EMEA Market Entry
"The commercial motion that closed your first ten North American logos will not close your first ten European ones."
The Problem This Solves
North American AI companies entering EMEA make a predictable mistake: they assume the motion translates. They take the deck that works in San Francisco, the ICP that works in New York, and the sales process that works in Austin — and point it at London, Paris, and Frankfurt.
Six months later, deals are longer, conversion is lower, and the team is frustrated.
EMEA is not a geography. It is a set of distinct commercial environments with different buyer behaviour, different procurement norms, different regulatory requirements, and different expectations of what a vendor relationship looks like. A VP of Digital at a French industrial company buys differently from a Head of Technology at a German bank, which buys differently from a CDO at a British financial services firm.
The companies that succeed in EMEA adapt the motion before they commit the headcount. They know which markets to enter first and why. They know who the buyer is in each market and what moves them. They know what GDPR and the EU AI Act mean for their conversations before procurement asks. And they know when to hire locally and what profile to hire.
This engagement builds that adaptation — a market-specific commercial motion, designed for EMEA, ready to execute before the first European AE joins.
Who It's For
North American AI companies at one of two moments:
1. Pre-entry
The company has product-market fit in North America (5+ enterprise logos, repeatable motion, $1M+ ARR) and is planning EMEA expansion within the next 6 months. No European revenue yet. The question is where to start, what to change, and when to hire.
2. Stalled entry
The company has been "doing EMEA" for 6–12 months — typically with a remote founder doing founder-led deals or a first European AE — and the motion is not working. Deals are longer, conversion is lower, and the team doesn't know why.
Also applicable to European companies entering North America, though the primary design is NA → EMEA.
Not the right engagement if:
- The company has no repeatable enterprise motion in the home market — build that first (→ Enterprise GTM Playbook)
- The company is entering EMEA with a PLG or high-velocity motion — this engagement is designed for enterprise and mid-market, not self-serve
- The expectation is that Malcolm executes the EMEA motion directly — this engagement designs the system; Fractional CRO runs it
What the Client Receives
| # | Deliverable | What it enables |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EMEA Market Entry Map | Which markets to enter, in which order, with the commercial rationale for each priority decision |
| 2 | ICP Translation | How the NA ideal customer profile maps to EMEA — which sectors and company profiles are equivalent, which are not |
| 3 | EMEA Buyer Architecture | How enterprise buying decisions work in the priority markets — economic buyer titles, procurement norms, decision timelines, what moves them |
| 4 | Market-Adapted GTM Playbook | Messaging, qualification criteria, and sales process adapted for priority EMEA markets — not a translation of the NA playbook, a rebuild from EMEA evidence |
| 5 | Regulatory Readiness Assessment | What GDPR, the EU AI Act, and data sovereignty requirements mean for enterprise conversations — what the buyer will ask, what you need to have ready |
| 6 | EMEA Hiring Brief | When to hire locally, which market first, what profile, how to assess — and the compensation structure for the first European AE |
| 7 | 90-Day EMEA Launch Calendar | The sequenced actions to move from zero to first EMEA pipeline — market prioritisation, outreach motion, first meeting targets, hire trigger criteria |
What the Client Does Not Receive
- A market research report — this is an operational build, not an analysis
- A localised version of the NA sales deck — the deliverables are commercial architecture, not marketing assets
- Malcolm running the EMEA motion directly as a sales rep
- Guaranteed EMEA outcomes — the engagement designs the system; execution risk remains with the client
Duration and Structure
Standard (2 priority markets, single-product): 5 weeks
Complex (3+ markets, multi-product, or stalled entry requiring motion diagnosis first): 7–8 weeks
The engagement is structured as working sessions — evidence in, operational output out. Every session produces a specific deliverable component.
Malcolm's EMEA Credibility
This engagement is designed from direct operating experience, not market research.
At NTT DATA: built a 6-country EMEA commercial organisation across France, Germany, UK, Austria, and Scandinavia from a standing start, running concurrently with the North America Western Region book. Raised team attainment from 79% to above target. Closed enterprise pursuits across financial services, technology, media, life sciences, and industrial verticals.
Paris-based. Fluent French. Operational network across France, DACH, and UK.
How It Connects to the Rest of the Service Line
- Typically follows the Enterprise GTM Playbook — the NA playbook is built; now it needs EMEA adaptation
- Can run concurrently with Fractional CRO — the Fractional CRO runs the NA motion while this engagement builds the EMEA one
- Often precedes the EMEA Fractional CRO engagement — the market entry design is built, and Malcolm runs the EMEA commercial motion until a local hire is ready
- Triggered by a Revenue Architecture Diagnostic that identifies EMEA motion translation as the primary constraint