Things and business take a lot of time in DACH region as we all know, but this is not the innovative way, compared to the rest of the world, except Middle East and sometimes Japan :-).
Yes, headhunting and executive search is about trust and relations, but I think compared to the DACH region, the other global cultures are more open to move something and trust each other faster, than we do.
When I look at my last and this business year, so came the best and successful projects(70%) from foreign countries by companies, who have discovered me via my blog posts and website and decided to get in contact via email and video call in a fast way. Discuss the topic, exchange contracts, have another video call and go and this within 10 days.
Follow ups by smart collaboration software, video calls, local calls and project closed after 4-6 weeks in total(sometimes faster, if the client could make a fast decision ;-)) and all are happy, the challenge is solved and you also got new friends from a foreign country. This is so much fun and an experience, you should have too. You have to learn to act global, borderless to get more inspiration and a different view. I explore this my whole life and don't want to miss it, when I think about my trips trough Middle East during my university time as well trough South-America, CEE, Russia or the US.
With my Austrian and German clients it takes more time, because before you start business, you have to meet a couple of time for lunch, breakfast and coffee and then, after maybe 6-12 months, we start doing business together. The good thing, of this slow and not agile business way is, that you stay in the end mostly business partners for years in the DACH region, but compared to the world, which is changing so fast, the first way is more contemporary I think in times of video calls, global phone numbers and collaboration tools, which help us a lot.
We have to demolish the borders in our minds and just do it.
So, I really like the quality of life here in Austria, but I also like to do global business, with different cultures from foreign countries, who think and act fast in an agile and innovative way.
If you are a business person based in DACH area I wanted to encourage you to have a look beyond your own nose, instead of working on sales pipelines for years, which will not prosper. You need hungry and smart business partners, who want to move something with you together, then you will have success. Here in DACH region we are sometimes not hungry anymore or broken skimped that we could afford real craft and dare something new, without having the GO from 2 team-leaders and this stops innovation and we never will find out that many ways leading to Rome...
The world is the playground and it does not matter where you are located, if you are able to talk to people by phone or video call and if you are curious to learn and improve constantly.
Don't be afraid to go new ways, because only this will change your life and business as Robert Frost wrote in his poem:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both...
...I took the one (way) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
Have a great day form Vienna,
Thomas
So get in touch with me from everywhere in the world: http://www.breadhunter.at/en/global-phone