Can I invite you to coffee?
I give myself permission to call people I want to meet and invite them to coffee.
Here is my approach.
“Hi Bill, this is Ron Finklestein. I been hearing good things about you and I would like to buy you a cup of coffee. I have no agenda others then getting to know you a little better. Are you open to having a cup coffee?”
I have never been turned down using this approach. It is not unusual for this meeting to be schedule out a few weeks but I have never been refused. I do this once a month and I do it for me. I want to learn what others do to be successful so I can be more effective at helping my client grow, prosper and get results.
There are some things you need to know when you do this. Be authentic, don’t use it as a ruse to get in front of them and sell them something, be open to what you can learn, and be a good listener.
I recently did this with a gentleman who recently sold his business.
We had a great meeting and he told me why he met with me. “I never had anyone just want to have coffee with me who approached me the way you did. I was curious.”
During our discussion I asked him how I might help him achieve his goal. He said, “I never had anyone ask me that question before.”
I could tell there was something he wanted to share so I waited for him to make up his mind. Finally he told me that he wanted to get into coaching and he was concerned because he had no methodology. We then talk about my methodology and how it was created. I told him I could shorten his process if wanted to license my approach.
He had to leave to catch a plane and told me he would read some material and let me know next week if he wanted to proceed and learn more.
This all happened because I reached out.
I do group sales training and I shared this story with them. None could believe I would set up meeting without the purpose of getting business. I explained to them that you can have different purposes in meeting others: curiosity, networking, referrals introductions, problem solving, asking advice, etc.
The universe works in mysterious ways. I just follow my path and if I like someone I tell them. If I want to learn more I ask them and I never leave a meeting with someone I just met without asking these two questions:
- What are you hoping to get out of our meeting today? I ask this because they are meeting with me for their reasons and it is useful to know what they want.
- What is your goal and how can I help you achieve it. People are surprised by this because most do not have goals. This helps bring some clarity to the meeting.
Give yourself permission to call someone you find interesting and ask them to coffee. Tell them you the truth; that you have no agenda and you just want to learn about them. Watch how both you and the other person change. Be prepared to create some new meaningful relationships and be open to whatever the situation offers.
