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 Workshop 

 Sales strategies & sales structure 

For many small and medium-sized German companies, entering the market and building up sales in a new country is a major challenge. Many companies often reach their limits, as little knowledge and experience of the market, a lack of human and financial resources as well as language or cultural barriers make it difficult to develop complicate new market.

 

For successful processing of the US market, it is therefore crucial to know the differences between German and American sales strategies and sales channels and to take them into account in your own corporate strategy. Topics such as cooperation partners, customer service and customer care as well as spare parts delivery and after-sales service should be taken into account. Country-specific customization, from marketing materials through to the conduct of sales calls, is also an important part of the strategy.

 

The selection of the right sales channel - from sales representatives or distributors to your own sales representative - often differs from the German model and must be structured accordingly.

Speakers of the workshop are sales managers and managing directors of German companies in the USA that have set up US sales. The workshop on sales strategies and sales development is intended to help companies to prepare comprehensively for the various steps involved in sales development in the USA.

Our speakers

Rainer Aits

Managing Director, P3 group

 

Rainer Aits has been Managing Director of P3 automotive GmbH since 2009 and a member of the Board of Directors of P3 North America Lt. In the P3 GROUP he is responsible for the automotive industry with the consulting focus on operations excellence, I 4.0, supplier empowerment and restructuring. Before his current position, Mr. Aits gained years of experience in international consulting for leading OEMs and suppliers in the automotive industry and in mechanical and plant engineering. Mr. Aits began his career at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation -IPA- in Stuttgart. There he mainly dealt with projects on production, logistics optimization and change management in medium-sized companies.

dr Friedrich-Hans Grandin

Managing shareholder, HUESKER Holding GmbH

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dr Friedrich-Hans Grandin has been Managing Director of the HUESKER Group since November 2012 and joined the group of shareholders of HUESKER Holding GmbH in July 2015. First professional positions took him to Brazil and the USA, among other places. dr Grandin gained industrial experience in the steel industry, in mechanical engineering and in the metalworking industry.Vor seinem Wechsel zu HUESKER war er President & CEO von Komet of America, Inc. in the greater Chicago area. Dr. Grandin has a diploma in mechanical engineering and a PhD in metallurgy from RWTH Aachen; er ist Honorary member of the board of directors of the AHK USA-Chicago and member of the foreign trade committee of the IHK Münster.

Christopher Petri

Regional Manager, Weishaupt America Inc. - South East Location

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Christoph Petri has been working for Weishaupt America Inc., a subsidiary of Max Weishaupt GmbH, in the USA for ten years. After completing the master craftsman's examination in 2000, he gained further experience in the heating, air conditioning and ventilation sector in the USA and Germany Weishaupt subsidiary in Chicago, IL. Since 2014 he has managed Weishaupt America Inc.'s newest subsidiary in Atlanta, GA and is responsible for sales development, customer service and technical processing in the southeastern United States.

Werner Streich
Head of Mechatronic Sales, Business Development, SCHAEFFLER Engineering GmbH

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After studying automotive engineering in Hamburg, Mr. Streich worked for AMG as a vehicle manager in motorsport for well-known racing drivers such as Bernd Schneider and Dario Franchitti. In 1996, motorsport brought Mr. Streich to the USA. California and Indianapolis were the main stations. Through the motor sport activities, Mr. Streich grew into technical sales and customer support. In 2004 he ended his motorsport activities and took over the management of Schaeffler-Engineering USA's automotive branch in Detroit, MI. Mr. Streich has German and US citizenship and he currently heads the Schaeffler Engineering office in Nuremberg and continues to oversee the US business.

moderation

Mark Tomkins

Managing Director, AHK USA-Chicago

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Mark Tomkins has been working for the AHK USA-Chicago since 2006 and has already supported a large number of German companies from different industries with their market entry in the USA with his team. He has been the managing director of the AHK since May 2015 and a member of the board since 2009. During his tenure at the AHK, he played a leading role in developing the Skills Initiative, which supports companies and public institutions in introducing German dual training structures, including programs such as ICATT and CICES in Illinois, MAT2 in Michigan and KY FAME in Kentucky. Before joining AHK, Mr. Tomkins was active in business development consulting for more than ten years and advised international companies on the establishment of strategic alliances and long-term cooperation.

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