The Very Rev Dr Mark Beach, the new Dean of Rochester Cathedral, faces similar challenges to any hard-pressed business, but his product is very different, as he told Trevor Sturgess in this exclusive interview.

Mark Beach has found it harder to reach the business community than other sectors during his church life.

That is why he embraces the Rochester Cathedral Business Guild, which is so active in the diocese.

He says: "Experience shows it's much harder to build links with the business community than it is either with the voluntary or public sector, which is why the Guild is such a good idea. I hope we can build on that."

He says every faith should engage with business on mutual terms.

Yet he believes business is suspicious that the church only wants its money.

The Very Rev Dr Mark Beach is the new Dean of Rochester Cathedral

He says: "If the private sector in all its many forms thinks we're only interested in them because of their potential support financially, they are going to walk away."

Dr Beach, 50, does not believe in criticising business, particularly bankers, for wrongdoing.

"The moment I stand up in the pulpit and lambast somebody, locally or nationally, is the moment I've lost the plot."

Making money was vital to growth, "but it can't go unchecked".

The Dean's role is to manage the cathedral and diocesan finances.

He oversees 40 staff and funds of more than £16m, a far cry from the four staff and £250,000 he managed in his last post, in Rugby.

He chairs the board and Chapter of ordained clergy and lay people.

"we have a product in two bits - the cathedral which we market very heavily and the worshipping life of the cathedral...” – the very rev dr mark beach

He says: "We have a product and our product has two bits – the cathedral, which we market very heavily, and the worshipping life of the cathedral."

The cathedral has a £4.5m development plan to transform the crypt to showcase Textus Roffensis, the oldest book in existence.

The Heritage Lottery Fund is stumping up £3.7m, but the rest comes from local contribution.

Dr Beach says: "It is possible to run the church more leanly and effectively, but ultimately the goal has to be to sell more product, by which I mean convincing more people of the truths of Jesus which, ultimately, is our product."

He says his main aims are to engage with the whole of the Medway community and strengthen the bottom line.

He says: "At the moment, we set budgets that are pretty frightening and we either just make it or just don’t make it.

"There must be rigorous control on expenditure and a planned approach to buildings.

"But you're never sure when the next wall is going to fall down."