Orlando, Florida is known for its world-class attractions, theme parks and the world-famous Mickey Mouse. But now, the city is making headlines for its booming real estate market and growing infrastructure and population. At the fore of the flourishing luxury segment of Orlando's real estate are Tiffany Pantozzi and Jesse Rottinghaus.
In 2017, their skilled team at Stockworth Realty Group closed over $150 million in sales, averaging more than four closings a week. This year, they have continued their head-spinning success by expertly representing one-of-a-kind properties in Golden Oak at Walt Disney World (R) Resort and the Four Season Residences Orlando, among other coveted venues.
Haute Residence chatted with Pantozzi and Rottinghaus, who opened up about the nature of the business, their friendship in and outside the office and what it really takes to thrive in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the country.
How did you partner up?
Pantozzi: My husband actually knew Jesse before I did because he owns a title company called TitleTeam and worked with Jesse on his deals. Jesse and I actually first met at a local networking event and started chatting about how he knew my husband and was impressed by the digital marketing I had been doing and thought we should have a chat about the possibility of joining forces and working together.
I'll never forget that he gave me a book called “You are a Badass,” and the book really struck a chord with me and helped me to realize that this was a great opportunity and without risk there is no reward. So multiple coffee shop conversations later, the idea of combining two dynamic personalities both passionate about what we do with an unstoppable drive to surpass our goals, help others and stay ahead of the competition, a great partnership was formed.
Rottinghaus: Tiffany and I decided to take a collaborative approach on real estate, we sat down and devised a business model that brings over 20 years of real estate knowledge and experience along with over 10 years of pure marketing and networking experience. We understand a "Team" always outperforms an individual and working together our customers receive the absolute best.
What are some of the challenges of transitioning from being a solo real estate agent to a team?
Pantozzi: I'm a very independent person who would say I definitely march to the beat of my own drum, so combining our two books of business and how we like to manage that business is definitely a process and could be challenging at moments. But I also believe that two minds are better than one so just as in any business there may be growing pains but working together, we have been able to double our business and exposure in our market, just making our business stronger as a whole.
People like to know they not only have one agent working for them and looking out for their interests, but two dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable agents they can always depend on to ensure their best interests are always top of mind. We play to each other's strengths, creating a super agent structure ready to tackle any deal and any challenges that may present themselves. We stay organized and supported by our in-office team as well to ensure that our efforts are not duplicated and instead efficiently and effectively delegated to cover all details of our transactions.
Rottinghaus: Personalities, procedures and finances. Personalities and egos are the first to be challenged. When two Type A personalities merge, there isn't always a clear distinction of who is the leader. We've found sharing that role is ideal when necessary. Procedures and processes of doing things is next in line with merging; we all do things our own way and of course that's the best way. Finances, naturally, are the next hurdle as you grow; so do your expenses, which means you better outhustle everyone else.
What is the dynamic when working together? Do you split responsibilities?
Pantozzi: We do try to divide and conquer as much as possible but there are still some things we feel are super important to do together as a team for our clients. We both take our business extremely seriously but try not to take ourselves too seriously and keep a positive and playful approach to each new day. Jesse can definitely be more of a jokester while I'm more of the drill sergeant at times, but no matter what, we both like to have fun with our work.
This business could be a wild roller coaster so having each other to lean on definitely helps when needing to get a second opinion on something, brainstorm ideas or learn something new from each other. You can't be everything to everyone, so Jesse and I both bring different qualifications and big personalities to the table and a male/female dynamic helps to broaden our ability to relate to more people overall.
Rottinghaus: The dynamic is fantastic and needed to be right away otherwise a partnership wouldn't have been possible. Not only do we get along very well; we concentrate on each others strengths. Tiffany, primarily focuses on the marketing side of things; whereas, I am dialed in on the investment and transactional side of things. We do split responsibilities when scheduling requires such.
Orlando is a growing market with over 13,500 real estate agents, yet you are among the top 1 percent in terms of your production. What do you attribute your success to?
Pantozzi: We are full-time professionals, which initially sets us apart from the majority of agents in the field who just dabble in the business. Selecting someone to manage possibly one of your largest and most important financial transactions is something to be taken seriously, and our clients like to know that we are available all day, every day for them and have the experience and knowledge to properly advise and manage any of their real estate transactions. I believe that is one of the factors that keeps our clients constantly wanting to work with us and refer us business, in addition to the fact that we stay on top of trends in the market and do the research to really know what is going on to pass that information on to our clients.
Knowing how to properly price and market a home will make a different on the time on market and the sale price, both of which we are experts in and it reflects in our business. Our digital marketing efforts far exceed any other agents in Central Florida and we are able to reach hundreds of thousands of prospects with every post, so we focus heavily on a digital approach not only to expose ourselves to new potential clients but to also expose our clients properties to the largest pool of buyers possible. We keep a social savvy approach to stay top of mind and relevant in our market so when people think Orlando Real Estate, they think Jesse and Tiffany.
Rottinghaus: Longevity in this business, consistency with our customers and adapting to marketing changes.
Tiffany Pantozzi and Jesse Rottinghaus are the real estate agents exclusively representing the Orlando and Winter Park, Florida real estate market as a part of the Haute Residence real estate network. View all of their listings here.
