“Our clients’ goals always come first,” Lisa Cozzi says when describing her team. “We’d rather show 50 properties to find the perfect fit than ever push a deal that doesn’t serve them.”
By grounding her team in honesty, transparency and a commitment to client service, Cozzi has created one of the country’s top-performing teams, one that showcases record-breaking sales and repeat client loyalty.
Over and above professional accolades, Cozzi’s team prides itself on its many years of community service, including “funding clean water wells, scholarships and shelters in Uganda” and “making real estate a vehicle for positive, measurable change in communities near and far.” Locally, Cozzi also supports Breast Friends Fund, The Chabad House and many other community initiatives.
With over 24 years of proven success, find out how Cozzi and her team adapt, strategize and execute, so clients win.
Name: Lisa Cozzi
Title: Team leader and associate broker
Experience: 24 Years
Location: Wethersfield, Connecticut
Team name: The Lisa Cozzi Team
Team size: 11 active full-time agents, including me
Transaction sides: 263
Sales volume: $105 million
Awards:
- RIS Media Trailblazer (2023)
- Women of FIRE Award (2017)
- Hartford Business Journal Power 25: Real Estate
- CoStar and CREXI Power Broker Awards
How did you get your start in real estate?
I started out as a financial analyst at Cambridge Associates, crunching numbers for big firms, but deep down, I knew corporate America wasn’t my calling. I’ve always been fiercely independent — a coffee shop owner in Salem, a three-time Boston Marathon runner, someone who embraces all of the opportunities life has to offer.
When I stepped into real estate, I found a place where my analytical background, entrepreneurial drive and passion for people all collided. What began as residential sales grew into something more powerful: Helping clients escape the 9-to-5 trap, build passive income and create long-term wealth through multifamily investment properties.
That mission fueled the creation of my investment sales team, where we’ve helped countless clients design freedom plans and build legacies, one property at a time.
This isn’t just about selling properties; it’s about unlocking financial freedom and designing a life you don’t need to escape from. The question I always ask clients is this: “How badly do you want to live your most fulfilling, beautiful life — and what are you willing to invest in to make it real? Because if you’re ready, we’ll help you build that legacy door by door.”
How did you choose your brokerage?
After more than two decades in this business, leading one of the top real estate teams in the country, my decision to align with Century 21 Real Estate came down to one thing: impact.
I’ve always believed real estate is bigger than transactions — it’s about creating freedom, building legacies, and transforming lives both here and across the globe. Century 21’s unmatched global network, cutting-edge technology, and reputation for relentless client advocacy perfectly mirror the way my team operates, with heart, hustle, and an uncompromising standard of excellence.
Tell us about an epic fail you’ve experienced since you’ve been a team lead
One of my biggest leadership lessons came when I realized that attracting remarkable people is only the first step. To build something truly lasting, a team needs to be aligned in purpose, passion, vision and culture.
Early on, I gathered a group of amazing individuals, yet our approaches, skills, and long-term goals weren’t fully in sync. Real estate at the highest level isn’t effortless — it takes grit, consistency, purpose-driven focus and a relentless passion for serving clients with excellence.
That experience taught me the power of clear alignment from Day 1, making sure we not only share skills, but also the same values, vision and drive to create meaningful impact together. And the truth is, that’s the beauty of this industry: There are many incredible teams where success can thrive in different ways, and there’s nothing wrong with attraction alone.
But when attraction meets shared culture, passion and purpose, that’s when a team transforms from good to extraordinary, and life and work become truly wonderful.
What’s your top tip for newly formed teams?
My top advice is this: Build a team with a pulse. A true team has no “I”; everyone shows up with skin in the game, plays by the same standards and leaves ego at the door. But what separates good teams from legendary ones is a culture you can feel the moment you step into it — a rhythm of collaboration, accountability and shared ambition that pulls everyone higher.
When every player is aligned to the same vision, driven by purpose and committed to winning together, it creates an energy top producers can’t help but want to be part of. A place where excellence isn’t optional; it’s contagious.
What’s one thing you wish every agent knew?
I wish every agent truly understood the depth of grit, determination, consistency, commitment, heart and hustle it takes to sustain excellence in real estate. From the outside, the life of a top producer can look glamorous — big sales, big wins — but what most don’t see are the countless hours of preparation, the sleepless nights strategizing for clients, the relentless follow‑up, and the unwavering resilience it takes to push through market shifts and setbacks.
This business is not luck; it’s leadership in action every single day. The agents who rise to the top don’t just work hard; they work with unshakable purpose, a servant’s heart and the kind of consistency that outlasts every obstacle. If more people understood what it really takes, they’d stop looking for shortcuts and start building the mindset and muscle that create true, lasting success in this industry.”
I wish every agent knew that real estate isn’t just a career; it’s a calling. The top performers aren’t fueled only by ambition; they’re powered by vision, relentless consistency and the courage to keep showing up, even when the odds aren’t in their favor. Success doesn’t come from one big win — it’s the result of hundreds of quiet, determined actions, day after day, driven by a deep commitment to clients and a belief that every door opened can change a life.
I wish every agent could feel the heart and sacrifice this business truly takes. Behind every ‘top producer’ accolade are early mornings, missed family moments, late-night problem-solving and the emotional weight of fighting for clients’ dreams as if they were our own. This industry isn’t just transactions; it’s people, trust and life-changing moments.
What it takes to rise to the top isn’t just hustle; it’s having the heart to care fiercely and the grit to never give up, no matter how hard the road gets.
