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Companies to Watch: ERA--Executive Realty

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Companies to Watch: ERA--Executive Realty

January 1997

Why eye it: ERA--Executive has 32 salespeople, many of whom speak one or more languages in addition to English, according to Jo Anne Johnson, president and principal broker. Besides English, Johnson's salespeople speak Burmese, Cambodian, Cantonese, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog (the language of the Philippines), Thai, and Vietnamese.

Johnson says she didn't specifically set out to affiliate salespeople who speak foreign languages. ''It really was more chance,'' she says. ''But it reflects our market.''

The result: About half of her company's sales can be attributed to her salespeople's niches, according to Johnson.

What’s next: Johnson says she's always on the lookout for salespeople who speak other languages. And she's working to establish her company in foreign markets. She has traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia; attended meetings of the Eastern European Real Property Foundation in Budapest, Hungary; and invited representatives from the Czech Republic to affiliate with her company.

Johnson's advice: To recruit salespeople who speak different languages, encourage your salespeople not only to keep their eyes open for salespeople who speak a foreign language but also to invite those salespeople to your office so that you can meet and talk to them.

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