Finland is a European country located in between Sweden and Russia and north of the Baltic Sea. Not very much is known about the early history of the country except the earliest humans arrived around 7,000 BC after the end of the final Ice age. Early Finns were hunter-gatherers and around 2500BC they started to live by farming. The first recorded history of Finland began in the 12th century. In 1120, Christian missionaries were arriving in Finland, and the first crusade in Finland was led by Swedish King Eric in 1157. This started a war in Finland between the Swedes and the Novgorodians (a former country that is now a part of Russia), who also wanted control of Finland and to convert the Finnish people. Eventually in 1323 Finland became a part of Sweden until 1809 when the Russians invaded Finland and the Finns agreed to be ruled by the Russian Tsar Alexander as a Grand Duchy of Russia instead of a part of Russia. Finland has been a pioneer of equal rights granting all the right to vote in 1907, being the first European country and the third country in the world to allow women to vote and also became the first country with women serving on their national parliament. On December 7th, 1917; Finland was declared a completely independent Republic. 1n 1918, Finland had a civil war between the Reds (the communists) and the Whites (liberals and other groups against the Reds) where the Whites eventually defeated the Reds after about 3 months of fighting. Finland joined the EU in 1995 after the fall of the Soviet Unions and were the only Nordic country to join the euro System at the start in January 1999. Today Finland is a representative democracy with a prosperous and up and coming economy.
As of December 31st, 2017; the total population of Finland was 5,513,000 with 16.2% of the population being under 14, 62.5% being between 15 and 64, and 21.4% being over 65 years old. The biggest region in Finland is the Uusimaa region with a population of 1,655,624 in 2017. The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish with 87.9% and 5.2% respectively speaking those. Though much of the population also understands English. For the most part, English is more understood then Swedish beyond the communities that speak solely Swedish. The median age in Finland is 42.5, with the median age of women being significantly higher at 44.3 compared to the median age of men of 40.9. As of 2017, the life expectancy for Finnish women is 84.2 and for Finnish males is 78.7. Immigration into Finland comes mostly from Estonia, Russia, and Iraq with there being 51,539; 29,183, and 11,729 from each country respectively in 2017. The two biggest ethnic groups in Finland are native Finns, making up 93.4% of the country, and Swedes making up 5.6% of the country. There is no national religion in Finland but close to 73% of the population being Christian with 70.9% of the country being followers of the Lutheran Church. The next biggest religious set is those who practice atheism at 26.3% of the population.
The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish, however more people speak English than Swedish in Finland. When doing business in Finland, not many will expect a foreigner to know Finnish, as Finnish is a difficult language to learn because of the different forms of words depending on what their role is in specific sentence. One of the easiest ways to break the ice at a business meeting in Finland may be to show your effort and respect for the Finnish culture is by using basic Finnish words. Some examples are “Hei,” “Moi,” “Terve,” or “Hyvää päivää” which all mean ‘hello’; “Mikä sinun nimesi on?”, which translates to ‘What is your name?’, and “Kiitos” which in English means ‘Thank you’.
For Americans wanting to do business in Finland, there is no need to obtain a Visa. Finland is a part of the Schengan Agreement. The Schengan Agreement is a treaty signed on June 14th, 1985 allowing citizens of certain countries such as the United States to enter Finland and other EU countries without a visa for up to 90 days. Americans entering Finland for business or personal trips do need to have at least six months of validity left on their passport after their return date and need at least 10,000 euros both to enter and exit the country. Finland’s culture is very open and welcoming to products from the United States and business investments due to the fact that the Finnish domestic market is small and often doesn’t live up to the Finn’s expectations of quality. American companies have taken advantage of this as Finland is the 3rd biggest export market in the United States.
Work weeks in Finland aren’t very different for the average in the EU. The average Finnish working week is Monday- Friday, from 8am to 5pm with a anywhere from a one to two hour break during the day for lunch. Unlike in the United States and some other European countries, it is common for Finns to continue their business during the lunch hours. Working overtime in Finland is common and not as unheard of as it is in other European countries. For each month working, Finns earn two days of annual leave. Most Finns take leave during what is called “The mid-summer holidays”. It is considered rude to try to plan any business meetings from mid-June until mid-August. Official holidays include Boxing Day, Christmas Eve and Day, All Saints day and many others as well as every Sunday. Business meetings should not be held on any of these days.
When it comes to business meetings with Finns, they rarely happen inside of an office setting. Business meetings often happen in restaurants and/or at the sauna; the sauna is a huge part of Finn culture and it is considered extremely rude to deny an invitation to one and would be a horrible start to business. Business cards are often distributed as a way to make sure they are remembered, quite similarly to the reasoning behind why they are distributed in the United States. Business cards are exchanged just like they are in the United States without any special ritual. When meeting with someone, it is important to shake hands with everyone in the room, including children. Hugging and kissing are frowned upon and would be considered rude, considering the Finn place high value in their privacy and space. When talking to someone, it is considered disrespectful to put your hands in your pockets or not maintain eye contact during the conversation. When doing business in a Finnish culture, it’s important to maintain appropriate space away due to their loving nature of their personal space. Appointments are necessary to when conducting business in Finland, it is extremely difficult and considered rude to try to meet people for business without setting up a formal appointment. It’s crucial to be on time, and wear conservative business clothing. For men, business clothing includes suits and for women it includes skirt suits, pant suits or dresses. Finns are not known to be talkative and rarely participate in “small talk”, or icebreakers. When contemplating a decision or internally researching for pitches, it is normal for a Finns to think silently for up to two to three minutes They appreciate candidness and frankness during business communication. In business meetings, it is not necessary to exchange gifts as it may be in other European countries. Though, after a closed deal, it isn’t uncommon to exchange small, inexpensive gifts, though not considered a requirement. Although the Finnish are known for their kind, loving nature, it is important to understand the value of shyness and want for privacy before doing business in Finland.
It is not a rarity for business to be conducted over meals. Though when conducting business in Finland, it is not appropriate to have business meetings over breakfast. Most often, business meetings are conducted over lunch. For lunch meetings, alcohol is rarely served. It is appropriate to drink the water and anything else served. While eating, it is customary for the knife to be held in the right hand and the fork to remain in the left hand. As the Finns are frank and honest people, it is okay to leave food on plate if it is something you do not want to consume. Typical business lunches and dinners can last anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. Unlike in the United States, business is often brought up extremely early in the conversation; Finnish culture doesn’t allow for small talk especially in business.
Networking is remarkably important when conducting business in Finland. While Finns are transactional people, meaning they don’t need long standing personal relationships with those they do business with; relationships are important to Finns as they would rather do business with those they trust and know. Networking in Finland mostly happens by referral or at business networking events. Networking events and networking organizations are common. Once connected with one it is not hard to get referrals to others as the Finns are helpful people in social and business life. It is not appropriate to network at a grocery store or on a bus or train as Finns rarely have conversations with strangers when not in a specifically business context. It is also not appropriate to meet at a bar or any other area reserved for social interactions as Finns tend to keep their social life and business life separate. When meeting to network, one of the most common places to build a relationship is in the Sauna. If any Finn asks you to a sauna it is of most importance to say yes. Saunas in Finland are simply a part of their national culture. Networking in Finland can be hard due to their private culture, but a sauna trip is a great way to begin.
Selling to Finns can be hard for American business people due to their difference in business cultures compared to the United States, but there are ways to make it significantly easier. One major tip for selling in Finland is to not use a hard sell approach. Finns can be uncomfortable with a hard sell approach and may shut down. A seller should have a solid presentation and agenda as Finns are not people who often ask questions. Finnish culture expects individuals to take responsibility for their decisions and make take longer to come to a decision. Patience and honesty are important to Finns and will go a long way in business. A second tip for selling to a customer in Finland is to be sure to treat women and men the same in a business context. In the United States it is still common for many company heads and higher ups to be men and for there to be more men in the room than women during a business meeting. This does not reign true in Finland. Finland prides them self in being an egalitarian society. Women have always played an equal part in business life in Finland. When selling in Finland, it would be detrimental to success to treat women as less or any differently as one would a male counterpart due to the high degree of equality in Finland. An additional tip for successful selling in Finland is to be funny. While Finns are serious and not very talkative people, they are still funny people. In business in Finland, there is no taboo on humor. Finnish humor is dry and subtle and not often recognized to foreigners. In Finland, irony is one technique of humor is often used in business environments to lighten up business meetings. Being able to joke with Finns in business meetings is one way to help close the sale with Finnish clients.
Impressing a customer and making them really think ‘wow’ when conducting business sales in Finland is not an easy feat. Building a relationship with a customer in Finland is something that would take a long time due to the fact that the Finns pride themselves on honesty as one of their key values in life. An appropriate place to close the sale would be in a business office. In Finland, the most prominent way to impress a customer and really make them value the relationship is to stay true to the sale and hold true to your word. Deliver on all promises and conduct the business deal with respect while thinking about the Finnish norms such as, not interrupting, accepting silence and being extremely formal. Because these things aren’t norms in the United States business culture, doing these things would set one American businessperson trying to close a sale in Finland apart from others and really make the customer say ‘wow’; and build a lasting relationship.
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