How to Get Catering Clients: 9 Ways to Book Your First Events

You can cook brilliantly, hold every permit and price perfectly, and still have an empty calendar. Catering is a relationship business: most events come from someone who already trusts you, or trusts someone who recommended you. The good news is that you can build those relationships deliberately. Here is how new caterers get clients, starting with the channels that book fastest.

Start with the right target

Before marketing, decide who you are selling to first. Each segment buys differently.

For most new caterers, corporate drop-off is the fastest path to steady revenue. Offices order every week, pay invoices, and do not need a full service staff.

1. Work your own network first

Make a list of 50 people you know who work in offices, run businesses, plan events or belong to organizations. Send a short personal message, not a flyer:

"Hi Jordan, I've launched a licensed catering company focused on office lunches and team events. If your team ever orders lunch for meetings, I'd love to bring a free sample tray for your next one so you can try us. No pressure at all."

A handful of yeses gives you your first events, first photos and first reviews.

2. Target offices that order lunch every week

The best corporate clients are the ones that already buy catering: medical offices, real estate brokerages, law firms, construction companies with safety meetings, schools and universities. The decision maker is usually an office manager or executive assistant.

What they want:

• A simple menu with set packages and per-person prices
• Individually labeled boxed lunches for dietary needs
• Reliable delivery windows
• Easy online ordering and invoicing

Drop off a menu with a small sample box. Follow up a week later by email. Ask when their next team lunch is.

Tip: Make reordering effortless. A saved order and a one-click reorder link turn a single lunch into a weekly account.

3. Build venue and planner relationships

Event venues that do not have in-house catering often keep a preferred vendor list. Getting on it can bring a steady stream of inquiries. To earn a spot:

1. Visit the venue, learn its kitchen or prep space limits and load-in rules.
2. Bring your permits, certificate of insurance and a menu.
3. Offer to cater a venue open house or staff appreciation lunch.
4. Make the venue manager look good at every event: on time, clean, no surprises.

Wedding and event planners work the same way. One planner who trusts you can send several events a year.

4. Set up Google Business Profile and reviews

People search "caterer near me" and "office catering [city]." A complete Google Business Profile with real photos, service areas, a clear description and a steady flow of reviews puts you in front of them. Ask every happy client for a review within a day or two of the event, with a direct link.

5. Reply to inquiries within the hour

Catering inquiries often go to several caterers at once. The first useful reply often wins. Use a template you can personalize quickly:

"Thanks for reaching out about your [event] on [date]. We'd love to help. To give you an accurate quote, could you share your guest count, location, service style (drop-off, buffet or plated) and any dietary needs? I can send a proposal within 24 hours."

Track every inquiry in a simple spreadsheet: date, source, event type, guest count, quote sent, outcome. Within a few months you will know which channels bring paying clients.

6. Use tastings strategically

Tastings sell weddings and large events, but they cost food and time. Common approaches:

• Offer a tasting only after a proposal is accepted in principle.
• Charge a tasting fee that is credited toward the booking.
• Run a group tasting night for several couples at once.

7. Offer an easy first order

Lower the risk of trying you:

• A "first team lunch" package with a fixed price for 10 to 15 people
• A breakfast tray that fits small budgets
• Free delivery on the first order within your area

8. Partner with complementary businesses

Florists, photographers, rental companies, bakeries and DJs all meet your future clients. Swap referrals, share a booth at a bridal show, or create a joint package for small weddings.

9. Prepare for the holiday party season

Corporate holiday parties are booked months ahead. Start outreach to offices in late summer or early fall with a holiday menu and booking deadline. A strong holiday season can fund your slower months.

Turn inquiries into bookings with better proposals

Marketing brings the inquiry; the proposal wins the event. A proposal that books usually includes:

• The client's own words about the event, so they know you listened
• Two or three menu options at different price points, not one take-it-or-leave-it menu
• A clear per-person price with service charge, staffing, rentals, delivery and tax shown as separate lines
• What is included, such as setup, serving equipment, cleanup and dietary labeling
• Deposit and payment terms, the guest count guarantee date and the cancellation policy
• Photos of your food from real events
• A simple next step: "Reply to confirm, and I'll send the agreement and deposit link"

Send it within 24 hours. Then follow up on day three and day seven if you have not heard back. Many lost bookings are simply proposals nobody chased.

Tip: When a client says your price is too high, offer a different service style (buffet instead of plated, drop-off instead of staffed) before you discount. That keeps your margin and still fits their budget.

A worked example: 60 days to steady orders

A new caterer sets a goal of $8,000 in monthly sales from corporate drop-off at an average of $18 per person.

• Needed: about 445 meals a month, or roughly 22 orders of 20 people.
• Outreach: 100 offices contacted with menu and sample box offers over 6 weeks.
• Result: 15 accept a sample, 8 place a first order, 5 become monthly accounts ordering twice a month.

Five accounts × 2 orders × 20 people × $18 = $3,600 a month from corporate alone. Add venue referrals and social events, and the $8,000 target becomes realistic within a few months. Without the outreach list, it stays a hope.

Your 60-day outreach checklist

• ☐ Choose a primary segment for the first 90 days.
• ☐ Write a one-page menu with per-person packages.
• ☐ Message 50 people in your network.
• ☐ Build a list of 100 offices, venues and planners.
• ☐ Visit 10 venues with permits, insurance and menus.
• ☐ Complete Google Business Profile with photos.
• ☐ Create an inquiry reply template and tracking sheet.
• ☐ Ask every client for a review within 48 hours.
• ☐ Plan holiday outreach dates.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying to market to everyone at once.
• Answering inquiries the next day.
• Cutting prices to win events instead of improving the offer.
• Forgetting to follow up after a successful first order.

Your next step

Clients come faster when your menu, pricing and proposals are ready to go. Starting a Catering Business by Omer Muneer Qazi covers niches, licensing, menu costing, pricing, contracts, event operations and a complete marketing chapter with scripts for inquiries, tastings and proposals that win.