We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Susan Winchester . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Susan below.

Alright, Susan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents raised my brother and me on a farm. I have been riding horses since I was five, so in addition to my horses, we always had cows, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats. While it was such a privilege, there was a lot of work involved. Regardless of the weather, we had to care for the animals every day. It didn’t matter if we were sick, or family was in town, or even holidays. They were the priority first thing in the morning and every night. It was a tremendous responsibility. It really taught me at an early age to do a job or task even if I didn’t feel like doing it. To always get out of bed with my alarm, even if it was cold or I’d had a late night. That responsibility conditioned me to be disciplined and stay focused on what needs to be done each day – personally or professionally. Making calls, following up with clients, having difficult conversations, and so much more. It was one of the best things my parents could have done.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When I was 15, my mother started her career as a real estate agent. I would go with her to showing appointments, and I became her assistant during my summers home from college. I loved viewing properties (especially farms), scheduling appointments, and arranging closing gifts for her clients. My father also became an agent about ten years ago and is now a broker. I initially resisted getting my license, and I pursued a career in environmental consulting. I worked in the commercial side of real estate by performing due diligence and risk assessments for commercial real estate transactions. Finally realizing how much I love the industry, I decided to join them 2017 as an agent and recently became a broker earlier this year.

As a team, we love people and we love working with our clients. We treat them like family. Every deal is personal for us, and that’s why we continue to work for Jim Rash and Town & Country Realtors, a small, local firm. It’s important for us to provide resources, support, and transparency to our clients. Real estate is also fun! We get excited discussing little things like paint colors and where you could place your furniture in a new house. We’re here for the whole process, good and bad, from start to finish (and even after!).

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Communicating with clients is the most important thing I do. I work to send out things like monthly newsletters, anniversary / birthday cards, notes for special occasions, and social media posts. I also like to send a text or call a client a month or two after the closing. I want to know how the move went, if they like the house, and in general how their life is going. If they have a small business, we buy local and support them. We show up for them outside of the real estate transaction.

We all remember the people who make us feel good and important. We’ve all had those interactions where at the end of the day, you remember who was genuine in their conversation and who was not. I always want our clients to feel heard and important. If people feel good talking to me or after they’ve worked with us on a transaction, that’s a win. That’s how we build long term relationships that lead to multiple deals, opportunities, referrals, and most importantly, friendships.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes! I love reading, and it’s an important way to learn from the experiences of others and gain perspective.

Titan – Ron Chernow
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
Think and Grown Rich – Napoleon Hill

Also, I’m a big fan of podcasts. They’re free, and it’s such a easy way to get content on literally any topic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://townandcountryrealtors.net/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thepoguegroup?r=nametag
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PogueatTownandCountry