The Key to Entertaining Clients in Restaurants Without Going Broke

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Social prospecting has its limitations. Suppose you meet a great couple at a monthly event. You get on wonderfully. A bit more cultivation and they might become clients. Unfortunately, each connection you make is spaced one month from the last because you only see them at events. What if they miss a month? You need to speed things up. This means dining out. Here’s what you need to know.

Let’s add another category: Current friends who might (or might not) become clients. You get together regularly. (In this example, we are pretending the pandemic never happened.) You go out a lot. How do you keep costs under control?

Here’s a safe assumption: If you suggest getting together for dinner with that charming couple referenced earlier, they will not be expecting a free meal. In polite society, bills are split. There are occasions where one party insists on picking up the entire check. This often happens at country clubs because everything is done on account. In that case, the other party is expected to pick up the check at the next event.

By having a personal list of restaurants for different situations, carefully researched regarding price, you can be prepared for almost every situation involving entertainment without breaking the bank.

If you play golf, you have multiple clubs in your bag. When dining out with friends and clients, you need several restaurants that are familiar places where you are known. Check out the gallery above to see how I would build the list.

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