Business Class to: Italy

Negotiating with Italians can take a lot of time. Therefore, patience is very important and will eventually pays off.

Italians are relationship-oriented. They usually prefer to establish direct relationships and tend to combine business and personal life, because family is very important to them. 

Italians may call you their friend. Don't be misled into thinking that you have won their trust and can start to negotiate immediately, because the word “friend” has a different meaning in business than in personal life.

They want to get to know you before they start doing business with you.

Italian companies often have a very hierarchical structure, which basically means that you often speak to someone that is not the decision maker. It is difficult to get to speak to the person that actually makes the decisions, therefore you will have to build trust within the company first.

 

Business Meeting tips

An important thing to remember is that in Italy, old people get more respect than younger people. Therefore, it is advisable to send a more senior negotiator to Italy to represent your company instead of a younger person.

 

Dress code:

Italians will also judge you on style and the way you dress. Dress “formally” to make a serious, no-nonsense impression. Italians give importance to visual appearances.  

 

Business meals

Accept your partner’s invitations for lunch or dinner as a way to develop your relationship and to gain trust.

It is common that business meetings end with an invitation to eat out, typically in a carefully selected restaurant, as a way to socialize and establish a closer relationship.

 

Ciao!