Pair offers perfect combination
Ray White Scarborough’s Jo Szulc and Mary Di Marco are a dynamic duo who offer care and compassion to help clients through life’s big moments, and more than 50 years’ combined experience in real estate.
Jo and Mary officially teamed up in April 2023, having worked alongside each other for about six years.
It has paid off with the duo earning Alan White Elite status for being in the top three per cent of Ray White sales agents.
“When you have someone who has a similar work ethic and similar way of treating people, that you admire and trust, it was just perfect to work together,” Mary explains.
“We knew that if we left our properties with one another, or our clients with one another, that person would give them the same level of expertise.
“Jo is dynamic. You won’t find a more natural person in dealing with them. She understands where people are coming from and what they need. She’s very marketing-focused and very driven.
“I am as well, to a degree, but I come at a different angle and between the two of us I think we cover the whole spectrum. We complement each other.”
Jo agrees, saying they specialise in luxury units and working with mature clients.
“The big thing is that we both have very similar morals and ethics. In an industry, which can have a bad reputation, we have really elevated ourselves as trusted agents in the area,” she says.
“We care. It’s not just a job for us, not just a process. There’s a process to what we do to have a successful outcome, but it’s about the fact we care.”
They say their ability to connect and empathise with clients, who are often navigating a major life transition, sets them apart.
“Between the two of us and what we’ve gone through in our lives, I think we’ve covered the whole gamut – whether it’s divorces, deaths, family crises … we’ve managed them, and we understand where people need assistance,” Mary says.
“It’s not the property. It’s working with the people and where they are in their life and making that transition for them.”
Those connections are not just about making a sale, the pair has a long history of genuine partnerships with the community.
“About 10 years ago, someone said: ‘you’re not a networker, you’re a connector’. I said: ‘that’s my purpose on this Earth’,” Jo explains.
“I have been a sponsor and volunteer at Redcliffe Surf Lifesaving Club for the last 10 years. I run the kiosk, which I have been doing for probably the last three years. I’m a major sponsor and have also managed uniforms, merchandise and running the sponsorship committee as well.
“I walked past one day and wanted that sense of belonging in the community. I was a solo mum and my son has grown up at the club. It’s been such a healthy lifestyle for him.
“It’s a real tribe and family environment, which makes it so much fun and enjoyable.”
Mary’s connections in the community have been via the Hills & Districts Chamber of Commerce, local schools and in her own neighbourhood, organising street parties for the past 15 years.
“Through the Chamber I’ve been involved as chairperson of various committees, vice-president, president, for the last 10 years,” Mary says.
“I’m also involved in mentoring business students (at Ferny Grove State High School) because they’re our new community leaders and it’s really important that we nurture them.
“They’ve got skills that I’ll never achieve with technology, but I’ve got skills in working with people. Between them and myself, there’s a really good synergy.”
Mary has also connected with Donna Thistlethwaite from Mentally Wellthy, which partners with organisations to improve employee wellbeing, safety and performance.
“I belong to the gratitude group that she’s part of. I have for about the last eight years. She runs Men’s Mental Health Week which I’ve been involved with since Donna started it about three years ago,” Mary explains.
She was the event’s gold sponsor this year.
“We talk, as women, and we get strength from that. Men don’t talk as much. I have family members who struggled with mental health and it was so important for me to actually understand where they’re coming from and not let anyone else go through what we went through,” Mary says.
Jo says their actions demonstrate a genuine connection with the community.
“I think we’re two of the strongest community agents in the whole Peninsula because we’ve just embraced being part of it,” she says.
Contact the Jo Szulc and Mary Di Marco Team
Jo: 0412 195 577
Mary: 0438 054 227