11 Aug 10 Four Guidelines For Getting Great Catering Deals

Catering can be one of the most expensive aspects of any event or meeting, but there are ways to save money. Savvy planners can save a bundle on catering by following a few simple steps:

• Discuss long term relationships – If you can talk to an owner and/or manager at the catering company, it is often possible to save money by discussing long term agreements. Consider the first event to be a demo for long term work and prices might drop perceptibly.
• Exchange – Is there a possibility of a goods/service exchange? If so, then determine what your bottom line is and weigh it against the possible gains. If it proves to be a wash or profitable then the decision is simple. If there is a slight loss, remember that caterers are a good source for word of mouth and may consider a mutual word of mouth exchange to be valuable.
• Remember your manners – Everyone is busy, some of them may actually be more busy than you! Caterers tend to be very busy, and often appreciate both brevity and good manners. Keep things brief and polite in order to build rapport that can be leveraged later.
• Start small and get big – Start discussing price by starting with a small number of people, usually around 80% of the actual amount, and then ask for pricing on additional plates/heads. This method is often effective reducing the possibility of being oversold.

Tags: Bottom Line, Brevity, Catering Company, Demo, Good Manners, Long Term Relationships, Planners, Service Exchange, Simple Steps, Term Agreements, Ways To Save Money, Word Of Mouth