Five tips for a successful business trip to India
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Whether you are traveling to India to explore the possibilities for outsourcing your production or IT, or to gain insight into the opportunities for your products on the Indian market, good preparation for your business trip to India is key. Understanding the country and the culture will make it easier for you to achieve success in India. We share five tips to ensure that your business trip to India is a success.
1. Take your time
A business trip to India is tiring. The climate, the crowds, the food, the conversations, everything takes more energy than at home. It is therefore advisable to take your time for your visit to India.
“If you have an important meeting on Monday, fly the Friday before,” says Maarten van der Schaaf, one of the founders of IndiaConnected. “This way you can acclimatize and you will appear fresh and sharp at your appointment.”
2. Don’t explore India alone
India is a chaotic, complex and opaque country full of contradictions. It is therefore not advisable to travel to India alone during your first business exploration. In order to ask the right questions and to value your observations and insights, it is useful to travel with others – preferably with people who have experience in India.
“Together you know, see and hear more than alone”, says Van der Schaaf. “As a result, you succeed in understanding new markets more quickly. This certainly applies to India. You discover the system in the chaos more quickly.”
3. Be open-minded
Many European companies travel to India with a fixed plan, but it is wise not to blindly focus on these plans. For example, IndiaConnected supported an export manager of a high-quality production company with his trip to India. His goal was to get exports to India going. During his search for buyers, he discovered that the company would be better off setting up a factory in India.
“High-quality production in an Indian factory initially seemed impossible to them, but they found tightly organised and highly advanced production companies in India with modern facilities that meet all European standards. At the same time, they discovered that exporting would not be so advantageous for them because of the high import tariffs,” Van der Schaaf explains. “The company therefore changed course and chose to set up a factory in India.”
4. Don’t rush into things
If you see India as a future business destination, it can’t hurt to make initial contacts in the country well in advance. Before you reach a deal, you need to build a relationship of trust with potential business partners. In some cases, this can take quite a while – there is no such thing as a short cut.
“Travel to India to get a feel for the country and the people,” Van der Schaaf advises. “In India, everything revolves around personal contact; a good connection with Indians is crucial. So don’t rush into things with a potential Indian partner. Failure is just around the corner.”
5. Don’t try to change India
If you view India as a purely business matter, you are in for a frustrating time. See India as an adventure: immerse yourself in the culture, taste the food, listen to the music, get on a crowded train. For many Europeans, India is a crazy country: let it surprise you and enjoy it, but don’t try to change India. That’s the biggest mistake many Europeans make in India.
