Birthdays and milestone events like class reunions and weddings bring out a desire in many people to spruce themselves up with plastic surgery and other aesthetic services.

In all of the catering consultations I do for prospective clients, I get one question asked more than any other, “How do I get a list of everyone in my city that orders catering?” 

Lately I’ve been on a documentary kick. Usually I spend my time watching shows about chefs or the best food to eat in different cities.

But a few weeks ago I watched Madman: The Steve Madden Story. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know who he is. He is the shoe designer and founder of a chain of shoe stores with sales over a billion dollars a year.

Weddings represent a source of untapped income for the restaurateur. Besides the potential of catering the actual wedding ceremony, opportunities exist with bridal showers and rehearsal dinners.

If I had to just pick one strategy to sell more catering, it would be sampling.

Whether it is a full blown mini-buffet for a committee working on a company picnic for two thousand, or a small tasting for four admins who order lunch for a law office, nothing beats sampling.

Food is the original sales secret weapon. Think back to Eve tempting Adam with a bite of that sweet, delicious apple. 

The last two weeks have been a little crazy for my kids, Jerrod and Jordyn, and me. Literally overnight, their mother decided to quit her job and sell her house - the home my kids were born and raised in.

Her newfound “retirement” left me scrambling to replace the low-cost health insurance her employer provided.

Can you hear me now?

This phrase made famous by the Verizon pitchman, now Sprint spokesman, was a genius way for Verizon to make consumers aware of their frustration with poor cell service.

Today, technology may make being heard better, but we have yet to figure out how to be better listeners.

Today on our private Facebook Group, Restaurants That Cater (Please join us at www.RestaurantsThatCaterGroup.com), we had a member post inquiring about a referral to an answering service to handle catering calls. She was looking for a service that could do a better job on the phones than what she witnessed from one of her employees. 

“You can’t be just a little bit pregnant.”

This is one of my favorite sayings that sums up the way you should tackle all initiatives in your business.

Yesterday I had a consult call with a two-unit chain on the growth path. They were doing a nice six figures in catering. Considering they were only using on-site signs and flyers to promote it, they’re doing well.  They wanted some ideas about how to grow their catering sales, and there was a lot more they could be doing.