Turkey: Business is a Personal Affair

September 29th, 2008 Alina Posted in Business Etiquette, Culture |

To round up our series of articles on Turkey, we are no exploring business etiquette after having provided some insight into marketing challenges and interesting sectors to do business in. Thinking of business as a personal matter will help you to better understand Turks, their strategies and their customs.

While very similar to European and North American business practices, Turkish etiquette comes with its very own Asian and Islamic flavors, making the whole business experience an interesting yet sometimes challenging process.

Istanbul University

Building Relationships

The first thing you should forget about when coming to Turkey is extensive personal spaces. From the table settings in restaurants to the closeness people practice when talking, everything is a bit more intimate than foreigners are used to. You should try to adapt and see it more as friendliness and openness than prying into the other conversation.

Family is the concept that the Turkish society is built on. Therefore business men and women are dedicated to the well being of their close and even more distant families, there are quite a few business owned businesses and when there’s not a real family connections, heads of the company are seen as mother or father figures and are expected to be concerned about their employees’ well being.

As a direct result, business deals are closed based on family, connections, trust and friendship. Turks tend to close deals with people they know, are friends with or who have been recommended by friends. So when in Turkey, either get a strong business partner to help you build relationships, or, with every company you intend to do business with, spend plenty of time building relationships with a few of its representatives.

Also remember to schedule meetings one or two weeks in advance and to always be on time. If you’re running late, try to call and say you’ll be running late. Being on time is expected for both business meeting and social events, being fashionable late won’t really work.

This means that the first meeting is always about getting to know each other. Exchange business cards and if at all possible make sure one side of your is in Turkish, learn a few words in Turkish, such as: Merhaba – Hello, Gunaydin – Good morning, Nasilsiniz – How are you?, Gule Gule – Good bye, Iyi gunler – which is used to both greet someone when meeting them and to wish them a nice day when the meeting is over.

Ayasofya Mosque

Ask as many questions you like about the Turkish culture or history, they will be happy and proud to answer them, but try to avoid politics. Also try football (soccer) as everyone is crazy about it. If players from your country were ever part of a Turkish team, they will know, even if it was not the team they support. Asking about one’s children and sometimes even more intimate details as age or salary are ok to talk about.

Business Hierarchy and the Elderly

The elderly, the family heads and business heads are well respected in Turkey. This of course influences relationships and behaviors. When meeting a larger group, you should try handshaking with the older ones first and then the youngest. Handshaking might occur again when the meeting is over and if you see men cheek kissing, that should not surprise you. Women also shake hands with men, but if you’re not sure if they do or not, wait for them to extend their hand to avoid any faux-pas.

The western business wear is widely accepted, but some still recommend women should try a more conservative look. I’d say it depends on region, company and personal beliefs of both employers and employees. There are more and more women with BA degrees obtained both in Turkey and abroad, they work and often live alone.

Moving to respect to how to address your Turkish business partners, you’ll be surprised to find out they are not very formal they use the Mr and Mrs titles, Bey and Hanim with first names, something like Mehmet Bey. Yet using their titles, such as doctor or lawyer or professor is highly recommended.

Never pressure them to go straight to business, remember to build a relationship first! And when you actually get to negotiate, patience is really a virtue. Don’t try deadline and pressure tricks, Turks are highly sophisticated businessmen and will turn your own tricks against you. Instead, try to focus on a mutually beneficial deal, give in and compromise, but when you do, stress the fact you’re only acting so because of how much you like and appreciate them as business partners.

Muslim Heritage and Gift Giving

Gifts are not something extremely common in the business environments. But branded gifts when having an office meeting or sweets or alcohol when going to dinner to someone’s house will be vividly appreciated. But keep in mind: Turkey is still a Muslim country. Although most drink alcohol, especially the traditional Raki (very similar to the Greek Uzo), it’s better to make sure your host does drink before arriving with a bottle of alcohol. If you’re host doesn’t drink, take the chance to enjoy the Turkish tea (cay) and coffee (kahve).

It would also be wise to try and schedule meeting about the 5 praying times of the day and avoid traveling to Turkey in the month of Ramadan or on other national holidays. But if you’re there, don’t worry, all restaurants, shops and quite a few tourist attractions are still open, take the time to enjoy!

Topkapi Palace

Important Body Language Tips

Shaking our head to say “No” has a different meaning in Turkey: it shows you don’t understand what’s being explained to you. The actual “no” is a slight upward nod of the head while making a quick, sucking sound through your two front teeth (”tsk”), while “yes” is a slight downward nod of the head. Putting your thumb between your first two fingers is the equivalent to raising your middle finger in the United States, so try to avoid it. Also avoid the OK sign, as it means you’re saying someone is a homosexual and will offend those around you.

Personal Tip

Do not expect all Turks to speak English. Yes, most businessmen and women speak English perfectly, especially if they’re located in Istanbul, but be prepared to run into secretaries or executives who cannot speak this language. For such cases, German might be a good option, as there are a lot of German businesses in Turkey and a lot of Turks living in Germany or going to study there.

To find out more about the Turkish business etiquette, the online resources are unlimited. Here are a few free resources you can use to get ready to be successful in Turkey.

Do you have some experiences of your own that you’d like to share? Is there a particular tip you’ve read before visiting Turkey and found it extremely useful? Are some of the common beliefs about Turkey outdated and need to be changed? Please leave us a comment and let’s talk!

Help Us Pick the Next Country!

We’d like to keep writing on our Business etiquette series. After Japan and Turkey, what country would you like more details on? Just use the comment box to tell us what country you’re curious about. We’ll do the research and write an article about it!