Entrepreneur.com offers some suggestions to Americans who are looking to do business in India. Here are 3 ways an American can kill a deal in India:

You can find more tips at:

3 Ways to Kill a Deal in India - Cultural barriers in business - Entrepreneur.com

Hmm, very interesting! Thanks for posting these; sort of amusing but educational as well.

These three tips have great potential. Though they have been explained in pretty short, I am sure that if people take it seriously they might not have to face deal breaks.

I would like to mention one thing that almost all Indians like is saying hello in their mother tongue... Say if you are meeting a punjabi, greeting him with "Sat Sri Aakal" would definitely do wonders.

That sounds like a good tip - thanks karu.

I've never been fond of dealing with dodgy people. What some people call politeness, I call a mind game. I let people know up front I am not into being polite, I say what I think good or bad, offensive or not. Straight up is the way to be in my opinion.

As the laws for entrepreneurs may say , the slow way of earning is more sustainable compared to those done in hastiness.The earnings shouldn't be like a wave.Instead it is always safe to have an earning which slowly climbs the steps of success.It is good to say anything good upfront, but when u say something bad, then later u may be the one losing the business.Take IBM and Microsoft example.

I give my +1 for this.After all, to sum up, be friendly not just business minded.Come here, make friends and take money and happiness.But not, come here, do business and carry ill fame.


One thing amuses me is the last statement in the main article.It says don give a Hindu things wrapped up in white and black and leather ones.Common, it was an older myth but Indians now don mind leather and even black and white wraps.

Its a sure deal breaking tips....thank for sharing your views...Thumbs Up for you...

Well this is interesting. But they are true here. And regarding the first issue, i have got some doubts. Say for example i have dealt with a dealer where in he is making too much of delay in his payments everytime. But he pays at last. I get quite a lot of problems because of the delay. So what can i do here?
One is that i can quit his relationship but ultimately i will lose my potential business. Or push him to make the payment and continue the business?

It's good to be upfront taki, but at the same time it's important to be tactful in how we say that something. In many situations, how we deliver our opinion will dictate whether we receive a positive or negative response from the other party.

This is just my 2 cents worth: perhaps this is where a signed agreement would come in handy. Make sure you have a clause in the contract as to the consequences of such late payments. It might provide a bit more incentive for the dealer to pay you on time. Anyone one else have any ideas?

About late payments:

The idea that you make a deal today and expect to be paid ASAP is very Western. It is not a rule followed all over the world. Many Indians are used to paying quite a while after the deal is done. The modern Indian young person probably was taught all about the Western idea of prompt payment and has thoroughly absorbed the lesson. But that young Indian's parents might live on a different time schedule. For example, they might be used to paying their pharmacy bill several months after they picked up the pills.

In China, for example, it is not unusual to be paid a half a year after the deal is done or after delivery. Regular people also pay slowly. In India (and many other countries) workers sometimes get paid several weeks or even months after their work is done. These workers live with it. A Westernized worker might demonstrate or strike or do other nasty things to a boss who pays late. Not many Asians.