By Melanie Robitaille, Sr. Staff Writer and Graphic Designer
Legacy. Up until almost 30 years ago, it was a concept only enjoyed by the client when it came to real estate, relegating the role of agent to just another job. That was until the arrival of EXIT Realty’s innovative three-dimensional model that finally made it a true entrepreneurial career worth introducing others into.
Ed Martens was a professional who had sold his insurance agency after seven years in business then got into new home sales and managing building sites. At a time when Royal LePage was still A.E. LePage, he decided to get licensed instead of waiting for clients to come to him and ended up managing an office while creating a Power Farming program and training agents.
Just over five years in he would make a fateful move to Re/Max, where he would meet Steve Morris, a broker at the time, whose friendship and genius would eventually change both of their lives when he launched EXIT Realty. Ed would become one of EXIT’s Canadian District Owners, while still selling real estate alongside his wife, Angie, and then in 2001 he joined EXIT’s corporate ranks and was promoted to VP of Franchise Sales within six months and then to Sr. VP of Franchise Sales for Canada a year later.
“I’d been selling real estate for 20 years at the time Steve started EXIT and I realized that agents were only as good as their last deal or their last year. It was a no brainer, the residual income, retirement income, and beneficiary income. I saw the potential right away,” he said, and he would eventually coach the man who would go onto find EXIT’s next generation of stars.
“I met Mike McCarron when I sold him and Franchisee, Ron Young the EXIT Realty Specialists franchise in Saint John, NB. Mike really saw the genius of the EXIT plan the very first time it was presented to him also,” Ed recalled. Though, at the time, Mike was retired, he had once taken $1,000 worth of JOICO hair-care product, and built a thriving, 18-salesperson team that grossed $300,000 a month. It also turned into the family business, employing his wife, two daughters, and his son-in-law, which made it all that much harder to sell when the option presented itself 10 years later. Believing strongly in timing, that’s exactly what he did in 2003.
After that, Mike embarked on his own health journey and dived deep into his “why” of building people through wellness coaching, and would cross paths regularly with Ron at the gym. It just so happened that Ron was the top C21 agent in town at the time, who was looking to next-level his business.
He had been in conversation with Ed, when he asked Mike for his opinion on the EXIT model. Mike had some common, preconceived ideas about the business telling Ron, “I’m not interested in real estate. It’s too ego driven for me. It’s not my vibe, it’s just not who I am,” but then agreed that if he could meet the owner, or who Ron had been speaking with, he’d give his honest opinion. That was on a Monday, and by Thursday he was sitting down for dinner with Steve Morris himself.
In 2006, Mike and Ron opened their brokerage, and just over a year later Ron was ready to buy Mike out. EXIT’s Canadian Division was ready with an offer for Mike, knowing his people and business skills would be pure potential for the company’s growth. Since then, Mike has thoroughly enjoyed his role as Supervisor of Growth and Development for Canada, learning the ropes from Ed, and growing into a touching and talented Ambassador Trainer.
“Mike was a natural at sponsoring, as he engaged people wherever he went, and he has become a great talent scout as is evident seeing the quality of agents he has been able to sponsor,” Ed said.
A sports fan to the core, Mike embraced his “scout” persona and has sponsored in 11 associates throughout his tenure with EXIT. He prides himself on truly connecting with people and finding real estate luminaries in the most unassuming places, like his most promising rising star who definitely stood out amidst the crowd at a restaurant where Mike and his wife happened to be enjoying dinner back in 2016.
“There’s Rob, all of six foot five, who comes over to our table and he has the gift. I know that Kathy’s probably got her elbow in me, because she knows I’m going to ask the question,” Mike remembered fondly of meeting Rob and thinking he would be perfect for real estate. “I look for people who have a gift with people and help them to become very successful in real estate.” It wasn’t even something on Rob’s radar at the time but ask him, Mike did anyway.
“He told me he was a ‘talent scout’ and I fell for that line,” recalled Sales Representative, Rob Dipiero sheepishly. And though the timing wasn’t right for Rob, Mike lit a spark within him he never realized was there.
Mike saw innate skills, demeanor, and warmth as keys that would unlock doors for Rob with EXIT’s business model in a people business like real estate. But while Rob wasn’t inhibited to talk to people, he admittedly knew little to nothing of the industry. When the time was finally right, Rob got licensed, found that feeling of “home” at EXIT Realty Specialists, and one of the first EXIT trainings he took was Ambassador.
“I took Mike’s course two or three times, and it really helped me learn the story about EXIT and some of the language that goes along with sponsoring. When I first started, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I just threw it out there. I think more than anything I was just afraid that I didn’t know enough about real estate to help anybody, which I think is a really common thing. Because of Mike, I definitely focus more on the person across from me,” Rob mused.
Something else Mike once said that has also resonated with Rob is, “Everyone communicates, but not everyone connects.” It’s the primer from which Rob has built his business. He and Mike regularly consult on all things sponsoring and since those humble beginnings Rob has sponsored 14 active associates into the brand, has helped mastermind a corporate apprenticeship program, and taken on the Director of Growth and Sales role at EXIT Realty Specialists, which is now two offices strong.
“Sponsoring is a great opportunity for young EXIT agents because of how long they can potentially be in the business. The longer they’re in the business, the more residual income they’re going to make, and the more opportunities they’ll have to sponsor other young people who’ll be in the business for a long time. I used to want to be a top agent and now I want to ‘make money while I sleep’ as Mike puts it. I have a true love for sales, but I don’t want to limit myself to only making money one way,” Rob shared of his experience going from transactional agent to a true entrepreneur, and it’s an opportunity Ed wishes he had all those years ago too.
