Rvo,  Saturday, 9 September 2017

 

In order to do business successfully in Bulgaria, good personal contact with your business partner is of great importance. So take sufficient time to do so.

Contact by e-mail or telephone is not enough. Be serious and formal during the first appointments. But they do not appreciate it if you start talking about things right away.

Business Gifts

Offering small business gifts is very common. Avoid excess; a bouquet of flowers or a souvenir from your country of origin is already appreciated. Bulgarians are also fond of technical gadgets and household items.

Are you given a gift yourself? Then it is customary to unpack this immediately.

Negotiate

Take the time to build up a good contact. A' cold' sales strategy is not very effective.

Head movements for' yes' and' no' are opposed to the UK, but there are also Bulgarians who use the Western head movements. Ask for a literal confirmation or denial.

It is better to call than email.

Visit the country regularly: personal contact is very important.

Use the first conversation to get acquainted and end with a good dinner.

Always give a business card and wait until they give you one.

Pay a lot of attention to the title and position. Status is important.

If you are sitting at the table with several people, you need to be able to assess who the main point of contact is.

Take the initiative in negotiations. Bulgarians often adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

Use figures and facts in your presentation. Do not use terms such as' target market' too much. Bulgarians are technically good, but don't know much about marketing and sales.

Pay a lot of attention to the price and payment conditions during the quotation. Even though quality thinking is growing in Bulgaria, price and payment conditions remain the most important point of negotiation.

This article of is based on . Translated from the Dutch language by Jos Deuling.