BREAKING BREAD TO BETTER BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS - Editorial by Karla Darocas

[Karla Darocas *New Frontier]

Aside from filling your face with the finest of foods – the business lunch is an important relationship builder. Think of it as an investment. You'll lose about 90 minutes during the workday, but it's worth it to connect with a new client.

The art of business-lunching is different for everyone, but here are a few pointers that I have put together. I have been involved with business lunches in four different countries – four different cultures. However, there are some common grounds to grinding – that don’t need a cultural interpreter.

1. For starters, only talk about yourself for 30 seconds or less. Ugh – no one likes a braggart! You are not at this lunch to make points on your ego chart; you are there to talk about how your service or product is going to benefit this client.

2. Don’t start talking about your products or service, until you have asked your client about themselves. British people are not so fussy about this formality, but with the Spanish, it is an ancient cultural rite to share a ton of personal information before you get down to business. Arabs demand even more personal talk time and they want to know more about your personal life too!

3. Three martini lunches are out and fruit juice, wine and sparkling waters are now considered the first round of the business lunch. Once drinks have been ordered, then you can get the conversational ball rolling. If there are several of you at the table, then offer a toast to good health, happiness and wealth. The wealth part is always a good ice-breaker.

4. Try not to order any main meal that has spinach for you nor your client. However, if the spinach lasagna is too tasty to turn down, then note that both you and your client will end up with green bites between your teeth. If this happens, don’t ignore the chunks during your chatter. Make a subtle gesture with your finger to your own teeth and indicate the troublesome tidbit. The other option is to order some toothpicks from the wait staff, and pick at your own teeth, so that your guest will follow your format.

5. Finally, be a gentleman, even if you are not! Pull out the chair for your clients’ wife, don’t lick your knife and please don’t slurp your drinks or soup! Other nasty habits might be that you leave rush through your food like a wild starving dog. Most times, this will not only upset your client, but it will mean that your dinner will be finished and you will have dead time on your hands, waiting for your client to eat up!

6. And, obviously, you must pay for the lunch. The best way to do this is to give the wait staff or manager your credit card when you arrive early for your appointment. Then, somewhere near the end of the meal, perhaps after dessert but before coffee, excuse yourself and say that you are going to wash your hands. Then, you are free to slip your signature onto your credit card payment and pocket your card. When you return for you coffee, you can easily close your business deal without the waiter dropping the bill on your table and your guest making a fuss about payment. This obviously distracts your client and disrupts the whole art of a “smooth” business lunch.

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