Lisa Sanford finds it exhilarating to be a Realtor.

She loves to help people meet their goals. She loves being self-employed, she says, because she can work as hard as she wants to in a job that she loves.

God, she says, has blessed her and led her to the right profession.

“I know that God wants me to do this,” she said of her career.

She has, she says, been given a gift and she is upfront about letting people know that she is a Christian.

Sanford has been selling real estate for 38 years. She is affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Speckman Realty. That’s the firm that was started by the late Arlen Speckman.

When Sanford first moved to the area in 1983, she was a graduate of the University of Illinois in home economics and was commuting to Chicago to work in the food industry. Speckman first helped her find a house to rent, then he went about convincing her to try selling real estate for a career – and ditching the commute.

“You love people,” he told her. “You’re a fantastic listener.”

Besides, her father had been in sales, and Speckman reasoned that Lisa had picked up more knowledge than she knew just by listening at the dining room table. A middle child, she was accustomed to working out solutions.

She threw herself with vigor into her new profession. Almost immediately, she became active in the Realtors Association. She sought out mentors she could learn from, including John Bowling, president of Olivet Nazarene University.

She latched onto the top agent in the country. She would only go to the national Realtor convention if she could meet the top seller. She got an immediate lesson as the person asked Lisa question after question. “How am I ever going to help you unless I know you?” That was the message.

To this day, Sanford likes to learn more. When she gets nervous, she still gets butterflies. That’s a good thing, she says. It means you are challenging yourself and growing.

Sanford says she has several traits that have helped her as a Realtor.

She is a very good listener. She likes to ask questions, put the pieces together and develop a plan.

Efficiency is another strength. She’ll get everyone together, rather than making eight or nine different calls or stops. She knows how to reach out to solve problems.

People view real estate as a profession where everyone competes. There’s some truth to that, she said, but really it is a whole lot more about cooperation that competition.

Sanford said she’s a calm person. That’s an advantage because “there can be a whole lot of stress.”

She understands math.

“I’m good at numbers,” she said.

She gives service, she says, that is above and beyond. When she gets a vendor who goes over the top to provide a service, she’ll reward that person with a pie from Blues Café.

Her advice to sellers in these times is to work with professionals. Know the market.

There is the age-old question of whether fixing a certain problem or updating a particular room or area will be worth it when it comes to the price. Sanford advises doing a pre-sale inspection. If you find out something is wrong, fix it or price the home accordingly. Some basics, like mold or a bad furnace, will need to be taken care of.

There is another reality. Fix your home in such a way that you enjoy the renovation before you sell it.

Her advice to buyers these days is to get your loan approval before you go shopping. Make decisions quickly. Be willing to get together with the seller to find out when they want to move and adjust the closing date accordingly. Lastly, make an offer with the fewest amount of contingencies possible.

She remembers a big day in real estate when she had several deals pending. “A needed to buy B. B needed to buy C. C needed to buy D. D needed to buy A.”

Couriers were going back and forth, but everything did get done.

Sanford and her husband, Walter, have renovated a great home in Kankakee’s Riverview neighborhood. Taking care of the home is one of her hobbies, along with tennis and filling antique flowerpots that Walter brings home with growing flowers.

They have two daughters, Abby, 20, and Meredith, 19. Both are graduates of Grace Christian Academy. Both are studying at Indiana Wesleyan University. The Sanfords are active in the church, and Lisa is a member of the school board.

She also has a new activity as a member of the Kankakee Regional Land Bank Authority. That group is working to get abandoned, unused properties back on the tax rolls and into circulation by removing liens that will likely never be paid.

“These are the empty lots that the city mows,” she said.

Sanford has an impressive list of professional credentials. She’s a Graduate Realtor Institute, Certified Residential Specialist and Senior Residential Marketing Master. She’s been the Realtor Associate of the Year and received the Presidential Award by the Illinois Association of Realtors.

With Real Living, she’s a member of the Diamond Club, the Crown Club, a winner of the top agent award and a member of the 360 Service Diamond Elite.

She’s a 1999 member of the national Real Estate Hall of Fame and holds platinum, diamond, pearl, gold, silver and bronze awards from the Illinois Association of Realtors.