Member-only story
This story leads to profitable networking meetings
Inviting a business colleague for coffee? Make sure you’ve got the whole story.
Oh no…it’s in my inbox again. Or my LinkedIn message section. Or my Messenger account.
“Hi Cathy, We seem to have a lot in common. Why don’t we get together and talk about our businesses?”
Now I get this sinking feeling, especially if the sender seems extremely nice and well-intentioned. They might even be someone I know.
Before the pandemic, it was worse.
After a networking event, people would call and say, “Let’s go have coffee.” Now we’re talking about a two-hour chunk of time, because we have to find transportation.
I’ve met business owners who claim these coffee dates led to meaningful outcomes — even lucrative clients.
That’s never happened to me. In fact, when I get an invitation, I wonder, “How successful can someone be if they’ve got time to spend on coffee dates with people they don’t know? Can they afford to hire a consultant or copywriter?”
Occasionally the coffee dates could lead to a good story.
Once, after a networking event, a financial planner invited me for coffee at one of my favorite…
