April 24, 2017

The Eurozone Composite Output Index for March rose to a 71-month high of 56.4, while the same metric for USA retreated to 53.0.This data comes from IHS Markit Ltd. (Nasdaq: INFO) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) monthly survey of 30 countries. PMI survey data is closely watched by central banks and financial markets worldwide.Despite the lingering effects of the Greek debt crisis from 2015 and the surprise Brexit vote of 2016, could the European Union GDP nonetheless be pulling ahead of the US economy?As another data point, the Q1 2017 European Scaleups Report from the Antwerp Management School documented 466 VC funding deals totaling €3.8 Billion in Q1 alone, an 11% increase in deal volume from the same period last year.

France, Germany, UK and Sweden led the pack with the most deals. And last year, Spotify broke records and impressed everyone with a €1.3 Billion capital raise.Importantly, the study counted only VC fundings larger than 1Million Euro, so the €3.8 Billion figure doesn’t even include the thousands of incubator deals, friends and family rounds, and seed investments that precede institutional VC investments.What do these trends mean for VCs, CEOs and CROs of US technology companies looking to grow their revenue base via global expansion?Economic growth attracts investors’ attention and dollars (or Euros, or…) and keeps their focus. Germany is currently the top-growing country in the EU, followed by Ireland, Spain and France. Italy’s GDP output slowed a bit and is currently lagging the EU average.

Global investors and traders usually move their money into the stock markets of countries where overall economic growth is already evident or anticipated, because an increase in the overall economy translates to good news for constituent corporations and their stock prices. Rising revenues and stock prices for these publicly traded companies means a healthy budget for technology investments and purchases from companies like yours.In a nutshell, the healthy fund-raising environment in Europe shows investor confidence and maturation in the tech ecosystem, and the rising Composite Index scores means that Europe is a good place for American tech companies to sell their software and products. European companies are buying.

Here at Sales Force Europe, we have engaged with more than 200 clients selling their technology products to enterprises in 28 different countries within the EU. Depending on what metrics you follow, we believe the economies of EU versus USA will continue to trade places for the lead—which is a good thing. What this neck-and-neck race means for US and EU tech companies is sustained investor attention, and an economic environment that continues to be ideal for expanding sales internationally (both US-to-EU and country-to-country within the EU). Trade fluctuations on either side of the Atlantic may cause short-term index gains in one region over another, but the long-term trend is that both EU and USA economies are winners.

Sales Force Europe is a pioneer of the sales-as-a-service model, starting in 2003. More than 200 enterprises have trusted Sales Force Europe to expand their sales into Europe and other international regions. Our Platform includes Accelerated Market Analysis, Accelerated Lead Generation, and Accelerated Sales modules, which can be delivered as an integrated service or as stand-alone modules.Our platform is deployed through our international team of 75+ Sales Professionals who represent your brand in-country/language, blend into your company culture, and use their local market knowledge and sales contacts to make revenues and ROI manifest quickly.If your company is interested in setting up channel sales or selling direct to enterprises in Europe, we can help you so let’s talk.