Off-site Meeting Ideas: Your Off-site Meeting Checklist for Catering

By Kristi Hines

Are you planning a catered sales meeting at the client’s office? With the right preparation and the right off-site meeting ideas, you can land that next sale easily, and without a hitch. But a missed detail can lead to an awkward experience for everyone. So when planning a catered client event, use the following off-site meeting checklist ideas to make sure you have all your bases covered.

Questions for Your Client

No matter what you have for off-site meeting ideas, it always starts with your client. To begin, ask a few questions to determine your upfront expectations. You need to know what kind of meeting it will be, who will be attending, and how much food to order. Follow this off-site meeting checklist to cover every question you should ask your client upfront.

• How many people from your company will be attending? Most restaurants provide catering portions based on the number of people expected at an event. The ezCater platform can help you estimate exactly how much you need. Just enter the number of attendees — include a few extra just in case someone else with purchasing decision power pops in too — and you’ll know whether you’re ordering too much or too little. Remember at a client meeting, bringing a little extra is always better than having too little.
• What type of cuisine is most popular at your office? Some offices may like Italian, while others may like sushi. Serving what the client likes will elevate their mood and make them more receptive to your pitch.
• Are there any food allergies or preferences to be aware of? Of course, you want to come with food your meeting attendees can actually eat. It’s a good time to find out if there are any allergies, dietary restrictions, or vegetarians and vegans in the group.
• Is coffee all right as the beverage? Your client should let you know whether they prefer one type of beverage over another. Maybe no one drinks coffee, so water is better. Or maybe they are a tea bunch. Ask, so you have exactly what they want.
• Who should the caterers ask for when they arrive? Ideally, you should be the one to receive the catering at the office. But someone at your client’s location should be ready to receive the catering in case it arrives earlier than planned.

Choosing the Best Caterer

Once you have your first off-site meeting checklist out of the way, you can you can start searching for the right caterer for your event. You need to be confident in your caterer, otherwise it could throw off any of your other off-site meeting ideas. Here are a few things to look for as you browse specific food or cuisine categories.

For the rest of our catering tips, read here.