Business Lunch Meetings: Dos and Don'ts

Hey Bloggie!

I had my very first business lunch meeting on Friday! Woohoo!! Although it wasn't with a total stranger, I think I’d have the same fears and expectations with a total stranger.

First off, let me say I have the best support system ever!!! When I was freaking out about this meeting (days in advance of course) there were tons of people there to hold my hands and offer reassuring words. I got these up to the very last minute before lunch and not everyone in my support system even knew about the date!

Let me share some of my tips with you so you won’t say I didn't teach you how to behave J.

Meeting Place:

• When given the choice of picking a meeting place, try to find out what your date would like to eat. If you’re too shy to ask, do a little research on restaurants and their menus. Make sure to suggest places that cover all kinds of food allergies and dietary restrictions.
• Do not pick just your favorite restaurant (you might love the food, but your date could abhor it).
• Do not pick a very expensive place unless of course you are the one paying for the lunch.
• Do suggest places where if you had to pay for your meal, you could (never go with the free food therefore must be expensive mentality).

Attire:

• Do dress business casual. Even they say they’ll be wearing jeans (mine did), do not try to match them.
• Do be comfortable in your clothing aka do not try to impress with your wardrobe whilst sacrificing your comfort (you already have enough nerves going in don’t create more for yourself).

Table Manners:

• If you don’t have any, please please and please look up table manners. Don’t go there as if you’re eating with your buddies. They might not mind you blowing your nose at the table but trust me a business date will.
• Don’t chew with your mouth open! Or make slurping sounds when you eat. If you know you have a high risk of doing this, don’t order any soup related dish. Stick to what shows you have some manners.
• Do not pick your teeth at the table (ewwwwwww)! If you think the sensation is uncomfortable, it’s 3x worse for the person in front of you watching you take out your food.
• Don’t order alcohol no matter how laid back the atmosphere is. If you must have a drink, wait till you say your byes and go back to the restaurant. You don’t want to risk being tipsy/offending your date.
• Don’t talk with your mouth full! No question/answer is worth the visual you give the person when you talk with food in your mouth.
• Don't have too much liquid. You don't want to have to use the restroom in the middle of an important conversation or leave your date staring at the ceiling.

Conversation:

• Do be prepared for questions to start as soon as you meet each other. In my case, I was picked up so the conversation immediately began in the car. (I definitely wasn't prepared. I assumed questions would begin at the restaurant and car convo would be the usual “hey how are you” stuff).
• Do have a list of questions prepared for the person you’re meeting and sound intelligent when you ask (you don’t have to fire questions during the meeting but to avoid the awkward silence that might arise, you need a backup plan).
• Don’t let your mind linger on other things. The worst thing that could happen would be you zoning out and your date noticing it. Pay full attention to your conversations.
• Make sure you leave the lunch with a sense of accomplishment. If you were seeking a job, you should feel like you discussed all things necessary. If you were trying to get a client, you should feel like you eased all the fears they had about your company.

Thank You:

• At the end of the lunch, do not forget to say thank you even if the lunch didn't go the way you expected it to. Often people get pissed and forget to say thank you: not cool.
• After a couple days or immediately whatever you choose, send a thank you note. Reiterate your conversation and say thank you again.

These are all my tips Bloggie! You would think no one would do some of these things but I've seen them happen. My lunch date ended with a “we should do this again sometime” so I’m looking forward to that and many more business lunches J.

Oh and at the very end of my lunch, I accidentally hit my table knife and it stained my dress. The horror! Yeah, don't do that either. 

Adios Bloggie!

Tonia