SALES LEADER · TRADE-FAIR VETERAN · BRIDGE BUILDER
More than 25 years in international sales, business in 45 countries, five languages. I’ve worked trade-fair stands from Chicago to Dubai, built up distributors in Mexico and
negotiated with clients from every continent.
What I’ve learned along the way: you don’t do business with companies, you do business
with people. And people trust those who understand them.
People say I have a gentleman’s style. Good manners have always mattered to me in business – and so do a well-cut suit, a waistcoat or jacket, and my bow tie. It has become my trademark.
But style goes beyond clothing. My partners abroad have always shown me great respect, and I return it: by
listening actively, never judging people by where they come from, and taking a genuine interest in them.
I keep my word. And when
something goes wrong, I own it.
I go up to people, look them in the eye and listen.
I was there to support the country’s largest distributor at a trade fair. The day before opening, barely half of the equipment I’d ordered had arrived. My distributor just laughed: “Bienvenido a México.”
So I flipped a switch in my head: I’d show what I had and make the most of it. Word got round that a “gringo” was demonstrating the machine.
Visitors hung on every word. By the end there wasn’t a single unit left – and we still enjoy an excellent relationship with that distributor today.
For years we sold food-processing machines directly from our stand in Dubai, paid by credit card. Then one year, the card system stopped working.
So we asked customers to pay in cash – for machines costing several thousand euros. Unthinkable in Europe. In Dubai, customers went to the
bank, came back with the money, and the deal was sealed with a handshake. Since then I know: flexibility beats any standard procedure.
A few days before the fair in Chicago. Our truck carrying the entire stand was stuck in a snowstorm in North Dakota, 1,000 kilometres away. Giving up was not an option.
I went to the hall manager – every one of them is a king in his own hall. He was sceptical, saw the look on my face and, after a handshake, gave us the green light. Our driver arrived at four in the morning; the fair opened at nine. It became one of our most successful shows.
Part of my family comes from South America. What I love most about my
Latin American family is how close-knit it is. Everything that matters is decided together – and the view of the head of the family, mother or father, is central.
For business in Latin America, that means: if you only negotiate with one person, you may never see who is really part of the decision.
By phone, video call or on LinkedIn – I’m all ears for whatever you’d like to share.
