Spain - Selling Factors and Techniques Spain - Selling Factors
Relationships are still very important in selling in Spain, sometimes as important as price or quality, especially in large account sales.
The decision-making process within a Spanish company is different from that in the United States:
- In Spain, top executives often make decisions that would typically be made at lower levels elsewhere.
- These executives take action after review by different departments, making the sales process longer.
- An initial "yes" can mean that the company will study the situation, but not necessarily that it will buy the product.
Additionally, once the Spanish potential partner of a U.S. firm has agreed to start a commercial relationship, the Spanish company normally expects the U.S. firm to translate all commercial brochures, technical specifications and other relevant marketing materials into Spanish. Decision makers at the Spanish firm may do business in English with the U.S. firm, but the communication from the U.S. firm to its clients should come in Spanish, if possible, due to an overall lack of proficiency in English.
Department stores, hypermarkets, shopping centers and very specialized outlets are introducing the customer fidelity concept, including client cards, cumulative discounts and special offers for frequent customers. E-commerce is having an effect on some traditional segments of the direct marketing sector, such as mail order. Selling techniques, taking into consideration local tastes, are very similar to those in the rest of the Western world.