Why do I make time for lunch with someone every day

Your network is your pure value. Have you heard before? I’ve told him for years because I have raised it. The right relationship can change your life. The right introduction can change your business.

The problem is that most people believe that networking means working in the room, shaking 50 hands and going out with business cards. I used to think the same-unless I realized that the most valuable contacts are with each other.

There Lunches with legends Has come from

Every week, I eat lunch with a new one. Sometimes it is an investor. Sometimes it is a founder. Sometimes this is the friend of the friend whom I first meet when they slip into the booth. The goal is not to pitch. It is not to sell. This is to contact because everyone is happy with good food and good company.

Related: 10 orders of networking you need to know

Why food is a secret weapon

Meetings are formal. Lunch is real. At lunch, no one is watching. No one is hiding behind slides or agendas. Food slows you down.

When you get the truth. You hear about the deal they are chasing. The challenge they cannot solve. The purpose on which they are sitting because they do not know where to start.

I have learned more than a Tacos plate on a conference table.

How did it start

When I was starting in real estate, I worked in networking programs as it was my job – because it was. I will collect a pile of business cards, follow with each, etc. One day, someone said to me, “Forget the sheep. Take a man to lunch.”

He clicked. The best contacts are personal, not hurry.

The first lunch turned into a connection that changed my career. Not because I asked for something, but because we created confidence through dialogue.

From then, Lunches with legends I have had a daily habit. Not about having a networking score. This is about to be ready for help. I ask, instead of guiding with “what I do,”, I ask, “What is on your plate – literally and symbolically – and how can I help?”

Which changes everything.

• People miss youFor, for, for,. Not as a “man from lunch” but as a person who introduced him to his next rent or shared an idea that opened the solution.
• Conversation flows You are not pitching. You are listening
• Opportunities come around. When you help without expecting anything, your name comes in rooms that you are not.

How does it look practically

Last week, I had lunch with people from all different industries. In the traditional sense, none of them were “chances”. But in every conversation, I found a way to connect them to someone else that can help. A manufacturer. A guardian a friend

I didn’t have to force these occasions. They came naturally because I was paying attention.

Related: This ‘Lumbergack Strategy’ helps me find a new client quickly – and with less effort

How to host your lunch with legends

You do not need a major title or fancy budget. You need consistency.

• A lunch new person. Every week’s day. A friend friend, a young professional can be looking for guidance or someone you mean to meet.
• Keep it comfortable. You will see me in these five places. I have my circulation down. If this is not broken then don’t fix it.
• Listen more than you talk. If you give them a place, people will tell you what they need.
• Follow up with value. If you can help, it immediately. Do it.

Rules of selfie

Each Lunches with legends Ends with selfie. It’s not about Anna. This is about memory. That picture is a bookmark. Months later, I can scroll back and remember, ‘Oh, she was looking for a podcast producer. I know anyone now. ‘

It is a fun ritual that makes the moment deliberately, and it survives.

Networking is a long game. Every lunch does not need to be turned into an agreement. Some people from whom I have met only once. After other years, friends, partners or clients have become. The price is permanently revealed, creating confidence and connecting people. In this way your network grows in both size and strength.

Why the food works for networking

There is something about a shared food that breaks the barriers rapidly.

When you eat with someone, both of you are just going to decide between the fries or the salad. This is human. It is unarmed. It sets the real conversation phase rather than a level of surface exchange.

The same Lunches with legends Works It turns networking into something that people actually look forward to. Who doesn’t want to break bread and learn something? It is worth it every time.

This is your move

Think about a person you have to meet. Invite them to lunch this week.

Don’t eliminate it. Don’t make it about your need. Make it about showing, asking good questions and leaving them better.

And yes – selfie is needed.