In Brazil, relationships are the channel through which negotiation happens. Before you can negotiate effectively, you need relationship—even if only basic professional rapport. Brazilians want to know who they’re dealing with. Time spent on relationship building before getting to business isn’t wasted; it’s essential groundwork.
Personal connections provide information, access, and trust that formal processes alone cannot. This doesn’t mean you need to become close friends with everyone, but treating counterparts as people—with appropriate warmth and genuine interest—creates better conditions than purely transactional approaches. The question “Who do you know?” isn’t cynical; it reflects how things actually work in a culture where personal networks accomplish what formal channels often cannot.
Comments