Landing The Big Ones!

One interesting bit of collective memory among off-premise caterers: remembering the first truly big party that you ever catered.

Often if this topic comes up over drinks at the end of a long day, some twinges of embarrassment might be in evidence.  The first time I ever did a party for more than 1200 people, I was just as glad to be working rather than there as a guest. As I recall the sirloins were a little overcooked, and some of the staff was out of uniform – but despite all of this the event was a big success.

The big event is an important milestone in the life of any catering company. Often, it can be a turning point in establishing the reputation of the caterer as the predominant player in their market.

There are two kinds of big events – the big in numbers event, and the big in importance event.  Sometimes, but not always, these are the same. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to be able to work on a good number of both types of events. As a consultant, I’ve been able to observe the process of selling the large event from both sides of the table.

A question that we are often asked is how to break into this market, and how to close the sale on the large event. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to either question.

As far as how too break into the market, the best approach we can suggest is to climb the charitable event ladder. This means taking on the smaller events for your local charities, with the expectation that you will sooner or later be given the opportunity to bid on the local fundraising galas. This is an effective approach even if you really hope to break into the large scale corporate event market – the first company I ever managed provided small scale catering services for a local plutocrat businessman, but it was only after he watched us successfully execute a charity fundraiser that he finally let us cater his own large events.

Another method is to do your best to get close to the other vendors involved, principally party planners and florists. Often their endorsement will carry a great deal of weight with the decision makers – since they wouldn’t put their relationships with the large event at risk unless they are sure that you can get the job done well.

Of course, if you are unquestionably the best caterer in your market, the business will beat a path to your door.

The second question on closing the sale is even trickier. One rule to keep in mind is that the importance of discount pricing is more important when pursuing the large in numbers event, as opposed to the large in importance event. This is providential, since for the large in numbers event the economies of scale will often compensate for the discount.