Every expat professional shows up in the Middle East full of expertise and urgency, then makes the same mistake.
They try to compress years of relationship-building into a single quarter.
Then they wonder why nothing’s moving. Why deals stall. Why doors that should open just don’t.
Here’s the thing: in the Middle East, you don’t build relationships. You cultivate them. That difference is everything.
Real cultivation looks like this. Showing up at events when there’s nothing immediately in it for you. Following up after meetings with something useful, not something promotional. Checking in during Eid and Ramadan because you actually mean it, not because your CRM pinged you.
These small, consistent acts are the deposit system.
The business is the interest. It only shows up once the account is full.