Business Etiquette - Dinner With Investors
If you have potential investors flying in from another part of the country, you are likely to have them for dinner. Meals can be a pitfall in any relationship, either business or personal. Many people judge your ability to select a restaurant, pick wine, and sit through a meal as a proxy for how you conduct your life. If you are unable to do these things with appropriate acumen, you will likely be judged unfit to receive funding, especially if the investor is on the fence about your company.
Manners are about making other people feel comfortable and behavior that is seen as disrespectful, discourteous or abrasive is usually unintentional.
Here are some basics to get through a dinner with an investor.
- Pick a mid-level restaurant with good food. Select a restaurant that has a variety of choices on the menu including a vegetarian selection.
- Make a reservation. If the restaurant you pick doesn't take reservations, pick another restaurant.
- Dress to match the dress of your guests. If they are wearing suits, wear a suit. If they are wearing jackets, wear a jacket. Err on the conservative side. Regardless of the dress, be neat, clean shaven, and wear unwrinkled clothing.
- If the guests are coming in their own car, make sure they have good directions. Arrive a little early - always make sure you arrive before your guest.
- Allow your guests to select their own seats, but encourage your team to sit between the guests to facilitate better conversation. If you have two people who are better conversationalists, have them sit on opposite sides of the table to keep conversation flowing. Arrange this before you arrive at the restaurant.
- If you are expected to pick the wine, be prepared. If you are not a wine connoisseur, call the restaurant ahead of time and ask to speak to the sommelier. He or she should be able to give you some good mid-range wines in both white and red.
- When you site down, remember that your bread plate is on the left and your drinks are on your right. During the meal, use your flatware from the outside in. Put your napkin in your lap. If you would like bread, salt and pepper, butter, etc., as for it to be passed, don't reach over someone for it.
- When selecting your meal, pick one that is easy to eat and does not have a tendency to leave distracting bits of food in your teeth. Take a bite of food and put your flatware down before chewing and swallowing. Don't talk with any food in your mouth.
- Don't drink too much.
- Some business talk at the table is okay, but don't let it overwhelm the conversation. Stay off of topics that may be sensitive, sex, politics and religion are good ones to avoid. A good way to avoid saying something stupid is just to ask a lot of questions and let your guests do all the talking.
- If none of your guests order coffee or dessert, then you should not either. If they do, then at least one or more of your team should do the same. This can be tricky because they may not want to order first. In this case, you should judge how you think they feel and follow that instinct.
- Pay. They are your guests, you are expected to pay.
In general, good business etiquette is about making people feel comfortable and valued. If you provide a nice meal with good conversation, then you have succeeded even if you accidentally use the wrong fork.