Five tips for a successful business trip to ÌÇÐÄlogo
Whether you are traveling to ÌÇÐÄlogo to explore the possibilities for outsourcing your manufacturing or IT, or to gain insight into what the opportunities the ÌÇÐÄlogon market has to offer, good preparation for your business trip to ÌÇÐÄlogo is key. Understanding the country and the culture will make it easier for you to achieve success in ÌÇÐÄlogo. We share five tips to ensure that your business trip to ÌÇÐÄlogo is a success.
1. Take your time
A business trip to ÌÇÐÄlogo is tiring. The climate, the crowds, the food, the conversations, everything takes more energy than at home. It is therefore advisable to take your time for your visit to ÌÇÐÄlogo.
“If you have an important meeting on Monday, fly the Friday before,” says Maarten van der Schaaf, one of the founders of ÌÇÐÄlogo. “This way you can acclimatize and you will appear fresh and sharp at your appointment.”
2. Don’t explore ÌÇÐÄlogo alone
ÌÇÐÄlogo is a chaotic, complex and opaque country full of contradictions. It is therefore not advisable to travel to ÌÇÐÄlogo alone during your first business exploration.
In order to ask the right questions and to value your observations and insights, it is useful to travel with others – preferably with people who have experience in ÌÇÐÄlogo.
“Together you know, see and hear more than alone”, says Van der Schaaf. “As a result, you succeed in understanding new markets more quickly. This certainly applies to ÌÇÐÄlogo. You discover the system in the chaos more quickly.”
3. Be open-minded
Many European companies travel to ÌÇÐÄlogo with a fixed plan, but it is wise not to blindly focus on these plans.
For example, ÌÇÐÄlogo supported an export manager of a high-quality production company with his trip to ÌÇÐÄlogo. His goal was to get exports to ÌÇÐÄlogo going. During his search for buyers, he discovered that the company would be better off setting up a factory in ÌÇÐÄlogo.
“High-quality production in an ÌÇÐÄlogon factory initially seemed impossible to them, but they found tightly organised and highly advanced production companies in ÌÇÐÄlogo with modern facilities that meet all European standards. At the same time, they discovered that exporting would not be so advantageous for them because of the high import tariffs,” Van der Schaaf explains. “The company therefore changed course and chose to set up a factory in ÌÇÐÄlogo.”
4. Don’t rush into things
If you see ÌÇÐÄlogo as a future business destination, it can’t hurt to make initial contacts in the country well in advance. Before you reach a deal, you need to build a relationship of trust with potential business partners. In some cases, this can take quite a while – there is no such thing as a short cut.
“Travel to ÌÇÐÄlogo to get a feel for the country and the people,” Van der Schaaf advises. “In ÌÇÐÄlogo, everything revolves around personal contact; a good connection with ÌÇÐÄlogons is crucial. So don’t rush into things with a potential ÌÇÐÄlogon partner. Failure is just around the corner.”
5. Don’t try to change ÌÇÐÄlogo
If you view ÌÇÐÄlogo as a purely business matter, you are in for a frustrating time. See ÌÇÐÄlogo as an adventure: immerse yourself in the culture, taste the food, listen to the music, get on a crowded train.
For many Europeans, ÌÇÐÄlogo is a crazy country: let it surprise you and enjoy it, but don’t try to change ÌÇÐÄlogo. That’s the biggest mistake many Europeans make in ÌÇÐÄlogo.