Recently, Brenner Business Development was featured in the March/April 2010 German American Trade, the official publication of the German American Chamber of Commerce,

You can download a PDF reprint of the article here German American Trade reprint.

Also on the board are members from Welch Allyn, Sensis, ConMed, HSBC, Haylor Freyer & Coon, the MDA and U.S. Commercial Services.

With the alliance in place, both companies will extend their service offering to new and existing client who are searching for entry into either the German or US marketplace respectively. “We are proud to provide easy access to our existing and prospective European customers who have an interest in the US market” said Fritz B. Hoering, Managing Partner of CEO advise GmbH. “Our valuable and affordable services are now available through BBD in the US and BBD’s services here in Germany. Even US federal states can take advantage of our service offering to help settle German firms in their territory.”

“We had common interests prior to signing the agreement today in Frankfurt” added Mark Lesselroth, Principal of BBD. “Having a permanent presence in Germany will allow us to better manage our US client needs that are looking to expand into Europe.”

In addition to this partnership the GACC San Francisco Office has hired Mark Lesselroth, principal of Brenner Business Development as the “official translator” for a 10 member US delegation attending an energy efficiency conference in Berlin, Germany.

A copy of the complete presentation is available by calling (315) 455-7404 or sending an email to email obscurred; JavaScript is required.

At BBD we offer you professional business development personnel that understand the challenges faced by the entrepreneur especially as it relates to marketing and selling your product outside the United States.

If you find yourself asking the following questions maybe we can help:

1. Do you want to enter the European Market in a cost effective manner?
2. Do you want to introduce your product into Europe without having to invest in overseas operations (i.e. infrastructure,
sales force, and sales office).
3. Would you like to know whether there is a market for your product in Europe?
4. How do I introduce my product into the European market?

I think it’s fair to say that new business development is a concept that as a profession may not be wholly understood by agency principals which has lead to some of the issues I’ve observed in our industry. Just recently I read a question from an agency president in an Ad Age blog about how to compensate a new business person. I doubt very much that the same question would be asked of a copywriter or an art director. I believe that most agency owners feel they know what business development is about but don’t fully comprehend nor appreciate the nuances, tasks, and activities associated with this role. Perhaps the reason for this is that in most agencies the business development person is a non-billable individual and as such is viewed as overhead not unlike a personal assistant or someone in the accounting department.

Since “a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush” I wonder if agency principals forget how valuable a new business person can be and that keeping them informed of everything the agency does is critical since they can use this information to help position the agency with new clients. If the new business person is doing their job then they are ultimately filling the funnel with new opportunities which represent the billable client of tomorrow. Hence why some consider new business the life blood of the agency! Keeping this person in the dark or informed on an as needed bases is wrong and counterproductive. They need to know when things are going well for an agency and when things are not going so well so they can prepare and react accordingly.

Those relationships that are marked by open lines of communication and collaboration between senior management and the new business specialist tend to be the most successful ones in our business.