Market entry up right from the beginning.

You feel the heat from the increasing performance pressure in your company from the founders, your CEO and the shareholders to deliver higher sales at lower costs, on short term and all that on an ongoing basis? That might be the moment to realize, that you are not David Copperfield!

I know how this feels when you do not understand the local language nor the respective business culture of a country in the European Union. When you face an uncertainty about how to adhere to the unwritten rules during Ramadan in the Middle East or when you are not having the full understanding about the importance of the Black Economic Empowerment rule in South Africa. -The high complexity of different regulatory requirements in Latin America. I have been there and quickly learned my lessons not knowing what`s relevant for market entries as I suffered from the consequences of not setting a market entry up right from the beginning.

5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN LATIN AMERICA

Overcome language barrier

It’s difficult to find bilingual workers in Latin America in certain professions and countries. Therefore, it is crucial to enter in these markets with someone, who speaks the local language. This sets the foundation to build the personal relationships you need in these countries to be successful.

Create relationships

Business meetings often mix the personal with the professional life in Latin America. It is quite usual to meet over lunch for a couple of hours, as warm working relationships are the base for business success in Latin America.

Speed up compliance

To start your business in Latin America you need to know the laws and regulations of the country. Make sure to have your agreements on paper, checked by a local lawyer. Although, never forget that the relationship is often more important than the rules. If you have trademarks or patents on your products, make sure that they are registered.

Be patient

Time has a different meaning in Latin America. So, be patient and allow your projects an average of 1/3 more time to get completed. Don’t be surprised, that your business partners will often arrive 30-50 minutes too late for a meeting and a huge part of that meeting will be taken up by establishing a personal relationship, which of course is time consuming, but will be rewarded on the long term.

See Latin America as group of different countries

If you see Latin America as one country and take the same approach for every country, you won’t succeed. Take into account, that every country has its own culture, customs and history. So, you need to adapt your business plan to the characteristics of each country. To understand the culture of a country is key for your success.

I help you to enter new markets successfully!

… feel free to contact me for further questions.

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5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Religious considerations

Moslems pray 5 times a day. Take this into consideration, when you plan meetings. Friday, the holy day, and Saturday are the weekend. Sunday is a working day. Avoid planning business trips and meetings during Ramadan and the two religious festivals Eid al-Fitr, which is the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, the annual pilgrimage, as business hours will be reduced.

Face to Face is key to succeed – incl. body language

In the Islamic world business is mainly done with partners they know, trust and have a relationship. It is key that you meet your business partner face to face to build trust. The written word is considered less personal and less important. Meetings start with small talk on a personal level. Avoid asking your partners about female members of the family, because this can be seen as an offence. Read the body language of your counterpart, like if he reclines, raises his eyebrows or his tone of voice it’s time to change track.

Hospitality in MENA

In the Arab culture, hospitality is important. Accept hospitality and always return the favor. An invitation doesn’t mean that your spouse or companion is also invited. An invitation to dinner is an opportunity to build friendship for a strong business partnership with an Arab. Don’t start to talk about business, wait till the host does and avoid themes like religion and politics. Never use your left hand, when having no cutlery, it is considered unclean.

Greetings in the Middle East

The typical form of greeting someone is the handshake. The length of the handshake might be a bit longer than we are used to. Conservative women might not greet you with their hand. If you are a business woman, wait till the men extend their hand. It is common, that you are addressed by Mr./Mrs. and your first name.

It is not what you know, it is whom you know

If your contacts have high-powered friends or partners in the right places, you will see that you can solve all your problems a lot quicker and advance with your business. If you ask someone for a favor, expect them to come back to you for a favor too. It is important to never refuse that and show that you have done your utmost, this won’t be forgotten!

Do not suffer from not setting a market entry up right from the beginning.

… feel free to contact me for further questions.

CONTACT ME

5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN AFRICA

BEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) in South Africa:

BEE is a government policy to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of Black people (African, Colored and Indian people who are South African citizens) in the South African economy. The SA government introduced the BBBEE concept to close the gap of inequality caused through Apartheid.

Certain industries need to have a defined percentage of black ownership, management control and skill development to be able to operate. Private entities, who want to have business with organs of state need to have a certain BEE score, which is reviewed year by year. You also need to know the BEE score of companies you do business with. If a company that provides you with services has a bad BEE score, your score will go down. Understanding and living the BEE Code is key to succeed in South Africa.

Understanding of Time: 

You will soon find out, that most of the time, the African clock is ticking a bit slower. It is common, that people show up late for an appointment.

In South Africa for example, if you tell someone to “do it now”, means that it should be done within some days or weeks. If you tell them to “do it now now”, it means that you would like to have something done right away.

Cultural education and security education: 

The employees you plan to deploy in Africa should undergo a cross-cultural-training of the specific country. Employees and their family members need to know the dos and don’ts of their new home country. As some of the African countries are instable and dangerous, to know how to move and behave is key.

Language Barrier:

If you believe, with English you can serve the whole continent of Africa, you are wrong. You will find English usually in South Africa and in the Northeast. The Northern part of Africa as well as the Northwest will understand Arabic and French. You will find around 2000 dialects/languages spoken in Africa.

Employ local people:

As a foreigner, you won’t be accepted that easily. There are quite a lot of problems between ethnic groups, e.g. like against the Caucasian farmers in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

So, you need local employees to be able to succeed in Africa, because they know all the customs, traditions and working regulations. Usually, their network of contacts will be helpful. The more local employees your company has, the more beneficial it will be seen by the authorities.

Market entry up right from the beginning.

5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN LATIN AMERICA

Overcome language barrier

Create relationships

Speed up compliance

Be patient

See Latin America as group of different countries

I help you to enter new markets successfully!

5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Religious considerations

Face to Face is key to succeed – incl. body language

Hospitality in MENA

Greetings in the Middle East

It is not what you know, it is whom you know

Do not suffer from not setting a market entry up right from the beginning.

5 TIPS TO SUCCESS IN AFRICA

BEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) in South Africa:

Understanding of Time:

Cultural education and security education:

Language Barrier:

Employ local people:

Employment/Experience building

Customers/Experience sharing