Imagine calling four or five hours of sleep a night an easy way to go through life. Lucky for

Susan Santoro, she claims not to need much more than that – and that has allowed her to spend more time with her nose to the ground, making a name for herself in a lifelong career as a Realtor.

Santoro has seen the real estate industry change significantly in her nearly forty years in the

business. A modest start in modeling, a great knowledge of building from her real estate

developer husband, and a passion for real estate led her to collect her license in 1985. She began by taking all the call-in leads at the office and offered to host an open house for any agent to meet buyers and potential sellers. She says once she got things off the ground on her own, she built a remarkable career that now spans almost four decades. She has won numerous awards including being named the #1 Realtor in sales at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty- Guilford office and # 4 for the company in the state of Connecticut! To top it off, she loves every minute of it. – despite the lack of sleep.

She prides herself on a personal touch that has carried her through decades of service to her

clients and community. She still communicates with every sale even her first sale from the mid-

80s, sending them cards throughout the years to check in and stay in touch. The Google reviews match – a recent endorsement raves about Santoro’s attentive service, acting like each client is her one and only. Her 100’s of physician clients call her “Realtor to the Docs” a name she is very proud of. Another element of her success – her so-called “gift of gab,” or a gift of being able to befriend. She loves learning about people, loves conversations, and always tries to leave a party having met everyone in attendance. It is that kind of connection that has her standing head and shoulders above her peers.

Her biggest success in the workplace, though, is her real estate team. The Susan Santoro

Team~A small group of four, (Kate Esposito, Alicia Mahon & Eric Ryalls) this group is fiercely

loyal and devoted to providing world-class service at a personal level. Santoro says she loves

teaching and answering questions – and helping her team grow from real estate assistants to top- flight realtors is one of her proudest achievements.

Of course, she has some impressive achievements outside the office. As she grew up, she

participated in the Special Olympics and remains committed to the advancement of those with

special needs and abilities. She gives back to the Ronald McDonald House and donates as often as she can to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She has a daughter Stephanie, a son in law Spencer and two wonderful grandchildren, who she tries to see a few times a month at their home on Long Island. She mostly credits her business sense from her Dad Ronald Shaw who was a standup comedian turned CEO of The Pilot Pen Corporation – and has taken lessons of authenticity and enthusiastic self-promotion from him.

Santoro emphasizes that in Real Estate the team’s core concept is a commitment to making sure nothing falls through the cracks – that there will always be someone there to back you up for any reason. She says with forty years of experience, she is comfortable taking the lead when it comes to problem-solving, but collaboration is key for her team. Santoro praises her agents for complementing each other’s skill sets. She says there is a reason Real Trends named The Susan Santoro Team the top small team in the state of Connecticut for the second year in a row, as well as The #1 Team in The William Pitt Sotheyby’s International Realty Company! – and she has big plans to continue that upward trajectory… even if it means missing out on an hour or two of shuteye.