Discussion Points That Will Make You Think!

Think about these "points" either with yourself alone or in a group at a meeting!


1. The amount of deposit required isn't as important as the fact that the deposit is actually paid.   
2. The essence of leadership is trust!
3. Make your buyer understand that you are more concerned with the success of their event than just making the sale!
4. Great caterers know when not to take an event.  
5. The best salespeople understand when to turn a particular shopper over to another salesperson when they are striking out or have a personality conflict.
6. Which would be better... an annual sales volume of $800,000 resulting from the sale of 450 events or $800,000 of annual sales from 350 orders? Working less for the same volume is a good thing!
   

Thoughts On Pricing

Proper price is achieved when buyers feel they are getting a fair price and the caterer is getting a correct amount of profit. The price of the catering is not as crucial as the profit received. Few caterers overcharge clients, but many worry far too much about losing bookings because they have higher prices than their competitors.

Most business people in other industries have no problem with charging what the market will bear. Caterers, on the other hand, seem always to want to be fair with their prices. What they sometimes forget is that fair should mean a win-win situation. A caterer can’t win just by making a sale, especially if the price for that sale is lower than it could be—or should be. Fair pricing means the client has an outstanding event, the guests become future clients of the caterer, and the caterer prospers!

If caterers use only what is taught in the foodservice schools, such as cost times three, as their main mark-up guide for every event, they will never prosper and may even end up in debt. Caterers need to use a mark-up beginning at four times cost and hopefully five and six times for certain difficult catering situations. There are always exceptions to this concept.

Caterers cannot establish a proper pricing policy if they charge every buyer the same price for the same things. No two events are the same, even if the menus are the same. Some events are just harder. Some clients are more demanding than others. When an event is going to be harder and the host more demanding, the price needs to increase to cover the additional costs that will be associated with it.

A True Fish Story From A Great Caterer!

NOTE FROM MICHAEL ROMAN:

OK.... let''s start the week off with a FUN and TRUE story from my dear friend Cade Nagy of Catering By Design in Denver. You need to know that Cade is one of the funniest people I know. He has a charming boldness balanced by a genuine kindness for all things and people. Ingrid is his lovely and amazing wife who is his partner in their successful catering business. Those who already know Cade will get instant "joy" from his email and photo below. Everyone else should go out of their way to meet both Cade and Ingrid!

Here is the unedited email and photo I received from Cade:

Speaking of fishing. This is a true story. NO BS!!!!

Last week, I was on vacation with the sexy, Ingrid, (in a two piece mind you). Sitting on the beach in Destin Florida with its crystal clear, emerald green waters and snow white sandy beaches, minding my business checking out some local hotties down a few umbrellas, when, out of nowhere appears a fish swimming in circles 100 yards out to sea. It drew quite a crowd of walkers by wondering just what it was. So what do I do being the fisherman I am, I swim out to the beast to get a closer look. It appeared to have been hooked by a previous fisherman and was injured.

  So using my quick ninja skills, I grab him by the tail, and proceed to try and help him swim away by slowly rocking him forward and backward to get water moving in his gills. I then check his gills to see if they are clear from plastic bags and other debris. They were. After ten minutes of trying, I see that I’ve drawn a crowd of passers by on the beach. So I swim the little fella to shore. Pose for a few a photos. Answer some questions. Show of my buff tan. Then give him to some guy from Alabama who says he’d love to eat him. So I tell him I’m a chef, go to his room to clean it up for him and became his hero.

  It was a 38” 19lb Red Fish caught with my bare hands BABY!! I TAMED THE BEAST!!!!

Cade With His Fish!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you checked out my new website?
Don't forget about my new sales clinics coming to
Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco!
http://cateringguru.com/upcoming-education/