
Ask HN: How do I approach German businesses? - Dharmakirti
Hallöchen HN,<p>I&#x27;m a developer working on an pilot Product that targets traditional German businesses, like bakeries, cafes and restaurants. (No it&#x27;s not a POS solution).<p>However I&#x27;m totally clueless about how to approach the businesses. I speak B1 level German, and can hold a decent conversation with the locals.<p>How do I approach this?
I would really appreciate if anyone have pointers about talking to German businesses.
======
BjoernKW
Find out who the owner is and approach them outside of business hours (this
one doesn't just apply to German businesses).

Businesses with foot traffic can become very busy during business hours.
Therefore, employees won't have the time and patience for vendors trying to
sell them something, even if that something potentially is tremendously
helpful to them.

Finding out who the owner is usually is particularly easy with German
businesses: If the business has a website just have a look at the company
details (the legally required "Impressum"). If it doesn't - which
unfortunately still is the case with some companies in those industries you
mentioned - you can try looking up the company at the company register
("Handelsregister",
[https://www.handelsregister.de](https://www.handelsregister.de) ). Only
incorporated companies are listed there, however.

Many businesses of these kinds are branches of larger chains or franchise
businesses. In that case, contacting procurement or ideally trying to reach
the managing director / CEO of the mother company probably is a more conducive
approach.

In terms of business culture both conversations in general and business
practices in particular can appear to be more direct and formal than one might
be used to from other cultures.

These resources might help with familiarising yourself with some cultural
aspects of communication in a business context in Germany. I just had a
cursory glimpse at them but from what I've read the information stated there
seems to be correct. Keep in mind, though, that due to the influence from
other cultures, particularly from the English-speaking world, conventions and
practices today tend to be much more relaxed, especially with younger people:

[https://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-
culture-...](https://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-culture-in-
germany/business-etiquette-in-germany/)

[https://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-
culture-...](https://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-culture-in-
germany/business-communication-in-germany/)

~~~
Dharmakirti
That's more or less what I had in mind. Thanks for the detailed write-up, I
think I'll need foot on the ground approach, and get in touch with them
directly.

------
luckylion
If it's not a POS, maybe you could just talk to POS-vendors and supporters.
They already have the contacts and can act as multipliers.

~~~
Dharmakirti
That's an interesting point, thanks for the tip. I'll try to contact the POS
vendors/startups in Berlin and see if they could help.

