BOSTON – This is one of a series featuring Advisors Living residential brokers in the Boston area.
Sue Sirota and Nancy Hudgins are Vice Presidents of Advisors Living in Sudbury, and they work as a team. They joined the company at the beginning of November 2021.
Why do you work selling homes as a team?
Sue:
I love working as a team. First, one of us is always available to work with our customers or clients. More so, we can put two heads together when it comes to pricing or staging a property and anything that needs to be done for buyers or sellers. It’s a matter of having someone you trust to bounce things off of, and it definitely helps with work life balance.
Nancy:
A hundred percent agree with Sue. After many years working on her own, Sue partnered with Gail Shobin in the early 2000s to manage the size of her business. I worked as an independent agent but had been there as team support when they needed extra help. Gail was planning retirement in 2020, and the opportunity arose for me to join the team. We had one year as a team of three, the Sirota Shobin Hudgins Team.
Sue:
We have a structure that works for us. There are a large number of teams now in residential real estate. All have different structures.
Nancy:
You have to follow whatever you develop, whatever works for the team.
Sue:
Some teams form simply because two people joined the business at the same time and went through training at the same time. Two heads are available, and you can assure customers and clients their needs are always being met.
Are customers more demanding today than in the past?
Sue:
Not necessarily. It’s always been a service business. We are available when customers and clients need us, often nights and weekends. The pandemic changed things somewhat, but because people have so much more information available on the internet, in some ways they’re less demanding.
Nancy:
Commissions cost people a fair amount of their bottom line. You want them to feel like they are getting something for their money, not just popping their home online and waiting for a buyer. You do what you can to try to set yourselves apart and give your service value.
Sue:
The social media side of it is an enormous job in and of itself. Nancy is the social media person.
Nancy:
We’re always looking to evolve. Technology is evolving, and we have to keep up.
What communities and neighborhoods do you specialize in?
Sue:
Between Routes 128 and 495. We’re based in Sudbury, in between the two loops – the Metrowest section of that.
Nancy:
Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Acton, Marlborough, Southborough, Concord, Framingham, Natick.
How long have you been in the real estate business?
Sue:
I began my real estate career in 1978. A friend of mine, who we were away with one weekend, was a real estate broker with Century 21 in Sudbury. She suggested I get my license so that we could open an office together. We quickly learned we didn’t want to own an office. When the recession of the late ‘80s hit, I joined Hunneman, needing the services of a larger organization. Hunneman later became Coldwell Banker. I stayed at that company from 1991 until November 2021.
Nancy:
I had just started my 18th year when we moved to Advisors Living. My background is in music as a classical French horn player. I reached the point where I wanted to have a more solid and appealing income. I’d been looking at houses for several years and was in the process of moving. Sue was the listing agent on the house I purchased in Sudbury. So when I got my license, it made sense to follow top producers like Sue. I was a new agent, and I knew I wanted to be around experienced agents to shadow and learn from. I started with Coldwell Banker and was there for 17 years. Because of our longstanding relationship with certain personal connections, there are some clients we end up servicing primarily ourselves, but we know we have an experienced partner who could step in when needed.
What do you like about it your work?
Sue:
I love working with people. One of the things that I have really enjoyed is learning about things people do that I would never have had a clue about otherwise. I’ve made some very nice friends and acquaintances. I have one family I’ve done 15 or 16 transactions with. All of my business my entire career has been personal referral. There’s nothing like loyalty.
Nancy:
You want to earn that trust and loyalty. And have it be really for life, just as someone has a family doctor – that trusted person. They know you’re going to work in their best interest all the time.
Sue:
I say I don’t care why somebody calls me. I don’t care if they only need a plumber or electrician, as long as they think of me in connection to their house. We’re residential consultants, not just sales people.
Nancy:
You need to give advice to help people make the right decisions for themselves. You earn that trust, even if it means they don’t sell their house.
What did you do before real estate?
Sue:
When my twins were really young I worked with a friend, a specialist in early childhood education, setting up day care centers in various businesses. We also started a preschool that our children went to and that is still in operation today. It had nothing to do with sales, it was all about service.
Nancy:
As I mentioned, I was a professional French horn player, freelancing in and around Boston, and there are some orchestras I’m still contracted with. I did private teaching, but French horn is not like piano or violin. It’s hard to get 50 students to fill up your week. I decided to combine gigs – we still call them gigs – with real estate. Many of my rehearsals are in the evenings, which doesn’t interfere with real estate.
Where do you both live?
Sue:
Sudbury. My husband and I moved to Sudbury in 1967, when our twins were a year old. We bought our first house, thinking it was for five years. We were there for 19 years. Then we built a new house in Sudbury on a pond in 1986. We’ve been in our “new” house for over 30 years. My husband designed it.
Nancy:
I’m in Sudbury as well. We moved to Sudbury in 2002. We rented for a year and then bought an existing home.
Sue:
She bought a listing of mine.
Nancy:
I bought from the master.
What do you do for fun when you’re not showing houses?
Sue:
My husband, who is also working, and I love to travel. With Nancy as a partner, it allows me to do that. We’ve had to cancel several trips because of the pandemic. I’m also learning to play bridge.
Nancy:
I also play golf with a women’s league throughout the summer. My handicap is classified.
