Business Guide | Israel-India 2022

L ead from the top - India is a big and challenging market that needsmanagement focus and theultimate decision-makers, whether owners or leaders, need to demonstrate commitment tomake it work. Companies that wish to enter the Indianmarketmust invest the time to develop their strategywith care, understand the customers and assess the competition.  Never underestimate the intensity of the Indian market and the ability of Indian companies to react, copy and undercut on price. Partnerships and Management - Once the strategy is clear, think through the organization required and, critically, the optimal type of local management - Israeli or local. A local partner may not be the best option. Building a relationship between partners brings many challenges and difficulties - questions like which partner to choose, and how to structure the collaboration using the strengths of each party. Today, India has initiated policies to attract foreign investment in diverse sectors, so a company can choose full ownership without a local partner and there are fantastic professional Indian managers who can be recruited directly. Target Market - India is a big ocean, and you must understand the customers, segment, and target themarket precisely. Competing with local businesses with greater scale is usually not the right thing to do. You need to find your own target market and know your strengths. Be a Mumbaikar - Indians respect foreigners but, at the same time, foreigners need to play according to the Indian game and codes –without compromising values. Foreigners need to be humble enough to understand themarket, build relationships and establish trust. “When inMumbai, do as the Mumbaikars do” – take the time to ask about family, chat about cricket and drink a lot of milky chai. Walk the bazaars, talkwith consumers, and understand distributors. Language - India has 22 official languages, a total of 121 languages andmore than 270 mother tongues. Hindi and English are the first and second languages in India, which is one of the advantages of doing business in India as a foreigner. With that, there is one language that is most spoken, and best understood: body language. Meeting face to face, being open, patient, and respectful, will be a clear and positive message, without saying a word. Negotiations - Negotiations in India are hugely fluid and challenging, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and the process can take time and issues that have been agreed can be reopened​. With trust in the process and in people, and some brinksmanship, deals will be closed successfully. Don’t be in a hurry – time is seen differently in India and is often used against foreigners. People to People - India is one of the largest and fastest- growing economies in the world. There are enormous opportunities. Success comes with thought, persistence, and hard work. But, ultimately, business isn’t between companies, BTB, it is between people, PTP. Seven Mantras for Success in India Yoel Kadish is an Israeli entrepreneur who lived in India for over 20 years. Founder of SHEPHA, a tailor-made InternationalBusinessConsultingfirmspecializinginIndia. www.shepha.com. Important tips for the success of the joint work between Israelis and Indians | Yoel Kadish Israel-India > Business Guide > 2022 48 > Business Services > Business success