Moderation pays
As a motivational speaker and author of “The Art of the Business Lunch,” I get to hear stories about every kind of business lunch, things gone wrong or right, and the results of such encounters.
In Las Vegas, we often find ourselves dining next to tourists, so no one would ever notice a cocktail on the table, and if they did, they wouldn’t give it a second thought.
This week I heard a “keeper.” I have always said there is nothing wrong with having a drink with your clients, as long as you take it easy and never get drunk.
A guest at one of my speeches this week felt compelled to tell me how he used to keep up with a client who was a heavy drinker. He said they’d both always get sloshed, and while business was okay with this client, it wasn’t outstanding.
Finally, this man told his client, “You know, I just can’t keep up with you.” With that, he had one drink with his client and then switched to soda. The outcome?
The client quadrupled his buy! After getting hammered together for years, the client realized what was going on and became so respectful of his rep that he began to do more business with him!
Is that the exception? Would someone else have taken it another way? Could we have a new slogan in “Moderation Pays?"
