At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
With a global perspective cultivated while living in Hong Kong, London and Washington, D.C., and 25 years in residence in New York City, Andrea Saturno-Sanjana calls herself “an NYC insider with an outsider’s frame of reference.” That gives her a perspective that allows her to identify opportunities, both for her business and for her clients.
With three degrees from three continents in the fields of international relations, public administration and law, Saturno-Sanjana’s background informs her approach to serving her clients’ interests. Find out how she puts her unique skillset to work in connecting with both clients and colleagues.
Name: Andrea Saturno-Sanjana
Title: Licensed associate real estate broker
Experience: 12 years
Location: New York City
Brokerage name: Coldwell Banker Warburg
Sales volume: $70 million (excluding rentals)
1. What’s one big lesson you’ve learned in real estate?
Real estate is a unique environment in that your colleagues and co-brokers are also your competitors. It might seem counterintuitive to trust your competitors, yet building strong professional relationships based on trust and mutual respect will pay dividends in the long run.
In addition to sending and receiving referrals to colleagues in other markets who share the same work ethic, good agents on either side of a transaction often work together for the mutual benefit of their respective clients.
2. What’s the most important thing you learned in school or in your prelicensing classes?
Coming from a strong educational background, I knew for my real estate prelicensing classes I would be most comfortable in a university setting. Professor Bob Wiesenfeld at CUNY’s Baruch College made certain to include practical examples of what we students could expect to experience as real estate agents and how to prepare for common challenges we might face — all within the context of guiding us towards an ethical practice of real estate.
When it comes to real estate, much learning comes from actually working in the business, which is somewhat removed from merely mastering the material to pass the licensing exam. The practical knowledge Bob imparted with his examples and vignettes allowed me to begin my real estate business from the first day with both insight and confidence.
3. What’s the best advice you ever got from a mentor or colleague?
“Focus on providing the best knowledge and service you can to your clients, then the transactions and commissions will flow naturally from that approach.” When I was just starting out in real estate, this advice came from my husband, Conal, with his over 20 years of experience as a relationship-based institutional equity salesman in the investment banking industry.
4. What would you tell a new agent before they start out in the business?
You are starting a business. The average new restaurant or other small business only turns a profit in the second year. As with any successful business, you can expect to spend money and time building your business first and will need to plan accordingly. This is even more important in the current era of popular real estate shows, which provide drama and entertainment but not necessarily an accurate picture of what it is like to work in the industry.
5. What do clients need to know before they begin a real estate transaction?
Before beginning a real estate transaction, clients should know their own preferred communication style — how they want to give and receive information in the way that makes the most sense for them — and share this style preference with their real estate agent.
Real estate transactions are detailed and involve the coordination of the activities of many professionals (e.g., attorney or title company, lender, appraiser, home inspector, architect, contractor, stager, photographer). The real estate agent can present information in their client’s preferred style so their client is fully informed but not overwhelmed and thus make the transaction as smooth and stress-free as possible.
