Not a business, but a carnival: how to do business with Brazilians

Maxim Kirilenko, SeoPult International Expansion Director, shares his experience of working with Brazilian partners.

Our company has been entering foreign markets since 2015. During this time, offices were opened and services launched in Brazil, Indonesia, Poland, and Thailand. All services work in the field of online advertising: SEO, contextual advertising, advertising in social networks, services for converting users into payers, etc. The countries in which we work are not chosen by chance, they are united by a common desire for new technologies, a fairly high level of economic and technological development and significant market size.

For two and a half years, we have accumulated a large amount of interesting material, notes, observations from both business and everyday life, which may be useful to other companies planning to enter new markets. It was not easy to decide which country to talk about. The choice fell on Brazil, which is in trend today. More and more Russian companies are looking towards this country to expand their business. This is understandable: Brazil is in the top 5 countries in terms of area and population and in the top 10 largest economies in the world, despite the permanent economic crisis and domestic problems tormenting the country.

Business — it is, first of all, people. This is your team, your clients, your partners. Starting a business in another country, you must understand the local characteristics of communication, decision making and human relationships. Therefore, I decided to start a series of articles about Brazil with three, at first glance, simple, but in fact key features of Brazilians that you need to know and accept. This will greatly facilitate the development of your business.

A little about Brazil and Brazilians

Everything in Brazilian society is based on personal relationships. At first it may seem that Brazilians are very formal in both personal and business communication, but this quickly passes. After 10 minutes, you may find that the person is talking to you in an informal style, referring to "you". It is important for Brazilians to get to know you as a person before starting a business with you: your hobbies, attitude to football, family. Therefore, personal contacts — this is the way of doing business in Brazil: the time you invest in communicating with the person will greatly contribute to your success. It must be remembered that Brazilians value social status, family and education, and personal achievements are not so important for them.

Warm welcome, friendliness and talkativeness — These words can describe the Brazilian style of communication. When negotiating or just talking, Brazilians pay less attention to what is said and pay more attention to eye contact, gestures and your emotions. They like to keep things simple. This can lead to the fact that, when faced with an unpleasant question, problem or situation, Brazilians will avoid discussion or action as much as possible.

Brazilian yes, maybe, no

One of the most interesting things I've come across in Brazil is the so-called Brazilian yes, maybe, no. Brazilians are very positive people, they don't want to upset others or upset themselves. Below I will give an example of what the Brazilians say and how it should be perceived by a foreigner (since for the Brazilians themselves these are quite obvious things).

Brazilian says: "Yes" (sim).

A foreigner hears: "Yes."

Brazilian means: anything between "yes" and "no", "maybe, but we need to think about it" or "No, but I just don't want to upset you."

This feature is found everywhere, in any sphere of life and business, and almost always with strangers or unfamiliar people. With well-known people and friends — less often. It is important to remember this and, having received the answer “yes”, understand that this is not always 100% “yes”. It is better to ask again or ask a couple of clarifying questions. If you feel that the Brazilian is trying to avoid answering, changing the topic of conversation, dragging out time, then you should understand that you received a “no” answer. And the agreement will not be fulfilled.

Brazilian says: "Maybe" (talvez).

A foreigner hears: "Maybe I'll think about it."

Brazilian means: "No."

"Maybe" — it's an unequivocal "no". If you get this or a similar answer, then it's worth stepping back, thinking, and reformulating the sentence. Be sure to take a break. Do not push or repeat a proposal during the same meeting. This will lead to failure in the relationship and end in nothing at all.

Brazilian says: "No" (nao) (very rare).

A foreigner hears: "No."

Brazilian means: "Never! Not in life, not for any money. I am shocked by what I heard».

If a Brazilian answers "no" to you, then know — you have crossed all visible or invisible boundaries, and the person is shocked by what you have proposed. For 3 years of work in Brazil, I have never seen this. Having received the answer "no", it is more likely that you can forget about this contact than hope to restore the relationship.

Jeitinho — short easy way brazilian

Brazilians are always, ALWAYS trying to take advantage of something: skipping the line, driving up the price of a product for a foreigner, trying to change the terms of a contract without notice. In Brazil, this is denoted by the special word — Jeitinho (literally "short easy way"). It is an important informal concept in Brazilian daily life and business. It allows you to avoid problems and obstacles, makes the life of the Brazilian easier and more even, especially in the fight against the Brazilian bureaucracy. Look for loopholes to get around the difficulties — part of Brazilian culture and life. A kind of sport. Jeitinho is at all levels, from relationships between acquaintances to business and politics.

Always, always be alert! This is especially true for gringos (foreigners).

Be careful, check any contract, any condition before signing anything, even after all the final edits. In general, Brazil — this is not a country where you can relax, despite the fact that Brazilians are kind, positive, pleasant and cheerful people. It's just that jeitinho is in their blood and is not considered shameful.

Meetings, negotiations and lateness

It is better to schedule two, maximum three meetings a day. It is optimal to make appointments in the morning — from 10 am to 3 pm. At this time, the Brazilians are set to work, because after 15:00 the thoughts of the Brazilian are smoothly reorganized on what he will do in the evening: where to shop, with whom to drink a glass or have a good time.

It is important to remember that the meeting should not start immediately with a discussion of the proposal and move on to the specifics. This is bad form, and such an approach will be perceived negatively.

Before discussing work, you should spend time on coffee, talking about extraneous things. Therefore, do not be surprised that meetings and negotiations can last for about two hours. If there is an agenda for the meeting, then don't assume that everything will be consistent. This is not Brazilian style. Don't expect firm deadlines, and don't try to impose hard deadlines. It won't work. And even if you get the answer "yes", then this will not be a guarantee.

But do not despair: despite the chaos of the meeting, you can reach agreements. It's just worth adding 1–3 weeks to your internal schedule. There are also situations when the meeting is wasted, but after that the Brazilians invite you to dinner and suddenly return to business for an informal conversation. Don't get lost, this is a good sign. Discuss the key nuances and next steps.

It is worth mentioning separately the attitude of Brazilians to being late. Brazilians do not like to rush, so being an hour late is considered the norm for everyday life. For business, you can count on 15 & ndash; 30 minutes. Arriving on time is not accepted. Brazilians even have a special term: "the weirdo who arrives at first" — a very strange person who came on time and first. Always keep in mind that Brazilians will not be on time for anything: a party, a birthday, negotiations or a militia gathering for war.

In Brazil, the year starts after Carnival

It is necessary to remember about the most important and largest holiday in Brazil — Carnival. They prepare for it all year round, and it takes place at the height of the Brazilian summer — in February. For four days and four nights from Saturday to Tuesday, all work stops, and business life literally freezes. People are immersed in the atmosphere of celebration, fun, street processions and dances. Wherever you go, even in the most remote village, there will be improvised scenes and performances everywhere. Do not plan any business visits or meetings during Carnival. Support your Brazilian colleagues and partners and take part in this large-scale event.

After the noise, Carnival gives way to the new year in the life of Brazilians. At the end of the holiday, everything returns to normal.

And finally:

3 things for success:

1. Build personal relationships — this is very important!
2. Be sure to accept invitations to lunch, dinner, or just hanging out.
3. Familiarize yourself with the situation in Brazilian football to be ready to keep the conversation going.

3 things to fail:

1. Reject an invitation from Brazilians to dine, go out together, have coffee, or visit their home.
2. Compare Brazil with Argentina or Portugal. To say that these countries are somehow better.
3. Be inflexible, rigid, dark, formal.