If you by any chance run into Ricky Carruth (@rickycarruth) these days, he’s probably working. “I’m working harder today than I was while working 12 hour days on an oil rig. At least on an oil rig, you can work all day and then forget about it. This is 24/7, my business is always on my mind” he states.
So what exactly does Ricky do? Well, other than sell over 100 homes a year as Re/Max’s #1 realtor in Alabama, Ricky also runs the world’s largest training program for realtors.
It all started at the age of 20 when Ricky decided to drop out of college in order to pursue a career as a realtor. It took him 6 months to close his first deal, which ended up being his grandmother’s home. But eventually, Ricky found his footing and by the age of 23 Ricky had racked up a cool million in realtor fees.
Unfortunately, the money went almost as soon as it came. By 2005, Ricky was bankrupt and sleeping on his best friend’s couch as a result of the real estate market crash.
But this was a blessing in disguise for Ricky. He took this time to read hundreds of books, learn the value of hard work at his job on an oil rig, and most importantly draft his new thesis for real estate. What exactly was his new thesis? “Money comes and goes, but people are here forever,” Ricky states.
His new motto was to value relationships over transactions. And when Ricky got back into the realtor game in 2008 after getting laid off from his job at the oil rig, this new identity paid off. By 2014, he was selling over one hundred properties per year and became the #1 RE/MAX agent in Alabama. He has since then closed over one hundred deals every year since as a single agent and is still going. He has hit the #1 RE/MAX agent in Alabama two more times and is now going for his fourth year in the number one spot.
In 2017, Ricky decided it was time to start sharing his values and his coaching with the world. He wrote his first book, Zero to Diamond: How To Become A Million Dollar Real Estate Agent. Then, his second book, List To Last: How To Survive Every Real Estate Market Crash. Ricky states that the feeling he gets from helping people is indescribable.
Now his #1 goal is to spread his message and reduce the failure rate of realtors all over the world. Ricky thinks that the biggest challenge for any realtor is putting in the sheer amount of effort that’s required in order to be successful. “You will only be as successful as the amount of effort you put into it. Not how much effort you are willing to put in, but how much effort is actually put in for years and decades,” says Ricky.
Ricky also mentions that he doesn’t view anyone as a competition. He thinks that the more you worry about your competition, the less you will be able to focus on your own goals and become the best person you can be. In fact, the more worried you are about anything leads to stifled creativity, which is never good. Ricky believes that mindset is almost as important as building relationships. Almost…
“You have to understand that every real relationship you create with a client is worth so much future business than the current deal you may or may not be doing with them. Repeat business, referrals, and referrals of referrals are the key to everything in today’s world of business. Market Share is the percentage of relationships you have with customers in the market compared to your competitors” Ricky states.
In order to build these relationships, you have to value the person over the money they can potentially offer you. Act in the best interests of your client 100% of the time and show them that they are worth more than just a sale to you. This is what you should be doing anyway, but obviously it can be hard because everyone needs to pay the bills. But you have to get over any fear that you might have in order to succeed Ricky says.
“Fear is one of the main ingredients of the recipe for success. Without fear and rejection, you cannot and will not succeed. If you do not face your fears, you are extremely selfish,” he says.
If you want to keep up with Ricky’s journey, follow him on Instagram.