A note from the Pick On Us CEO, Aaron Motola:
At Pick On Us, we are always looking for ways we can add value to your customers - whether you run a hotel, a restaurant or your own catering company. To help better serve you, every year we spend a good portion of our time attending industry trade shows and conferences to get a good pulse on the food service industry. Every now and again, we come across a company that we feel could be a valuable resource for our customers. Today, we want to share one of those resources and highlight how The Corporate Caterer can offer their consulting solutions to help your food business reach the results you want. We look forward to sharing more resources with you in the future!
The fluctuation of food prices, estimating the head count of events for budget proposal, and figuring out how to bring in new business are only a few of the many things catering businesses have to consider when determining their operations and cash flow. The catering industry is unique and it’s no surprise that it takes a certain strategy and background experience to be able to stabilize the health of the business.
To help accomplish this stability, the Corporate Caterer’s Virtual Playbook exists to help catering businesses of all sizes, streamline their process to increase profitably. To help caterer’s get a better understanding of their business and how to take advantage of their services, we reached out to the founder, Michael Rosman and the Director of Sales and Marketing, Erin Brazil, to share.
POU: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us Michael! At Corporate Caterer, are most of your clients already running a catering business or are they getting started and want direction on how to begin?
Michael from Corporate Caterer: It’s a 70-30 split. About 70% of our clients are running a corporate catering business and they are ready to “take it to the next level.” On the other hand, we have 30% who are full-service caterers and restaurants who are seeking to add other revenue streams.
POU: Is there a typical size catering business you normally work with?
Michael from Corporate Caterer: No, it’s actually a huge range. We work with businesses who are just starting out to those generating multi-million dollar revenues - so very wide range!
POU: We love that your are able to implement your strategy to a wide breadth of clients. When bringing on new clients, what does the initial process look like to analyze their business?
Michael from Corporate Caterer: First, we always ask them if they are making money. If the answer is “no,” “not sure” or “breaking-even” then we want to take a deep dive into
why they are not making a profit. A frequent issue we see is there is too much money being spent on food, labor, overhead, etc. so we want to help them “fix the model” first. Then, we begin a blueprint model, also known as, The Virtual Playbook, which is a proven, step-by-step roadmap that will increase sales, profits, and efficiency. We do this by providing our clients with:
- Written content
- Video Tutorials
- Templates and Downloads for creating a custom Operations Manual
- Employee Training and Testing Platform
- Pre-Qualified Leads. They give us zip codes in their target market. We have our in-house lead generators that do all the cold calling for them. Then our clients receive the names of companies and all the contact information of businesses that order catering regularly, but who have not yet ordered from our client.
- Monthly Coaching / Consulting
- Complete Software Package that includes On-line Ordering
POU: What a great value and service! Do you offer different types of consulting packages?
Erin from Corporate Caterer: Absolutely! We actually over 5 different packages for clients to choose from based on their needs.
POU: When caterers or restaurateurs sign up for consulting, who are they speaking with for help?
Erin from Corporate Caterer: We have a great team of food service industry veterans. Whenever anyone calls for consulting, they get to speak with Michael Rosman, Gerry Henesy, or myself.
POU: After a catering company invests in your services, what is the typical timeframe after investing that you see clients start turning around their business?
Erin from Corporate Caterer: Typically our clients begin to see a turn-around in 3 - 6 Months while following the program as it’s laid out. However, it can be sooner if the client is aggressive.
POU: What is a frequently overlooked method caters can implement to increase revenue?
Erin from Corporate Caterer: There are several methods we often see overlooked and quick to being implementing.
- Always vet qualified Leads.
- It’s crucial to offer/execute complimentary tastings. The tasting can look like lunch with presentation to the people who order catering at their business location.
- Consistent client follow-up.
- Be professionally aggressive.
- Invest money. Be patient, persistent and committed.
POU: Erin, thank you for sharing about Corporate Caterer’s Virtual Playbook. Before you go, can you share with us one of your favorite client success stories?
Erin from Corporate Caterer: Definitely. We worked with a husband and wife team, Smoke and Spice Catering in South Florida. True salt of the earth people! Michael Rosman, went down there a couple of years ago for a week of on-site consulting. At the time, Smoke and Spice was about 2 weeks away from closing their doors after being in business for 12 years. They had drained IRA accounts, maxed-out credit cards - everything. After evaluating their business, Michael put a plan together that would include at least 6 months of 12-15 hour work days, 6-7 days a week. To their credit, they did the work and executed the plan. Today, they are profitable and thriving.
If you are ready for your catering business to increase profits and be thriving, like Smoke and Spice Catering and other great clients of The Corporate Caterer, visit TheVirtualPlaybook.com or call their team directly to begin the process:
Michael Rosman 781.589.2394
Erin Brazil 617.641.3303