Coffee Chats: The What, How, & Why for Business Owners
Coffee chats are so fun. They can be a great, intentional way to learn about somebody--about who they serve and what they do and anything else that you might have in common.
Today I'm going to be talking all about using coffee chats to grow your business organically.
But before I dive into how you can make the most of them, let me just tell you a little bit about what they are in case this is your first time ever learning about them.
What is a Coffee Chat?
Coffee chats are simple and I’m all about simple.
There's not a lot of rigmarole when it comes to coffee chats.
In non-COVID times, a coffee chat was going to a coffee shop and getting to know someone in a low-expectation setting.
But virtual coffee chats are the thing now!
So even if you just love being at home, don't have a lot of local connections, or don't want to go out and meet up with people, that's fine! It’s easier than ever to virtually connect with new people.
Virtual coffee chats usually last 15-60min with the commitment at 15-30min (but these things often go over).
And if you're already using a booking system like Acuity or Calendly, you can just set up an appointment type for whatever time parameters work for you.
And then at the scheduled time, we meet on Zoom and we have our virtual coffee chat.
It’s Not About the Pitch
The goal here is not to get them to hire you.
Thankfully, pretty much all of my coffee chats have been amazing and not a sales pitch at all.
But I’ve had a few where they are literally trying to pitch me the whole time.
And it's awkward, and I don't like it.
I know that none of the listeners of my podcast or readers of this blog would do that because you're all amazing people and you all want to be running ethical, feel-good businesses.
But I will say that if it ever happens that you have a call with somebody like that, don’t write off the idea of coffee chats entirely because maybe it’s just a couple of bad experiences, right?
Because for the most part, they’re a great opportunity.
Making Connections and Intros
So your whole goal with coffee chats is to really see who they are and what they do.
You can also find out what you might have in common and see how you can benefit each other.
Be sure to find out who they serve!
All of this makes you a great connector, both to introduce people they may need and to introduce them to others.
Example: maybe they are a course creator.
And you know someone who writes copy for course creators and you could say, “Oh my gosh, I know this writer. You should totally check out her website in case you need copy help. She’s amazing.”
So it’s a really cool way to have a Rolodex (throw back reference!) of people to draw on -- that magic list of really cool people in your back pocket that you can share with old and new connections alike.
Collaborations
It's also a great way to find collaborations.
If you figure out that you both serve the same audience, then it could be a great way for you both to collaborate on something.
That doesn't necessarily mean like a big, huge paid offer; it could just be going live on Instagram together, sharing our expertise on the other person's platform.
Again, you're not going into it necessarily with this notion of like, “Oh, let's collaborate on something together.”
...Unless you put that out there as a pitch of saying “I want people to book in on my coffee chat link, because I want to do more Clubhouse collaborations this year.”
Getting to Know Someone
Coffee chats are also just a really fun way to get to know the other person.
Some of the people that I've done coffee chats with, I'm like, “Oh, my gosh, you did roller derby, too! That's so cool!”
And now when we're connected online, we have that common language, that common bond outside of just the world of business.
Or we might have lived in the same places or both really like true crime, or whatever the case is.
And I have a lot of people who I talk to all the time now who I met through coffee chats.
Market Research
I am doing this currently where I set up some coffee chats through some people that I knew and I said, “Hey, this is my intention: I want to do some coffee chats, but I also want to utilize it as market research.”
And I just let people know, off the bat, I said I’d give suggestions as a thank you for helping me out.
So I will give generously back to the people who help me. And people were more than happy to do it.
Reaching Out
Look in any of the other places that you're already engaging with people. Example: social media.
If you are already dm-ing with somebody, you have a connection that could turn into an invite.
Or you're in a Facebook group with somebody and you seem to have a good connection going on. You can always reach out and say, “Hey! We chat a lot in the DMS! Would you ever be open to a 20 minute coffee chat?”
And then if they say yes, give the booking link, and then they can book it on your calendar and make it really easy.
Digital networking is also a great place for reaching out.
Instead of just saying, “I networked and now great, I know these people but I'm not continuing the relationship with any of them,” you can take the posture of, “No, I actually really want to get to know some of these people better.”
When I did this, I sent a personal email to some of the people I met and said that if they ever wanted to connect, here was my link to schedule a coffee chat!
And again, I'm not hoping to get anything out of it other than a connection.
I’m not sneakily trying to get them to become a client of mine or whatever.
Honestly, there have been times I've had coffee and chatted with people and then I'm like, “Shit, I need to hire them!”
I never assume that it's going to lead to money.
It's truly just this energy of: I think you're interesting. I think what you're doing is interesting. I think you seem like a rad person, I really just want to be able to get to know you better!
The Simple Summary
So then, as you're on the call itself, I would say keep it loose and fun.
It’s okay to have some sort of boundaries and parameters and things like that but also just treat it like you would any regular conversation.
If you’re not sure what to talk about, here are some generous questions you can ask in order to get the conversation going in an awesome direction.
Generous Questions to ask:
How can I best support you going forward?
What do you need right now? Are you looking for client referrals / collaborations / speaking opportunities?
Can I send people to your opt-in?
Is there anything that you are promoting right now that I can share?
Which types of clients are the best fit for you so I can best refer you?
That's it. Super, super simple. No pressure. Just be your cool, normal self.
Sometimes you will have a better connection with certain people than others. But I will say like 9 times out of 10, when I do a coffee chat with people, it’s really great.
Try it out! And if you've already done them, tell me about it. I want to hear your stories!
