Lunch For Success

The Queen of The Business Lunch: Is a Power Lunch a Worthwhile Expense?

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Mark Cornish.

Robin Jay, the Queen of the Business Lunch, has conducted thousands of lunches, and is truly an expert in the field. It’s no surprise that she understands the importance of spending a little to nurture your client relationships. She says it well in her recent post:

When belts get tightened and businesses start looking for ways to cut corners, those businesses who continue to embrace and nurture their client relationships will fare much better - now AND when prosperity is revived. Remember, doing business still comes down to relationships. People prefer to do business with people they like.

We couldn’t agree more. Staying connected with your clients is not something that you do only when times are good. When the economy is down and there’s less financial capital going around, your efforts to manage those client relationships will stand out that much more.

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Don’t be Ruled by Fear: Business Lunches are a Great Investment

Posted on 23. Jan, 2009 by Mark Cornish.

Reading Craig’s post on Micheal’s $30 burger, one has to wonder, What is the appropriate amount to spend on a business lunch?

People make decisions based on emotions, and there’s a lot of fear going around right now. It’s hard to grasp the big picture when your emotions rule your business decisions. I mean, when you’re cementing a relationship with a good client, you don’t want to be a penny wise and pound foolish.

If times are tough and money is scarce, a $100 dollar lunch tab may seem excessive. It might be. From the title of his post in Get Rich Slowly, J.D. suggests $20. It’s probably too low for most cases, but it’s a catchy title and a good post.

More importantly, the actual number is not what matters here. It depends on your industry, your client, the size of your contracts, etc. What matters is looking at the total worth of the relationship from a numbers standpoint instead of an emotional standpoint, allowing for clear-headed decision making.

If you do $30,000 of business with a client in one year, a $100 dollar lunch with her, or even 5, 6, or 7 lunches with her, would be a worthwhile investment.

Don’t let the scarcity mentality drive you away from great investment opportunities in yourself or your business goals. Now is the time to be brave.

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Ahhh, the $30 Michael’s Burger

Posted on 22. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

Everyone’s cutting back. If you work for the New York Times, you’re going to have to go easy on your Michael’s burgers, according to Keith Kelly’s article at newyorkpost.com:

New York Times Co. Chairman Arthur “Pinch” Sulzberger Jr. appears to have issued a de facto ban on Times staffers dining at Michael’s or the Four Seasons, the pricey watering holes of the media elite.

Times Deputy Managing Editor William Schmidt, in a memo written to the entire newsroom staff last week, reminded one and all that business meals must conform to pricing guide lines that include $15 per person for break fast, $25 to $30 per per son for lunch and $45 to $50 a person for dinner.

The famed Michael’s Burger at the East Side eatery costs $30 alone.

And that’s not all. Schmidt said the company “will not subsidize or reimburse business meals or drinks involving only your fellow Times colleagues.

“In other words, we will not absorb the costs of taking one another out for drinks, lunch or dinner.”

Exceptions will be made in rare instances, Schmidt said, such as when an editor takes out a reporter to discuss a promotion.

This just means that you’ve got to make the most of your business meals when you have them. There’s more at stake now. Sure, if you’re just going to lunch with some friends, then downgrade to a $12 burger. If your meeting is important enough, and your guest will like Michael’s, then $30 for a burger might be very much in order.

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Harvey Korman, Tim Conway and Steve Lawrence do a Business Lunch

Posted on 21. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

Time for a break. Here’s an oldie, but a goody. Enjoy.

Can you guess what year this was filmed?

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Staff Should Know When Enough’s Enough at a Business Lunch

Posted on 16. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

Picture the scene. You’ve just started explaining to your prospective client why your product or service is going to help them. You’re almost at that part of the conversation where the prospect might raise a tough objection. You’ve prepared for it, but it’s not an easy sell. Just when you’re about to explain away their objection, yet another restaurant staff member comes by to say hello. Now, your client just got a few more moments to sit on their objection and when you resume, your flow is off.

We all like to be treated like a VIP at the restaurant, and having the owner or chef visit your table is generally a good thing. However, it should be done tactfully. Darren, in his post on his customer-service site timinganddelivery.com, explains it nicely here:

I don’t mind introductions and meeting those who put the grease on the restaurant wheel…totally fine with that. But, there is a limit and if the machine is working, those in charge should be aware of how many times their guests have been ‘approached’.

And a little more succinctly:

being over-served…sucks.

Well said, Darren.

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Chili Dog Power Lunch with President Elect Obama

Posted on 15. Jan, 2009 by Mark Cornish.

The term ‘power lunch’ often carries the stigma of being only for the wealthy. I used to think the same thing. Power Lunches only happen in 4-star restaurants between wealthy businessmen in 3 piece suits, right?

President-elect Barack Obama at Ben's Chili Bowl (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Nothing could be further from the truth. Craig’s post about the at-home business lunch gave us an example of how casual it can be.

Even the most high-powered among us can have a casual lunch. Take President-elect Barack Obama for example. At one point, he’s power lunching as a guest at the Oval Office. The next week, he’s at Ben’s Chili Bowl.

You can’t get much more basic then a chili dog with cheese fries. Curious of exactly what he ordered? According to Christine Simmons’ post:

He and Fenty ordered a house specialty, a Chili Half-Smoke — a quarter-pound half pork and beef smoked sausage on a steamed bun with mustard, onions and chili sauce — along with a big helping of some cheese fries.

Sometimes, it is about showing your face at the right places, where ever they may be; who you are seen by and who you are seen with can be a big part of where you choose to lunch.

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Even Sir Paul McCartney Has to Scope Out His Power Lunch Table

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

One of the fundamentals of conducting a successful power lunch is doing your homework. For example, you should physically check out the restaurant days in advance. That way you’ll know which tables are better than others for conducting your lunch.

Doing your prep work allows you to make adjustments on the fly when the day arrives. Check out how Paul McCartney had to adjust in this entertaining piece by Diane Clehane:

So you think you’ve got problems? Paul McCartney (that’s Sir Paul to you) arrived at Michael’s today shortly before noon to scope out a table for a quiet lunch with Barbara Walters. When he was ushered to Table One, situated in the bay window, he passed on perching at the power spot and asked to check out the room before settling on a primo corner table. Babs arrived shortly thereafter, as did a dark-haired beauty that some thought might be Paul’s gal pal Nancy Shevell (but we think not) and a distinguished mystery gent. But alas, the happy foursome couldn’t enjoy their lunch because the eagle-eyed former Beatle spied a pesky video cameraman taking it all in from the sidewalk, shooting through the window. We’re guessing it was those intrepid folks from TMZ who regularly stake out the joint. Well, Paul wasn’t about to give up on his quest for some privacy, so the gang moved once again to the back of the dining room and finally settled in for some good dish. Whew!

It doesn’t matter if your lunch is at your client’s favorite diner around the block from her office, or at a power scene like Michael’s. The fundamentals are the same; even for Sir Paul.

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Can You Do a Business Lunch at Home?

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

If you’re a stay-at-home business woman, mom, and blogger who’s meeting with the owner of a blog for moms, why not have your business lunch at home? That’s exactly what we see from Kelly King Anderson’s at-home business lunch interview with Allison Czarnecki. A quick look at Allison’s blog, Petit Elephant, and it’s clear that she’s in the business of talking to other moms, so it’s not difficult to imagine that she’d be OK meeting at Kelly’s home. As Kelly says:

We decided it would be wonderful to get together for lunch and since we both have young children hosting a lunch at my home seemed like a much better alternative to McDonald’s playland.

The lesson here is not that you should start having business lunches at your home. Maybe you should. Maybe you shouldn’t. The lesson is that there is no single venue that’s right for everyone. Your industry, your personality, your guests… These factors are all going to come into play when you decide where to eat.

Thanks Kelly and Allison for showing us how casual it can be. I enjoyed the video (although I have to admit, a video of a business lunch at McDonald’s playland would be great!).

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Business Lunch Etiquette: Interacting with the Wait Staff

Posted on 11. Jan, 2009 by Mark Cornish.

Your clients will form opinions of you by watching how you relate to other people, and at a business lunch your interaction with the wait staff will say a lot. (I’ve heard too many people say, “Well, they are SUPPOSED to serve me…”. Get over yourself.)

Not only do you have an opportunity to show your client the kind of person you are, but the wait staff are a great resource. They know more about the restaurant than anyone. They know the best dishes, they know how to keep a thirsty client’s glass full, they can get your food out to you quickly, and they can get you a seat anytime. If you’re thinking about making a specific restaurant your ‘go-to’ place for important lunches, you must be in good with this thankless crew.

To get on their good side, you need to know how they think. Part of that is knowing what puts you on their bad side, so you can avoid these basic etiquette blunders (remember, etiquette is among the minimum requirements for building social capital).

In The Servers Strike Back, the AOL Food Blog explains the top 11 complaints that servers have about restaurant customers:

From servers:

1. Don’t talk down to me
2. Please don’t camp out
3. We like reciting the specials, but…
   
4. If you can’t tip, don’t eat out
5. Just treat me like a person
6. Tapped out [They have good reasons to ask you if you want bottled water.]
7. Upselling is mandatory
8. I’m being watched [They're not just trying to make more money when they offer a bottle of wine instead of two glasses - they're required to.]
9. Please watch your kids
10. Dealing with change [It simply wastes time if they bring change back to the table unnecessarily.]
11. We’re not the cooks

Some of their points naturally won’t be very relevant for business lunches. For instance, you’re not likely to bring your kids to a business lunch and you’ll most likely pay with a credit card. Still, there’s lots of good, simple insight in there.

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Tipping the Scales of Power (Bending the Power Curve)

Posted on 09. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters.

One of my readers asked what I meant when I said that bending the “power curve” is what you’re trying to do when you conduct your power lunches. I was borrowing the term from Fox News in that earlier post, and I’d like to elaborate here. We explain it in our video as tipping the scales of power, but it’s the same thing as bending the power curve. Here’s a clip:

When you’re in a meeting with prospective clients, there’s a power difference. For example, if you’re proposing business to prospective clients, they have something that you want. You want the contract. You want the opportunity to do the job and showcase your skills. You want to be compensated.

Because your prospects have something that you want, this gives them power. They have the power to decide if they’re going to give you the contract or give it to someone else (and negotiate terms, etc.).

You have expertise, ideas, connections and solutions that your prospects could benefit from. In that sense you have power, but only to the degree that your prospects perceive the value of what you offer. It’s your job to make it clear to him or her how much value you bring to the table. The more you convince them, the more power you have in the conversation. As you convince them, the balance of power begins to tip more evenly (the power curve begins to bend towards you).

Ideally, you convince your prospect that your ideas and expertise are so valuable that it would be foolish to let you go to a competitor. Then the scales have not just leveled out; they’ve tipped clearly in your favor (the power curve is bending in your direction).

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