Doing Business in Brazil

Even the smallest of US businesses competes in a shrinking global village, where understanding subtle cultural contexts can make or break sales and marketing efforts. This excerpt from the book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries, offers insight into doing business in Brazil.

Language

• Portuguese is the official language. Brazilians do not consider themselves Hispanic, and they resent being spoken to in Spanish.

Appointments

• The lack of punctuality is a fact of life in Brazil. Become accustomed to waiting for your Brazilian counterpart. Make appointments at least two weeks in advance.
  
• Business hours are generally advertised as 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but decision makers usually begin work later in the morning and stay later in the evening.

Negotiating

• Be patient. During negotiations, be prepared to discuss all aspects of the contract simultaneously rather than sequentially. Sometimes Brazilians find US aggressive business attitudes offensive.
  
• If you change your negotiating team, you may undermine the entire contract. Brazilians value the person they do business with more than the firm name. Make sure you have a local accountant and notario (similar to a lawyer) or lawyer for contract issues. Brazilians may resent an outside legal presence.
  
• Brazilians use periods to punctuate thousands, and use commas to delineate fractions.
  
• Be aware that Brazilians consider themselves Americans also. Do not use "in America" when referring to the United States.

Business Entertaining

• Ask your prospect's secretary to recommend a prestigious restaurant. Do not expect to discuss business during a meal. Wait until coffee is served to begin any business.
  
• If you are invited to a party, it will probably be given at a private club rather than at a home. Arrive at least fifteen minutes late. Brazilian dinners take place any time from 7 to 10 p.m. Dinner parties can easily continue until 2 a.m., but it is not unheard of for dinner parties to break up as late as 7 the next morning!

Protocol

• Greetings can be effusive, with extended handshakes common during the first encounter, progressing to embraces once a friendship has been established. Women often kiss each other on alternating cheeks: twice if they are married, three times if single. The third kiss is supposed to indicate "good luck" for finding a spouse.

Gestures

• Brazilians communicate in extremely close proximity. Do not back away.
  
• The sign for "OK" in the United States (a circle of first finger and thumb) is totally unacceptable in Brazil. It is considered vulgar.

Dress

• The colors of the Brazilian flag are green and yellow, so avoid wearing this combination.
  
• Conservative attire for women is very important in business. Only young people wear jeans. Men should wear slacks and long-sleeved shirts for casual attire.

Gifts

• Avoid giving anything black or purple, since these are colors of mourning. Avoid giving knives, which symbolize cutting off a relationship, or handkerchiefs, which connote grief.