The last year has been difficult for most businesses and international expansion has in many cases been on hold. The turning point seems near and as proactive sales experts in the German market, we are happy to share insights on the current developments of doing business in Germany.

The fact that personal meetings have been practically impossible or at least very difficult, has led to a significant paradigm change in accepting online meetings as part of the daily routine. “To a certain extent, we have even seen an increase in demand for meeting new suppliers and business partners, during the last months” says Mr Thim Werner, Managing Director of bdg Consulting GmbH. Whereas matching partners and agreeing on a personal meeting used to be a long process, it is now faster and the mindset for accepting an online meeting has become normal.

The fact that the usage of diverse digital tools is growing rapidly is also reflected in the way that sales contacts are made. The sales team of BDG is experiencing an almost exploding acceptance of social media contacting. A fact that has made social media business platforms like LinkedIn or the German Xing much more significant over the course of the last months. We expect this trend to continue and when generation Y is stronger represented, things will speed up even further.

Although use of e-meetings, social media and many other digital instruments is growing, it becomes clear that one specific thing about doing business in Germany remains in place: the solid and well-prepared approach together with authenticity in reaching out to decision-makers stays the most important rule of thumb for operating successfully in Germany. This thorough way of doing business ensures sustainable contacts.