Each week, several groups of three or four businesspeople from around the Tallahassee area get together for lunch. But who their lunch-mates are is usually a surprise. That’s the whole idea.
In January, the Chamber launched its Connect For Lunch program. Each week, members have lunch with two or three different members. Meeting at local member restaurants, these businesspeople spend an hour or more getting to know each other, swapping referrals and becoming each others clients. It’s a comfortable, convenient and low-cost way for them to get the word out about their businesses.
“Chambers are the epicenter of people doing business and the Connect for Lunch was a value-add to our list of programs and services. It not only gives our members another business-to-business opportunity but by design, it provides a great deliverable that’s very well organized, affordable, and requires nominal staff time to administer each month.” said Angela Hardiman-Cole, Vice President Membership Advancement.
“Additionally, our local member restaurants get a direct benefit. We’ve received favorable feedback from our members who appreciate mostly the ability to engage three potential future clients in a manner our traditional programs do not.”
Chamber members receive an email lunch invitation each week, asking them if they’d like to go to lunch on a particular day the following week. If they click “yes,” on Monday they get an email with the name and address of the restaurant along with the names and bio’s of their lunch partners.
On the appointed day, all they have to do is show up at the restaurant. The cost for Chamber members is only $9.95 to go twice a month, or $17.95 for four times a month (plus the cost of your meal).
After her first experience with Connect For Lunch, Sally Musgrove, a Chamber member and the owner of a local insurance agency said “My first Connect For Lunch was awesome! It’s a great idea, and it’s taking networking to a whole new level!”
If you have participated in this new program, comment on our blog! We want to hear from you!
If you have not participated, go online here for more information.
