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On Business Trips

Business trips in São Paulo

Brazil is driven by emotions. Also business encounters in São Paulo do not form an exception. When working together with paulistanos, take a careful look at the emotions. Some practical hints:

Portuguese

Finding the right tone in São Paulo means communicating in Portuguese. Clarify before you travel if the meetings can be held in English. If required consult a translator. Also well-educated Brazilians do not very often speak an English that is fully useable on business level, and Spanish is not very popular. Consider preparing presentation documents in Portuguese, in order to make the communication with your Brazilian partners easier.

Watch out for confidential remarks among your team: although it is difficult to hold meetings in English or even German, one of your Brazilian partners may have an English or German family origin and be able to understand every word.

Dress-code


In spite of all informalities, the appropriate business dress in São Paulo is rather formal: for gentlemen suit pants with a business shirt and a tie, even a jacket to start with. Ladies wear suit or costume, preferably rather feminin, and closed shoes.

Arrive in time

Punctuality is important in São Paulo's business life. Your Brazilian business partner will expect punctuality especially from you as a European foreigner. You may always arrive 10 min before the appointment. This helps you to express the quality of the European cultures which enjoy a high reputation in São Paulo.

Greeting

Among gentlemen, greet with a hand-shake and eye contact, as a lady with other ladies as well as between men and women with a short cheek kiss. Very quickly, everybody will call everybody by the first name, except for elder authority persons.

Small guest presents are not unpopular. Particularly the assistant will be happy for a little present. Keep it simple, with a relation to your work, or European football articles.
 

Relationship first

In São Paulo, the personal contact is way more important than in central Europe. Before adressing (conflictual) business topics, it is a prerequisite to built up the personal relationship. This typically takes all the first personal meeting.

The small-talk is extended. Popular (and not dangerous) topics are football, music and food. Avoid talking about economic, social or environmental problems and corruption. During business meals, business topics are mostly adressed only during the dessert or the subsequent coffee.

Most business meals take place in restaurants. Lunches between noon and 1 p.m., dinners start between 8 and 9 p.m. and may go on until mid-night. Most restaurant bills contain a separate service fee of 10%.

Also negotiations begin with small-talk before adressing the business topics. If your business partner does not agree to a proposal, it is rare to hear an open "no". They will rather change the subject first and come back to the proposal later.

 

Bureaucracy

In terms of bureaucracy, Brazil is about as formal as many European countries. Investment projects can thus be significantly extended. Only a long breath and friendliness help overcome this - in no case illegal practices.

Rather not ...

In spite of the significant progress made during the last decades, many paulistanos perceive their country as little progressive. Many things do not work perfectly in daily life. Many of our friends call this "cooperative incompetence" which you can encounter in some places. The most important reaction is to keep cool and not to critizise others openly, nor in front of third persons. Rather reword critical remarks in friendly terms.

Most Brazilians perceive as uneducated: body smell (not always easy in São PauloÄs climate), cleaning your nose or teeths in public, not to brush your teeths after lunch.

Contacts

Many countries have specific foreign chambers of commerce in Brazil. The German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce ist the biggest foreign chamber of commerce world-wide. It provides contacts and informations, specifically for companies entering the Brazilian market.

Some law firms and tax advisors have specialized on cross-border topics. Stüssi Neves is reputated and operates in the upper price segment.
 

Media in São Paulo

The leading nation-wide TV and media group is O Globo, with a content similar to Italian TV stations. The newspapers are respected as being critical and neutral. The leading daily newspapers are Folha de São Paulo and Estado de São Paulo. If you speak a Roman language, you will be able to understand a good portion of a newspaper, even without speaking any Portuguese.