Consistent and Persistent:

A podcast produced by RRC

Industry news made simple.

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The Real Estate Real Talk podcast is hosted by leading agents that can help you cut through the noise and grow your knowledge and expertise.

Consistent Persistentand

By Amelia Garza

Real estate was always in Pam Ruggeroli’s DNA—but that didn’t mean she entered this industry without hesitation.

“My mother was a REALTOR® for 30 years in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I grew up, and I swore I would never be a REALTOR®,” says Ruggeroli. For 15 years, she had a successful career as a dental hygienist, until she suffered an injury to her hand. As a single mother going through a divorce, she had to find a new path that would allow her to be there for her children.

In 2001, while selling candy bars for her daughter’s cheer team, which she coached, Ruggeroli met a broker who reintroduced her to the real estate industry.

“He handed me his business card and said, ‘Call me on Monday. Let me see how I can help.” After several months of friendship, he sat her down and said, “You’re going to real estate school,” and even paid for her classes. She’s been a REALTOR® ever since.

“In the beginning, real estate was hard,” says Ruggeroli. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to fail something for the first time in my life!’ It’s not the easiest business to get started in, but it is the most rewarding business if you are consistent and persistent.”

Over the past 20 years, what skills have served you the most in your business?

With real estate, my favorite part is helping people, especially first-time homebuyers. It’s such an exciting and scary experience for them, and [it’s important to] have a professional who can guide them through the process and basically take them by the hand and show them step by step how to get where they want to be and fulfill their dream of homeownership.

 Top: Pam Ruggeroli, CRS, (left) poses with her mother. Bottom: Pam's mother and colleague featured in a newspaper article in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s been a tumultuous market. How can RRC continue to serve its members best in changing times, and what do you see happening in the market in 2023?

I wish I had a crystal ball ... I see the market normalizing right now. What we experienced for the past two

f Ruggeroli’s family (L–R): Dylan (son), Casey and Lauren Johansen (son-inlaw and daughter), Jeano Savard (fiancé), Ruggeroli, Wyatt and Haegan Ruggeroli (grandsons) and Chance (son).

Ruggeroli’s Checklist

When Ruggeroli is not at work, you can find her: f Spending time with friends and family f Golfing for charity f Completing a puzzle f Tidying up her home and office f Catching a flight f Watching football f Watching murder mystery shows

years is not normal. To have an interest rate below 3% is not normal. To have only a few hundred homes on the market in any given market is not normal. So I feel like we are stabilizing. And in 2023, I think we’re going to see a flat, even keel. It’s our job as REALTORS® to educate our sellers and buyers. Times have changed, and we need to be willing to give to these buyers to help them. And then letting them know that, yes, interest rates are higher, but you have two options: You can either pay yourself or you can pay somebody else. If you’re paying rent, you’re paying somebody else’s mortgage, and they’re the ones that are making all the money. Or you can invest in yourself, pay your own mortgage and have potential equity down the road. It’s all up to us and the lenders to educate our buyers and sellers.

Is there any advice you’d give to new agents getting started in today’s market?

Be persistent and consistent. Don’t give up. That’s all you can do. It took me time, but it’s all about building relationships. I think that’s what has made my career as successful as it is. If I just did it and stopped, did it and stopped, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.

What is the best business advice you’ve received in your career?

Delegate is the No. 1 thing. Also, my biggest thing I teach new agents when I’m mentoring and training them is if you take care of the people, the money will come. If you’re chasing the money and you’re not doing the right thing, it’s not going to work out. If you focus on what’s in the best interest of your clients, then everything else will work out.

What are some ways you stay active in your community and give back?

From the time I was young, I was involved in different charities and fundraising. I always say, if I had a dime for every dollar I raised, I’d be a multi-millionaire. Since 2016, my primary charity of choice is Care Fund. It provides mortgage and rent assistance to families with critically ill children. We have our big fundraiser every year in October. When a child is diagnosed with a critical illness or has a critical injury, these families are devastated. Many don’t have a lot of money to begin with—but then suddenly, one of the parents must take time off work to take that child to the hospital or doctor’s appointments, the prescription medications are through the roof and the hospital bills are crazy. The goal is to help these families have a roof over their heads. One of our mottos is, “Keeping families safe at home.” We believe no parent should have to choose between going to work and caring for their child. It’s not just all the big things we can do, but it’s the little things.