The single hardest thing for a
caterer to do is to say “no” to an order, especially during the first years as
a caterer. I believe you aren’t really a professional caterer if you accept any
and all orders. Doctors, lawyers and other professionals don’t take every
client that comes their way.
Beginning caterers often feel it is
great to take all orders no matter what their profit profile, just to keep the
staff busy and gain experience. When food prices and fuel are increasing
dramatically, only orders that return proper profitability should be booked—no
matter what! The number of orders you take is not as important as the
profitability of those orders.
Caterers need to keep their
spending and purchases in line with what they are selling their products and
services for. A caterer working with a 50 percent to 60 percent cost of sales
needs to make sure that, after all the bills are paid for raw materials and after
all the culinary staff and other event costs are paid, there is still a 40
percent to 50 percent gross margin left to work with. A few poor selling or
buying decisions can dramatically change your ratios.
My newest clinics – Sales, Marketing & Management!
Take any one day, two days or all three!
Ft. Lauderdale – July 16, 17 & 18
New York City – July 23, 24 & 25
Irvine – August 6, 7 & 8
DC area – August 13, 14 & 15
Boston – August 27, 28 & 29
Seattle – September 10, 11, & 12
Chicago – September 17, 18 & 19
Download all the info at: http://cateringguru.com/upcoming-education/
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