Job Description for a Catering Sales Manager
Catering sales managers are an integral part of generating revenue for the $5 billion a year catering industry. Hotels, restaurants and event venues employ catering sales managers. They earn an average of $37,500 per year in the United States, according to salary.com. Employers generally require a minimum of an associate's degree and two to five years of hotel, restaurant or catering experience. Catering sales managers must have prospecting, selling and negotiating skills as well as basic computer knowledge. Previous use of database programs such as Delphi is preferred.
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Obtaining New Clients
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The catering sales manager is responsible for finding new clients to hold catered events. The job often involves attending industry and networking events, telemarketing, advertising and contacting the competitions client base. Once the catering sales manager discovers a prospective client, they conduct tours of the facility, menu tastings and meetings with the client.
Maintaining Existing Clients
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It is important to maintain relationships with past clients for future business. Many catering offices have a database program in which client information is stored. It is the responsibility of the catering sales manager to use this database to keep in touch with past clients through phone calls, emails, letters and personal meetings.
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Proposals and Contracts
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The catering sales manager drafts proposals, creates sample menus and presents them to the client. Once the client is satisfied with all aspects of the proposal, the catering sales manager prepares the contract for the client to sign. Most employers will provide a template for these documents.
Communication
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The catering sales manager assumes responsibility for set-up and execution of events. Communication with the client as well as the catering team (director of catering, banquet captain, food service staff) is imperative to a successful event. They are responsible for communicating all requests from the client to the right people at the right time.
Event Attendance
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Many clients require that the catering sales manager be in attendance at the event that they helped plan. Greeting the event planner at the beginning of the event is part of the job. At this time, the banquet captain, servers and any other key staff members will meet the client. The catering sales manager will remain in attendance to ensure the event goes as planned.
Billing
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The catering sales manager ensures that the bill presented to the client at the end of the event is correct. Although the accounting department handles the actual collecting of money, it is the catering sales manager's responsibility to ensure the bill reflects the costs stated in the contract. She is the liaison between the client and the billing department.
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