Some target customer groups are harder to reach than others. Architects for example are reluctant to meet sales people unless they have a specific request. This can happen after they've already decided what they want to buy. That eliminates any chance of a salesperson changing a sale away from a competitor. A lunch and learn session could give you back that opportunity; to change or set a specification.
It’s worth noting that if your lunch and learn session has been accredited by an institute, it would count towards the annual prerequisite of that institute, for example - The Royal Institute of British Architects have a policy that architects must spend the equivalent of 45 minutes per week on Continuous Professional Development. The British Institute of Interior Designers specify 20 hours per annum.
Setting these 2 stipulated opportunities aside many other companies will be interested in a more informal, of their own accord, “Lunch and Learn” session once it is explained to them what the benefits are.
The learning part is essential and you should make sure that you try to impart relevant, worthwhile information that the customers probably don’t know. For example, in one of the companies I ran, many of the products we sold were created with wool therefore the learning part often talked about the farms where the sheep were cared for, the organic fertilisers used to help the grass to grow, why the wool becomes strong when spun and doesn’t just slide apart again.
If you have a product that can be handled then there should be the widest range on hand that the room/table will accommodate. Hopefully the attendees will see things they didn't know about or expect. This might trigger ideas of how they could be used and lead to sales. On one occasion we were presenting a new range of woollen tartans for upholstery. Along with the usual Black Watch and Stuart designs we asked our new graduate designer to produce a few-off-the-wall ideas. One of the architects went back to their office and specified a shocking pink tartan on a 3-seater sofa in every room for a very large apart-hotel.
The lunch part needs to be something to attract those “of their own accord” to attend. This needs to be discussed with the key customer contact. You might want to consider interesting finger food like sushi. Special dietary requirements MUST be met. You need to cater for the maximum number that might attend.
You might have customers who have a number of employed people to attend. You might want to partner up with one of your customers and invite their customers into your customer's premises or your own facilities. You might want to invite a number of your own customers to an interesting venue, for example the latest, “hot-spot” place to go.
The room should be set to be informal and create a sociable atmosphere where people get a break from work. A break-out area can be ideal depending on distractions. Having thought about the set up, you might want to offer both a lunchtime session and another at 6pm to give attendees more choice to make a selection from.
The session should take long enough to get your points over but to a maximum of 45 minutes including Q&A.