Nine misunderstandings of developing the Brazilian market

The international trade environment is not what it used to be. "Made in China" urgently needs to be transformed. How can foreign trade companies create their own development strategies? Global Sources, together with its "CEConline", continues to create a series of "Outsmart the Future" export forums, providing an excellent exchange and learning platform for foreign trade enterprises. A buyer from Brazil, Mr. Lincoln Fracari, Marketing Director of China Link trading, shared with suppliers the mistakes to avoid when developing the Brazilian market on the forum in Guangzhou.

Mr. Lincoln Fracari has six years of purchasing experience, and China Link trading is a trading company serving China and Brazil, mainly helping Brazilian companies to purchase and conduct business in China, including plastics, computers, clothing and accessories , engineering materials, home decoration, machinery and other customized products. The business scope includes import and export trade, procurement management, LCL, quality control and so on.

Lincoln Fracari: Hello everyone! My name is Lincoln, and I have been in China for more than five years. This speech will share some of my past experiences with you. For example, I have a lot of experience in dealing with suppliers and chatting with them in factories. , what should be done and what should not be done. In this speech, I will share with you the eight misunderstandings of dealing with Brazilian buyers. Whether you are a boss, a marketing manager, a sales manager, or a salesperson, you should try to avoid these eight misunderstandings when dealing with customers.

The first misunderstanding is related to geography. Brazil is in South America, not in Africa. Brazil is also a very large country, ranking fifth in the world in terms of area. Brazil has a population of 200 million people. The average density is lower, which is the approximate case. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese, which is the seventh largest language in the world. The official currency of Brazil is Pakistani currency, 1 real = 2.65 yuan. The current president is Dilma Rousseff. The year of the presidential election. If you have a Brazilian client, you can also ask him if he will vote for the female president again this year, so there is a conversation.

I give an example of the population of Brazil. If I go to a factory with a black friend or customer, the factory will ask me which country I am from. I say I am from Brazil, and then he will ask me if I am black. My friend, he said that he is also Brazil, and the people in the factory said that you are from the same country because your skin color is different. In fact, Brazil is a country with a diverse population, 47% white, 43% brown, more than 7% black, and a small number of Asians and Indians. You want to gather as much information as you can about the country, which will give you an edge in the way you do business.

The second misunderstanding, some people will use GOOGLE's translation function and Baidu's translation function to translate entire files or directories, but I tell you not to do this. Less than 1% of people in Brazil master English, and the number is very small, so it is recommended that you take some time to learn Portuguese. If you learn the basics such as "hello" and "good morning", customers will be very happy.

The third misunderstanding is that you don't know much about Brazil's social etiquette. This is not limited to Brazil as a country. It is also very important for you to understand the local social etiquette when dealing with people from a country. Brazilian men also shake hands when they meet each other. For example, in China I go to many factories or people from factories come to my office. When I shake hands with them, I find that many Chinese men do not know how to shake hands. When you want to shake hands, you need to Remember to have strong hands. The etiquette of shaking hands has a long history and has existed since ancient times. The most suitable way for us to shake hands is that our hands are strong. Of course, we can't use force to hurt the other party, but our hands should be strong. If it is a young boy, he may not care whether you know how to shake hands or not, but if you are more experienced in your 40s or 50s, he will care whether your handshake is appropriate. If there is a Brazilian client you have chatted with him for a long time on MSN, he finally He came to China to meet you, he might give you a hug, don't look scared or step back, you should accept it generously. Women or men and women if they are familiar friends, they may kiss on the cheek when they meet, but this custom should not be imitated casually, that is, don't easily kiss a Brazilian woman who is not very familiar with or kiss a Brazilian man , if you kiss a Brazilian man, he might think you're looking for something.

This may sound like a very basic opinion, you'd better wear your cleanest clothes when you go to a client, dress appropriately, eat some chewing gum to freshen your breath, and don't be in front of others if you smell strong perfume Cover your nose with your hands, which is not good. For example, when I am in the elevator, sometimes when I walk into the elevator, I see some people covering their noses with their hands, and even some suppliers do this. Keep your nose, personal hygiene, and dress appropriately, which will leave a good impression on people. Others will think that you can take good care of yourself, and you will also take care of our shipment or our business relationship.

About ten years ago, a Brazilian friend came to China, and the factory invited him to eat noodles. Many Asians make some noises when they eat noodles, and I do this myself now. But when this Brazilian friend was eating noodles with this supplier, the supplier ate it loudly, but the Brazilian friend ate very quietly. The Chinese supplier thought it was very strange and asked if you don't like noodles. Do you want to change it? Steak for you? Brazilian friends said, no, they like noodles very much. Chinese people ask why you don't make any noise when you eat noodles? A lot of westerners like to be quiet when eating, whether it's noodles or other different foods, he doesn't like talking with a lot of stuff in his mouth or making a lot of noise when eating.

Try to avoid asking the following questions when you meet a client for the first time. It may be common to ask these questions in China, but try to avoid, such as how much salary, how much money, or asking a woman's age, a woman is not necessary To answer this question, if the lady really answered that she may be 30 or 32 years old, some people may ask if she is married when she is 30 or 32 years old. Once my girlfriend was around me and someone asked me how many girlfriends you have, which is not good. I'm a little fat, someone told me that you are fat, why do you eat so much, can't you eat less? It's best not to ask questions like this. What kind of questions can be asked? Whether it's chatting online or visiting in person, you can ask how the customer started his business, or whether his city is a big or small city, and how we can strengthen cooperation. can ask.

The fourth misunderstanding, when the person you are talking to is a company owner, to a company owner, the company is like his own child. Watching the child grow up, you ask him what the company is. How to grow and how to start, he will be happy to explain to you how his company has grown bigger and stronger, and this dialogue can also enhance your understanding and relationship. There are many impressions about how Brazilians view China. Some people think that Chinese products are not very good, but this impression is not completely correct. There are good products and bad products from your country. What I want to emphasize is the last point. Many Chinese manufacturers often say "no problem" when they answer questions from foreign investors. I go to visit the factory to provide them with samples, or participate in the Canton Fair or the exhibition organized by Global Sources, and I have contact with some manufacturers. At times, they would often say "no problem", I asked if I could make it bigger or lighter, and they all said there was no problem.

At that time, he said that there was no problem, but when the order was confirmed, it was different. In the past, everything was possible, and the price was the same no matter how you did it. If you look into it later, he may say that he can't do it, or he didn't know your position very well at the time. Requirements, or my English is not very good, or that the market has changed, this approach is quite bad, you need to take a moment to understand what this customer really needs, and prove to this customer that you can really If you do, you can keep this promise, instead of promising everything and saying that there is no problem all day long. A very important point is that you must be able to keep your promises, and the product quality must pass the test. If the product quality is not good enough, the shipping fee will be expensive and troublesome, and you will lose some customers. If the quality is good, the customer will place an order for you. If he does not place an order for you, the cost of the process of developing new customers will be higher, so try to keep old customers, ensure quality, and abide by commitments.

The fifth misunderstanding, many people will pay attention to the import tax of the product and the price of the product if it is sold in Brazil. What this slide shows is that the cost of various fees in Brazil is quite high. What's going on behind the tax, let me explain to you. Even if you have CE or FCC certification, you still need various local certifications to enter the Brazilian market, such as electronic product certification, as well as medical, communication, security certification and environmental protection certification. One disadvantage is that you must go to Brazil to do this. You must have a local office and local certification to go to Brazil. If there is no local certification, it is difficult to import to Brazil.

This is Brazil's tax system. First of all, there is import tax. Import tax is mainly collected according to different customs codes, which may be 0-60%. The second is industrial product tax, which is also different according to customs code , the tax rate is from 0% to 35%. Social contribution tax is a fixed rate. The rate of VAT charged varies from state to state. However, Brazil's tax system has a characteristic. It is a snowball system that keeps getting bigger and bigger. After the import tax, the industrial product tax is collected on the basis of the cost price of the product plus the import tax. The tax that has been collected is taxed again, and the snowball is getting bigger and bigger.

Let's take an example, take DVD products as an example, the order is 400 pieces, each unit price is 20 US dollars, the shipping fee is 2,000 US dollars, the US dollar to Pakistan currency is 1:2.3, the customs code is like this (see picture), 400 pieces, 200 pieces each, import tax 20%, industrial product tax 30%, social contribution tax 9.25%, Sao Paulo correction value-added tax is 18%, let's see what the figure is? We see that CIF is 10,000 US dollars equivalent to 23,000 Baht, and the import tax is 4,600 Baht. The industrial product tax is the new industrial product tax by multiplying the sum of 23,000 bucks and 4,600 bucks by 30%. Then comes the social contribution tax. Its base is 23000+4600+8600 industrial tax. The sum of the three numbers is multiplied by 9.25, and finally the unit price of each product is US$54.47.

In addition, there is another tax in Brazil. This tax is a tax to protect the local industry. For example, if products such as garlic and ceramics come from China, no matter what the price is, no matter how much each kilogram A tax of $4 is levied. This practice is mainly to protect some local industrial industries in Brazil, so you may ask whether it will cause some products in Brazil not to be bought from China. Of course, there will be such a phenomenon, but some products There are not many types in Brazil. Even if there is such a tax, some products will be bought from China. This tax has a balancing effect. There are many ways to help you reduce your tax burden. At this time, we can provide you with good help. If you are interested, you can contact us.

The sixth misunderstanding is that some things can be said and some things cannot be said when chatting with Brazilian customers. For example, when I tell you that Tibet needs to be independent, you will definitely not like it. This topic is definitely not popular. Let me give you an opinion, what can you talk about when you chat with Brazilian customers, if the Brazilian customer is a man, you can talk to him about Brazilian football, ask him which local team he likes, which team he supports, Or watching a football game with him, or drinking and watching a football game with him at a bar, can all enhance the relationship. We had a carnival in Brazil two weeks ago, and we will have a two-week holiday for the carnival. Many companies or factories feel that Brazil's efficiency is very low, especially during the holiday. In Brazil, employees have 30 days of paid annual leave, plus various national holidays, a total of 45 days of paid leave, this holiday may affect the decision-making process, especially near the festival, during the festival or a few days after the festival This process will be very slow. Maybe the customer has done some inquiries with you before and hasn’t contacted you for a long time. Don’t be surprised if he contacts you again after a period of time, because the operation is affected by the holiday. Brazil is a Catholic country, Christmas is a very important festival for us, just like the Chinese New Year, not only in Brazil, if some other countries celebrate Christmas, you can give this customer, Send an email to a friend to wish him a Merry Christmas. Don't copy some cards online. You can write a congratulatory letter yourself or give him a Christmas gift, or you know the customer's birthday. You can also Put his birthday on the calendar specifically, call or text him on his birthday, and he'll be glad you remembered his birthday.

The seventh misunderstanding, many larger companies do not have the practice of expatriation. For example, some Chinese employees go to Brazil for a few months or a few weeks, and they seem to have moved the whole set of China to Brazil. For example, Chinese food, Chinese customs, and Chinese friends, they stay in the small circle of Chinese people, and they don’t integrate with the local people or deal with the local people. I don’t think this is particularly good. Since you go When you arrive in this country, try to integrate into this country as much as possible, which will give you a certain advantage in business. I have a lot of friends like this, he was in China for a few years, he didn't like it here, he had no friends in China. The same is true. When you go to Brazil, you should spend some time to understand the country of Brazil and deal with the local people, so as to develop your business in Brazil.

The eighth misunderstanding is that you have to do everything yourself. This is a characteristic of many Chinese bosses, that is, they have to do everything and all decisions by themselves, and they have to know everything, but this method is used in Brazil. We don't think it's very good. We should learn to build partnerships and open up a wider space through cooperation with others.

Some friends bought a lot of raw materials from Asia. He wanted to bring some of his products to Asia. One of the products he made was to make your complexion more bronzed. He felt that there were so many Chinese people that he could sell this product to The Chinese can make a lot of money. Try to understand your products as much as possible, and learn more from your customers. Of course, you can do market research, but if you already have customers, you can ask them "why do you like certain products, why do you like them from I buy products here, what products do you want me to provide you?" Through this kind of inquiry, you can learn more and do better.

There used to be two loggers' competitions, in different places for three hours to see who can cut the most, and the one with the most slashes wins. Two people cut separately, one person can’t hear the sound of the person next to him after cutting for an hour, he thinks that person is resting, so he continues to cut, he thinks he has won, because there is no rest, he feels that he has cut a lot. . In the end, the other person won, and he thought it was very strange why I kept slashing you without a break but won, and the person next to him told him, I didn't rest, I was sharpening my knife. So this story tells us that we need to sharpen our knives, learn different knowledge, participate in various forums, increase knowledge, keep improving, and keep making progress. Only in this way can we win. That's why it's called "Sharpening a knife without making a mistake in chopping wood".

The ninth misunderstanding is to follow the trend. Do what others do. This is a bad practice. You should be able to surprise customers, launch new products, sharpen your knives, and provide customers with better updates s Choice.