My evolving theory on business meals
The value of the business meal varies inversely with the price.
I remember the most expensive business dinner tab I ever picked up. The prospective clients seemed to purposely select the most expensive wines on the list. They gravitated toward the priciest meals - it seemed on purpose. After dinner, there was dessert with sambuca. The conversation was forced as they told stories that only meant something to them. The next day's meetings were of marginal value. The clients never materialized. We moved on.
I could tell a number of similar stories.
Contrast the experience with the valuable meetings I recall: The submarines from a nearby Subway, a quick takeout order to get through the discussion without much interruption for lunch, the beer and pizza night-before meeting where conversation and ideas flow smoothly and easily.
I suppose I need to put a price floor on my business meal to keep it out of the tins-of-tuna category, but I believe the theory would hold up well under testing.
A note on the photo: We recently had dinner with a couple of the people pictured. They brought a third employee who didn't get to enjoy the impromptu standing lunch at Saum's. During our very nice (and productive) dinner, the cheap lunch at Saum's came up over and over as a fond memory and important moment in the relationship between our two organizations.
That's an interesting bit of irony. I know very little about sales, but I've always wondered what the draw was with food and sales. It would seem you can't discuss with your mouth full.
When I've been part of a group getting a free lunch from a salesman, I've always felt a little guilty and awkward when the check comes. I remember pulling out my wallet to pay for my part of bill the first time. This guy just made the impression we were all friends and my friends would never pay for my lunch unless they were going to ask to borrow my truck or inform me that they had just hit my truck. I just assumed I had to pay for my lunch.
I can see that you want to impress a client, but why would a smart business person make a decision based on pricey food?
The only time that food impressed me when mixed with business was when I was flown into Boston for an interview. I had no clue about what I was getting into. I had an embarrassing situation where I called the VP lost and confused because I couldn't find the "taxi" at the taxi stand. The "taxi" turned out to be a limo with a guy holding a sign with my name and I was looking where normal people go to get a taxi. A grueling 4 hour interview for a salary I did not expect had left me a nervous wreck to top it off. I thought I had ventured into a class of folks that were way outside of my zone. The future boss took me to a restaurant where everyone knew him and they were friendly folks. For some reason, that impressed me to see that he was a likable person and he didn't have a problem with the the average person.
My guess would be that it's not so much what is served, it's what is said and done during the meal. If you're going to order Subway, don't keep suggesting "Jared's Favorites" to the big people and things should work out.
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