BAFA business consultants in Cologne and Düsseldorf: receive up to 80% BAFA funding for consulting services of up to 4,000 euros.

Are you affected by the Corona crisis or does your company need BAFA funded consulting in B2B marketing, e-commerce or CRM?

As a BAFA consultant in Cologne or in the Dusseldorf area, I offer advice on digitalization your business or on setting up sales and marketing.

As of 01 January 2021, the “Promotion of Entrepreneurial Know-How” has been extended for another two years. This means you can receive a subsidy for the costs of management consulting via BAFA. With the BAFA subsidy, self-employed persons and companies affected by the Corona crisis receive up to 3,200 euros in BAFA consultancy funding or subsidy from BAFA. The BAFA subsidy is intended to provide small and medium-sized enterprises as well as enterprises in difficulty with a consulting subsidy on all issues relating to the restoration of performance and competitiveness. In addition to the companies affected by Corona, young companies that have been on the market for less than 2 years can also receive up to 80% support (in the new federal states). Existing enterprises from the third year after foundation also receive funding of up to 80%.

 

About me as a Cologne BAFA advisor

As a business graduate, I can draw on 15 years of relevant professional experience, ranging from smaller companies to large corporations such as AXA, eBay, Metro or Unitymedia or Vodafone:

Since I have been active as a freelance management consultant in Cologne since 2013, I know the requirements of a self-employed person not only from the client side.

My consulting focus as a BAFA business consultant in Cologne and Dusseldorf:

1)  Activity as a BAFA Business Consultant B2B Marketing and BAFA Business Consultant Sales:

Marketing and sales consulting:

  • Development of acquisition strategies
  • Realigning your marketing
  • Strategic realignment of your company
  • Strategies for growth during and after the Corona crisis
  • Launching of digital products from strategy definition to market establishment
  • Creation of websites incl. search engine optimisation/SEO consulting
  • Designing marketing campaigns via the offline mailing, outbound telephony and e-mail, digital marketing and personal sales channels
  • Acquisition campaigns to win new customers
  • Inventory customer campaigns to get even more out of your existing customers (e.g. through upsell, cross-sell or retention programmes).
  • Coaching and managing of key account managers

2) Activity as a BAFA business consultant for e-commerce:

E-commerce consulting:

  • Establishment of an online shop, e.g. setting up a JTL shop
  • Introduction and optimization of JTL merchandise management: JTL Wawi and JTL shop
  • Establishment or optimisation of your multi-channel sales via eBay and Amazon
  • eBay SEO optimisation

3) Activity as BAFA business consultant CRM:

CRM consulting:

  • Advice on cost-effective purchasing of external B2B prospect data for direct marketing campaigns
  • Conzeption of processes  for the data-side processing of exernal B2B prospect data for direct marketing campaigns
  • Sales-orientated introduction of CRM systems (e.g. Pipedrive oder CRM+)
  • Sales-side optimisation of sales processes in CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce oder Pipedrive)
  • Data analytics: creating data analyses and business cases with sales glasses
  • Optimisation of sales processes through lead nurturing and lead scoring
  • Setting up dashboards and BI solutions for better control of B2B sales activities
  • Segmentation of existing or potential customers

 

BAFA funding for the Corona crisis:

The advisory support from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) is offered nationwide. With it, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), based in Germany, can be supported with up to 4,000 euros in BAFA advisory services. The aim is to help these companies in economic difficulties such as the Corona crisis. All self-employed persons and companies that have experienced economic difficulties as a result of the Corona crisis can take advantage of the BAFA consulting subsidy. The consultations provided within this framework in an amount of up to 4,000 euros and up to 80% are covered by the state. You can find more information on the BAFA support programme at here.

 

How much is the BAFA advisory grant?

BAFA pays 80% of consultancy costs up to € 4,000 net. In return, you receive – depending on the programme – at least 25 consulting hours at a very low hourly cost during which I can help you overcome the crisis in your company or help you gain new customers. Completely individual and solution-oriented.

 

Who receives BAFA advisory support?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Corona crisis and based in Germany (max. 250 employees, max. € 50 million turnover, max. € 43 million balance sheet total) are eligible to apply. Young companies, existing companies as well as companies in difficulty. The amount of the respective consultancy subsidy depends on the situation, the location and other factors relating to the company.

Eligible for funding are:

  • Start-up companies: Assessment basis 4,000 €, 50 % old federal states, 80 % new federal states, max. subsidy 2,000 to 3,200 € per consultation.
  • Existing companies: Assessment basis 3,000 €, 50 % old federal states, 80 % new federal states, max. subsidy 1,500 -2,400 € per consultation.
  • Enterprises in difficulty: Assessment basis € 3,000, 90 % subsidy € 2,700 per consultation.

You can find current regulations here.

How do I apply for BAFA consultancy funding?

1. Please check in advance whether you are really eligible

2. Please contact me for a free 30-minute initial consultation!  As a BAFA business consultant, I will be happy to support you in making the next steps. During the initial meeting, we will answer the following questions, among others:

  • What kind of challenges do you need help with?
  • To what extent is your business threatened by the Corona crisis?
  • Which budget is available?

3. You can submit the application for BAFA business consultancy funding here

 

 

The following points are important when submitting an application:

  • After ticking off the declaration of consent for data protection DSGVO, select “Yes” in the Corona Crisis section and indicate whether you are an “existing company” (company age of two years and older) or a “start-up company”.
  • You are free to choose the control centre. If you work in the hotel and catering industry, it is recommended to select “Interhoga”. If you manage a craft enterprise, you should select “Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks”.
  • Please enter “BAFA-ID“: 169420 as the consulting company.
  • For the implementing consultant, please insert “Michael Tomaschewski”.
  • You can find your industry or economic sector classification of economic sectors from the Federal Statistical Office
  • In the case of “young companies” or “companies in difficulty”, a prior consultation with a regional contact person at the IHK is obligatory; you can find an up-to-date list of potential contact persons according to location here.

After completion, a confirmation of receipt is sent by e-mail, followed by a postal notice, which is the basis of the assignment.

 

What is the next step?

  • As soon as you have submitted the application, we will agree on dates for further exchanges. The consultation can take place on site in Cologne, Dusseldorf and the surrounding area or via video conference or telephone. As a BAFA business consultant in Cologne and the Düsseldorf area, I am happy to provide support for the further development of your business.
  • As soon as you have received the notification, we will start consulting and crisis management – building on our free initial consultation.
  • After the consultation has ended, you will receive a comprehensive consultation report, which you submit online to BAFA so that they can make the payment for you.
  • The BAFA consultancy was paid for in full by the client.
  • Upon completion of the consultation, all required documents must be submitted to the relevant office no later than 3 months after the consultation. These documents include: Proof of use form (signature applicant and advisor), De-miniis declaration” form and EU SME declaration, signed by the applicant, Confirmation letter from the IHK or HWK, advisory report, Invoice of the consultant, proof of bank statement of the company for fee payment.

Attention: This page was created on 28.07.2021 in order to present the essential points of the BAFA advisory support. These explanations are not legally binding. The complete, current complete, current guideline and further information can be found directly at BAFA.