Voted winner of the 2023 Agents’ Choice Award for Managing Broker, Eric Shull of John L. Scott says, “To be recognized as a leader is always wonderful, but it matters most when it’s recognition by one’s peers.” The Award cited Eric’s reputation as a trusted mentor to his brokers, as well as his outstanding technology skills and deep contract knowledge. John L. Scott has more than 3,000 agents and 100 franchised and company-owned offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Northern California. 

The John L. Scott company-owned offices ranked 19th in the top Power Broker firms by sales volume in the 2024 RISMedia Power Broker Report. They also ranked among the top 25 real estate firms in the nation at #3 in transactions per broker associate and #6 in dollar volume per broker associate. Eric manages 160 licensed brokers in his role as Principal Managing Broker at the John L. Scott Real Estate Kent North Office in Kent, Washington.

 

Born in New Zealand (his family lived there for 16 months while his grandfather ran a major electrical contract), Eric grew up in the Puyallup and Tacoma areas. He became a professional snowboarder when the sport was in its infancy, traveling and competing all over the United States and Canada. He recalls participating in the first ESPN-sponsored event which subsequently grew to become the X Games at a time when there were few careers and not yet much money to be earned in the sport. 

 

Advice from his long-term snowboarding team coach, Phil Kennedy, led Eric to consider a career in real estate. “Phil told me that real estate is fundamentally about relationships. He said he saw me as authentic and had watched me build relationships and earn the trust of people wherever we went in cities all over the country,” Eric explains. “Although I knew nothing about the business at first, I decided to give it a try and started out as an on-site customer service representative on a new construction plat, a role possible then without a license.”  

 

A fast learner, Eric mastered the processes and documentation quickly and was soon spending more and more time with clients. He decided it was for him and obtained his license in 2000, working first out of the JLS Puyallup Canyon Road office. Despite being without formal training or a mentor, his work ethic and ability to make connections enabled him to build his business. He attributes his move from agent to management to his skills in mentoring others and teaching technology. “I’m a tech nerd and love computers and websites,” he explains, “and I was asked to teach other agents in the brokerage. In 2005 I obtained my manager’s license and JLS hired me to manage their Fife Location.” Eric quickly became Managing Broker, then Principal Managing Broker, and his title is now Office Leader and Business Coach.

Leading 160 independent contractors and their many assistants is a challenge Eric relishes. “Leaders become great not because of their power but because of their ability to empower others,” he continues, “We have a monthly hybrid sales meeting attended by close to 90 agents, although nothing is mandatory. I teach them how to develop business plans, in which we are big believers: a business plan is your GPS. I also brief them on how to use our marketing resources, as we have our own marketing person in the office as well as marketing directors in the corporate office.” At the same time, Eric still finds time to manage his own real estate transactions. 

A major responsibility for Eric is to manage the overall profitability of the team, as well as their individual and collective financial performance. “It’s not for everyone, and sometimes we need to manage them out. Or we may recommend a move to another office. Everyone knows this is an office for top producers. They also know we give them the best training, including keeping them informed of the many changes to the Department of Licensing laws in Washington State and our Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS),” he explains.

 

As a lifelong runner and advocate for health and fitness, Eric organizes and participates in the RAGNAR relay race that the JLS team runs annually as a fundraiser for the John Scott Foundation. “It’s a 200-mile relay race. Each team has 12 runners, in two vans of six each. We run from Canada all the way down to Langley, Washington, and have been doing it for nine years (other than in 2020 during COVID)," he says. "The foundation raises money for uncompensated care for children's hospitals and goes to whichever children's hospital is closest to one of our broker offices. We've helped raise millions of dollars, and 100% of the money is transferred straight to the hospitals, with no overheads!”

For the same cause, Eric and the team participate in SMOOCH, the event run every December by the Seattle Musicians for Children’s Hospital, another other important fundraiser supported by the foundation. The team also takes part in the ‘One Big Kiss’ Radiothon broadcast live from Children’s on Kiss FM with Bender Cunningham. 

Continuing to snowboard and mountain bike, another great passion for Eric is photography, which he has practiced since junior high. For years he shot with film and developed his own photographs, and now shoots mirrorless and edits in a Lightroom. He focuses on music concerts, portraits, and landscapes.  

 

In 2021, Eric had a life-changing experience. “I was running on the Burke Gilman trail, preparing for Ragnar, when I suddenly felt that something was wrong, and that I needed to find help,” he explains. He remembers nothing more until he woke up from a coma days later. An emergency room vet who was cycling nearby recognized that Eric was in cardiac arrest and began CPR before an ambulance arrived. After his heart had been shocked twice, Eric was taken to the hospital where three stents were inserted. Two months of cardiac rehabilitation followed.

 

The experience has transformed Eric’s outlook on life. “Now I do not take any single moment of life for granted,” he concludes.