Daniela Ferreira, Sunday, 24 September 2017
Do you want to do business in Brazil? Read the tips below.
Invest in long-term personal relationships and contacts.
Come back as often as possible, contact counts.
Learn to speak Brazilian-Portuguese; very few Brazilians speak English.
Brazilians love humor.
Do not show that you are irritated or becoming impatient. Brazilians are proud to be in control.
Make a conversation as relaxed as possible and leave room for small talk. Good discussion topics are football, family, and music. Poor subjects of
discussion are politics, poverty, and religion. It is also not customary to ask personal questions, such as age, salary, marriage or position.
Brazilian business is hierarchical. The decisions are ultimately taken by someone higher up in the hierarchy. So you have to be patient before a
business is done in the end.
Brazilians are not always punctually on time; do not confuse that with rudeness.
When welcoming it is customary to kiss women on both cheeks. Give the men a hand at both entry and exit. Brazilians maintain physical contact. People
soon embrace each other, or they strike an arm around you.
Do not wear shorts; the dress code is usually a jacket with tie.
Do not pretend you know everything. Interrupting someone is considered indecent.
If your company offers local products or services, you have more chance of success.