CASE STUDIES and PROJECT STORIES

CS1: One of our customers was looking for a sales manager. Many candidates came through our network. After extensive selection, two remained. A simple background check revealed inconsistencies in the better performer's resume and track record. We were able to prevent our customer from a bad investment.

 

CS2: One of our customers was looking for a joint venture partner in a politically sensitive region. After a long search and comprehensive selection with in-depth background checks, we could not rule out contacts in the informal economy and corruption in any candidate. We advised against expansion in this sensitive region and spared our customer and the whole management team a serious damage to his reputation.

 

CS3: One of our clients was looking for a Business Development Manager to build up the market in Portugal and Brazil. After an extensive search and selection, two candidates came into question. One was in his mid-30s and the second was in his mid-fifties. A simple background check revealed inconsistencies in the CV, track records and interviews with references. The customer opted for the more experienced man who, after 10 years of successful work with this company, finally retired. He is still working for our client as a freelancer.

 

CS4: One of our customers was looking for a primarily operational shareholder with a minority stake in Germany. His own quest was marked by many fruitless conversations with imposters and even scammers. We were able to inspire a well-connected personality with its company in the industry to participate in a common project. Thorough background checks and credit checks confirmed its integrity and liquidity.

 

CS5: A project with an entrepreneur from the FINTECH field represented a somewhat different type of task. He was looking for a co-entrepreneur. One of his criteria was that he would also like to get along with him or her privately. The partnership should not only be limited to the business area. Despite initial skepticism on our part and because it was a long-standing customer, we found a co-entrepreneur who took an equal stake in his company, worked operationally and strategically and later also became his private partner.

 

CS6: One of our customers from the industry of automation technology was looking for a joint venture to set up sales in Romania. His initial quest on his own was marked by many fruitless conversations with friendly flouncers, phonies and even scammers. He wasted a lot of time, nerves and money on site in Romania. In any case, no results came. In the end, we were able to inspire a company with an own sales team that is well connected in the industry. In-depth background checks and on-site research confirmed its flawless integrity.

 

CS7: A medium-sized German machine builder was looking for an industrial agency to develop the market in Brazil. We have good contacts there, as there is a large Austrian and German minority that is primarily well networked in industry. In the course of his previous search, our customer completed expensive and time-consuming personal discussions, which, however, were unsuccessful due to the number of possible representatives. Corruption also bothered him. In the end, we were able to inspire a company with a sales team in our customer. Background checks and on-site research confirmed its impeccable integrity.

 

CS8: An Austrian company from the control and regulation technology was looking for buyers because the owner and managing director wanted to retire. Since his decision had been matured for years, he half-heartedly searched for years on his own and met many time wasting busybodies, dazzlers and even credit fraudsters. In any case, there were never any results and our customer was running out of time. In the end, we were able to convince a young and committed sales manager with a good network to buy the company. Thorough background checks and creditibility verifications confirmed its impeccable integrity.

 

CS9: One of our customers was looking for access to large retailers from the entire DACH region and support for sales projects from the development of new products to Europe-wide listings in the most important markets. He was extremely dissatisfied with his previous partner because he only worked on a commission basis and had no motivation for a very intensive and time-consuming listing process. One of our interim managers has exactly this experience and was able to list many of our customers' non-food products.

 

CS10: A European manufacturer of wood-processing machines was looking for a representative in Eastern Europe, with whom they subsequently wanted to set up a branch. Initially his own search was characterized by many conversations with self-portrayals and companies with souped-up websites. They did not withstand an expensive on-site inspection. We were able to inspire a well-connected personality in the industry to represent us. Background checks and credit checks confirmed his integrity and leadership.

 

CS11: A medium-sized company in the field of industrial consumer goods was looking for a managing director to develop the market in Hungary. A possible participation was up for discussion. After detailed and joint creation of a suitable profile, we started our search. After the profile was announced, many recommendations came from our network and we were confident that the project would be successfully completed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, even superficial research into suitable candidates revealed many false statements and exaggerations of one's own performance. Only after thorough checks of the creditworthiness of the remaining candidates, we were able to find someone who was able to participate.

 

CS12: A medium-sized company in the field of automation was secretly looking for a new and sales-oriented managing director to develop the market in Germany. Many applicants told us their success stories and provided perfectly designed CVs. After selections and background checks, two candidates remained in the final selection. One of our partners in the field of conversational forensics actively accompanied the decisive conversations incognito and uncovered contradictions in the information provided by a candidate. In the case of the other, all of the information was credible from his point of view without any problems.

 

CS13: A company from the renewable energy sector was looking for access to the market in Portugal and Brazil. His own efforts to find a representative there were unsuccessful due to the time required and the lack of contacts. After being commissioned, we were able to deliver the first candidates in a relatively short time. We were also able to convince our customer that he does not treat representatives as applicants, but as future business partners on an equal footing. The contracts also had to be rewritten to make them more fair. With our support, it was finally possible to find a suitable representative for Portugal and one for Brazil.

 

CS14: One of our customers from Switzerland wanted to bring his metal construction production back from China. The experiences there and dealing with Europeans cost him too much money and nerves. In addition, many supply chains collapsed and he was given a lower priority. We searched, found and examined an Austrian company from the industry that met all of his requirements. Our customer now produces with shorter supply chains from European suppliers at the same factory production costs as in the past in China. 

 

CS15: A German start-up company from the field of medical technology approached us because of a posting to look for a new shareholder who would be in charge of sales and business development, which had been neglected in the company. He must have a stake of up to 20% in the holding. Due to the profile and the investment sum, the search turned out to be very tedious. We also checked the creditworthiness and seriousness of the candidates very carefully. Again and again we came across impostors, steam chatters and even scammers. After 9 months we were able to find the right partner and bring him into the company.

 

CS16: Biologically produced products from hemp form an integral part of the offers of one of our customers from Austria. The company produces certified organic hemp products for body care and a top-class hemp gin. Juniper, lavender, ginger, rosehip and hemp round off the bouquet on the nose and palate. We provided distributors, dealers, retailers and webshops throughout the DACH region. The search was not easy as there are a lot of traders in this industry who want to outsource all their risks. The project was typical for productions in this area. An unbelievable number of standards and regulations that we were all able to meet with our specialists in this area. The company developed very successfully, so we bought shares.

 

CS17: One of our customers in the field of HR services was looking for a well-connected sales professional in Austria. Finding someone suitable was not a problem here, but checking the good network turned out to be very difficult, since there are naturally a lot of self-promoters in the sales area. However, with in-depth background checks and an intensive survey of references, we managed to find someone who exactly met the requirements and was very well networked in the industry. It brought our customer a lot of additional sales.

 

CS18: A young start-up from the field of renewable energies came to us to look for a new shareholder with shares of less than 50%. In addition to capital, he should also bring sales and business development experience to cover this underrepresented area in the company. The search turned out to be difficult, as many potential executives were not interested in responsibility. After about four months we found someone who was able to invest money and also provided their experience. After some background research we were sure it was the right one. This enabled the start-up to achieve an huge increase in sales.

 

CS19: A German company from the field of production automation wanted to prepare the Spanish market. Due to the complexity of their products, this was best possible via a reference customer on site. Since the industry is very small and the companies that came into question were not very easy to find, the search was very time-consuming, especially since we also checked the creditworthiness of interested parties very carefully. In the end we found a company that fitted the very narrow profile exactly and our customer had a first and reference customer in a very future-oriented market with the possibility to go to SAM.

 

CS20: A company in the field of dental technology wanted to gain a foothold in the Iberian market and was looking for a representative around which a branch should subsequently be built. The market in Spain and Portugal is large and hotly contested in this sector. We were able to find many interested parties, but for the time being no one to build a branch around. We deliberately wanted a future branch manager to also participate financially (work for equity). Finally we found a young, dedicated sales manager of a medical company, checked his references, ran a background check and found positive clarity about his finances.

 

CS21: A Spanish company in the field of driverless transport systems was already very successful in its home market and is looking for joint ventures in Eastern Europe and South America to gain a foothold there. He had previously tried to work these markets from the company headquarters, but very quickly came to the conclusion that this was not possible due to the different mentalities and large distances. Even industrial representations did not bring the desired success, since the motivation in the complex project business and an activity on a commission basis with long sales cycles was on the verge of ending. We found companies with which our client could set up joint ventures. This was achieved through a good local network, deep background checks with sometimes surprising results and a lot of patience. The project lasts about a year.

 

CS22: A Swiss company in the field of financial technology solutions on the Austrian market and then from there to work on Eastern Europe. He wanted this in the form of a freelance employee with seed funding. This client's products and solutions revolve around a very sensitive area for investments by large companies. Therefore, in-depth examinations of each individual candidate were necessary before we could proceed to further and no longer anonymous discussions. A large number of interested parties in this industry did not comply with our customer's compliance guidelines. We were therefore only able to provide him with three suitable people. One of them had proven contacts in CEE and since then he works for our customer there.

 

CS23: An Austrian company had a problem with the sales development of one of its branches. Despite the good economic situation and high sales expenses, sales fell considerably. Many business trips and discussions with the local managing director yielded no results. Working with the local team also became more and more difficult and the tone rougher. We have been asked to look for a new sales manager. Following an instinct, we made a background check of the local managing director in agreement with the Austrian headquarters. This revealed significant inconsistencies and we dug deeper. After investigative research on site, evidence emerged that the managing directors were collaborating with the competition via fraudulent kickback payments. The sales manager was not involved here and did not have to be replaced. 

 

CS24: One of our customers had a sales manager with increasing absenteeism. He sometimes didn't show up for his appointments and his sales are also constantly declining. Many discussions with the management brought no concrete results apart from excuses. The customer asked us to take a closer look. Through on-site investigations, we were able to find out that he was obviously in contact with dubious debt collectors. After a few discussions, which we accompanied as a neutral body, it came out that he had high gambling debts. His employer thankfully helped him out of his misery and got an loyal and successful sales manager.

 

CS25: One of our customers from Portugal was looking for a sales-oriented joint venture through us to expand its business activities in Germany. Our customer delivers a unique software product in the field of artificial intelligence. Many partners were interested in the know-how, but after some research did not have the required distribution network. The candidates were all very technical and had no real ambitions to sell a third-party product in the project business. It wasn't until we started approaching system integrators from a similar industry that the search became dynamic. After a relatively short time, more than three companies were available as partners. After somewhat more in-depth background checks of the management team, we were able to present a future partner with a high level of sales expertise. The project was successfull.