Sales Strategies USA – Be ready to rethink
Commitment to the North American market represents an important step in the export strategy for many German companies. However, it is crucial for success to take into account the special features and differences in legal and intercultural terms.
On the one hand, it is crucial to develop a holistic sales strategy and adapt it to the target market. On the other hand, the details are crucial, such as the country-specific orientation of marketing materials. Distribution channels, from acquisition to after-sales service, often deviate from the German model and must be taken into account and developed accordingly.
The event is aimed at companies that are planning to enter the market or would like to further expand their business activities in the USA. In the workshop, representatives of German companies in the USA, which have already successfully established sales there, will be discussing. They pass on their experience and knowledge.
The workshop is intended to help companies to prepare comprehensively for the various steps involved in sales development in the USA and deals in particular with practical questions and their answers.
Our speakers
Karsten Bohrs
CEO, The Simpleshow Company SA
Karsten Böhrs is an experienced entrepreneur and sales expert. Since 2013, as CEO of simpleshow, he has been dedicated to the strategic expansion of the market leadership of the company, which has since outgrown its start-up shoes, through internationalization and innovation leadership through focused technology development. After more than 20 years of experience in management positions at multinationals such as Axel Springer and the Otto Group, Karsten turned to promising business models and personal projects as an entrepreneurial investor in 2007. as his
In addition to his experience, he cites the mixture of enthusiasm, energy and vision as a recipe for success.
Rudy Autumn
President & CEO, United Soft Plastics
Rudi Herbst founded United Soft Plastics, Inc. in May 2005. As the majority shareholder, he became Chairman, President & CEO of United Soft Plastics, Inc., an internationally operating and highly specialized TPE manufacturer headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA. In addition, the company is building another manufacturing facility in Houston, TX and has warehouses and sales offices in the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, Malaysia and China.
Rudi Herbst started his career 28 years ago as a developer of soft plastics at Gummiwerk Kraiburg in Germany. After establishing a US subsidiary in Duluth, GA in 1999, the TPE division was merged into a new company (Kraiburg TPE, Corp.) in 2001 and Rudi Herbst was appointed President & CEO.
Carsten Salewski
Executive Board - Sales, Marketing and International Business, Viscom AG
Carsten Salewski has been working in the electronics industry for over 20 years. In 2003, Mr. Salewski took over the management of the international business in America and in 2004 he took up the position of managing director of the American subsidiary based in Atlanta and the associated offices in Silicon Valley in California and in Mexico. He is Chairman of the IPC SMEMA Council in the IPC, a large American association of the electronics industry, and since 2015 has also been a volunteer on the board of the German-American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta. In June 2018, Mr. Salewski took over responsibility for sales and international business on the Executive Board of Viscom AG.
Rodney Hunter
Business Director North/South America and MEA, Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
Rodney Hunter has 32 years of management experience at Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG (Ritter Sport) and Procter & Gamble. He has held various leadership positions in various areas such as sales, distribution marketing and marketing and initiated the development of new markets and businesses in the US and internationally.
As Business Director North / South America and MEA at Ritter Sport, he is currently responsible for the development of sales strategies and the marketing of all varieties of the Ritter Sport brand in all regions except Europe and the UK. He also developed the Travel Retail division.
Rodney Hunter studied Political Science with Economics and Management at the University of Arizona.
moderator
Stefanie Ziska
Managing Director of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern US, Inc.
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Since joining the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern US, Inc. (GACC South) in 2006, Stefanie Ziska has held various roles. In 2008 she became Marketing Director and in 2011 Vice President. She has been Managing Director since March 1, 2017.
Stefanie initiated the community brand "AHK USA" and started the current nationwide personnel initiative for the German dual vocational training system in the USA.
In 2016, Stefanie received the Governor's Award of GA in the category "International Business Woman of the Year" and has also been a member of the US Committee of the German Chancellor Fellowship, which is awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, since 2017.