How to: Set up Virtual Coffee Date

Setting up a Virtual Coffee Date is really easy. Most people are still craving conversations at the moment and so are open to having virtual coffees (provided their diary allows).

01. Who do you want to meet?

Start by deciding who you want to meet. This should include a mix of people and different types of conversations. For example you might include people that are colleagues and other internal contacts, you might include people who are part of the same networking groups as you, you might include people that you want to work with in the future as well as current and potential clients.

Add them all to your wishlist.

02. Why do you want to meet them?

It is important to also identify why you want to meet them. Why are you choosing to have coffee with this particular person? Why might they choose to engage with you?

03. Find them and Reach Out

Once you have identified who you want to have coffee with the next step is to reach out and invite them to have coffee. If you already know them or are connected on LinkedIn a simple (but personalised) email or LinkedIn message should do the trick.

If you don’t already know them why not ask a mutual contact to make an introduction, or alternatively, drop them an email anyway. Some people also post on their website and/or social media about the best way of getting in touch and/or having links for scheduling coffee chats. So be sure to take a look. If not, just ask.

04. Schedule a Time

Once they have agreed to a virtual coffee, you then need to schedule a time. If you didn’t already suggest a time in your original email (or the time wasn’t convenient) some tools can help you schedule a meeting at a mutually convenient time.

If it is an internal contact, you should be able to use your internal calendar/scheduling system e.g. on outlook.

If you are scheduling external meetings or want to allow people to book appointments with you, you might want to use a tool like:

• Acuity
• Calendar
• Calendly
• Doodle
• PickTime
• Woven

05. Agree on a Platform

Finally, agree on a medium/platform for your virtual coffee. We would recommend that you choose to do your virtual coffee via video (e.g. via Zoom or Teams) rather than over the phone. This is a lot more personal and interactive than a phone call and it means that you can give them your undivided attention during the call.

Further Reading:

• Set up a Coffee Date
• Catch up coffee? Plan your conversation
• Internal Networking: Maximising a Coffee Meeting