In business people say “you only get one chance to make a good first impression.”

Experienced people used to coach young people out of college to dress up and dress for their next promotion. Creating a good first impression is worth the extra effort.

At 7:30 one morning, a business man walked into a local cafe in Cary and picked up an elegant tray of gourmet pastries, wrapped in see-through wrapping with a bow. Someone asked him what the tray was for, so elegant at 7:30 in the morning.

“Whenever I invite a group of potential clients to my office for a presentation, I order a gourmet tray so I can make a very positive first impression with them. When it looks this good, they know I’m serious about valuing their time and their business.”

Marketing and event planners recommend making your clients’ experience of your business an event. Make it memorable. Make it distinct from other experiences.

A fancy lady’s boutique at Southpoint serves cold bottled water and fresh chocolate chip cookies to customers during the summer. A Chocolatier at Crabtree Mall offers a free chocolate. Grocery stores give away balloons to children. 

Quality catering is like a gift, it looks good, smells good and tastes good, leaving your clients with the impression that you care to treat them well. It doesn’t have to be expensive to give everyone a great experience.

Many businesses are eager to reduce un-necessary expenses in these times, and while they could bring in home cooked hors d’oeuvres or brownies, the impression that an attractive presentation by a caterer makes is much more professional. Maybe it’s no longer shrimp from the Gulf that is served, maybe it’s a fresh quiche with seasonal fruit.

Talk with your caterer about your budget and the kind of experience you’d like to give your clients, and see what suggestions they may have.

Most people choose their caterer through recommendations from friends and family; through referrals.

Ask the people you know who they have used and can recommend.

You can also get suggestions from other service providers or venues, your event planner or the hotel you are considering for your event.

Searching in Google for “Catering, Cary, NC” or “Catering, Raleigh, NC” you will find local caterers in the Triangle area, many in business directories.

Looking at caterer websites can tell you a lot about the business.

But, getting the names of local catering businesses to consider is just the very first step:

• Know your budget and an approximate headcount.
• Make a list of everything you want.
• Check with your intended venue whether or not they have a pre-approved list of caterers, if they do, you may have to choose from that list.
• Consider whether you want the caterer to coordinate the whole set-up, or just deliver the food, or something in between.
• Look at the website and learn about the caterer’s specialties, services,
  menus, policies and pictures.
• Find out if the caterer is licensed and insured.
• Make an appointment with the caterer to discuss everything you want,
  including dietary preferences, or special needs.
• Ask for references and call them.
• Determine if the caterer can handle everything you want. Coordinating with more service providers can add to your stress.
• Check out the contract, the amount for a deposit, the cancellation fees
  and related dates.
• When you think you know who you want to go with, ask for a tasting session. This should be no charge.
• Make sure you feel confident about your choice before signing the contract.  You should have a good working relationship with the caterer you choose and they should be flexible enough to give you what you want, not what they want:  you are paying them.