Rebecca Lundberg jumped from ballet to real estate

Rebecca Lundberg,PulteGroup, Inc.

Here's a question: Can you name a person whose world went from plié, pirouette and pas de deux to product, price, place and promotion? No? Try Rebecca Lundberg, vice president of sales for Arizona at PulteGroup Inc.

"Prior to going to university, I was a professional ballerina," Lundberg says. "I lived in Moscow when I was 17 and danced with the Moscow City Ballet. I spent time traveling in Europe and Southeast Asia. Then my parents told me I had to finish school before I went back to dance. 'Do whatever you want,' they said, 'but finish school.' I finished my high schooling and decided that, as much as I loved dance, I wanted to pursue some other things as well, mainly in the business world. That's how I landed at the University of Arizona."

While in college earning a business degree, Lundberg didn't anticipate she would eventually work for a homebuilder. However, when she graduated in 2005, it was the height of the real-estate market.

"The industry was so hot," she says. "I saw endless opportunities for me. I kind of jumped in feet first. It was a neat industry to be in during the boom."

Times were good for her—then; but she's learned so much more since the economic collapse. That's when she began to understand what it really takes to be a good salesperson.

"Before that, it was too easy," Lundberg says. "I didn't have to apply any strong selling skills. We would joke, 'Here's your home, would you like fries with that?' I've become a much stronger person now because of all we went through during the past four or five years."

For Lundberg, it's important to share that newfound knowledge.

"My No. 1 priority when working with my four general sales managers is to understand the market dynamics we're dealing with," she says. "And when I go out into our communities to talk to our sales associates, I want to make sure the presentation we're providing our consumers is very clear. We need to make sure they have all the information they need to make a purchase decision."

Lundberg stresses that it all goes back to the "four P's" of marketing: product, price, place and promotion.

What about the "three P's" of ballet?

"Oh, I still love dance," she says. "I love the arts. I don't get the opportunity to get out and dance much, but I do still enjoy it a lot."