SPEAKER_01 0:00

There were many years where I didn't sell any houses. I like cried myself to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

How do you maintain that excitement so that the follow-through gets done?

SPEAKER_01 0:08

On so many levels, there's so many situations like that.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

How do you sustain that? Because not all partnerships you're winning all the time.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Some people don't give others the benefit of a doubt. They don't assume that their intentions are good.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

I don't think people realize the compounded benefits that come from strategic partnerships.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

I think partnerships make or break you.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

What's up, everybody? Grant Wise here. Welcome back to the Partner Profit Podcast. I am pumped, as always, for the show today. You guys are gonna get to hear from one of my best, best, best, best friends in the whole world. Wonderful, wonderful human. Thanks, Carrie Shoal, for being on the show with me today.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

I'm so happy to be here. Thanks, Grant.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, yeah. For people that uh maybe don't know much about you, give us a little bit of the background. How did you guys get to where you are today?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Well, I'll say first, I'm a mom of four very young kids. So I have a five, six, eight, and ten-year-old, and I lead with that. I'm very entrepreneurial. I run a large real estate team in the DMV, but I think the balancing act is part of what's important to understand when you're when you're hearing my story and knowing where my priorities lie. So uh have about 50 agents on the team, a couple hundred, I think 400-ish with EXP. And so how we got to where we are, I started my career in new home sales and ended up getting into this side of the world because I had an amazing opportunity with one of my old um bosses to sell bulk short sales and foreclosures in 2008. So anyone who got in the business back then knows it was a crazy time to get started in the industry. And I was feeling lost and alone. And if anyone is in the business starting out right now, they'll probably relate to this. And I just didn't have a lot of coaching guidance, mentorship, direction. And I was fortunate enough to find a coaching program where I learned about real estate teams. And Grant knows me very well. So he knows I don't even like to pee alone. Like I'm someone who loves being around people. And so when I saw that there were real estate teams in the business, it really helped to crystallize my vision. And I knew that I was supposed to build a team. I'm really focused on core values and alignment with the people around me and making sure that we're high energy and focused and excited. And so that kind of brings us up to speed on where I am uh today.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

That's awesome. Yes, you have an amazing story. I've been able to watch a lot of it over the years and uh certainly pumped for you and where where you're at right now and in business. It's awesome to see. How how do you feel that you know partnerships just as kind of a growth strategy or a mechanism have helped you uh over the years? Real estate is such a relationship-driven industry, but how how do you think it's been uniquely uh beneficial for you?

SPEAKER_01 3:04

When I rewind to that period in 2008, this is a funny story that you probably don't even know. Um, one of the first reasons that I kind of got a big opportunity, I was doing tequila shots at a bar and exchanged contact information with this girl, like random girl, friend of a friend. And shortly after I got in the business, she called me up and she said, Hey, I just became an asset manager and we have a bunch of listings to sell in the DMV. Are you interested? So from the very beginning, it was about partnerships, and that's how I started to grow. And then when I really, when I got in the resale side of the world, um, I already had experience selling condos and single family homes for builders. And so I did a lot of builder partnerships that helped me grow. So I think my entire business, it's been about partnerships and surrounding myself by the right people, being in the right rooms in my Remax, which was like, you know, this little dining remax, there were no teams. So even the alignment and hiring a coach and being in the right rooms to learn about partnerships and learn about real estate teams and see how people were leveraging partnerships at a different scale that I didn't even know about. That was a huge part of the beginning of my success and kind of how I grew. And then over the years, it's been all about alignment and partnerships. There were many years where, no, I didn't sell any houses. My job was more training and teaching people how to be in partnership to support our clients and their transactions.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

You and um a few other people that we've talked to uh have mentioned the idea of, you know, just getting in the right rooms and being around the right people. And I know that's something that you're super passionate about. So maybe spend a couple of minutes talking about why why is that so important? Why is it so important to get around the right people? And it may sound like a silly question, but I think so many people don't think about that. Like you and my default is like, who can help me? Where do I need to go? Who can teach me this? But that's not everybody's default. Why why do you think that's such a critical thing for people to do?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

I think that when you interface with people who have already been where you want to go, you can compress time and you can cut out the painful lessons that can be really sad and demotivating on your journey, right? So for me, you know, when I realized I had the vision of building a team, it's because I was able to talk to people who had already done it. And an example, like a very specific tactical example. One of the things that I realized from being in those rooms and having those conversations was wow, if I'm gonna stay in this business, I'm going to need a killer ISA team because the longest I can sit still is you and I talking right now. Like I'm not somebody who could sit at a desk all day. And I talked to a lot of people who had struggled with that department. They'd hired an ISA and then that person hadn't worked out, and they were back to being the primary person, returning the phone calls over the leads, and they weren't doing that successfully, right? So one of the things I learned was if I'm gonna stay in the business, I need to hire multiple. I hired three ISAs at the same time when I was still a solo agent. Because I knew, okay, I don't, I'm watching all of these people and I'm having conversations with super intelligent people and my strengths and weaknesses. I think it's about evaluating what you bring to the table and where your strengths are, and then making sure that you're showing up for your weaknesses and asking the right questions when you're being honest about what advice you actually need to be successful.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

It's so good. It's so good. Okay, so what in your mind, you know, makes a good partnership? And what do you need to do, you know, to have a successful partnership to grow a business?

SPEAKER_01 7:01

I think part of it is about asking on both sides the right questions to make sure you truly have alignment and it's win-win. When one person is winning more than the other person, or both people aren't winning because of the partnership, it erodes and it doesn't work in the long term. But when there's truly a win-win and both sides are winning because of the other, that's where you get longevity and it's like, wow. It just be it feels easy, and both of you gain energy and excitement because of the partnership.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

What do you look for in in a relationship with somebody that makes you say, like, okay, yes, I want to move forward. I want to work with this person. I know that we're gonna have a lot of success. What are you, what types of like character traits, what types of things do you look for?

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Sure. So I'm gonna talk about my partner Jamie for a second. Gran knows her. We've been working together for 12 years, and we're writing a book together right now, and it's about how we've used AI to change all of these intricate decisions in every department of our real estate team. And so we've been reflecting on like when we first met, how we knew we would have such an amazing partnership. And part of it is we have such tremendous value alignment. We both believe in optimism, we're both extremely growth-minded, we're both creative problem solvers. And so, and and yet, like we both bring different strengths to the table, but our values are very much aligned, right? So I think when you're evaluating a partnership, you have to know what you want out of the partnership. And then for me as an example, when somebody is always like, I call it an Eeyore, I'm like, man, I do not want to be around a bunch of ERs, right? They bring me down and they're constantly trying to like point out the negative in situations and like that's not somebody I want to have like in my court all the time. So I think you have to know what brings you energy and what will actually problem solve for you, and then ask the right questions. And the other piece of it is because I've had a lot of partners that lasted many, many years and and there was a season. And there came a point, and some of those partnerships, I'll say I held on to them too long because I love them so much and I was fearful about what the end would look like. So I think that there's partnerships that are meant to last a lifetime, and there's other partnerships that both of you are served through the partnership, but it may not be forever. And so sometimes it's about being able to recognize the signs of when it's coming to a close as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

I'm sure that's not easy.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

No, I've done it really bad. Like if you read my book, you'll know about some of the times when I've been like miserable at it and absolutely failed. And anyone who tells you that they're always successful at that is lying to you.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

No, that's super hard. Yes, it's super hard. Because you have so many, you know, we all invest so much time and energy into the relationships that we have, and so ending them when sometimes we know we should is still very difficult because you go back, it's so funny. Like when you're in it, all you can think about sometimes are the are how bad things are going, but when it's time to end it, all you can think about are all the good times, and it's like it's a it's a very interesting paradigm, that's for sure. So you know, listen to this and like why should I you know try to grow my business in partnership with other people? You know, how is that gonna like what would you say to somebody like that that maybe is like, I don't know, I want to just keep buying ads or I want to keep doing this? Like, why should I try to think about growing my business through strategic alignment with other people?

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Oh my gosh. Um that's like a question that almost dumbfounds me to be honest, Grant, because I can't imagine anyone who's thinking that way. Why would it that's like saying, Hey, if my grandmother's best friend wanted to buy a home, why would I not want a referral? Like I'd rather just go like call bunch a bunch of Google ads. Like it's not logical thinking, yeah, right? So strategic alignment is always going to help you move the needle faster and have better results. So I can't imagine why somebody wouldn't be thinking of it that way.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

What do you think? Because I hear what you're saying about like, you know, in order to have a successful partnership, you've got to find win-win. You know, part of me is wondering how do you sustain that? It could like because not all partnerships you're winning all the time.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

I'll give you an example of a partnership in my life that there was a time that it had to come to an end and it was really sad. I like cried a lot about it actually. I had a vendor that I worked with for many years that did a lot of flips for my team. So I was like real estate agent carry, and then I was construction carry, and I would go and I would like tell them what to do on the job site, and he was reliable and wonderful, and I absolutely loved him. And his father passed away, and he started drinking on my job sites, and I was devastated. And I wouldn't have had the strength to let go of that partnership, to be very honest, because I loved him. I'll get emotional even thinking about it. Um, but I had a partner that was doing a flip with me that found alcohol on the site, and he's like, nope, our insurance, da-da-da-da-da-da. I'm firing him. This is not something that I'm open to negotiate. I'm a 50% owner of this project, and we're letting him go. I like cried myself to sleep that night. But he wasn't making good decisions and he was, he was putting us in a position of liability. And so that partnership was no longer a win-win. I was giving him opportunity and money, and he was not, he was not upholding his end of the agreement. And so sometimes a life situation changes and the partnership is no longer a win-win. On the other hand, if he were being loyal to loyal to me and not going out and accepting other jobs and I wasn't keeping him busy, I wouldn't have been upholding my end of the agreement. And it might have been time for him to consider being less loyal because I didn't have the amount of business that I had had in the past. So I guess my thinking on this is I think sometimes people hesitate and are too reluctant to get into partnership because they try too hard to evaluate it and the confused mind does nothing. And so sometimes with partnership, you have to decide, like, okay, it seems like we have alignment. Let's see how it works out. Let's test it and let's make a decision based on how it's going. And I think that's been really helpful at different points of my career. And I've needed different guidance and different systems and different strengths. And so there's been people, you're one of them, who's like massively helped me. A lot of the way that my marketing is set up today is because you came in as a strategic partner and really helped to give me advice about how to structure things in my business to scale.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

I love that. Pumped to know things are still going well. That's good news.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah, we're still doing the hot spots. Like our marketing is is dialed.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

So, how how would you say that you know, one of the biggest uh uh difficulties, I think the work in partnerships is follow-through. It's easy to get excited about stuff, but how do you maintain the momentum after that like initial excitement? You do a deal or everybody agrees to move forward and and and work together. Like, how do you maintain that excitement so that the follow-through gets done?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

I think it's about coming together with the mission because if you decided about the partnership, there is a reason for it. It's kind of the same as when we're working with a buyer or seller. There's points of hesitation where they feel like they're not ready or they feel like they need a little more time or they freak out, and it's about really reminding them of their why. It's the same in partnership.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Do you think that that having the right relationships and partnerships gives you a strategic advantage in business? Does it create this kind of like mode that makes you indefensible? Dive dive in.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

1000%. Yeah. So today I was on the job site looking at a property. It's a four million dollar asset that will likely sell in its completion at $8 million. So let's do the math. It's a $12 million opportunity. And there was a water leak. I need the right partners to be able to call to resolve all issues regarding that situation immediately. And so that's like an example of on so many levels. There's so many situations like that. We have a listing on our team right now where there was a plumbing emergency, and we had helped this woman rent out her house like year, like six years ago. And she needed to call and get someone out immediately because the tenants were telling her water was like ruining her house, right? And we were the only people that she could think to call. And we were able to get that partner on the phone with her right away and resolve the problem. So I think partnerships make or break you. I think that's true for lenders. I think it's true for your title company. I think there are so many partnerships. Like if I didn't have my lender, I'll give you like a specific example. Um, I don't know about the rest of the real estate world, but for me, I'm really pumped up about assumable mortgages right now. And I'm really actively focused on procuring them off market for my clients. But I needed a lender who had a product where they could loan on top of the assumable mortgage. That's not a product that everyone offers. So I went to my lender and I'm like, I need this. He's like, I don't have it. I'm like, okay, how many days will it take for you to get it? And now we have it. So it's like you, if you are giving, if I were just giving everyone my loans and I didn't have a strategic partnership, when I need something, nobody would care. But when you're giving a lot of business strategically to certain people, when you have a need, there's this amazing reciprocity where they're gonna solve the problem for you. So I think partnerships have been fundamental in my growth.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

That's so good. I mean, I learned this lesson. My father was a car salesman growing up, and one of the things that he taught me was buyer loyalty. And he was like, look, if you're gonna buy a car, buy it from the same guy at the same lot for life. And I was like, why? What if I want like he's like, No, no, no, listen. He's like, you don't realize how valuable the relationship is with the salesperson the more you go on in life. He's like, you're gonna get better deals, you're gonna get this, you're gonna get faster service. You get all of these crazy benefits because you have that loyalty. And I I kind of grown up and become like a brand loyalist. Like I grew up wanting to wear Nike stuff because it's not something that we could afford. So I have a bunch of Nike stuff. I grew up loving Jeeps for some reason. And so we have Jeep products. And I'm like weird about switching. Like I don't like change, I don't like changing the relationships, I don't like changing the the brands I like. I like that loyalist mindset was something that was so like hammered in. And so now when you talk when you're talking about what you're talking about, like the relationships, I don't think people realize the compounded benefits that come from strategic partnerships, having the right relationships, and leaning into those over a long extended period of time because this has almost become like weird behavior for some people. It's like I want to float around, I want to try a bunch of new stuff, I don't want to use the same things, and I'm like, no, you you don't realize how many benefits you get buying from the same person or you know, like you're talking about, sending sending loans to the same people strategically. It's such a crucial, I think, crucial mistake that people make by not leaning into relationships and and really pulling into them because of the benefits you get long term.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Do you know why I think a lot of people shy away from long-term relationships? I think that they're not comfortable having the hard conversations. And naturally, there is going to be friction in any relationship. And so for some people, they walk away at a point of friction. And for me, what I have learned over the last 20 years is like actually when you lean in in a point of friction, it makes the relationship stronger when you truly try and understand the other person's perspective. And I am not a wallflower, like I don't ever not voice my truth and let someone know my expectations in a relationship. Grant knows that. Like we've worked together a lot and in a lot of different settings, right? But I have the same partners. I had the same title company for like eight years. And I told, I became very good friends with someone who owned a title company. And I'm like, look, we can be best friends forever, but I'm never going to use you. He ended up winning all of my agents over. And now I think it's been like seven years that I've been in business with him. But like, I don't take that decision to make a move lightly. I take it very, very seriously. And I'm invested enough that if something is not going well, this is the other thing in relationships. Some people don't give others the benefit of a doubt, right? They don't assume that their intentions are good. And when you've been working with somebody for a long time, like I love you and I think you're such a good human being. And so if anything, if there was ever friction, like I would always give you the benefit of the doubt and want to come together and have that conversation. I would never just decide, like, oh, that's it. I'm writing Grant off. Like that would never occur to me, right? And that's the same in all my relationships. So the one thing I want to say, like, don't have those conversations over text, don't send an angry email. Like when you're in partnership with somebody, it's about making a decision to resolve conflict in a way that brings you closer.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

100%. Oh man, this is so good. I've got just a couple more questions for people who listen to this and it's like, okay, I'm bought in. What do I do? How do I start? So, how in your mind do you identify the right people to partner with? And then how do you earn that relationship? Like, how do you how do you get it going and get it started?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

So what give me a specific type of partnership? Because I've talked about the core value alignment, but like give me a specific type of partnership that you would want to know how I would launch it.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Okay, so we obviously do a lot of work with real estate agents and home service providers, just as an example. And so let's say that I am, I'll I'll let you use your own use case, your own example. I'm in real estate and I want to strategically partner with a number of different home service providers that I think could help provide really great service to my clients, yada, yada, yada. How would I go about or or the flip side of that? Put yourself in the if a home service provider was wanting to partner with you, let's maybe go that way because you probably get courted all the time. What are what are the things that these people can do to earn the relationship? Because I I know you get called 15 times a day for different things.

SPEAKER_01 21:47

I do. It's really hard. I'll be honest with you. I have a template when I hire a new assistant, and one of the first things that I teach them is how to politely decline all meetings with service providers that request them because if I I took those meetings, I would be in meetings all the time. So I don't, I don't take them. I'm not interested in them. And when I want somebody, like I'll give you an example. I have had the same roofer for 20 years. Like when I need a roofer, I know to go to him, right? When I have the same painter that I love, there are gaps in that. And so what I will say is it's not easy to identify the right company. And I think that it takes a lot of time. So like an HVAC person that has the availability, that has the right pricing, like that's why I think what you're doing is so brilliant because your algorithm is checking for the service and making sure that customers love the person and cutting out all of the time for somebody like me to go call them up and find out what their availability is, what their pricing is, all of that. Instead, you're using reviews to do that. And so I can't imagine a more effective way of doing it.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

Love it. Okay. Last question. How do we, as the listeners of the podcast, how can we partner with you? How can we walk alongside you, support you? What's important to you right now? How can we help you grow?

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Oh, thank you for asking that. Um, there's a couple of different ways. So my book will be coming out in a couple months. Connect with me now on IG. So my IG is the Carrie Shoal. Stay in touch when my book launches. I would love you to read a copy of the book. There's gonna be lots of ways to connect there and to benefit. I said something about for people who have already been where you want to go. If you're somebody who wants to do a lot of business, let's imagine you want to do, you know, higher net worth listings. You just heard me talk about one that I have that's worth $12 million, right? Let's imagine that you're somebody who wants to scale a successful real estate team. There's a lot of lessons I've learned that are going to be in that book. So I would love that. If you're somebody who's looking for a change of brokerage, I'm at EXP. I lead an incredible group. I would love to talk to you about that. And if you're somebody who's looking for the right partners for something I've talked about today and you'd like an introduction, send me a message. I'm in the DMV. Um, but as an example, my lender. I absolutely love my lender. They do business in 50 states. Like if you want an introduction to a partner you can trust there, reach out to me.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Absolutely love that. I'll make sure that we link up all the ways that people can connect with you. So if they heard anything there that resonates, uh, we can facilitate an introduction. Love you so much. Appreciate you so much. Very grateful I got to spend a little bit of time with you. And um yeah, very appreciative.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

Yeah, yeah. Awesome. Thank you guys for continuing to listen to the Partner and Profit podcast. I'll see you on the next episode. Bye bye. Peace.