How do I sell to norse companies?

August 22, 2008 2:24 PM

Norwegian Businessfilter: How would an american with almost no understanding of Bokmål go about getting contracts from Norwegian companies?

What's the best way to go about selling computer programming services remotely to companies based in Norway? Is there an English-language business portal for the Norwegian tech industry? Really, this isn't entirely specific to Norway, but I'm trying to take advantage of lower taxes from foreign income while developing contracts with clients in countries I'd like to visit in the next 2 - 3 years.

posted by MaxK to work & money (3 comments total)

I lived in Norway for a year when I was a child, and in 1988 everyone over age 12 spoke English fluently (too bad I was 4). I think they'll be able to read it as well...

Other countries, dunno.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 4:19 PM on August 22, 2008

I don't think you'll encounter much difficulty working in English, maybe slightly more difficulty in having contracts drawn up in English, but if you're working with Norway-based global companies they've likely some provision for that. It's a pretty broad question, really, since you're going to encounter a different process with each company you work with. But I've been to Norway a few times and as mentioned above, pretty much everyone over 12 speaks fluent English (and I met a few ten year olds who were fluent in English too).

Bokmal is not terribly hard to pick up for English or German speakers, especially to read - if this is a long term plan maybe try an immersion class and a few books. English has Old Norse roots, and Norwegian Bokmaal has enough in common with English to give you a head start. At least, in my experience (I can happily read newspapers and Jostein Gaarder books in Norwegian, but I can only barely understand it spoken to me - haven't spent long enough durations in Norway to get comfortable with how the language sounds).
posted by annathea at 4:56 PM on August 22, 2008

Assuming you're American, contacting the American Chamber of Commerce in Norway wouldn't hurt.
posted by msittig at 1:30 AM on August 23, 2008