Monthly member profile: Jodi Diego

Editor’s note: The Monthly Member Profile is a feature that puts a spotlight on one of PAR’s 33,000 members. 

Realtor®: Jodi Diego
Company: Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Camp Hill
Years in real estate: 15 years
Specialty: Residential real estate
Designations: ABR, CNE, CSP, SRES
Local association: Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors®

How did you get started in the real estate business?
I got started in the real estate business when I was living in California, actually Southern California, in the late ‘90s, and I started to work with a commercial developer doing his bookkeeping. I was intrigued by what we did and so from there, moving around the country numerous times and buying and selling homes. When I came to Pennsylvania, I worked with a Realtor® and I decided I want to do this. I thought, ‘I can do this,’ and so that’s how I got started.

What do you attribute your success to in the field?
I attribute my success to growing up on a farm in North Dakota and having to work hard and keeping a very positive attitude. I think that’s a great combination.

What is the biggest challenge being a Realtor®?
The biggest challenge of being a Realtor® is that we need to make sure that we keep our business professional. I feel that to a certain degree the consumer doesn’t sometimes realize that we are a professional and we must maintain the integrity. We must maintain that professionalism because we are helping to guide consumers through one of the biggest transactions in their lives –  buying a home or selling a home. Therefore, that is what I truly believe is one of the biggest challenges and to truly defend, if you will, that position as why you should work with a Realtor® as well.

If you could go back in time to the start of your career, what advice would you give yourself?
The advice that I would give myself is listen more and talk less. That’s because I perhaps clouded my judgment in helping someone because maybe I wasn’t listening. It’s so important to listen to the buyer or the seller. I had things my way in my head and I would talk and that was the mistake. We made it through, but as I’ve grown in the business, I feel I’ve become very successful in the business by listening more and talking less. It has gotten me a lot further.

Why do you love being a Realtor®?
I love being a Realtor® because the excitement that the buyer or the seller has when we accomplish the goal of buying or selling their home, it just does something. It excites me and it lights me up.

What is one of your favorite work stories?
One of my favorite work stories is when I met some people at an open house well over 10 years ago and we just kind of connected. They were looking to make a change in their housing situation because their family was growing. Their children were growing and having their babies and so they were just wanting to kind of make a change. We looked at numerous homes and hadn’t found anything. Then last year, there was a home that I heard was coming on the market. They went ahead and we got right in to take a look at it. They wrote an offer immediately and we really, truly did find them the perfect home. They were so excited. We got their home sold as well and we moved them right in. The house had everything they wanted and it was just I think that was one of my best work stories. You keep pounding the pavement until you find it and we did!

What are you most proud of in your career?
I am most proud of the fact that I have earned the respect of my peers, of my colleagues, of my customers and clients. It’s taken a lot of hard work, but I’m so proud of that and so excited because I know that when I am referred they know they’re getting that full 110 percent

Why are you a member of PAR?
I’m a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® because I know that they offer and provide me a lot to help me be very successful in my business. I didn’t know a lot about what PAR had to offer when I was new in the industry. But as I’ve grown in our industry, it’s just nice to know that PAR is here for us and the number of items that are available to us. We just need to go to the website to check it out.

What is a fun fact about yourself?
A fun fact about me is that I sang the national anthem at the Anaheim Angels Stadium and the Dodger Stadium back in the ‘90s when I lived in Southern California. That was exciting.

Do you have a favorite PAR memory?
My favorite PAR memory is when I was asked to be on a task force. It was my first time to be appointed to a state committee. I was so honored to be asked and it opened up a whole door for me, because I got to step my foot in the door of PAR. And it I got to make connections with other Realtors® throughout the state.

What do you do when you are not selling real estate?
I like to be outside with nature. I love to hike and garden. It’s just great to be outside, kind of away from people, just to kind of bring it down. That’s what I enjoy.