The Business Lunch – Where To Go & What To Do
Words: Gentleman's Journal
It is always a nerve-wracking experience meeting a new business contact for the first time, but by taking a few simple precautions you can greatly enhance your chances of success.
Firstly, carefully research your lunch guest. Find out their education, career to date and interests; the latter being the perfect way to initiate a revealing conversation and find mutual contacts or interests in common. If you are unable to find information on your guest, then revert to their company website and see where they appear in the Company hierarchy, here you will find out their areas of expertise.
Having researched your lunch guest, then decide what sort of place they would like to eat in? If they are the more mature, traditional type, then they might enjoy lunching at a Club, but you should remember that all Clubs have dress codes, some of them quite strict, so remind your guest of this well in advance.
If your guest is not the Club type, then find a restaurant where they can relax and feel comfortable, this is a question of ‘horses for courses’. For instance, Media types like to stay around the west end and eat in places frequented by their peers. People who are impressed by celebrities like to eat in places where the celebs hang out, such as the Ivy or the Caprice (or virtually any restaurant or club owned by Richard Caring!)
Ethnic groups like to frequent the same places, for example, the Russians in London currently use Novikov in Berkeley Street, where they have a choice of a cutting-edge Asian restaurant or a modern Italian, alternatively they can just hang out in the bar with their fellow non-dom billionaires!
The City Slickers used to stay in the City to eat, but now the Hedge Funds have moved to the West End and joined the Art Dealers in Mayfair, and St James’s. They use the same restaurants like Scott’s, Wiltons, Harry’s Bar and Greens, not to mention Sotheby’s in house restaurant, although the serious clients eat in one of the many private Dining rooms upstairs.
So, having researched your guest and chosen the right restaurant, think about what to wear in order to make them feel at ease and let them know if there are any dress codes to be observed.
It also helps enormously if you are well-known in the restaurant of your choice, so that the owner/Manager greets you like a long-lost friend and leads you to your regular table, making a huge fuss of your guest. The Italians are very good at this.
Once at your table always observe the niceties and remain standing until your guest is seated, pull out the chair for them if the staff forget to do so!
Once seated, consult your guest about any preferences they may have about the items on the Menu or what wines they enjoy.
In fact, the ‘golden rule’ is treat them as the star of the show, always bringing the conversation back to them, asking about their homes, where they live, their wives and children, so that you really learn about them. Be sure to make notes immediately after the meal, so you remember all these important details.
Of course you must not lose sight of your main objective in inviting them to lunch in the first place. Have a summary of your proposals which you can hand them at the end of the meal, just in case you have missed anything during the meal, also because they can then read this at their leisure.
Towards the end of the lunch ask how they are getting back to their offices or to their next appointment, and offer to arrange a Taxi for them, which the restaurant staff will do; this always makes a good impression and shows you care about their welfare.
Finally, be sure to write, or email them, preferably immediately after the meal and thank them for being your guest, and say how much you enjoyed meeting them.
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