In 2013, Tanya Myre was on the verge of quitting real estate. The then 25-year-old had struggled through a couple of mediocre years working in partnership with her successful husband, Iannick Champagne, splitting their time between Ontario and Quebec. “Nothing was happening,” she said. “It was two or three years of just trying to make it. The brand we were with was dog-eat-dog competitive, and that’s just not me.” She knew something had to change; either give up her license or change her brokerage. A conversation with real estate veteran, Maggie Tessier, would set the young professional on the path to prosperity.
During her 25-year career with EXIT Realty, Maggie, the Broker/Owner of EXIT Realty Matrix, Brokerage with offices in Ottawa, Embrun and Hawkesbury, has achieved just about every award the company offers, both for her personal and team production as well as for her brokerage. In 2013, Tanya co-brokered a couple of deals with Maggie. “She asked how my business was doing and I told her I was probably going to quit,” said Tanya. “She invited me for a coffee, and it was love at first sight.” Tanya fell in love with the EXIT model, and most especially with the culture of Maggie’s Embrun office. “Everyone was so friendly. They worked together – it wasn’t a competitive environment,” she said.
Tanya joined EXIT in the summer of 2014 and closed out her first year earning $36,000 in GCI. The following year she more than tripled her production and has been on a meteoric climb ever since. Tanya credits Maggie and the team at EXIT with teaching her how to set goals and create vision boards to keep those goals top-of-mind on her quest to achieve them. “Maggie had me write down how many deals I wanted to close. It was a big goal for me to close 25 ends because that was the minimum to receive a Bronze Award at EXIT. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.” And she did.
Over the following years, Maggie’s mentorship continued to guide Tanya as her career progressed. “When I was closing about 75 ends, Maggie called me in for a meeting. She told me I was doing great, but my paperwork? Not so much,” Tanya recalled, laughing. Tanya was working hard, coming into the office late in the evening to process paperwork and Maggie suggested it was time for her to hire administrative support. “I was worried that if I hired an assistant and my production dropped, I wouldn’t be able to pay them,” said Tanya. Maggie urged Tanya to trust the process, certain that her production would double with help. “And that’s literally what happened,” said Tanya. “Now, I don’t know what I would do without my Sue.” She, like Maggie, is a mother-figure to me. She’s the glue that helps hold my business together. She keeps me sharp and ready to attack the next situation.”
In 2020, Maggie inspired Tanya to form a team. Tanya’s husband, Iannick joined her at the brokerage, and veteran EXIT Associate Broker, Lana Barnes, rounded out the team. Later, two buyer agents joined and in 2021, not only was the Tanya Myre Team ranked in the top 10 teams for EXIT Realty across the U.S. and Canada, but Tanya was honoured with the Titanium Award for closing more than 150 ends for the second year running and she was inducted into the Ruby Circle in recognition of closing 500 ends during her career with EXIT.
The needs of an agent earning $36,000 a year are very different from those of one running a team and earning a healthy seven figures. The right mentor – a guide on the side – is key every step along the way. “With Maggie, I talk about how I want to pursue my next six months, my next year, my next five years – even how we visualize retirement. Through EXIT I’ve met some amazing people who helped us make important decisions that we needed at the time.”
Today Tanya is passing along the leadership lessons she learned from Maggie to her team. “We sit down together at the end of the year to discuss our goals and create our vision boards. I’m there to motivate them and try to help them achieve their personal goals. I figure if I can help somebody else in real estate to realize how pleasant it is, why not? It’s such a great career.”
As seen in Buzz Magazine. Reproduced with permission.
