{"id":1054,"date":"2017-01-19T16:58:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T16:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/?p=1054&lang=en"},"modified":"2021-03-10T14:51:55","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T14:51:55","slug":"playing-to-win-quebecs-top-agent-is-a-champ-for-his-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/playing-to-win-quebecs-top-agent-is-a-champ-for-his-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing to Win: Quebec’s Top Agent is a Champ for His Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

The No. 1 individual RE\/MAX agent\u00a0in Quebec didn\u2019t work his way to the\u00a0top by sticking to the sidelines. Jimmy\u00a0Arseneault is a champion for his clients<\/h2>\n

By David Yates |\u00a0Photography by\u00a0Christian Fleury<\/h5>\n

Jimmy Arsenault will never\u00a0forget his first day on the job as a real estate\u00a0agent, just five years ago. He had nothing\u00a0much in his office except a desk and a phone.\u00a0He had no secretary, no listings and no experience\u00a0selling real estate. What he did have,\u00a0though, was entrepreneurial drive \u2013 a defining\u00a0characteristic of all RE\/MAX agents.<\/p>\n

Motivated to control his fate in the\u00a0business, Arseneault jumped in his car\u00a0and drove the streets of Gatineau, a city\u00a0of 270,000 in the French-speaking province\u00a0of Quebec, just across the Ottawa\u00a0River from the Canadian capital of Ottawa. He jotted down the addresses of people\u00a0who advertised their homes as \u201cfor sale\u00a0by owner\u201d and called them later that day. From that enterprising exercise, Arseneault\u00a0cobbled together his first listings.<\/p>\n

It was an auspicious start to what would\u00a0quickly prove to be a very promising career.\u00a0By the end of 2010, his fourth full year\u00a0as an agent, Arseneault topped the\u00a0$1 million mark in annual commissions,\u00a0earning his way into the RE\/MAX Diamond\u00a0Award Club. In 2012, Arseneault was the\u00a0top-earning individual RE\/MAX agent in\u00a0all of Quebec. He ranked second in closed\u00a0transaction ends with 250. This year, the\u00a0Lifetime Achievement Award winner expects\u00a0to outdo himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy mid-August of this year, I was already\u00a0at 205,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the same number I\u00a0had in November of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, business is booming.\u00a0It\u2019s a remarkable feat given that Gatineau\u00a0is a city whose neighborhoods are made up mostly of modestly priced homes.\u00a0Arseneault\u2019s listings \u2013 a lofty 150 of them\u00a0\u2013 range from $90,000 to $700,000, with\u00a0many sales around the $200,000 mark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to sell a lot of houses to match\u00a0the brokers in the big cities like Montreal\u00a0and Quebec City, with their luxury-home neighborhoods,\u201d he says. \u201cWe don\u2019t have\u00a0neighborhoods like that in Gatineau.\u201d<\/p>\n

His rapid rise to the top has brought\u00a0positive changes to Arseneault\u2019s business.\u00a0First, there is the addition of two more Diamond Award Club trophies to his office\u00a0at RE\/MAX Vision (1990), as well as a growing\u00a0collection of sports memorabilia that\u00a0reflects his fervent support of the Montreal\u00a0Canadiens hockey team.<\/p>\n

And he no longer walks the streets looking\u00a0for potential listings.<\/p>\n

SHOUT IT FROM THE\u00a0ROOFTOPS<\/h3>\n

Arseneault\u2019s name and\u00a0status as a top-producing\u00a0agent is well-known\u00a0throughout western\u00a0Quebec, thanks to his \u00a0extensive\u00a0advertising reach\u00a0across a wide variety\u00a0of media. His brothers\u00a0Yannick and Mathieu\u00a0are also with RE\/MAX Vision (1990) in Gatineau,\u00a0giving the family name\u00a0even more visibility in\u00a0the community.<\/p>\n

Marketing is his\u00a0strength, Arseneault\u00a0says. He spends a\u00a0considerable amount\u00a0each year to advertise\u00a0properties on TV and radio,\u00a0and in print.<\/p>\n

\n
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I have a lot of visibility in the magazine; that\u2019s one thing that brings both buyers and sellers to me.\u00a0JIMMY ARSENEAULT<\/cite><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

He has an especially\u00a0strong presence in local real\u00a0estate publications. He buys\u00a0eight pages in every issue\u00a0of two magazines, which circulate in a\u00a0wide area around Gatineau. Each page\u00a0is topped by a 3-inch-deep banner\u00a0proclaiming Arseneault\u2019s success as a\u00a0RE\/MAX agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of visibility in the magazine;\u00a0that\u2019s one thing that brings both\u00a0buyers and sellers to me,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cEven in slow times, like December,\u00a0I keep advertising. It\u2019s important to\u00a0keep my name out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT<\/h3>\n

Arseneault arrived in the real estate\u00a0industry in a circuitous manner. As a\u00a0young boy growing up in Shawinigan-Sud, a small town in central Quebec,\u00a0he wanted to be a police officer. After\u00a0high school, he enrolled in a police\u00a0technology course at a junior college\u00a0in Ottawa and went on to a police\u00a0course at another college in Gatineau.\u00a0He learned the always-on observation\u00a0skills an officer needs on the street, as\u00a0well as organizational skills and management\u00a0tactics.<\/p>\n

In the end, however, becoming a\u00a0police officer didn\u2019t fit his personality.\u00a0Rather than deal with conflict and\u00a0violence, he wanted to run his own\u00a0business.<\/p>\n

So Arseneault and his brother\u00a0Yannick bought a convenience store\u00a0in Gatineau in 2002, which helped him\u00a0develop his entrepreneurial ambitions\u00a0and prodigious work ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven\u00a0days a week to make the store a success,\u201d\u00a0he says, describing a hectic time\u00a0of keeping shelves stocked, running\u00a0the cash register and ordering new\u00a0supplies. It also became an exercise in\u00a0learning how to manage details.<\/p>\n

And just to develop his management\u00a0juggling skills even more, Arseneault\u00a0bought his first income property, triggering his interest in real estate. He\u00a0began taking courses to become a real\u00a0estate agent. He also dove into the\u00a0business of real estate investment by\u00a0buying several apartment buildings,\u00a0which fueled his passion for real estate\u00a0even further.<\/p>\n

WORK HARD BUT EFFICIENTLY<\/h3>\n

Attention to detail and successful\u00a0management techniques allow\u00a0Arseneault to operate at a high level\u00a0without a secretary, relying instead\u00a0on the support services provided by\u00a0his office.<\/p>\n

He hires a professional photographer\u00a0to take photos of all of his\u00a0properties and personally writes all the\u00a0marketing copy, the first step in drawing\u00a0potential buyers to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy has strong organizational skills and can do the same amount of work in an hour or so that someone\u00a0else might take three to four hours to do,\u201d says Edith Gagnon, Manager of the RE\/MAX Vision (1990) office. \u201cHe focuses totally on gathering listings. He doesn\u2019t stop work to spend time chatting with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She points out that Arseneault spends many long hours in the office and answers all his calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is extremely proud of the fact that he is capable of handling it all, yet he\u2019s strategic about asking the office staff for support to handle administrative tasks for him when necessary. They\u2019re there for that,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win situation, because they free him up to do the work he is good at. He\u2019s able to use RE\/MAX resources to the maximum.\u201d<\/p>\n

MAINTAIN A BALANCED PERSPECTIVE<\/h3>\n

Arseneault says a balanced life is\u00a0important to him. When he\u2019s working\u00a0he\u2019s all about work, and when\u00a0he\u2019s off he turns his attention to\u00a0his family and his health. He\u00a0maintains a balanced diet and\u00a0exercises regularly. He also\u00a0drinks two litres of water a day\u00a0\u2013 no sodas and no alcohol.<\/p>\n

Arseneault couldn\u2019t do all that\u00a0he does without his wife, M\u00e9lanie,\u00a0who manages all of the household\u00a0affairs and looks after their three\u00a0children \u2013 Shana-lee, 5; Evan, 2; and\u00a0Lou-May, born in early July. Arseneault\u00a0always schedules family time and takes\u00a0his daughter to school every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the quality of the time that\u00a0counts,\u201d Arseneault says. \u201cI like to plan\u00a0several vacations each year; I take\u00a0the family to Florida, the\u00a0Caribbean or Europe. We\u00a0went to Florida two weeks\u00a0after Lou-May was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vacations allow him\u00a0to spend long stretches of\u00a0time with his family and\u00a0refresh his business focus\u00a0and enthusiasm. Even\u00a0the anticipation of a vacation helps to\u00a0revitalize him, especially as he nears the\u00a0end of a particularly busy day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always like to have projects waiting\u00a0for me at the office,\u201d he says of\u00a0returning from vacations he plans for\u00a0the family and special trips they take\u00a0to the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals\u00a0and the Monaco Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

CELEBRATE SUCCESS\"Diamond<\/a><\/h3>\n

Arseneault\u2019s affinity for sports hints\u00a0at his competitive nature. And to be\u00a0clear, he likes to win. He attended\u00a0the RE\/MAX Quebec annual convention,\u00a0held at the Montreal Convention\u00a0Centre in February, and he was very\u00a0excited when it came time to\u00a0announce the top 10 commission-\u00a0earners and Diamond\u00a0Award Club members.<\/p>\n

Nina Mastropietro,\u00a0Regional Director for the\u00a0RE\/MAX Quebec region,\u00a0which has 3,400 agents,\u00a0witnessed Arseneault\u2019s competitiveness and\u00a0passion for real estate\u00a0firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe expected to be announced\u00a0as the No. 4 earner and had\u00a0a big smile on his face after No. 5 was\u00a0announced,\u201d \u00a0Mastropietro says. \u201cHe\u00a0thought he would be called next.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he wasn\u2019t, the smile grew bigger,\u00a0because he realized he was in the\u00a0top three. His name still wasn\u2019t called\u00a0when No. 3 was announced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it was just him and another\u00a0individual, he was just about ready to\u00a0explode,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Arseneault was completely overwhelmed\u00a0when he was announced as\u00a0No. 1. Mastropietro saw tears of pride\u00a0in his eyes.<\/p>\n

And what does she see as the reason\u00a0for Arseneault\u2019s success? Both his positive\u00a0outlook and the positive impact he has on his clients\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe makes dreams come true for\u00a0people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

source : https:\/\/news.remax.com\/playing-to-win-quebecs-top-agent-is-a-champ-for-his-clients-2\/<\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The No. 1 individual RE\/MAX agent\u00a0in Quebec didn\u2019t work his way to the\u00a0top by sticking to the sidelines. Jimmy\u00a0Arseneault is a champion for his clients By David Yates |\u00a0Photography by\u00a0Christian…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2094,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions\/2094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmyarseneault.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}