Nancy Pantoliano, office leader at Prudential Connecticut Realty in Wilton, began her career in real estate following a successful 22-year stint as a professional model. While the two professions may seem unrelated, she’s found many connections between the two.
“In modeling, you learn to be creative and well-organized, as is an agent,” she says. “I treated modeling as a business, keeping up with clients and basically working as an independent contractor. Agents work independently, under one umbrella.”
Today, she shares these skills in her role as mentor to other agents. Certified as a Buffini Mentor by Buffini and Co., a California-based real estate coaching company, and having completed many of Prudential’s mentorship programs, she actively touches base with the agents in her office, working with them to make plans and take steps to work toward their goals.
“I’m an accountability partner,” Pantoliano calls herself, and is quick to rejoice in every agent’s accomplishments. “I love it when I get a new agent, and they have their first transaction. It instills [in them] such a sense of confidence and pride. They realize they can do it.”
Keeping up with the ever-changing industry has also kept Pantoliano on her toes. She makes it a point to stay abreast of industry news and changes, and share her findings with her colleagues.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning. When I lived in Europe for eight years, I loved getting out and exploring different cultures and learning about the world,” she recalls.
In her second year as a manager, the Wilton office was named Prudential Connecticut Realty’s Office of the Year, and Pantoliano couldn’t have been prouder.
“It was about the whole team – we all worked well together and everyone reached their goals,” she stated.
She also has personal goals, the first of which was to make enough money to buy her parents a home in Florida. Having done that, she happily reports that her next goal is to make more money than her husband, actor Joe Pantoliano.
“I’m working on it,” she joked.
Pantoliano credits her success to finding work that she’s passionate about, and working with people she’s proud to be with. “Once you’ve found what you’re passionate about, it’s not work,” she said.
