Above and beyond customer service
ARealtor since 2011, Deborah Russell has an associate’s degree in math and science from Naugatuck Community College. Prior to real estate, she worked in hospitality in restaurants for 20-plus years.
Through those experiences she honed an ability to work with people, anticipate their needs and give a high level of customer service.
“I took my customer service from my hospitality and I took my logistics from math and science,” she said.
When working with buyers, Russell, who primarily serves Northern Fairfield County, consults them on the process and timeline and explains what is expected of them. She brings them to see a range of homes and sits back and gauges what they like and don’t like. Based on that she narrows the search, targeting it to their needs.
With sellers, she goes over their goals and timelines in an initial consultation. Then workouts a plan to sell the house for the most amount of money in the least time possible.
Russell talks to sellers about staging and getting the home ready for showings, including cleaning up the exterior and she gets quality photographs. Once she has the photographs, she uses William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty’s reach to get the house in front of as many agent’s eyes as possible.
Russell ensures her listings stand out and get noticed by getting the right pictures, which she said makes a big difference.
The most rewarding part of her career is clients moving on with their plans. She described a recent client who bought a house on five acres with plans to transform it into a gentleman’s farm.
“I love seeing people start their next chapter,” she said. “I love seeing people go on to their next adventure.”
Russell, who has lived in Northern Fairfield County for her entire life, grew up in Ridgefield and raised her family in Bethel. She has two children in college and is starting her next adventure as an empty nester. She enjoys watching sports and dining out with friends and is involved with the Danbury Music Center.