The World Bank’s most recent annual ratings had Portugal ranked in 29th place among 190 different economies in terms of ease of doing business
The Ease of Doing Business Index is used to rank countries in order of most business-friendly to least business-friendly regulations. New Zealand is the current 1st place holder. Although Portugal’s standing in 29th place is not the worst ranking, business dealings always depend on interacting with people. The importance of good personal interactions is mentioned in many business seminars, but they are particularly important in Portugal.
As a young girl growing up in the Netherlands with access to all the latest technology that makes many business dealings super fast, I was struck by how to do business in Portugal you need to go back to personal visits and letters. In the Netherlands, you can complete a deal over e-mail exchange, but in Portugal, you have to show your face.
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Here are some essential survival tips and tricks for doing business in Portugal:
1. Don’t rely on communication via e-mails.
I usually respond to all the e-mails I receive in less than 3 hours. Working at Home Key, I communicate a lot with Northern Europeans via e-mail. Our communications via e-mail are efficient and we send messages about every subject. Furthermore, increasing numbers of clients contact me through Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp, which I love! Now, communicating with the Portuguese via e-mail is not quite as efficient. For urgent questions, be sure to make contact via a phone call rather than e-mail. In the country, it’s not typically to get a quick response from an e-mail, as e-mails are not immediately seen, opened or read.
2. Get used to making phone calls.
While you might be used to using your phone for taking photos, playing games and checking social media, remember that it does have a call function. If your call is not answered on the first try, keep trying. Never assume that the person will call your back, as returning calls is not the Portuguese’s strongest quality. Sometimes it takes me days of calling to get in contact with someone and I now understand what it would be like to work as a debt collector.
3. Always confirm the meeting.
When you are persistence and manage to set up a meeting, don’t assume that the appointment is fixed. Both parties need to confirm the time and date of the appointment before it is guaranteed to take place. An example: Imagine it’s Monday and an appointment is set up for 10 am next Friday; the appointment still has to be confirmed the day before. If you don’t confirm a meeting the day before, it’s likely that the other party won’t show up.
4. Time in more flexible in Portugal.
Don’t start to stress out if your contact is late for a meeting. As long as you confirmed the appointed the day before, he is certain to turn up. It is okay to give him a call if he has still not shown up 10 minutes after the appointment time. If he answers your call, say “Ainda demora muito?”
5. The secret to doing business in the country.
The truth is that many of my most successful business dealings in Portugal have been the result of me just having a feeling that I should show up somewhere at a certain time and the right people have been there. I guess you could call it destiny or intuition? You need to get your face out there and network. While face to face networking is important for doing business in just about any country, it’s particularly important in Portugal. The Portuguese love to do business in person. Go to their house, office or regular hangout bar to do business. Once you have had an initial face to face interaction with the person, they are more likely to reply to your e-mails and respond to your phone calls. To start building a network in the country, but sure to go to local coffee shops. Also, note that “marketing” is a word that has no power in Portugal.
The beginnings of a negotiation or partnership have more weight to them if they’re conducted over lunch. While I used to feel uncomfortable talking business while eating and interacting with waiters, it now feels very natural to me. The Portuguese seem to prefer to communicate with good food and relaxed conversations rather than with stiff nods and business jargon. At the end of the day, we’re all humans, and people from Portugal just prefer to do business with a real person rather than a computer screen.
Good luck! Enjoy the challenge!
Do you have any experience of doing business in Portugal? Do the situations above sound familiar, or did you have a totally different experience? I’d love to hear your stories, so be sure to comment below.
