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ERA Franchise Systems LLC 1 Campus Drive Parsippany, NJ 07054 (973) 428-9700 |
Media contact: Steven Alessandrini (973) 496-7904 steven.alessandrini@era.com |
Online resource to generate recruitment leads and provide
career exploration tool for Web site visitors
PARSIPPANY, NJ, September 24, 2003 – ERA Real Estate today announced the addition of Real Estate Simulator™ to ERA.com, its consumer Web site. Partnering with Upward Motion, a Canadian-based technology company, ERA® becomes the first national real estate franchise to offer an assessment tool on its Web site to evaluate visitors' aptitude for a career in real estate.
The Real Estate Simulator™ uses video segments and role-playing technology to recreate real-life challenges that sales associates encounter on a daily basis. During the simulation, participants play the role of a real estate professional and must interact with virtual clients by selecting the best response for the given situation. Along the way, the simulator challenges the player's ability to "cold-call" a new prospect, negotiate contracts, deal with personality clashes, understand client needs, and even handle periodic rejection.
Visitors to ERA.com, who are considering a career in real estate, are invited to take the simulation to see if a position as a sales associate is right for them. After a prospect completes the assessment, the Real Estate Simulator compares the participant's responses with those of the industry's top performers to evaluate selling skills, intelligence and personality and provides comprehensive information about their strengths and weaknesses. The results are then sent to an ERA® broker within the area who can contact promising candidates and set up an interview to discuss a career in real estate.
Once hired, a recruit's results can serve as a valuable tool to provide targeted training. The Real Estate Simulator can also be given to existing sales associates to aid in career development and increase office productivity.
"Real Estate Simulator is a valuable resource our affiliates can utilize to find highly motivated sales associates during their recruitment efforts, as well as to train their existing staff," said Brenda Casserly, president and COO of ERA Franchise Systems LLC. "In addition, the Simulator offers a fast and easy career exploration tool for visitors to our site who are interested in pursuing a career in real estate."
"We are excited to be partnering with such an innovative, technology-focused company as ERA Franchise Systems LLC," said Kim Ades, President of Upward Motion. "We have found a strong correlation between the performance of top sales associates and high scores on the Simulator. Utilizing our assessment tool during recruiting will offer ERA Real Estate a competitive advantage in attracting top talent."
Affiliated ERA® brokers can view information regarding the Real Estate Simulator through TeamERA.com, the brand's award-winning Intranet site. From there they can utilize numerous resources to support the Real Estate Simulator program including banner ads, press releases, sample follow-up letters, interview tips and training.
About Upward Motion
Established in 1995, and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Upward Motion provides world class, state-of-the-art technologies for assessment and training using simulation technology to recreate real-life business challenges. Upward Motion's highly successful Real Estate Simulator™ is currently used by many leading real estate firms throughout North America. For more information please visit www.realestatesimulator.com.
About ERA Franchise Systems LLC
ERA Real Estate is a global leader in the residential real estate industry with more than 30 years experience in developing consumer-oriented products and services. It is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) and part of its Real Estate Franchise Group. The ERA® real estate network includes approximately 28,000 brokers and sales associates throughout the United States and 31 other countries and territories. Each office is independently owned and operated except offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated. ERA® information is available to consumers at ERA.com. ERA® properties can also be viewed at Realtor.com. For additional information about ERA Real Estate as well as expert commentary on emerging trends in the real estate industry, visit the Cendant Media Resource Center at www.cendant.com/media/.
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