Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Serena LoPiccolo-Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Serena , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When I started my real estate team, it was technically just me on paper, but I did not stay solo for long. I brought on three agents almost immediately, full of drive and possibility. Over time, each of them chose a different path and moved into other careers. At the same time, I hired three virtual assistants and an inside sales agent. On paper, it looked like growth. In reality, it was my first lesson in what happens when you grow in the wrong direction.

One of those hires still stands out in my mind. I knew from the first week that he was not the right fit. Instead of trusting that instinct, I tried to “save” the hire. I moved him around into different roles, adjusted responsibilities, and kept giving him one more chance. All I really did was spend time, energy, and money confirming what my gut told me on day one. That experience shaped the way I look at people decisions today more than any success story ever could.

In real estate, my agents and staff are independent contractors, not employees, so my role is to create an environment where they can succeed, not to push them up the hill. My job is to motivate, mentor, and provide structure, but they have to bring the right attitude, work ethic, and willingness to grow. That only works when there is a true cultural fit. I learned the hard way that skill without alignment simply does not last.

Today, I have three agents on my team, and each one has been selected very intentionally. I follow the Keller Williams models, especially the Career Visioning process. It is a structured way of asking, “Is this person really meant to be here?” We use the KPA aptitudinal assessment, then several interviews that go deeper into how they think, handle stress, and work with others. I also invite my existing team, including my virtual assistants, to meet every candidate. They share their impressions and have a real voice in the decision, because they are the ones who will be collaborating every day.

If I were starting today, I would do two things differently. I would not hire out of urgency, no matter how busy I am, and I would stand by what the process and my instincts tell me. It becomes clear very early whether someone fits the culture. When they do, the energy on the team lifts. When they do not, keeping them “just in case” only delays the growth of the people who truly belong.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I came to the United States from Sicily to do cancer research, and spent many years working in pediatric oncology and molecular biology labs in New York City. My days were filled with data, protocols, and, above all, families who were trying to navigate something overwhelming and complex. That experience shaped how I think and how I work today. I learned to be rigorous with information, calm in the middle of stress, and very clear when explaining complicated things to people who deserve honest answers.

When my husband and I moved to Cape Cod and started our family, my focus shifted from the lab to the community. In Falmouth, everyone seemed to be saying the same thing, that the town had been trying to get a pool for thirty years and it would never happen. Instead of accepting that, two other residents and I decided to try. That effort became Falmouth Wants a Y, a grassroots movement to bring a YMCA with a pool to town. I started recruiting volunteers, organizing meetings, connecting people who had never met before, fundraising, etc. That is where I truly learned how to network, build connections, and keep moving a big vision forward even when it takes years, without giving up. After ten years of hard work, the new Falmouth YMCA is finally scheduled to break ground this month, which is a very satisfying full circle.

One of the people I brought into that effort led a top Keller Williams real estate team. He watched how I organized people and managed the project and said, very simply, “You should be in real estate, and you should be on my team.” That is how this second career began. I joined his team and stayed for about a year. I am very grateful for everything I learned in that time, it gave me a solid foundation. After a while my goals outgrew that structure, so I moved to another team with larger ambitions and a wider reach. A few years later, I realized that my vision still needed a different environment, one that reflected my own values around service, strategy, and education. That is how the INSPIRE Team was born.

Today I am a Realtor based in Falmouth, working from south of Boston to Cape Cod, and I lead the INSPIRE Team. We work primarily in residential sales, from first homes to second homes and investment properties, with a strong focus on helping people move into and within the Cape Cod area. I am also a partner in an Italian real estate company, so I often advise clients who have one foot here and one in Europe, or who are curious about cross border opportunities.

In practical terms, my team and I help sellers prepare, position, and present their homes so they can attract serious buyers and maximize their outcome. That can include anything from detailed pricing strategies, to decluttering and staging a house so it appeals to a wider pool of buyers, to coordinating virtual staging, 3D tours, and strong online marketing. For buyers, we help define what they truly need, identify both on market and off market opportunities, and negotiate in a way that protects them, not just gets them under contract. I see myself as a professional advisor who happens to work in real estate, not a salesperson.

People often think they need to have everything figured out before talking to someone in real estate. In my experience, the opposite is true. Some of the most helpful conversations happen when things are still uncertain, whether it is a possible sale a year from now, a part time move, or simply wondering if it is wiser to stay or to change course. I approach those conversations as a real estate wealth advisor, helping people see their options clearly, understand the long term impact of each choice, and help them decide what truly makes sense for them.

What sets me and the Inspire Team apart is the combination of structure and care. The scientist in me loves data, models, and systems, and I use them to guide pricing, timing, and strategy instead of relying on guesswork. The human side of me is very aware that people are not transactions. Many of my clients are dealing with major life transitions, and they need someone who will be honest, patient, and very clear about their options. My role is to carry some of the mental load for them, explain the process clearly, supporting them throughout and lay out all their options so they can always make a fully informed decision with no regrets.

I am proud of two things. First, the level of trust my clients place in me, as proven by the 135+ 5-star reviews we have received so far. A large part of my business comes from referrals from other agents throughout the country and abroad and returning clients who call me years later when life changes again or tell their friends and family I am the one they should work with. Second, the culture of my team. I am very selective about who joins us now. Everyone on the team shares the same values around integrity, transparency, continuous learning, and respect for the client’s time and situation. We are not interested in being the biggest team, we are interested in doing excellent work and know that we are doing the best that can be done for our clients.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I began my professional life in a pediatric cancer research lab in New York City, surrounded by microscopes, data, and protocols. When we moved to Cape Cod, everything familiar fell away at once, my career, my city, even my language as I navigated life in my second language in a small town where everyone already seemed to know everyone else.

The turning point was the Falmouth Wants a Y effort. Helping lead a ten year grassroots push to bring a YMCA with a pool to town showed me that I could organize people, carry a long term vision, and stand in front of a room and speak with conviction. That is when I realized I could reinvent myself.

Choosing real estate meant starting from zero. I had to create a business from scratch, find my own clients, and learn an enormous body of legal, financial, and local knowledge, all at once, in a place where I had no built in network. It took courage to walk away from a clear scientific path and step into a field where results are visible and public, and where there is nowhere to hide. I still feel that original leap every time I sit down to study a new law, market shift, or strategy. Reinventing myself was not a one time event, it is a daily practice of adapting, learning, and choosing, again and again, the work that matches who I am becoming.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

This past year I had a listing that tested every ounce of my determination.

We went under contract twice, and both times the deal fell apart because of buyer financing, through no fault of my client or the house. By the time the second contract collapsed, my seller was exhausted and understandably doubtful that a closing would ever happen. Walking away would have been the easier emotional choice.

Instead, he trusted me and I went back to work. We refined the strategy, relaunched, and secured a third offer, this time thirty thousand dollars above asking price! It looked like the breakthrough we had been waiting for. In reality, it was the start of a new round of challenges.

As we moved forward, a series of issues emerged, tied to the property and involving several town departments. Each problem required its own solution, its own phone calls, its own meetings. There was no script for this. It took creative thinking, persistence, and the cooperation of many people to untangle each concern without letting the deal collapse for a third time. More than once it felt like we were balancing on a wire, and my job was to keep everyone calm, focused, and moving toward the closing table.

Eventually, we did close, and my client achieved a result that was significantly better than what anyone expected after two failed contracts. Even after closing, a few loose ends remained, the kind of follow up items that could easily be left to “sort themselves out.” I chose not to. I am still addressing them one by one, coordinating with the parties involved until they are fully resolved. For me, that is what it means to represent someone, you do not stop when the ink dries, you stop when the situation is truly finished.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theinspireteam.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspireteamofkw/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenalopiccolosmith.InspiRE
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/serenalopiccolo-smith
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLFj6mxm1wargvFBV6PCRQ?sub_confirmation=1

Image Credits

All photos belong to me