Identifies common practices to be aware of when selling in this market, e.g., whether all sales material need to be in the local language.
Last Published: 7/22/2019

Americans with business interests in Norway benefit from ease of communication as the vast majority of Norwegians speak English very well.  American culture, including movies and TV series, is pervasive and there is not extensive use of dubbing.  Nevertheless, having marketing and training materials in Norwegian language will give companies a competitive advantage.  News coverage about Norway in English is sparse, limited to a few Internet services and other media, which provide only brief summaries of major events. 

A few useful words on selling techniques in Norway:  Norwegian companies are generally willing to pay for quality.  They are also willing to switch suppliers to get better terms or better quality.  Do not over promise, and make sure that you keep your deadlines and schedule promises - otherwise, Norwegians quickly lose interest.  To Norwegians, “new” is not necessarily better.  You need to present a convincing case – not based on emotions, but on usefulness and technical quality.  New concepts have to be proven as high quality, practical and already well tested.  Hard selling techniques will typically not be effective in Norway. Avoid bragging and exaggerations, and attempt to make well-documented presentations that get your counterpart involved and let him/her buy from you rather than you selling through one-way communication.  Norwegians are usually very straightforward, in the sense that they are typically not overtly tactical negotiators.  If they say your product is too expensive, they probably mean it.  If you have made a proposal, you should stick to it.  To your Norwegian counterpart, trust is important, and the use of written documents to establish agreements is common.  Turning around and changing or adding surprising new elements is generally not popular.  It is also hard to renegotiate terms after an agreement has been made, even if circumstances have changed.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.