We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Contino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

This is a powerful question that I’ve pondered relentlessly over the years. I’ve seen tremendous success in many areas in my life, and I believe the following are some of the most important things that have contributed to my success and continue to do so each day as I learn, grow, and strive to reach new heights. The first, and one of the most important, is developing great people skills and the ability to authentically connect with others to build genuine, trusting relationships (and having the emotional intelligence that is critical in building those great relationships). Connection, community, and support are critical, and you need the ability to build lasting relationships in all areas of your life in an authentic way. Second is resilience and the ability to handle pressure and external challenges. The more resilient you are, the more you can handle in all areas of your life. How well are you at controlling/having mastery over your emotions? How resilient are you when you face adversity and external challenges? Building your resilience muscle is paramount and crucial to be successful. Third is discipline and a strong work ethic. I often tell people I informally mentor that discipline is the KEY TO SUCESS. Without discipline, you cannot accomplish anything. Therefore, building a strong worth ethic and being disciplined are critical parts in the recipe for success. Fourth would be having certainty/trust/faith and not living in fear. This is crucial when getting outside your comfort zone to take risks that can lead to great levels of success. Bringing a level of trust and certainty to everything you do is an excellent daily practice that can have a tremendously positive impact in all areas of your life. There are a ton more things that make someone successful, but the final important one I want to touch on is your physical and mental health. Without your health, nothing else matters, so keeping yourself healthy is beyond critical. Making sure you fuel your body with a healthy diet, making sure you get exercise and meditate, being out in nature, etc. are all ways to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit, which is essential in being able to perform at a high level each day.

With regards to my career in real estate specifically, the most important keys to success are being able to juggle a lot of balls and competing properties /clients at once and stay organized, building excellent, trusting relationships, being an encyclopedia of knowledge on inventory, trends, the home-buying process, etc., and finally having a tremendously proactive work ethic – you reap what you sow. I took a big risk leaving a long career in corporate asset management for 11 years to pursue a career in real estate without benefits, a salary, etc. It was one of the toughest decisions I had to make in my life, and mulled over the pros and cons for a whole year before taking the leap. It was a calculated risk, but one of the best risks I’ve ever taken, and I could’ve never even dreamed of the success and enjoyment I now have in all areas of my life because I made this career change. Be smart about it, but I always recommend taking the calculated risk – in 20 years from now, you won’t regret what you did, but what you didn’t do. GO FOR IT!

Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an authentic, driven, compassionate leader who lives in the service of others and loves to create, build, and share with the world. After college, I worked for a large asset management firm for 11 years and worked my way up to managing teams across the world. With that said, I wasn’t very passionate about the industry and there came a point where I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career there being the cog in a big corporate wheel. I wanted to build my own brand and find something I truly loved and was passionate about, so I did a lot of research and soul searching. I always LOVED real estate, architecture, custom home building, interior design, etc. It was one of my favorite hobbies that got me so excited. I would spend hours looking up beautiful residential architecture, floor plans, landscapes, stopping by open houses across the mainline, etc. and knew this could be a great career for me. My father was also in real estate and one of the most successful realtors in all of New Jersey. So I started to think through the pros and cons of leaving corporate America and jumping into real estate as a 1099 independent contractor without any guarantee of a salary or benefits. How many years would it take to learn everything and sell my first house? Would I see success right away? Many questions ran through my head, but in the end and after a year of deliberation, I decided to pursue my passion in real estate and start selling residential homes in PA and NJ. It was a calculated risk, but in the end I saw more success, enjoyment, and fulfillment than I could’ve ever dreamed possible before I jumped ship.

Regarding my real estate business model, I provide the highest degree of service and integrity in the industry. Honesty, outstanding communication, knowledge, commitment, accessibility, and passion are some of the defining attributes of how I conduct business and build relationships. I like to make the process seamless, smooth, and enjoyable for each client, and ensure that all of the countless little things are taken care of with extreme attention to detail. I also bring great energy and positivity to my clients, and try my best to make the home buying / selling process as enjoyable and fun as possible! I create real personal real estate video tours for our listings, where I am in front of the camera taking viewers on a personal, descriptive tour of the property. I give 110% effort in all I do, and it’s so rewarding and fulfilling to see happy clients in their home.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Two of the most important things that helped me build a stellar reputation with my clients and within my real estate markets are my knowledge and accountability. I am the go-to real estate resource for all my friends, family, and client networks, as they know I have exorbitant real estate knowledge and stay on top of inventory, market trends, and new legislature and laws. I also hold myself accountable to the highest standards of service and integrity, so my clients and others in the industry know they can count on me to get the job done flawlessly every time.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

This is SO important when you’re in the real estate sales industry. I first build the best possible genuine, trusting relationships with my clients so they respect, appreciate, and value me and the services I provide. I am very good at staying in touch with people and have an excellent memory, so I regularly check in on clients to see how they’re doing, provide a quick market update, ask about their families, etc. I like to get to know people well, and a lot of my clients are friends of mine, so we’re able to connect on many levels, from hobbies to sports to business, etc. I’ve also built comprehensive databases of past clients and future prospects, and send them market updates I create, new listings, just sold brochures, our video tours, etc. to stay in touch.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mikecontino.com
• Instagram: Mikes_Legacy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheContinoGroup/
• Linkedin: Mike Contino
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MikeContinoTheContinoGroup