The age old question, breakfast or lunch, int his article we take you through the nuances of each and demonstrate in context which is better.
Breakfast
Proponents of the power breakfast have a good argument. For a start, people are at their sharpest, mentally, in the morning. That means they’re more likely to pay attention, more likely to be enthusiastic and consequently more open to starting a sales conversation.
Factor in what many food experts deem as the most important meal of the day, that they’re cheaper than lunches and there’s no alcohol involved – and the power breakfast seems to be a sale’s ‘win-win.’ In my opinion, breakfast meetings provide the perfect environment for networking. Early morning is a convivial time of the day, and the number of breakfast meetings clubs concurs with that. You’ll be meeting people at their best part of the day where you can forge new links and new business opportunities without going into an over-sell mode.
My biggest advice for when you’re networking is LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS CARD AT HOME. Seems rather counter-intuitive doesn’t it? After all, everyone else is trying to give everyone else a business card so why not join in?
Believe me, it’s far more effective, in sales terms, to take charge of the communications by obtaining your prospects’ details rather than giving them yours and hoping for the best. When you’ve got their details tell them you’ll be in touch – and make sure you do.
Lunch
Until the advent of breakfast meetings, power lunches were the traditional workhorse of business meals and still, in many scenarios continue to be so.
Lunch is faster paced than breakfast. It doesn’t cut into personal time, and it certainly doesn’t raise the stressful issue of including a spouse or partner in the way breakfasts or after-work dinners do. Their timing is generally controlled by the working day and as a consequence last one or one and a half hours only. The power lunch offers an ideal opportunity to sign off a deal struck during the morning. Or at the very least, reward your sales endeavours and potential new client with a relaxing break from proceedings in a neutral and mutually pleasurable environment.
If you’re planning a power lunch first, choose a venue suitable for all. If your client is meeting you, make sure you book somewhere convenient and central. Within the venue you choose YOU MUST pick a table that’s in a private, quiet location. And away from the bar. Nothing worse than potential eavesdropping or rowdy interruption to kill the atmosphere.
And, if you’re continuing the sales conversation, make sure the table has enough elbow room plus room for paperwork, laptops and phones. In this situation, a wi-fi connection should also come as standard.
& Dinner…
Well there’s no dinner advice here beyond lunch with drinks but hopefully this article has given you a brief idea of what to expect and how to plan to excel at business lunches and breakfasts.
