Rob Dipiero always knew he was destined to do something different than waiting on tables. As a smart, personable server at Swiss Chalet in Saint John, New Brunswick, Rob was no stranger to being solicited for sales jobs by his customers, including Michael McCarron. Michael, EXIT Realty’s gregarious Supervisor of Growth and Development for Canada, immediately recognized something special in the young server and asked Rob if he had ever considered a career in real estate. Neither could have predicted how that chance meeting would change the trajectory of Rob’s life.
Michael and Rob bantered over hockey and chicken for more than three years, then, “One day, I took a hard look at where I wanted to go in life,” Rob recalls. “I was working for a man who had dropped out of high school and built fortune but also a legacy in multiple businesses and I realized that if I wanted that lifestyle, it was all up to me.” Rob assessed his skills and believed he was a good communicator and he wanted to help people, two of the main ingredients needed to become a successful real estate agent. At last, the time was right and he reached out to Michael.
Michael invited Rob to meet some of the agents at the local EXIT brokerage, all of whom were happy to share their time and perspective. “I remember leaving that meeting thinking I didn’t care if EXIT sold vacuum cleaners; if this was the type of people the company attracted, I wanted to work there. For me, it was about working with people who shared my values,” recalls Rob.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. “I really struggled. I wasn’t half as good at communicating with people as I thought I was,” he remembers. “A couple of years in, I had no clients, no listings, no sales on the books, $32 in my bank account, and a mortgage payment coming due in 14 days. I was riddled with anxiety and things weren’t good at home. I called Mike and told him I was done. He said to me, ‘If there’s any chance at all, would you take it?’” Figuring he had nothing to lose, Rob answered yes.
Through Michael’s coaching, Rob knocked on doors over the following weekend, handing out 714 business cards, making 714 connections, and the following week, the phone started ringing. “The lesson I learned is that if you do the work, it’ll work,” he said. And work it did. Rob went on to close 37 transactions that year and win his first of many awards.
His next goal was to work smarter, asking himself how he could take 25 listings and earn $150,000. “It starts with having a goal and then you break your goal down,” he realized, “You can’t organize your day if you don’t know what it is that you even want.”
His experiences inspired him to share what he learned with others. “I think the struggle really helped me understand that while challenge is necessary for growth, a lot of it can be avoided.” Rob approached the brokerage ownership with a plan to onboard, mentor and train agents to avoid the pitfalls he had encountered, and in his new leadership role, Rob found his lane.
Today as the Director of Growth and Sales at EXIT Realty Specialists, Rob plays a pivotal role in the brokerage’s growth by helping to select the right agents to join their team. “There’s only one requirement – if I think they’re cool – and what I mean by that is they share our values,” he says. “We’re looking for hardworking, empathetic people who are self-aware and grateful, with a focus on entrepreneurship.”
Rob believes an entrepreneurial drive is key to success at EXIT Realty in order to take advantage of the company’s unique business model which provides the opportunity to earn an additional income stream by helping the company grow through a process known as sponsoring. “If you’re an entrepreneur at heart, you understand multiple incomes streams,” he says, “If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you want to be the best real estate agent, then we’re interested. But if you only want to be the best real estate agent, maybe we’re not the right fit for you. This is a partnership.”
Rob’s approach to training and coaching is to introduce new ideas through conversations with special focus on helping the agents take advantage of the EXIT Formula. “Our agents know we have the systems and support in place to help not only them, but anyone they introduce to our office, so they sponsor with confidence.”
Rob takes full advantage of the EXIT Formula too, and to-date has introduced ten people to the company. EXIT’s head office pays Rob a 10% thank you bonus based on their production. Should Rob decide to take a break or retire from real estate, his 10% sponsoring bonuses would convert to a 7% retirement/lifestyle residual, and should something happen to him, Rob’s beneficiary would earn a 5% legacy residual. Rob is building a future not only for himself, but for his young daughter, Brielle.
“I think one of the greatest blessings in life is being a good father,” he shares, “One thing that I’ve really enjoyed about my career in real estate is making my family a part of it. And of course, with sponsoring, if I get ‘hit by a car’ right now my daughter will benefit from a beneficiary income that’s probably greater than most adult’s annual income.”
Rob sums it up this way, “I really enjoy being a builder of people and seeing them grow. I enjoy teaching them how to leverage their time and effort – and the EXIT Formula – so they can spend time doing the things they love.” Rob was on vacation in the US when the power of the EXIT Formula hit home. “I received 13 sponsoring bonuses while I was sitting by the pool. I thought, ‘Now this is leverage.’ Being an entrepreneur means earning money not only as a result of your own efforts but also those of other people; real estate is just the vehicle. EXIT makes that possible.”
