Example 5 – A bilingual company representative – Having a sales territory overseas – for a global organization
Can you imagine a sales person traveling to Japan, to sell pharmaceutical products, or working for an automobile parts company and not being able to speak Japanese? Now, picture the same example, but this time with the sales person being bilingual and speaking English and Japanese. This would be a more comfortable situation all around. If the employee is bilingual, he or she can communicate the benefits of the product, can interact with the local people, and can create better relationships with Japanese customers for the company overseas, including when they are visiting their customers in Japan. And while they are in the United States, they can communicate with company management, with their co-workers and can have the best of both worlds; in Japan and in the US. The sales for the company can increase and everyone involved can feel more comfortable dealing with each other…because they understand each other.
This brings me up to the last post on the “advantages of hiring bilingual company representatives” – and this is my conclusion: When companies hire bilingual sales people and or bilingual company representatives, we have winners all around. The company selling their products and services can see an increase in their sales, based on the good communication between the sales person and the customers. On the other hand, the client is also a winner, because they can communicate better with the company selling them the product or service. Having a bilingual sales person is a win-win situation for everyone. Companies should not go without bilingual personnel. We are important and can make a HUGE difference for corporations all over the world.
Example 3 – A phone company hiring a bilingual (English & Spanish) sales representative for the Hispanic market
If the company has a bilingual sales representative who can speak English and Spanish to the Hispanic market, that bilingual employee can communicate the calling plans, the minutes per month, the calling features, and all of the advantages of the specific carrier to their customers; in their native language. Since the Latino community out-spends the general market in minutes used per month, the company can be the chosen carrier for the Latino community in that area, and can consequently increase their sales and bottom line. The telecommunications company will also create more loyalty in the specific market, by communicating better with clients, and by the consumers appreciating the efforts of the telecommunications company in their specific market. And there’s nothing like loyalty in the business world!
Example 2 – Food distributor having a bilingual sales representative in ‘Little Italy’, in the Latino community, or in the Irish or German community
If the company offers specialty products, those products can be sold better to the specific community by an Italian, Hispanic, Irish or a German person. Why? Because the bilingual person understands the product, they might have used the product themselves – all of their lives – and can answer the questions to the client. Also, if you are a believer of a product and or a service, you can sell it. In the end, the company can benefit by hiring a bilingual and multi-cultural employee to service that community. There may be better relationships – and oftentimes – better relationships equal better sales for a company.
Having bilingual sales jobs can be very beneficial for companies; large, medium and small organizations alike. When a sales person can explain a product or a service to the end user (the person who will purchase the product or service) and can do it in their own language, the sales person can connect better with the consumer and can sell the features and answer questions more easily. The client will understand the purchase better, can ask more questions, and might give more loyalty to the company, in recognition for their good bilingual service.
In the following blogs, I’ll provide several examples of the benefits I see in hiring bilingual sales representatives.
Example 1 of the advantages of having bilingual sales jobs – or a bilingual company representative – Delivery Truck-Delivery Package person in Chinatown, NY – or Chinatown in San Francisco, CA
Sending a Chinese company Representative – or someone who is totally fluent in Mandarin-Chinese will provide a tremendous benefit to the company, because they can communicate better with the clients or prospective clients. The hundreds of companies in Chinatown can create a better relationship with the specific bilingual company representative. They will see each other daily, and the Chinatown companies can end up giving the bilingual representative more business. Comfort and loyalty can be a direct result of their relationship. The delivery company can see benefits in their bottom line. Ultimately, everyone involved can be happy with the end result.
Mylene Duffy is the founder of the Bilingual Job Fair. She has hired many professionals over the course of her career, and is an advocate for bilingual employment. Mylene did not speak English when she came to live in the States in the early 80’s. She took an intensive English course and enrolled at Syracuse University, where she graduated with a degree in communications. She is now proud to be fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
