Las Vegas, NV

Sunday, December 27, 2009

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Business professionals and executives in all fields are looking at new strategies and methods for achieving their goals this coming year. In many cases, budgets have been cut to the bone. Networking and entertaining clients, often seen as frivolous, are typically some of the first items to go. This is a tremendous mistake, according to business relationship expert Robin Jay.

Jay is the author of "The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2" (Career Press). "Creating quality one-on-one face time with clients has never been more important," says Jay. "When the economy puts a squeeze on expense accounts, clients appreciate your being there for them more than ever. Imagine how easy it is to impress your clients when you're the only one still inviting them out to lunch or dropping by with goodies."

"Breaking bread with clients," according to Jay, "does more to move a relationship forward than nearly anything else you can do. People let their guard down and open up when a meeting takes place over a meal. I've hosted more than 3,000 client lunches and I saw my sales increase by more than 2,000%! Believe me when I say that breaking bread builds relationships. Of course you still have to be outstanding in your capacity as a professional and deliver the goods – whether you are selling advertising, design services, insurance, or investment planning. But sharing a meal with clients or prospects will help you to take your relationships to a higher level. It helps to build trust and more solid relationships. People prefer to do business with people they like, and breaking bread provides an ideal opportunity for people to get to know each other."

"Even if your budget has been cut drastically, you can still create the quality face time you need, but," according to Jay, "it takes a little more work and planning. If your budget is only $100 or $200 a month, you can still manage to squeeze in a big luncheon meeting, such as a chamber or industry-specific event, a few breakfast meetings – which are much more affordable than lunch, two or three happy hour meetings, and of course you can always stop by a client's or prospect's office with a box of doughnuts. The key is to plan your budget at the start of each month to assure you'll be able to make it stretch."

Jay adds that scheduling breakfast meetings will be appreciated by working moms who have to leave the office right at five o'clock to pick up their kids and by any professional who has billable hours. They will enjoy getting to see you without it costing them any time away from their desks.

Jay's latest advice is featured in "The Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose," an anthology of messages from motivational speakers that features her chapter, "B Face 2 Face 4 Success." Jay states, "The very technology that was supposed to help us seems to have consumed us, instead. Between texting, Facebook, social media, and the everyday demands of business and life, we are lucky to have an hour of quality face time in any given day – in work or our personal lives. It's as if we can't even write a complete sentence anymore! By making a concerted effort to generate quality face time in business, people will begin to see the results as increased sales."

Jay is available to share her expertise on this and other related topics. For more information, e-mail Robin at Robin@RobinJay.com or visit her website at www.RobinJay.com.

Robin Jay

President

Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau

Henderson, NV

702-460-1420

First Url: For more information on The Power of the Platform, click here

Second Url: For more on Robin, click here