Imagine a small workshop in Baden-Baden where a pair of bespoke shoes is being made: hand-stitched, tailored to the millimetre, designed to last twenty years or more. Next door, on a sailing yacht in the middle of the Atlantic, the same craftsman was personally polishing his customers’ shoes – and, whilst doing so, selling the next pair as a matter of course. Two scenes, one entrepreneur: Matthias Vickermann.

Anyone who believes that craftsmanship and modern sales are mutually exclusive has not yet seen Vickermann in action.

Who is Matthias Vickermann?

Matthias Vickermann is a trained bespoke shoemaker, an entrepreneur and one of the most unconventional sales minds in the German craft sector. Together with Martin Stoya, he founded the bespoke shoe manufacturer Vickermann & Stoya in Baden-Baden in 2005 – a business that has now been in existence for 20 years and was inducted into the ‘Brands of the Century’ in 2024. What started as a small workshop has grown into a company that, with Shoedoc and PurseNurse, has radically brought the repair of shoes and leather goods into the digital age.

What makes Vickermann special is his knack for sales in places where no one expects it: he accompanied cruise ships such as the MS Europa and the SeaCloud on the high seas, where he polished shoes himself and advised guests on the art of shoemaking – sales as an experience, not a sales pitch. At the same time, he was conducting research with a team from Maastricht University and RWTH Aachen University into a novel, sustainable leather substitute. Traditional craftsmanship and research into the future, united in one person.

Just how much personality lies behind this journey is revealed in a sentence in which Vickermann sums up his own recipe for success: “You have to listen to yourself, to your heart.” A guiding principle that runs through his entire entrepreneurial career – from his career change as a qualified tax clerk to his second apprenticeship as a bespoke shoemaker.

What he talks about on stage

Vickermann’s presentation topics revolve around what he himself practises every day: sales that stem from a genuine attitude rather than sales techniques.

• Attracting customers through authenticity – why genuine closeness to the customer achieves more than any marketing campaign
• The art of listening – how this leads to lasting customer loyalty
• Rethinking after-sales – why the sale doesn’t end with the invoice
• Network marketing as a secret weapon – and why common sense is often the best strategy
• Innovative thinking as fuel – how tradition and forward thinking go hand in hand

He once summed up his philosophy on his own craft in Handwerk Magazin: “One can only hope for a change in mindset.” A statement that shows just how much he prefers to actively transform entire industries rather than wait for change to happen – and that is precisely what has driven him for years to explore ever-new sales channels, from repair platforms to bespoke digital shoes.

His talks are anything but dry sales theory. Vickermann draws on over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, sharing best-practice examples from his own career: entertaining, vivid and always with a clear central theme – attitude as the invisible driving force behind sustainable sales success. As he himself likes to emphasise when it comes to his craft and his products: “The bespoke shoe is the spearhead of clothing culture.” It is precisely this precision and this standard of excellence that also shape his insights into sales and customer acquisition.

Why book Matthias Vickermann?

Many sales keynotes stick to standard techniques and contrived sales formulas. Matthias Vickermann offers the opposite: an entrepreneur who demonstrates how to rethink sales on land, at sea and in the air – whilst never losing touch with his own craft. His enthusiasm is infectious, his examples are drawn directly from real-world experience, and his journey from a traditional craft business to a digital sales pioneer encourages companies to rethink entrenched structures within their own organisations as well.

For companies that want to combine sales, customer acquisition and brand-building with genuine conviction rather than empty platitudes, Vickermann is exactly the right source of inspiration. For anyone still looking for that extra mile that turns satisfied customers into enthusiastic ambassadors, his talk could be the starting point.

Interested in booking Matthias Vickermann for your event?

The LEADING MINDS team will be happy to advise you on topics, formats and availability – please get in touch: +49 (0)30 640 777 42 or [email protected]