Baird & Warner

After taking time off to be a stay-at-home mom, Susan Colella knew her previous careers in hospitality and sales were not the right fit anymore. When three childhood friends, who happen to be top-selling agents, told her, “If we can do it, you can too,” she decided to pursue a new and exciting career path. “Real estate has been a game changer for me,” she says.

A recipient of the Founders Club 2017 award from Baird & Warner, Colella more than doubled her business last year, attributing the increase to her unique marketing plan.

“This is a career that I plan to do the rest of my life,” she says. “With every transaction, I learn a valuable lesson that makes my next transaction even smoother. I always do my very best, and at the end of the day, I go to bed happy and grateful for everything I have in my life.”

Colella represents luxury home sellers in Naperville and the surrounding suburbs, and helps them find homes in the process. She is a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, a Certified Staging Consultant and a Certified Broker Price Opinion Resource. Early in her career, Colella found her niche in the luxury home market after selling her own Naperville home.

“I think it’s important to place my seller’s home in front of people that don’t necessarily always know they are looking for a house,” she says. “I placed an ad in a Naperville magazine for one of my listings that had a pool. Sure enough, a family from another area saw the ad and decided they had to visit the house to see if it would be a good fit.”

Colella often talks with her fellow agents about listings and texts 3D tours both to them and to her potential clients. “Having the listing ready before it hits the market, in order to possibly sell it on the MLS private network, is a must,” she adds.

Colella is a member of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Realtors and the Institute of Luxury Marketing.