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Wining and dining

by socialentry
4 replies
One of my friend knew I was looking for a job, and he suggested I look into account executive/business development at one of the canadian banks if I can somehow bypass a lack of BA.

Apparently, account exec. did little cold calling and they have a corporate credit card with very generous allowances. The senior guys often bring clients to eat at top restaurants to bring large accounts (for example, credit card processing for a major retailer). They also have prime hockey lodges and such.

I also encountered similar attitude in investment brokerages. While I do believe someone needs to be well dressed and presentable, I thought part of it was simply machochismo.

So my Q:
1- Do wining and dining actually work? Or is it a flimsy excuse for basically abusing corporate credit cards? The way that it got described to me, it sounded a lot more like bribery and ego stroking then sales.

2-If you had an extremely limited amounts of leads (to throw a number lets say 35 up to 250) and you had to work with that, what sales strategy would you prefer?
#dining #questions #wining
  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    I am beginning to think you don't get out much do you?

    Success breeds success. The Car the Clothes.. sure its all an act, but who sells more the Realtor in the Benz or the Honda?

    You can tell a woman you love her, but you chinze on valentines, or her birthday she questions it.

    The wine and dine mentality is answering a basic question.. how much do you want my business? Sure its bribery of sorts. Its a perk for being the person that makes the decisions.

    If there were limited leads what would I do? bide my time give the customers about a year and seek out the prospects that chose failing solutions and stick it to them! ( While supplying a solution that works )
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by socialentry View Post

    So my Q:
    1- Do wining and dining actually work? Or is it a flimsy excuse for basically abusing corporate credit cards? The way that it got described to me, it sounded a lot more like bribery and ego stroking then sales.

    2-If you had an extremely limited amounts of leads (to throw a number lets say 35 up to 250) and you had to work with that, what sales strategy would you prefer?
    The wining and dining is a social setting. It's not so much the money invested...it's the time invested, and building a "relationship" with the prospect.

    I have one insurance friend that prospects by inviting business couples out to diner, and then gives them a tour of his home. His home is modest, but nice. And they buy life insurance from him.

    Do they know it's a pitch? Sure. Does he try to hide it? No. but he is breaking down a huge barrier that prospects have. And...he doesn't bring up insurance. Ever. The prospect inevitably does.....and they set an appointment. How would you not buy if;

    You got to know the salesperson in a social setting
    The salesman paid for it all (This can also be a sporting event. But he wants the couple here. And so diner works best)
    You are the one bringing up life insurance.

    His closing is almost 100%. But it's more work than I want to do, and he's a social animal...and I'm not.

    If I only had a few hundred leads..and no more were going to be available. Meaning my entire universe is 200 prospects....I'd call on the phone...send gifts...buy lunch....

    Establish a relationship...and be great to them..until they buy. The big question is..What's the payoff.

    If I make $300 on a sale, I'm not wining and dining you. I'm not even going to send a series of letters, or phone calls. For a $20,000 commission? (even if it's over a few years) this courtship selling is more reasonable (to me, at least)

    I have another friend, that sells water softeners...and his entire prospecting system consists of offering a free dinner for 2. People register for the free dinner (at a nice restaurant), and he brings them in ...in groups of 10 couples at a time. He gives a short speech about clean water...and tries to keep the conversation going, about clean water.

    At the end of the meal, he gathers cards that indicate whether they want to know more about his offer. Maybe 2 or 3 say "Yes"...and he sells them by appointment.

    The dinners may cost him $300 for the group. And he generally makes a few thousand dollars on the sales that week. He does the dinners once a week.
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    • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      I have another friend, that sells water softeners...and his entire prospecting system consists of offering a free dinner for 2. People register for the free dinner (at a nice restaurant), and he brings them in ...in groups of 10 couples at a time. He gives a short speech about clean water...and tries to keep the conversation going, about clean water.

      At the end of the meal, he gathers cards that indicate whether they want to know more about his offer. Maybe 2 or 3 say "Yes"...and he sells them by appointment.

      The dinners may cost him $300 for the group. And he generally makes a few thousand dollars on the sales that week. He does the dinners once a week.
      I like this approach, mmm business dinners for specific trades/ industry buyers with a conversation throughout .
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      Mike

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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    It works for sure. The military does it as well when there is someone that scores pretty high on the tests but haven't committed. Colleges do it. Big companies do it.

    I don't do too much to get clients locally, but when I have wanted someone really bad, I'd take them to a cardinal baseball game and each time I did, they bought. Of course... in St. Louis, cardinal baseball is magical and everyone here is an extreme fan, but I would imagine it would work anywhere unless you were a cubs fan or something awful.
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