3 Ways to Kill a Business Deal in India

IT.com

Ceres

New Member
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:

The Deal-Breaker: Rushing the business transaction
"Relationships here are based on trust. It takes an investment of time to establish a relationship, and it's that way because it's been that way for thousands of years."

During your first visit, Bagla says that while you may be itching to make a deal, one of the first questions you may hear is, 'When will you be coming back?' And while you may be tempted to say, 'Let's make a deal, and I'll be back as soon as you want,' that's not what an Indian entrepreneur wants to hear. He just wants to know when you'll be back. A deal can be worked out later, maybe.

The Deal-Breaker: Not taking into account the religion, region or background of your counterpart
India has 23 languages and half a dozen major religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

"You must customize your approach," Bagla says. "A Punjabi-speaking Sikh machine shop owner in Delhi may behave very differently from a Gujarati-speaking vegetarian Jain in Mumbai.

The Deal-Breaker: Missing the social nuances
Business people in India, as a general rule, don't like to say no. As S. Elizabeth Foster, a partner at the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego, who often does business in India, says, "You may think the business person across the table is conceding your point; he or she may just be exercising politeness while thinking it over or even disagreeing with you."

You can find more tips at:

3 Ways to Kill a Deal in India - Cultural barriers in business - Entrepreneur.com
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 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.
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. :)
 
The Deal-Breaker: Not taking into account the religion, region or background of your counterpart
India has 23 languages and half a dozen major religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

"You must customize your approach," Bagla says. "A Punjabi-speaking Sikh machine shop owner in Delhi may behave very differently from a Gujarati-speaking vegetarian Jain in Mumbai.

Its a sure deal breaking tips....thank for sharing your views...Thumbs Up for you...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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?
 
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.

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.

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?

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.
 
Very enlightening, thanks NewYorkDude! Is there usually a written contract in place when these late payments occur?
 
Written contracts is a Western notion. Traditional business in most of the non-Western world is not done by written contracts, but handshakes. Most of the world does not have many lawyers, so in most of the traditional world does not bring late payments to courts. Business in traditional economies is done on the basis of honor. If you have a bad name for nonpayment no one wants to do new business with you.
 
Yes, I've read that in India they don't like documentation. NewYorkDude, thanks for all this information.
 
Know the personality and attitude of people you are dealing with. Sensitivity of the persons feeling should also be applied because they have different culture.
 
I just came across this video, which offers advice about the do's and don'ts of doing business in India. You can listen to some interesting insights. Here are some examples:

  • India on the outside looks chaotic but once you get through the layers, you'll find internally it's very organized and calm.
  • The Western aggressive approach of doing business (and looking for it to be done fast) is considered disrespectful in India. It's better to have a gentle approach.

  • Take the time to understand and learn about their family. Family life and community is the same in the workforce as well as in the home.
 
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.

I wouldnt speak of china but my family was once considered the cement king of india and from what I know, workers need to be paid daily.. something even in advance. You cannot delay your workers payments because they live off on the money they make everyday. They have no savings and they want no savings. They live in slums and they live their life of whatever money they make... ofcourse its subjective on what you define "a worker" as.

A deal breaker for me would be if a westerner tries to rub his royalness in my face. The reality is asians save money and invest in property. Just with that virtue we are way too rich than you can imagine.. our apparments are worth 200k - 300k $ just to give you an example... if an american tries to rub his money in my face.. I dont even pick up his call the next day no matter how important his business may be.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
once considered the cement king of india and from what I know, workers need to be paid daily.. something even in advance. You cannot delay your workers payments because they live off on the money they make everyday. They have no savings and they want no savings. They live in slums and they live their life of whatever money they make... ofcourse its subjective on what you define "a worker" as.

The "workers" you mention are the type who do unskilled manual labor like picking up headloads of raw material and dumping them onto trucks that will take it to the cement factory. Since you don't know if you are going to see that worker again, you have to pay him on the spot. But workers who do laundry, who deliver things at the home, domestic help etc are not paid daily and neither do all workers live in slums.

The payment models in India are broadly of these types:

(A) Organized sector (usually the Government and Public Limited Companies)
(1) regular employed skilled workers - paid monthly
(2) regular employed unskilled workers - paid monthly or weekly in some industries
(3) skilled or unskilled contract worker - after work finishes, there is a vicious cycle of purchase committees/officers who drill the worker and dissect the bill very thoroughly and most times it takes much more time to get the payment than it took to do the work. For example, if a worker was contracted to do some electrical repair works in a big cement factory, and which he finished in 2 days, his payment may take months to be released (unless he offered a massive discount or perhaps greased some official in cash or kind)

(B) Un-organized sector (private companies, small businesses, homes, even local government)
(1) regular employed skilled workers - paid monthly
(2) regular employed unskilled workers - paid monthly or weekly for some like construction workers, farm labor etc.
(3) skilled or unskilled contract worker - there's lot of haggling involved here - but usually payment is done at the finish of the work which may be a day, week or even a month.

Depending on personal relations that the contract workers maintain with employers, they might be able to get occasional milestone payments and rarely even some advance.
 
The "workers" you mention are the type who do unskilled manual labor like picking up headloads of raw material and dumping them onto trucks that will take it to the cement factory. Since you don't know if you are going to see that worker again, you have to pay him on the spot. But workers who do laundry, who deliver things at the home, domestic help etc are not paid daily and neither do all workers live in slums.

Thats where I said
ofcourse its subjective on what you define "a worker" as.

(2) regular employed unskilled workers
These prefer daily payments, sometimes even advance.

Anyway, lets stick to the topic of business deals ;) ..
 

whois



Forums dedicated to Indian domain names, including buying, selling, appraising, developing, and monetizing.

About Us

Threads
29,388
Messages
76,792
Members
7,945
Latest member
nilamburfurniture
Top Bottom