Dining Out with Clients
“Allow your clients to see your authentic self.” - Tara Olson
Giving Your Clients a Unique Dining Out Experience
Taking clients to lunch or dinner is standard fare for most sales professionals. This is generally a time where the conversation steers away from the business at hand and you begin to learn a little more about your client's personal life. You begin to build a relationship with the person and not the corporate entity he/she/they represent.
When planning a dining experience for my client the debate I always had with myself was how "upscale" I should go with my restaurant or meal choice. Too upscale and my client might think I'm charging too much for my services if I can afford a very expensive meal. Too casual and they may be insulted!
Over the years I have learned to choose restaurants that are best suited to my client's personality, values, and preferences. My most successful business transactions have generally come after I have demonstrated that I "see" who they truly are. Here is an example of what I mean.
Industry Conference Entertainment
Most industries have those annual conferences that EVERYBODY attends. If you are a vendor, you are trying to spend as much time as possible outside of the conference with as many of your clients or prospects as possible.
One year one of my primary conferences was held at a well-known beach and golf resort in SC during the month of November. The location was very popular and the conference was almost sold out. I was excited about the potential to see new faces.
I rented a beautiful house instead of staying in the conference hotel. The house was in an exclusive community and had a beautiful pool, patio and a large screen TV.
My business partner and I decided that rather than plan an elaborate meal out, we would cook a meal for our clients at our "home." This plan worked out better than we expected.
It just so happened that our dinner took place on a Monday night. That particular week the NFL's Monday Night Football game was highly anticipated. And, as it so happened, most of our clients were football fans.
Monday was Day 3 of the conference. Everyone was tired of dressing up and eating out. The weather was perfect for dining outdoors, but most restaurants could not accommodate large groups outdoors.
When invited to a casual evening with a homecooked meal and Monday Night Football on a big screen, nearly everyone we invited came! This event was talked about for months after and served as a lesson to me that keeping things simple is underrated.
