PATRICE MÉNARD AND SANAA BENZAKOUR THE SECRET TO THEIR SUCCESS

BY NATHALIE SAVARIA, JOURNALIST

Members of the LEVIC network of real estate contractors and developers voted to give its Inspiration Award to Sanaa Benzakour and a Gold Award to her partner Patrice Ménard. In addition, their agency received the Service Business of the Decade – Growth gold award during the organization's 10th anniversary gala.

This triple win is a tribute to the efforts of the two entrepreneurs, who co-founded PMML (formerly Patrice Ménard Multi-logements) 15 years ago. The agency currently has over 1500 properties under contract and employs over 50 employees and 100 commercial real estate and mortgage brokers, plus 10 people on its advisory team. Over the past 12 months it completed $2 billion worth of transactions.

School Of Hard Knocks

Patrice and Sanaa first met in 1994 when both were political science students at the University of Québec at Montréal. Together they jumped into network marketing. "It was the best possible training we ever received," said Ms. Benzakour. "We had a very difficult time because we were young and were trying to sell household and telecommunications products."

Personal Development

At the same time, they focused on their personal development. They read leading business books about planning and positive thinking like Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It is a habit they still pursue. "I believe that success in business comes more from emotional intelligence than academic intelligence" added Patrice Ménard, president and co-owner.

Shift To Real Estate

It was after reading another business book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, that they decided to shift to real estate.

The two entrepreneurs obtained their real estate broker's licence. Patrice, who also holds a mortgage brokerage licence, started out in that field before moving into real estate brokerage. He worked for RE/MAX in 2004 and then for the Sutton Royal Group in 2005, where Sanaa joined him in 2006.

Launching Their Own Firm

The duo co-founded PMML in 2008. Specializing in commercial real estate brokerage, the new agency initially focused on multi-unit residential buildings using a seller-driven marketing approach. "That's when we were able to create our website with all our properties listed for sale. It really helped us get a lot more exposure," said Ms. Benzakour.

Basic Principles

In 2011 the agency published its first annual Multi-residential Sector Report, which soon became an industry benchmark. Why publish so much strategic information? "The reason is that people believe that if you create value, it will pay off tenfold," he added. "And that is literally what happened. Creating those reports and making them popular led to us being invited as guest speakers on platforms like the Québec Real Estate Owners Corporation, the Québec Real Estate Investors Club, the Real Estate Summit and the Multi-residential Forum."

Full Speed Ahead

Starting in 2013, the PMML team grew in size with the addition of an administrative assistant and the firm's first broker. Three years later the company expanded its team of brokers, and in 2017 launched its mortgage brokerage practice. The agency moved its offices to the Centropolis in Laval, but soon ran out of space.

PMML continued to grow despite the pandemic. In addition to opening offices in Montréal, Québec City, Sherbrooke, Gatineau and Brossard in 2020, the agency created Landev Ai, a commercial division focused on acquiring and developing land. That same year, the company opened its second Montréal office on St. Paul Street West. In January 2022, they added consulting services and accredited appraisals to the services offered. All employees are now back in the office. The two directors believe that face-to-face work is essential for creating a sense of ownership, commitment and knowledge transfer within the team.

Emphasis On Data

While market reports, the PMML.TV channel and the firm's social presence have contributed to the agency's growth, its database has been a driving force behind its expansion.

"PMML is a data company that sells, finances and evaluates buildings," noted Mr. Ménard. "As soon as we have data, we can develop artificial intelligence to see what's happening in the market and to anticipate market trends. That gives us an enormous competitive advantage. [...] Over time we've developed the largest commercial real estate database in Québec, and that's kind of the secret behind our success."

Boundless Potential

The PMML team is now working on developing a transactional platform using, among other things, blockchain technology, which will allow for faster transaction times and decentralized real estate financing. "Blockchain will revolutionize real estate, much like the Internet revolutionized business. The difference is that the Internet is a technology of information and communication, whereas blockchain is a transactional technology that offers greater security for online transactions. The next step for PMML is to develop that platform so that it extends all over the world."

More Than A Transaction

In his view, what counts more than the transaction is "the success of the people who started with us in real estate investment and who today have thousands of condos and apartments. That's the greatest trophy we can have, because we really created value for those clients."

The trust that the agency has built up in the market is also very important. "Our data is validated by various financial institutions, which means that PMML has a very good confidence index in the market. That is something we're very proud of," added Ms. Benzakour.

With that in mind, the agency launched its PMML Index in 2022. It is aimed at local and international investors who want to take the pulse of the Québec market in real time.

A Family Affair

Very involved in the real estate community, the Ménard-Benzakour duo has more surprises in store, The future looks very promising, given that their 21-year-old son Amine (who began working at the firm in a data-entry position at age 16) has been a commercial real estate broker for the past two years.

"To recreate that family environment inside a company is quite magical! It's not easy. You hear all kinds of stories. We decided to focus on stories that work, on people, couples or families that have been successful in business," his father explained.

These data were compiled by Diana Pricop, Data Solutions team leader at the Altus Group in Montréal. Diana Pricop ensures the quality and accuracy of the InSite and RealNet platforms at Altus Data Studio. She began her career in commercial real estate shortly after graduating from Concordia University. To broaden her knowledge of the industry, Diana worked as a financial analyst at Avison Young, where she developed her expertise in real estate research and investment.