How Scott Ashbaugh Left Behind Distractions and Simplified His Business

"I tell a lot of people out there, if you're ready to make the decision to step up, I know Lars is the guy. He's the real deal. He's scary good at what he does. This has been the best December/January - and I'm in Michigan in the dead of winter - that we've ever had."

Even before getting into the business full time, Kalamazoo Realtor Scott Ashbaugh (http://scottashbaugh.com/) knew that real estate coaching was something he'd need in order to be successful.

"I didn't want to recreate the wheel," explains Scott. "Real estate was always my dream to get into. But as soon as you get your license you realize there's so many different avenues to take. The difficulty is trying to sort out the truth from fantasy."

Although he felt he'd benefited from other coaches in the past, he felt a lot of coaching in any industry was simply about selling more coaching. What he wanted instead was a tested and proven business model so he could pinpoint the return on his coaching investment and how far he'd come at all times.

In Lars, Scott found someone who'd elevated to what he considers "Rock Star" status who was able to teach the systems that worked for him while leaving behind the distractions that accompanied many other coaching programs.

"He helped break it down to about a half dozen things you have to be good at," says Scott. "It was like a weight being taken off my shoulders. It's literally just a handful of things set up properly and tracked properly. I realized as long as you're doing the things you need to do, success is pretty much a certainty."

Taking Lars's advice and simplifying his business, Scott was able to get rid of ineffective technology, systems, and marketing that cut his bills by more than half. And his results?

"This has been the best December/January - and I'm in Michigan in the dead of winter - that we've ever had. We are very, very busy. I've got a closing going on today, we just sold a house last week, and my other buyer's agents have half a dozen people ready to write an offer, which is unheard of for the dead of winter. Our focus on high quality leads has really been the secret to that."

Scott's also found inspiration in Lars's ability to create a life and a business that nearly identically matched the vision he envisioned and planned for himself years ago.

"I'm getting goosebumps right now just talking about it. He went back 5 years and showed, 'These were my goals.' He made this card that he read twice a day, and he did it. It was almost magical, to the exact number of transactions and to the exact dollar amount. He told us that was the secret. It really is about what gives you goosebumps, what gives you butterflies because you're excited."

To anyone on the fence about taking the necessary steps to improve their business, Scott admits it takes a certain level of commitment.

"You have to make the decision, do you want to get really serious about this?" says Scott. "Lars is one of the highest accountability coaches that I've come across. He's very, very caring and concerned for each and every one of us in the coaching program. He's really drilling into what I need to do to get back on track."