Surviving a Tough Economy

Ideas from Caterers to Caterers

True selling instead of order taking is a must in this day and time. Train your sales staff to combine orders—if you already have an order on a particular day, take a look at what was purchased and see if you can sell those items again. Also, sell items that are already in-house—your inventory is your friend; use it wisely to sell items that you already purchased. Just because a client says they want a particular item, it doesn’t mean you can’t sell them something else. Remember, they are looking to you for your expertise.
—Anna and Ed Currie, exclamations catering, Greensboro, NC

We do all our own centerpieces to keep down costs because flowers are going up due to the dollar overseas. We bought flowering and hanging plants, which we use over and over, especially on our spring buffets. Best of all, my $350 a week flower bill has been cut to $40. They come in every color and all I have to do is water them. When all else fails, caterers become creative. I love when the ideas roll.
—Kim Lauria, Elegant Touch Catering & Special Events, Albany NY.

Surviving the current economic trend is based on not raising prices on a ‘random’ basis—it is important to keep in touch with what a client can afford to spend if you wish to keep the business. Make their budget work with seasonal menus. This year we have worked hard on this approach. We have never sold more chicken in our lives. We have never sold more designer soups. We have never sold more interesting seasonal fruit desserts with very little chocolate. Our sales are up about 20 percent.
—Dan McCall, McCall Catering, San Francisco, CA.

We locked in filet and sirloin prices with SYSCO for our busy season (projected savings: $5,000 per year). We have locked in other items with SYSCO as well for a $2,000 savings per year. We pay many bills with credit cards, including paying SYSCO with their own credit card, and we get 1-2 percent back (projected savings: $35,000 per year).
—Russell Morin, Fine Catering by Russell Morin, Attleboro, MA

My very wise business counselor teaches this: When times get tough, customers will choose price over loyalty every time. We sometimes can offer more aggressive pricing on non-premium dates. In retrospect, imposing minimum orders for peak times assures profitability. Learn to sell time rather than food. This will allow maximizing each day's production. Offering the same menu when feasible takes the pressure off the production side of the business.
—Steve DeAngelo, DeAngelo's Catering & Events, Tigard, OR

Our team had to restructure how we sold the events by focusing on cutting costs without a negative effect on the success of the event or the bottom line. To achieve this goal, we offered alternative formats. Our first challenge was the seated dinner. They are costly due to labor; however, this structure is mandated by the client and can't be avoided. By suggesting family-style dining you are able to lower the labor costs, resulting in an overall price decrease.
— Meryl Snow, Feastivities Catered Events, Philadelphia, PA

Catersource magazine
September/October 2008