17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Share a meal and close the deal!, April 14, 2008
This review is from: The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2 (Paperback)
From personal experience through years of owning a newspaper corporation, I learned that some of the biggest deals are closed during social situations, not always behind boardroom doors. I saw this first-hand with politicians in Silicon Valley, with Unions and other businesses. In fact, I had "Power Lunches" of my own where a hand-shake closed many lucrative deals. This outside-the-office setting allowed me to get to know clients and advertisers on a more personal level which led to better business dealings.
Even restaurants in Silicon Valley know the value of such social networking because they sell yearly two-for-one cards to their establishments. My newspaper bought these dining cards from Fairmont Hotel, Hyatt House, and LeBaron Hotel. This not only saved money but enabled us to entertain friends and potential clients in fine style in a relaxed atmosphere.
As Robin Jay, author of
The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 And 2, explains, there is a fine protocol to building business relationships over a short time-span--lunch and on certain occasions a business dinner. She presents full details in this book, showing the readers how to conduct themselves in professional settings with grace and style, and she enlivens the excellent advice with humorous anecdotes that make for an easier reading/learning experience.
Since cell phones weren't in common use during my career, I was particularly interested in Robin Jay's advice on proper cell phone etiquette, which has an entire chapter dedicated to it.
The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 And 2 is well-written, with easy-to-follow formatting, and will be useful to those interested in building productive business relationships. The author's motto is: Share a Meal and Close the Deal, which is how she inscribed the copy I won in J. Kaye's Book Blog raffle. Incidentally, if you would like to try your luck on winning a book, go to: http://j-kay-book-blog.blogspot.com
Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
1106 Grand Boulevard
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How to strengthen business relationships and nourish a career, February 19, 2006
This review is from: The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2 (Paperback)
My rating of this book correctly indicates the value I think it offers but I fear that the title and subtitle may discourage many people from looking beyond the cover. That would be unfortunate because so much of the rock-solid advice which Jay offers is directly relevant to almost any situation in which human beings interact: meals, of course (and not only lunch), as well as coffee breaks, before and after formal programs (conferences, workshops, seminars, etc.), parties, receptions, and during a lengthy airline flight.
Jay's primary focus, however, is on how to establish and then strengthen business relationships, especially with clients. She draws heavily on her own extensive experience (e.g. more than 3,000 lunches with clients) as she suggests a number of do's and don'ts and then explains why or why not. I appreciate the fact that she uses so many specific examples to illustrate key points.
Her advice is practical. Of greater importance, it is never threatening to one's comfort level. Almost all of her suggestions and recommendations are easily do-able. That is, she does not require a massive transformation of personality. For example, in Chapter 15, she establishes a familiar situation: You are invited to a networking event. You decide to attend only because you know someone else who will also be there. Upon arrival, you locate and then sit with that friend. In fact, you spend most of the time with her or him. You may meet one or two strangers. According to Jay, this is normal behavior. What does she suggest? Pretend that you are attending a wedding reception and that you are either the bride or the groom. How simple! And yet think about it. Who derive the greatest benefit from networking events? Those who are obviously and (key word) genuinely friendly people who circulate throughout the crowd, introducing themselves. They spend most of the time listening rather than talking. They sustain eye contact. They eagerly introduce those whom they have just met to others. They bring warmth and energy to the event. In other words, they behave as a bride or groom would at a wedding reception.
I could cite dozens of other examples of Jay's practical wisdom. Point is, this is a "must read" for those who are preparing for or only recently embarked upon a career as well as for those well along in a career who need to be reminded of what is -- and is not -- appropriate behavior, not only in a business relationship but indeed in just about every other relationship.
At this point, I presume to share what has really been helpful to me when meeting someone for the first time in out-of-office situations such as those which Jay examines. Inevitably I am asked, "What do you do?" For years, I would immediately cite my title, company, its location, and what the company sells. (By the way, there are no "wrong" answers to that question primarily because most who ask it really don't care.) Blah, blah, blah...Invariably, no matter what I say, I'm told that it is "interesting." Yeh, right.
About ten years ago, for whatever reasons, I suddenly realized that there is a much better response. Here's the situation. My wife and I were among about 35-40 people at a Christmas party. We circulated together for a while, then she became engrossed in a conversation and I headed for the bar to re-fresh my drink. Along the way, I encountered someone wearing the same Christmas tie I was, one sold to raise funds for the Save the Children Fund. We complimented each other on good taste, then introduced ourselves. Inevitably he asked me what I did. Suddenly I thought of a better response:
"Most companies have problems with [fill in the blank]. I solve them."
"What kinds of problems?"
"Probably the worst is [fill in the blank]."
"How do you solve it?"
"First I [fill in blank] and then I [fill in the blank]...."
Then, almost every time, I am asked for a card either for the person with whom I have been chatting or for someone that person knows who needs help solving the problem I identified.
Credit Robin Jay with skillfully sustaining a conversational tone while sharing her observations and recommendations. So many "How to" self-improvement books strike me as arbitrary and impersonal. That is certainly not true of The Art of the Business Lunch. Nor is it accurate to describe as "art" much of what Jay shares. Rather, I see it as plain old-fashioned common sense in combination with the Golden Rule ("...as you would be done to"), the Platinum Rule ("...as they would be done to"), and courtesy which, regrettably, is no longer "common."
The Art of the Business Lunch will probably be of greatest value to those who often entertain for business purposes. If nothing else, it will prevent many of them as well as other readers from indulging in behavior which is, at best, an embarrassment and at worst, could destroy a relationship... and even a career.
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