Diane Mato, MBA, is a Naples, Florida–based REALTOR® and Broker Associate with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. As RealtyWire’s senior contributor covering home seller strategy, she writes about property preparation, pricing, marketing, negotiation and luxury residential real estate. Drawing on more than three decades of experience, she helps homeowners understand how to prepare, position and market their properties to achieve the strongest possible result. Diane serves buyers and sellers throughout Naples, Marco Island and surrounding Southwest Florida communities. She began her real estate career at age 20 on Marco Island in 1987 and has worked across nearly every major segment of the residential real estate industry, including luxury homes, waterfront properties, new construction, residential resales, home staging, community sales and property marketing. Her career has included serving as sales and service director for a luxury homebuilder in Quail West and as a sales executive for DiVosta Homes, where she sold more than 150 residences in communities including Island Walk, Verona Walk, San Remo and Village Walk. She later served as vice president of a Marco Island construction company, participated in the design and construction of homes in Naples and Marco Island, and operated a boutique real estate firm specializing in residential sales and rentals for more than a decade. Diane has been recognized by RealTrends as one of the top 1.5% of real estate professionals nationwide based on sales performance. She is also a member of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Club 1744, an annual distinction recognizing the company’s top-producing 10% of advisors. She is the author of *Sell Smart: The Proven Strategy for Getting Top Dollar for Your Home*, which presents the pricing, preparation, presentation, marketing and negotiating strategies she has developed throughout her career. Her real estate expertise has also been featured in television news coverage on NBC and FOX, where she has discussed housing-market conditions, condominium assessments, seller strategy and other issues affecting homeowners. Diane holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Florida and an MBA with a focus on business and computer information systems from Florida Gulf Coast University. Her combination of real estate, construction, financial, business and marketing experience gives her a practical perspective on what adds value to a property—and what can cause sellers to leave money on the table. At RealtyWire, Diane provides homeowners with clear, experience-based guidance on preparing a property for sale, establishing an effective pricing strategy, choosing a listing agent, evaluating offers, navigating inspections and negotiating a successful transaction.