Ramadan and Rolex - selling services in Arab countries

In order to be successful in after-sales in the Arab world and build long-term business relationships, you should familiarize yourself with the cultural customs of your future customers. Otherwise, misunderstandings can quickly arise. - A guest article by Dr. Kundri Böhmer-Bauer

When it comes to the Arab world, we are talking about an area from the Arabian Peninsula to the Maghreb states in North Africa. There are rich countries, such as the UAE or Saudi Arabia, and poorer countries, such as Morocco or Tunisia. The Arab countries have very different forms of government, from monarchies to military regimes and democracies.

Relationship, status and hierarchy

The majority of the Arab population is very relationship-oriented. They want to work with people they know and trust. The easiest way not only to gain trust, but also to get an introduction in the first place, is to be introduced by an intermediary.

After that, further meetings are usually necessary in order to get to know each other and build a stable and preferably long-term relationship. As a rule, Arabs attach importance to negotiating on an equal footing. For sales, this means: from decision-maker to decision-maker. Arab cultures are very formal and social status is determined by family position, age and gender. The use of official titles when addressing people is a must! 

Branded clothing and valuable accessories such as watches, writing utensils or the latest technology in personal equipment should be a matter of course for service managers. In the Arab world, great value is placed on status symbols and this is how you are judged.

Also for status reasons, there are often more people present at meetings than the service manager expected. Additional companions convey prestige, competence and strength. It would be advantageous to have several employees or companions present, at least for the first few meetings.

Multitasking in a meeting

If negotiating partners make phone calls during the meeting or briefly go to another office to discuss something, this is no cause for concern. It is common to do several things at the same time or to be permanently available as the owner or manager. Arabs in high positions are often called, either because something needs to be decided or because a family member wants something. Experienced German managers have their assistant or a colleague ring through at regular intervals, even though there is nothing to discuss, in order to emphasize their own importance to the Arab interlocutor.

Physical contact and voice pitch

In the Arab world, men are physically closer to each other than in Germany and also touch each other more often. When greeting each other, men often hold each other's arms as well as shaking hands. When men, for example in the Gulf States, Egypt or Algeria, hold hands on the street or in the company, it has nothing to do with homosexuality, but expresses friendship and solidarity.

The fact that many Arabs speak more emotionally and tend to speak louder than many Germans can be misunderstood as aggressive. Especially if you don't understand the language and don't know what they are talking about. So just stay calm and wait and see. In negotiations, however, this emotionality can also be used in a very targeted way, see below.

Be careful with criticism and contradiction

Criticism or even just open feedback is seen by many Arabs as a personal insult, as person and thing are not separated. In order to save face and that of the other person, people tend to speak indirectly. As Germans are used to communicating quite directly, messages between the lines are often not understood or mistakenly interpreted as obfuscation or "beating around the bush".

A yes from an Arab businessman is not necessarily a yes. It's often just a maybe, whereas a maybe is almost always a no. Because a clear no would be far too harsh and would destroy the relationship. This means that a question has to be asked several times in different words to be sure that a commitment is really meant seriously. Only a threefold yes is fairly reliable. Here, of course, it depends on how much experience the desired business partner already has with Europeans and what is at stake. In an intercultural context, culture, the individual and the situation must always be considered equally.

Entry topics

Suitable topics for small talk are travel, technology, company history and mutual acquaintances, if any. Politics is unsuitable. Talking about it openly can quickly become dangerous in some countries. It goes down very well to ask about the family, but it does not go down well at all to ask about individual female family members and certainly not about the wife! This is a transgression of boundaries and violates the honor of both the male interlocutor and the woman being asked about. Honor is seen as the collective property of the family.

Prayer times and Ramadan - religion in a business context

The Islamic religion is deeply rooted in the Arab world and influences all areas of life. The five loud calls to the prescribed prayers from the minarets of the mosques quickly make this clear to foreigners. Arab conversation partners can therefore withdraw for about 20 minutes in the middle of a conversation to pray. The waiting time can be used to check emails or to think of new arguments for the sale.

Anyone who does not belong to a religion or has left the church should avoid talking about it at all costs. If the conversation turns to this, it is sufficient to answer that you grew up in a Christian country. This is not a lie and a Muslim conversation partner will hear what they want to hear. Many Arabs do not want to do business with someone who does not believe in God. In addition, some of my seminar participants who had outed themselves as atheists to their Muslim partners (before they came to my seminar!) faced persistent attempts to convert them.

Friday is not a good day for business visits and video conferencing due to the common Friday prayer. It is compulsory for devout male Muslims and optional for women. However, Friday is not a public holiday, only in Saudi Arabia do stores remain closed for half a day (stores there are also closed every day during prayer times).

Who in the fasting month of Ramadan Service contracts should be prepared for the fact that his counterpart may be irritable, as nothing is eaten from sunrise to sunset. Strictly observant Muslims also do not drink, which means that the German service manager should not drink in front of his business partner (and is not allowed to in Saudi Arabia either). Ramadan normally lasts 30 days and is calculated according to the lunar year, so it shifts forward by 10 to 11 days each year. Sending Internet cards with the inscription "Ramadan mubarak" (Happy Ramadan) to Arab business partners at the beginning of Ramadan goes down well.

See you tomorrow ... in sha'a Allah - Time perceptions

Germans are expected to be punctual, even if the Arab conversation partner may arrive hours later or not show up at all. You want to meet, in sha'a Allah (God willing), but only God knows what will happen. Time, like the fate of people, is in Allah's hands anyway. For this reason, appointments must be reconfirmed several times, long-term planned appointments are not binding! The service manager should bring time to the meetings, because the mood is more important than a timetable and so meetings can drag on.

Stay flexible during negotiations

When it comes to negotiating after getting to know each other, you should remain flexible. Arabs like to haggle, and the first price quoted is usually only a prelude to the subsequent discussion. In cases of global price transparency or a highly specialized offer, however, there is hardly any bargaining even in Arab countries. When it comes to price comparisons, it is important to include additional services such as Training courses or follow-up contracts in the pricing and to communicate this clearly.

Emotional outbursts ranging from cordiality to indignation are common in price negotiations and are part of the process. Simply remain friendly or, as a last resort, leave the room and re-enter later. This is practiced on the Arab side just as much as silence and long silences. Even in tough price negotiations, you should remain cooperative so that nobody loses face. If negotiations get stuck, there is the option of involving a mediator again or switching to the relationship level and continuing negotiations on another day.

Negotiations are often lengthy and can be interrupted for months. However, when it comes to long-term cooperation, the wait usually pays off. If negotiations fail despite your best efforts, you should make it clear that you want to stay in contact. In this way, you may be able to initiate new talks at a later date.

Arguments for German companies

When negotiating with an entrepreneur, the company's interests are congruent with the personal interests of the owner. Points can be scored with brand names, service quality, market leadership, reliability, punctuality, references, innovation, customized solutions and the prestige and image of the German company or its service technicians. References to the company's tradition or the fact that it is a family business also score points.

In the case of state-owned companies and authorities, possible political motives of the person must also be considered as decision criteria. It is often a matter of gaining prestige and status or personal interests, e.g. to adorn oneself with certain results or to be associated with certain developments or projects.  

Business deal - word of honor and handshake

Business deals and contracts between Arabs are often based on verbal promises and handshakes. The word has great value. If the new business partner perceives a written contract as mistrust on the part of the service manager, it is usually sufficient to refer to the company's internal regulations.

According to Arab understanding, contracts are not set in stone, but rather an agreement of intent. Key data is defined in order to be able to make flexible improvements over time. Parts of the contract should therefore be "flexible". Both compliance with the contract and prompt payment depend heavily on the relationship of trust and the human relationship. As a payment method, it is advisable to secure yourself with an advance payment or deposit, despite the best relationships.

However, state-owned companies place more value on written documentation than private entrepreneurs. It is more difficult to build personal relationships here because contact persons can change. Contractual details are therefore more important, bureaucracy takes up more space, decision-making processes are longer and go through several instances. In the public sector, the negotiating partners are also not always the decision-makers.

And one final tip:

An intercultural calendar on your desk is very useful. There are various versions available to download from the Internet. They show at a glance when Muslim holidays and festivals of other religions are, and you can see at a glance when Ramadan begins and ends, for example. E.G. https://www.berlin.de/lb/intmig/service/interkultureller-kalender/

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