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How to Host a Productive Business Lunch ? Things to Do During Lunch With Your Client ? Week 2

By Brian Harris

Did you enjoy the strategies last week on how to prepare for a productive lunch meeting? If you missed it, click here.

This week let?s focus on what you can do during the lunch meeting with your clients so that it is more productive for you both.

Acknowledge Time ? Thank your client for joining you and confirm how much time they have for lunch, i.e., ?We have until 1.30 p.m. today, is that correct?? This helps you keep to an agenda.

Take Charge - As the host, your guest is looking to you for direction. As soon as you are seated, place your napkin in your lap, pick up the menu and make recommendations for them. By investigating the menu first you can get this out of the way and then talk business.

Set an Agenda ? Once you have discussed the small talk and chosen a menu item, take the opportunity to ask your client if there is anything they would like to discuss. Next, explain to your client why you invited them to lunch. Be clear and concise about your agenda and focus on the relationship building for the remainder of the lunch. This will maximize your time, and they will appreciate your clarity.

Agree on Follow-up Actions ? When your lunch is completed, take a few moments to restate the actions you may have agreed on, any follow-up you need to complete and agree when you will next connect. This ensures your relationship continues to build and potentially do business together in future.

A Few Menu Tips:

Don't Drink at Lunch - This standard was very obvious to me when I first moved from Australia to the United States. In Australia, people order alcohol at lunch and dinner with clients. In the United States, it is more acceptable to order iced tea or sparkling water. I would recommend you don't order alcohol at lunch and stick with safe choices, including sparkling water, iced tea or soda.

No Smelly Foods - Never order foods with a strong smell, i.e., seafood, asparagus, egg, onion. These foods have a strong smell when raw and cooked so you want to avoid bad breath after eating these items.

Avoid a Mess - Never order food that requires significant effort or can potentially spill or cause a mess, i.e., spaghetti and sauce, noodles, corn on the cob, crab and other seafood choices. Save these food orders for your personal time, not work time.

A large part of your role as an attorney is to build your book of business. Ensure that you look like a productive professional when you are dining with your clients.

Check in next week for productivity strategies to implement after your client lunch.

 Neen James
www.neenjames.com

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on August 31, 2009 (boomark / email).