The Top 4 Reasons You Should Drink More With Your Clients

As any service-based company will attest to, it's critical to have expertise and passion for the world we work and play in. But even with clients who are outside that F&B bubble, it's important to throw back one or two drinks to open up a new dialogue and break up the day-to-day monotony. 

Here are 4 reasons why you should drink with your clients.

Get the Truth

They don't say "in vino veritas" for nothing.  Alcohol is life's social lubricant and sometimes just what a client needs to open up about what their real goals are for a project, or even what's secretly coming down the pipeline from corporate that you otherwise might not know about. There's nothing like a cocktail or 2 to unlock the jaws of even the most tight lipped client.

Be Vulnerable 

As service providers, it's part of the job to always have answers and be strong in front of the clients, but being vulnerable shifts the power dynamic and creates sympathy and empathy.  This in turn can generate a deeper connection than the run of the mill weekly calls that run through agendas and metrics reports.

Being vulnerable or allowing someone to be vulnerable with you is a reminder that at a basic level everyone's human and infinitely flawed.  In finding those imperfections, it allows us to connect with one another, bringing out the individual traits that make you and your clients who they are.

This post was originally published for INC. Magazine, to see the remaining reasons to drink with your clients read the rest of the article here.

Stay tuned for more from Laurel through her Inc. column 'On Brand'.