For decades Germany and France have been forming the core of the European Union. They generate
about 40 per cent of total economic output in the Euro Zone. Nowhere else there does exist
such an intense relationship between neighbouring economies like between these two countries.
Those links go far beyond external trade relations and are targeted towards mutual business
cooperation. In the light of globalisation a rising number of competitors increasing customer
demands and short product life cycles cross-national commerce are of great importance for
German Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) - particularly in the B2B sector. Sales is
often tagged as an enterprise's figurehead. It is responsible for determining whether a
manufacturer effectively conveys its capabilities to the B2B customer. To date there exists no
single reference book covering all four topics of this paper's headline: B2B SMEs sales and
Franco-German business relationships. The ongoing literature is mainly focussed on large firms.
The subject of international sales has hardly been investigated yet. Apart from the sales
excellence approach there are few selling models for corporate practice. The lack of sales
expertise both in theory and practise is thus not the ideal prerequisite for succeeding on a
cross-border scale. This study addresses sales challenges of German SMEs with its trading
partner France in the B2B sector. It should be stressed that the focus is on SMEs from Germany
only. The company size of French business partners does not play a role in this context. The
acquisition-related part of sales (selling) is highlighted while the physical component
(distribution) is secondary within the framework of this assignment. In consequence the
central question is to figure out what kind of challenges German SMEs must face when exerting
B2B sales activities in France. A related sub-issue is defined as follows: Which type of
challenge has the greatest impact on cross-border sales operations in France? The declared
purpose of this study is to answer the above-mentioned queries. Following the acquired basic
knowledge this is done through an empirical survey. Furthermore it is targeted to provide
recommendations in order to enhance sales efficiency and effectiveness of German SMEs.
