Too much engineering, benefit too late.
German presentations build carefully: company, history, specs, benefit. Americans want the benefit first. Mention it on slide 14 and the buyer is already thinking about lunch.
For German companies selling to the US and Canada
English that sells in America.
Your product is good. Your English pitch still sounds like a translated user manual. American buyers hear that in the first minute – and buy from the competitor who talks clearer.
I prepare you for the actual meeting: pitch, trade show, negotiation, video call with the US distributor. Online. Fixed price. Not a language course.
Fixed prices from €199 · Money-back guarantee · Reply usually within 2 business days
The problem
Where good German offers fail in the US.
Rarely the product. Almost always the first five minutes.
Polite is not clear.
“We would possibly be able to consider …” sounds careful in Germany. In the US it sounds unsure. Unsure sounds like risk. Nobody buys risk.
Direct is not the same direct.
German directness can land as rude. And an American “That’s interesting” often means no thanks. Miss the code and you misread the meeting – until the follow-up email goes unanswered.
Offers & prices
Fixed prices. No small print.
Online, one-to-one or with your core team. Each session is 60 minutes live. Preparation and written feedback are included.
Written · no meeting
First Impression Audit · pesweimar.de
€199
For the first impression, before a meeting even happens.
- I review one English text US buyers see first – e.g. homepage, sales email or company profile
- In writing: what an American buyer reads and what to change
- Separate service at pesweimar.de: written English review
Invoice by email. Work starts after payment.
1 session · short notice
Focused preparation
€390
For a meeting in the next few days that has to land.
- Before: short review of your materials
- 60-minute rehearsal: opening, key message, hard questions
- After: written list of the wording to use
Invoice before the session.
Recommended start
Presentation review
€490
For your most important pitch or your US company presentation.
- Before: analysis of slides, message and structure from a US buyer’s view
- 60-minute review: what goes, what moves up, how to say it
- After: prioritised change list – what to change, what to keep
Review held in English or German.
4 sessions · 2–4 weeks
Meeting-Ready programme
€1,490
For a big occasion: trade show, distributor negotiation, US roadshow.
- Session 1: goal, audience, core message
- Session 2: sharpen presentation or call guide
- Session 3: objections and hard questions, US-buyer style
- Session 4: dress rehearsal with feedback
- Written practice plan up to the date
Works out at €372.50 per session.
Money-back guarantee.
If the first paid session – or the audit – gives you nothing you can use, tell me by email within 7 days after it. I refund the amount within 14 days by bank transfer. For the Meeting-Ready programme, I refund the full price if you stop after session 1.
Fixed prices for businesses. All prices are fixed prices plus statutory VAT where applicable. For businesses only – no sales to consumers.
Several people or a whole sales team? You get a fixed-price quote after a short call.
Not included: full translations, slide design, legal advice.
Process
From enquiry to rehearsal in days.
Enquiry or 15-minute call
Tell me what is coming: who is listening, what it is about, when it happens. The call is free. We arrange the time by email.
Invoice and date
You get the fixed price, dates and invoice in writing. No long contract, no subscription.
Preparation and session
I work through your materials beforehand. In the session we practise the exact meeting that matters.
What you get
One page you can use straight away.
No abstract language feedback. After a presentation review you get a short, prioritised list like this one.
Fictional example · for illustration
Occasion: 20-minute pitch to a US distributor of industrial pumps.
- Replace slide 1. Instead of “Company history since 1952”: “We cut unplanned downtime on your lines.” Company history becomes one sentence at the end.
- One number, in dollars. Cut the twelve figures on slide 6 to one: savings per line per year.
- Delete three sentences. “We would possibly be able to …” → “We deliver in six weeks.”
- Prepare five hard questions. US service, spare parts, reference customers, price, liability – with rehearsed answers.
- Close with a next step. “Next step: a test unit on one line by the 15th.”
Fictional example. Not a client case, no promise of results.
What others say
Recommendations with substance.
Software sales · 2025
“exceptionally clear and motivating communication”
Translated excerpt from a signed German recommendation.
Individual language training · 2011
“One of his greatest strengths is precisely adapting training content to clients’ individual needs.”
Translated excerpt from a signed German recommendation.
Corporate legal department · 2022
Analysed the team’s needs, delivered a focused programme and trained presentations and negotiations in English.
Paraphrased summary of a recommendation.
Where I have done this before.
US preparation
Viega
Three-year English programme for a US-focused group, including a tailored training manual.
US regulator
Bayer Pharma
English training to prepare staff for a visit from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Legal & business English
ersol Solar Energy
Later Bosch Solar Energy. Needs analysis for a four-person legal team, presentation practice, negotiation simulations, contract translation.
Software sales
igniti GmbH, Jena
Sales Manager and Corporate Education Officer, 2022–2025. Sales plus internal presentation and English training.
Engineering & export
IBU-tec, Weimar
English training, translation and technical-commercial communication. Client since 2006.
Educational testing
ThILLM
15 years of English voice recordings and proofreading, including for the KMK foreign-language certificate.
University
University of Jena
Lecturer 2013–2022: medical and social-science English, teaching and exam materials.
International groups
Bauhaus University Weimar
Summer courses 2013–2019 in communication and academic writing; Willy Brandt School Erfurt, 2011.
These examples describe work actually delivered, not an endorsement of PES by the organisations named.
Earl FlanaganFounder of PES · an American in Weimar
Why me
I sit on both sides of the table.
I am American and have lived in Germany for over 22 years. I sold securities in the US – at TD Waterhouse, number one in the Southeast District in Q4 2001. I sold software in Jena. And for over 20 years I have trained German professionals and managers in English.
So I hear two things at once: what your engineer means – and what the buyer in Ohio understands. Usually not the same thing.
I won’t turn you into an American. Nobody over there wants that. German quality is a selling point. It just has to sound like something an American wants to buy.
Cambridge TKT Modules 1 and 3 · B.S. Philosophy, Eastern Michigan University · Contributing writer, Los Angeles Sentinel
FAQ
Short answers.
Is this a language course?
No. We work on a real meeting with US buyers: pitch, trade show, negotiation or video call. Grammar only where it costs you credibility. Works from about B2 level.
What does it cost?
Fixed prices: First Impression Audit €199, Focused preparation €390, Presentation review €490, Meeting-Ready programme €1,490. All plus statutory VAT where applicable. Teams get a fixed-price quote. For businesses only.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes. If the first paid session – or the audit – gives you nothing you can use, tell me by email within 7 days after it. I refund the amount within 14 days by bank transfer. For the Meeting-Ready programme, I refund the full price if you stop after session 1.
How short-notice can we go?
Put the date of your meeting in the enquiry. Short-notice sessions are often possible.
Are my materials confidential?
Yes. I use them only for your assignment and am happy to sign your NDA. Please don’t send confidential files with the first enquiry.
Next step
Which meeting has to land?
Two sentences are enough: who is listening, what it is about, when it happens. You usually get a reply with a proposal and a date within 2 business days.
Prefer email? earl@pesweimar.de