Finding New Clients For Your Nutrition Practice…Using Your iPad or Smartphone

Do "Lunch and Learn" Presentations to Corporate Groups

I recommend this approach to my sales organizations (another industry).  It seems to be effective – good luck:

On your iPAD or smartphone:

1.  To find worthwhile opportunities:  Do a search for “Corporate Headquarters in CT” (use your own state or city).  The result will be all the large headquarters in your area.  These are good prospects because they are typically looking for guest speakers for their “Lunch and Learn” initiatives.  

2.  Then, call their HR departments:  to propose your being a guest speaker at their next “Lunch and Learn” initiative…

• Using that verbiage will help them quickly know what you are talking about, in one sentence.
• Now-a-days, you will typically hit voice mail, but that phrasing will still work…because the HR departments…if they don’t have a “Lunch and Learn” initiative…will know that they should…and will often jump on the idea because your guest speaker services are free and it enhances their initiatives to show support for employee well-being, etc.
• Note:  Don’t get discouraged when calling all these HR departments…it is key to remember it is a numbers game i.e. you’ll have to leave perhaps 10 voice mail messages to get just 1 to 2 return calls.  But those that do this difficult task, are typically rewarded with a growing clientele and revenue base.

3.  Other Tips:

• When you leave your voice mail above, offer to fax or email a “1-page summary” describing your proposed “Health and Wellness” presentation.  Mention your blog or web address, and email.  This approach will impress them with your professionalism and preparation and will set you apart.  It will greatly increase the quantity of interested responses you receive.
• I will provide more tips in other blog entries i.e. presentation templates, sample verbiage, blog approaches, etc.

Sincerely,
John Hudson  About

Eating Out With Food Allergies

Eating Out With Food Allergies

Please be aware that the excellent article below is not written by us, but is an excerpt from a top notch site titled, http://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com/eatingoutwithfoodallergies.html We also provide the link at the bottom of the article and recommend going there for full research.

Here is an excerpt from the article’s author:

I’ve read all of the tips available about eating out with food allergies but they haven’t made me more comfortable or confident in my ability to stand up and be heard at a busy, noisy, allergen-filled restaurant.

Recently, I decided that this must change! The key to eating out safely and comfortably with food allergies is getting to know the people behind the food…the chefs! Rather than going to numerous local restaurants, I decided to use the power of the internet to reach chefs all over the world.

I posted my question, “How do you deal with food allergies?” on two forums for culinary professionals: Chef2Chef.net and Cheftalk.com. The chefs and other culinary professionals on those sites were very open and helpful!

Here are the take home messages that I gathered:

Check the menu in advance

Although it may not always be possible, looking over a restaurant’s menu before you arrive there can make communicating with the chef and restaurant staff easier. Many restaurants have websites that include their full menu. Try an internet search using the restaurant name, city and state to quickly find the website.

Call Ahead

This was a very popular suggestion by the chefs on the forums. It is especially important if you will be attending an event that is catered since the food is prepared in advance. Here is why it is helpful:

• While food in a restaurant is typically made when you order it, a lot of the components that go into a dish are prepped ahead of time. For instance meats are often marinated ahead of time and those marinades may contain an allergen that you are avoiding. If you can call ahead, the chef can skip the marinade for one portion to cater to your needs. This may not be possible if you drop in during the busy dinner rush.
• It will be easier to communicate with the chef over the phone (provided you call during a slow time of day) than at the restaurant while he or she is in the middle of a busy mealtime rush.
• It makes the chef and restaurant staff happy because they aren’t caught off guard and can be prepared for you.
• You can ask the chef for menu suggestions based on the constraints of your allergies and he or she will have more time to help you.
• When calling ahead, keep the following in mind:
• Call before or after the busy meal time hours (for instance, between 2PM and 4 PM).
• Be brief and to the point. Even though you’re calling during “down time” restaurants are busy places and chefs are busy people.
• A little gratitutde goes a long way!
• Be vocal about your allergies ASAP

If you can’t communicate to the chef before you get to the restaurant, be sure to let your server know as soon as you are seated and are given menus. This way, the server can communicate with the chef and other back of the house staff and you can begin working together to determine what you can eat.

If you don’t get the feeling that the server is taking your allergies seriously or doesn’t understand the importance of what you are saying, ask to speak with the chef. If you get the same feeling from the chef, you might be better off going elsewhere.

Some of the chefs on the forums said that people don’t always share the information about their allergies until they have received their meal. Do not do this! Not only will you have to wait even longer to get your meal but the chef will not be happy with you. I don’t know about you but I want the chef preparing my food to be doing so with love, not anger and frustration!

See more at http://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com/eatingoutwithfoodallergies.html. We highly recommend this site for well researched insights.