When you think of the dinner table, what feeling does it give you? Did you have family dinners growing up? Does it give you a sense of belonging and happiness? For many people, the dinner table is where family, friends, and even business partners come together. In this article, I want to share with you the three reasons why I take all of my prospects, clients, and influencers to lunch!
1. Instant Rapport.
Taking someone to lunch builds instant rapport when you go to a restaurant that your client picks you are both agreeing on something you enjoy. This gives you a common ground, which promotes understanding and can even increase trust. Food can also improve attitude by allowing your client to open up to your opinion.
2. They Have to Sit With You.
When you meet a client for coffee, or at your office if they don’t like your offer, your company, or heck even your shirt, they can up and walk out at any time. If you take them out to lunch, they have a reason to stay and listen to you. The trick to this is ordering before you get to business. Once their order is in, the vast majority of people will stay even if they have objections. This gives you plenty of time to handle their objections and show them how your product or service can improve their life. Remember if your potential client doesn’t buy your product it is because you didn’t teach them how much your product or service can improve their life.
3. Warm and Fuzzy Feeling.
The key to any sales is the emotion; people buy for two reasons, to avoid the pain of not having your product or service, or because they are passionate about your product or service. Even if your client decides to use your product or service to avoid pain you want them to leave with what we call “warm and fuzzy” feelings. These feelings can help convince your client to go with you and to help get rid of buyers remorse before it happens. But taking your client to lunch doesn’t just create warm and fuzzies from the food, naturally people like to be treated. Whether we see it in movies, or they remind us of dates even in a business relationship, people feel special when they are courted. So the warm fuzzy feelings are created from the moment you invite your client out, to the moment you close the sale!
Taking your clients to lunch or dinner is a great way to boost your persuasion game! Whether you make a little investment or a big one, always remember, you can wine and dine hundreds of clients, but you still have to make the close! So believe in your product or service, and make sure the prospects you are taking out can genuinely benefit from it!
Don’t forget I’m always open for lunch! My favorites are Brazilian and Korean BBQ.
This article was originally published here.
