Building Trust in Real Estate(00:47:36) No Hassle Listing00:00:00 - Russell ShawWell, it would be the ability to talk to people. It would be the ability to communicate to people. And it would be like if I said, what's the most important part of intelligence? Let's take it that way. It would be to have some idea of what's going on with the other person.00:00:24 - Bill RisserYou're listening to the Real Estate Sessions podcast. And I'm your host, Bill Risser, executive Vice President, Strategic Partnerships with RateMyAgent, a digital marketing platform designed to help great agents harness the power of verified reviews. For more information, head on over to Ratemyagent.com. Listen in as I interview industry leaders and get their stories and journeys to the world of real estate. Hi, everybody. Welcome to episode 360 of the Real Estate Sessions podcast. As always, thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so much for telling a friend today I have a real treat for you. We are headed to Phoenix, Arizona, where we are going to be talking to one of the legends of Phoenix real estate, some might say The Godfather, just a huge figure in Phoenix real estate. I'm talking about Russell Shaw. Russell is with Realty, one group. When I first moved to Phoenix, he was bigger than life. You're going to see that as we get into the conversations. The phrase I'm applying for a job is something that if you were in Phoenix in the early two thousand s, you heard it over and over and over. Just an amazing guy. Let's get this thing started. Russ, welcome to the podcast.00:01:34 - Russell ShawThank you so much, Bill. I appreciate you having me on.00:01:38 - Bill RisserI've been remiss in waiting this long to have you on here. I just introduced you as the legend of Phoenix real estate and some of the great things you've done and the fact that I first moved to Phoenix in 2000 and my mornings were greeted just about every morning watching the news with I'm applying for a job. We're going to talk about that shortly, but first I'd like to start at the beginning.00:02:06 - Russell ShawSure.00:02:06 - Bill RisserRush, you're a native phoenician. There are very few of you floating around.00:02:10 - Russell ShawWell, yeah, I was born in Phoenix, lived in Phoenix all my life.00:02:14 - Bill RisserLet's talk about that. Let's talk about, first of all, some of the changes.00:02:20 - Russell ShawOh my God. Like when I was a little kid. Well, no, I'll give you a better example. There was a policeman killed, motorcycle patrolman killed. His name was Arthur Blum. The reason I remember this, it was over by the Bali High Motel off of Grand Avenue, and he had stopped somebody driving and he radios in and they shot him from the back of a campervan. At the time, it was the biggest manhunt in the state until they found those people.00:02:56 - Bill RisserWow.00:02:56 - Russell ShawThere had never been anything in Arizona like it. What was interesting, fast forward now, if a cop gets killed, it doesn't even make the front page of the Arizona Republic. It's on the second section on B, one below the fold. I'm just giving you, for instance, we were a sleepy little town, and we didn't have the Black Canyon Freeway. I 17 had not. That was our first freeway. Phoenix was the only place in the country where truckers on I Ten drove down Van Buren because there was about 25 miles where they had to get off the freeway and drive on city streets. So I'm telling you. Van Buren think of, like, 16th street and van. The long haul truck drivers were coming across these city streets to get back on the freeway, and they were on city streets for about 25 miles. All that stuff. None of those things had happened yet. And Phoenix was this sleepy little town. The population of the city of Phoenix was around. It wasn't a million. It was more like about 700,000.00:04:16 - Bill RisserWow.00:04:17 - Russell ShawAnd now it's one of the biggest populated cities in the nation, period. I mean, without any modifier on it. The areas in the north, like the dreaming that was, like, out in the country, like, driving to what is now, say, 32nd street in Bell.00:04:37 - Bill RisserSure.00:04:37 - Russell ShawThose were all dirt roads. Those were dirt roads.00:04:44 - Bill RisserI can't even imagine, like, trying to get over towards East Mesa. I mean, I remember in 2000, you would drive on McDowell for 30 miles.00:04:55 - Russell ShawYes. Quite literally. So it's changed so dramatically. And the inflow of population. I remember one time I was at a realtor luncheon, and this really nice and very knowledgeable man from ADOT, Arizona, Department of Transportation, was there giving a talk, and he couldn't have been. I thought it was fascinating. He said they had surveyed people to find out what the citizens of Arizona, specifically Phoenix, hoped Phoenix would have. Like, what would we develop into? And the answer that everyone gave, we don't want to be like Los Angeles. What made that funny? Nobody. It never occurred to anyone to say, here's what we would like. They wanted to hear, here's what we don't want.00:05:47 - Bill RisserRight.00:05:47 - Russell ShawAnd of course, that's exactly what occurred. Sprawl, right?00:05:51 - Bill RisserYeah, exactly. 101, the 202, the 303, they're all out there, and everything happened, and now everything's all spread out. For those that know Phoenix, it was boy. I mean, if you got to North Scottsdale, to where the princess is now, there was nothing up there.00:06:07 - Russell ShawYeah, it was just desert, quite literally desert.00:06:10 - Bill RisserYeah. That's cool. So, Russ, I want to find out kind of ultimately how my guests get to real estate, and we'll get there with you. But before we go there, tell me what 15 year old Russell is thinking about for a career. You're in high school. What's playing to your mind?00:06:28 - Russell ShawI was routinely getting kicked out of high school by the time I was 15. Different numerous, numerous different high schools. I started at Central High. Got kicked out of Central. I'm trying to think I went to North High I went to a lot of different schools, phoenix Union, for a little while. But what was funny is I always thought, well, maybe someday I'll sell life insurance. I actually had this I don't know why I had that goal particularly. I knew this man my mom knew who seemed to be I think he did something with insurance. I didn't even know what kind, but he wore a suit, and he seemed successful looking to me. Whether he was or not, I don't know. But he was a nice guy, and I thought, well, I'll do what he does. When I was 15, I had become an amateur magician, and I had sort of intertwined, well, maybe I could use magic tricks to literally like, I was doing performances, I would charge $25 to do a show at some birthday party.00:07:37 - Bill RisserWow, nice.00:07:39 - Russell ShawSomehow I thought, well, maybe I could use magic tricks to get customers to want to talk to me.00:07:46 - Bill RisserWere you ever hanging out with Gene Urban at the time? I think you know Gene, right? He's a magician.00:07:52 - Russell ShawNo, I don't know. I know the name, but I don't know him. But it's funny, this was my plan, and I did get into the life insurance business. Yeah, you did. I was in it for five years. And what makes it funny is I became what's called a CLU chartered life underwriter, which is about the same level of education in terms of difficulty as a CPA. The test.00:08:18 - Bill RisserSure.00:08:18 - Russell ShawAnd what made it funny is I kept thinking, well, once I get that, I'll like the business better. I actually hated selling life insurance. I didn't dislike it. I hated it. And when I left, I had no idea that I would wind up in real estate. And when I did, it was just because I didn't know what else to do. I knew I didn't want to sell cars, and I couldn't bear the idea of going...