subject: Green Business Directory - Sealing The Deal More Than The Company Meal [print this page] Doing business over meals is a ritual that has existed for centuries. Taking customers to breakfast, lunch or dinner has long been an effective method to build relationships, make the sale or seal the deal. These company meals are essentially business meetings. Knowledge of your product or your service is crucial to the success of the meeting, but so are your manners. Too many people jeopardize an opportunity because they fail to use good dining etiquette. Here are a few basic rules to make the encounter pleasurable and profitable.
When you make your reservation, let the staff know that you will be dining with customers. If your guests suggest a restaurant new to you (perhaps you are hosting clients out-of-town), call ahead and speak with the maitre'd. Make it clear that you simply will be having an important company meal and picking up the check.
Confirm the meal appointment with your customers the day before if you are meeting for breakfast or that day if you are having lunch or dinner. Points do happen and mix-ups occur.
Arrive early so you are able to attend to last minute details. This really is the ideal time to give your credit card to the maitre'd and avoid the awkwardness that seems to accompany the arrival of the bill.
Beyond being polite, exactly where you seat your guests is strategic. When you are entertaining one client, sit next to each at a right angle rather than across the table. With two clients, put one across from you and also the other to your side. Should you sit between them, you'll look as if you're watching a match at Wimbledon as you try to follow the conversation.
Keep an eye on the time, but don't let your guests see you checking your watch. Breakfast should typically last an hour; lunch an hour and a half. Wrap up your company dinner in two to three hours, no more.
Handle any disasters with grace. With all your attention to detail, points can still go wrong. The food might not be up with your standards, the waiter may be rude or the people at the next table boisterous and out of control. Whatever happens, make sure you aren't the 1 to lose manage. Excuse yourself to discuss any difficulties using the staff. Your visitors will feel uncomfortable should you complain in front of or to them.
Your conduct over the meal will determine your professional success. If you pay attention towards the details and make every effort to see that your customers have a pleasant encounter, they will assume that you simply will handle their business the same way. Before long you could have them eating out of your hand.
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