Her Story
About Maria
I have been serving the real estate community for over 40 years, and my journey has been one of adaptation and growth. My background was in escrow, where I worked behind a desk in what you might call a typical 9 to 5 role. During the subprime market crisis of 2007, 2008, and 2009, when people were losing their homes due to zero down payment assistance programs, my pipeline of referrals and business dried up. I had to go out in the field and market myself again to asset managers who had portfolios of these foreclosures. That's when I discovered that I really enjoyed outside sales. When an opportunity came about to become an outside salesperson and not be behind a desk, I took it. Now I work as a sales representative for home warranty, and my market is still real estate agents. I have a large territory with a database of 3,500 to 4,000 people plus. I use different platforms in the real estate community to leverage, to network, to support, and provide education - whatever that looks like to a realtor. It's a collaboration of many, many metrics and systems to make that work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maria
01What do you attribute your success to?
First and foremost, I attribute my success to my relationship with God. He's the point of the pyramid, so to speak. I rely on him for my spiritual strength and guidance. He is my guiding compass throughout life. My success is based on the values and principles that I have instilled in my life. At the end of it, of course, is my family. My family is my support system. They guide me, and they're my why, as you say. And the other is the relationships that I've built over the 40 years. I have been surrounded with some amazing people in this industry that I have gleaned from. All of that is like the 8 slices of the pie.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best thing that ever happened to me wasn't advice in words, but what my mentor Annie Phan did for me. She took me under her wing without any hesitation when I came to this industry raw, green, and didn't even know about public speaking. She guided me, she showed me her love and genuine selflessness. I shadowed her in the field and watched how she worked, how she built relationships, and I followed her lead and her systems. I implemented many of those, but I also tweaked what she did to fit me. But the best, best thing she ever did was take me to Toastmasters to help me build the confidence to do public speaking, to be able to present my product to others. That was the biggest, biggest, biggest turning point for me. Public speaking, the communication factor, the confidence building, presenting - that was, to me, the best, best thing she ever did for me. I told her, if I ever get a chance to do what you did for me, I'm going to do it. So I have always paid it forward, because someone did it for me.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give is to take each day as it comes. Don't worry about tomorrow, and don't look back because you can't change it. Stay in the moment. Be intentional. Compartmentalize your emotions. Do not let anyone or anything dictate to you what you can and cannot do. You are in charge of your destiny.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the challenge is what the market dictates in the economy. Interest rates are higher now. There are more competitors than there were before, so being able to provide our proposition value and why they want to work with me and the company I represent is important. The three main components people are facing today are higher interest rates, changes to forms like the BRBC form that was implemented for realtors where buyers can now pay the commission to their representation instead of the seller always paying both commissions, and disclosure issues. Fire insurance companies are not being able to get property casualty insurance so easily in high fire severity zones, which has changed drastically because of the fires in Pacific Palisades and the Altadena Fire. These are all things that create challenges in how we process our business, which are challenges beyond our control. There are also personal challenges like family dynamics, financial issues, health problems, or loss of a family member. So the question becomes: how do you stay positive and in control in a market that you have no control over?
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