# Selling point...



## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Ok, just curious about your thought on this, i have a new smoker and want to get into entry level catering, and with the way the ecomony is, i think is going to make it a bit harder to sell your product. So i called a couple local BBQ joints to see what they charge, and they was around $6.25 to $12.25 per plate, which is about what i thought it would be, depending on what you wanted with it, now i have people asking me to smoke meat for them with them bringing me the meat to put on my smoker, and then comes the question How much do you charge? I threw a number out there of $6.50 per pound w/ a 10lb min. And she acted like i just ran over her dog, well so and so does it for $1.00 per pound w/ a 10lb min. I called them and sure enough $1.00 per pound w/ a 10lb min. Now my question is, its obvious these people have'nt got much sense smoking at that price(12lb butt= $12.00 for 15 hrs or so of work + prep time), but what are some selling point's that might be used to get people away from that and paying me at least a fair price to smoke there meat. I know mine is better because i have had the other BBQ joints and it dosen't even compare to mine.
       Just looking for thoughts and input on this.

Thanks,


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## rbranstner (Feb 24, 2010)

I have never had the issue of charging people like you have but I agree $15 for 12 hours of work hardly seems like a fair deal. Unless you can fill your smoker up and you are doing say 10 butts (depending on how big your smoker is) then at least you are making  a little money. Hey if you fire the smoker up you might as well fill it. Maybe you have to set some rules saying I will only smoke these certain days if I have have at least X amount lbs of meat in the smoker before I will bother dealing with $1 a lb. Its not fair to you to give up a whole day for $15 unless you were already smoking. Just my $0.02.


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## rdknb (Feb 24, 2010)

I have no idea on what to charge, but I would not smoke other peoples meat.  From a saftry stand point, did they thaw it correctly etc.  The 6 to 12 a plate seemed very fair


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Correct, i have a lang 60 so i could load it up like you said, i like the idea of only smoking certain days that way i can set a certain poundage that it will take to fire up the smoker. Good input.


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## 3montes (Feb 24, 2010)

I hope you are not getting ahead of yourself. To sell food to the general public you also need to get a catering license. You need to have your catering or vending trailer approved. Meaning the floor plan and all the equipment will need to be inspected and approved by a inspector of your states health department. You need to jump through all their hoops and pay all the fees before you start handing out pulled pork or anything else to the general public. Insurance is also another issue you will need to look into.

You may or may not need to be a certified food manager depending upon if you plan to employ people in your business venture or not. 
Not trying to throw a wet blanket on your enthusiasim but just make sure you have all the I's dotted and T's crossed or you may find yourself in some situation you did not expect.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Yea the 6 to 12 i can do that and provide a damn good plate at that price, but i have friends that are always wanting meat smoked, and jsut trying to figure out a way to where i can offer my service for maybe a better price than $1.00 per pound, and the market here where i live may not allow it, but going to find out.

I do not smoke meat for people i dont know yet, only buddy's, as i am still in the process of getting everything lined out with the health dept.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Yes i am going through all them hoops as we speak, just trying to figure out and trying to set a price so i might make a little extra cash on the side, it will be just like a 2nd job for me, and something to enjoy and getting out during the off season of hunting season.


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## fired up (Feb 24, 2010)

$1 a pound would not be worth it that is for sure. Unless you were doing 100 pounds at a time.


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## 3montes (Feb 24, 2010)

^^ Good for you! It's not a easy process getting everything lined up. I considered doing  it for awhile. First thing I did was to look in the yellow pages and seen how many ads there were for caterers. I quickly realized that for a area our size we were well saturated with quality caterers and that trying to break into the business would most likely turn out to be a black money hole. 
Many of them have rock solid reputations and are well entrenched and networked. 
It's a tough biz. Best of luck to you!!


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

No s**t, not to me anyway, i guess if you dont smoke your own food you think it cooks in no time and its done, i just think people dont understand these smokes take upwards of 12+ hours.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Yea i have looked in the yellow pages here, maybe a little heavy in the BBQ business here, but then again im doing it for fun because i enjoy smoking, and im looking to do the small parties of 50 or less, nothing to big to start out with, and if it grows into something big, then great, if it becomes a black money hole, which i hope it dosen't then i will maybe look at just doing BBQ competition events.


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## 3montes (Feb 24, 2010)

Look into doing church or small community gatherings. Do it for cost just to get your feet wet and get the feedback from people on your product. Beleive me there are no more discerning critics than your local church ladies!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






 Most of these gals have been cooking before you were born and they know what good food is! 

Get to know some city council members at local small communities. They always have something or other days during the summer and they will be the ones organizing. Offer to set up your rig and serve pulled pork sammies at just over your cost. Good way to get your name and product out there.
Be carefull going in as with everything there are politics involved and you don't want to step on someones toes who matters.


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## rbranstner (Feb 24, 2010)

Or what if you charge them hourly? I'm guessing they won't like that idea but at least then it wouldn't matter how many lbs of meat they give you. Maybe you tell them I will smoke for X amount an hour if you have under X lbs of meat. If you have over X lbs of meat I will smoke for X $'s a lb.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

I have to get off here and try to go some some plumbing to my customers, will be checking back in later today.


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## gnubee (Feb 24, 2010)

RdKnB has a very good point there. 
In Canada you have to have a food safety ticket to be able to handle foodstuffs for sale to the public. Even to do prep work in a restaurant requires one. 

By accepting meat from the customer you might get different quality meats, one might be "enhanced" and another might be of good quality from a butcher shop. Cooked at the same time they would turn out quite different in taste and texture. You need to know without a doubt that everything you put in the smoker is going to be relatively the same when its done. 

I bet you'd be liable for any food poisoning caused by a customers poorly handled meat. 

In my Buddy's auto repair shop he has a sign. 

Shop time= $65 per hour 60 day warranty. 
Customer supplied parts= Shop time $100 per hour, no warranty.


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## kanadan (Feb 24, 2010)

ya I think making a sliding scale for your prices would be your best bet


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## jdt (Feb 24, 2010)

$6.50 a lb to just cook it is crack smokin high IMO, around here you get finished meat for $5.99 lb brisket, $3.50-$5 a lb on butts, one local sells whole butts at $15.99 cooked and ready to eat! Even with a lang its hard to compete with a big FEC, Southern Pride or Stumps as they hold more meat while burning much less fuel. I would say since you obviously are going to be cooking for yourself at least once in a while make those the days you cook for people and offset your wood and rub price getting the $1 per lb.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

The $6.50 is for a plate of 1 meat, 2 sides, and a roll, and a drink, and i only smoke for the people i know, and i have them to bring it to me fresh and never frozen, or i wont even consider smoking it, what i can't understand is why someone would crap there self's because someone wanted more than $1.00 to smoke meat for them. im thinking about just trying $1.75 per pound smoked and wrapped in foil for that price, and for $.50 cents extra pull it or slice it. If they dont want to pay that, then i guess they eat the junk at the local BBQ Shack. Just amazing that someone would expect you to work 12-15 hours and only pay around $12 for a 8lb pork shoulder to be smoked, that or i just buy the meat myself and smoke it, then sell the finished product.


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## hogfan40 (Feb 24, 2010)

Unbelivable, just had a women call me and asked what i chraged to smoke a 12lb brisket, I told $1.75 per lb. and she asured me that i was way high, and that she would pay me .20 cents a lb. Are you f'ing kidding me, do people really think you will do smokes like that for them at that price. 

do you guys, just do parties like 20+ or will you smoke for anyone,anysize?


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## graybeard (Feb 24, 2010)

I've given away soo much pork that I'll never get my money back,butt when asked how much to smoke a butt my price is $20 to $30 for 8 pounder that I pick out when I'm buying mine. In Ga. if you don't have a license it's $1000 per BUTT that's on the grill so make sure you're dealing with real good friends!

beard


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## carpetride (Feb 24, 2010)

[email protected]!!!!!!!!!!


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## hogfan40 (Feb 25, 2010)

sum-beach!!!


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## ismoke (Apr 22, 2010)

I know this is an old thread, but I think your best idea would be to give a price for a finished product (you get the meat, smoke, pull/slice, etc.), and don't let them bring you their meat.  Not only are you apparently going up against prices that you can't (won't) match, there is a perception reason that you're getting the reactions you do.

I've been in sales my whole life (well, since college), and you're not selling something that your customers view as valuable.  Right now, you're selling a service.  What is that service?  Cooking.  We all know what goes into that service, but your customer doesn't (and doesn't care, most likely).  They just think you're cooking.  They don't know how much fuel you'll go through in your smoke, nor does that really matter to them.

What you CAN do to make sure you're getting a price you're comfortable with, and selling something of value to your customers is to eliminate all work for them.  They don't have to go to the store, buy the meat, take it somewhere, come back 15 hours later to pick it up and drive it home just to slice/pull it themselves.  Sell them a "Whole 8lb Pork Shoulder Roast - seasoned, slow smoked, and either pulled or sliced" for however much you want to charge. 

Say it's $30.  To your customer they can pay you $20 and just go pick up the meat, or they can go buy it at the store for about $16 plus tax (I know some people get them less, it seems like I always pay $1.99/lb, even at Costco), plus then they have to take it to the buck-a-pound a guy, leave, find something to do for 15 hours, come back, take it home, slice/pull it. and they spent a total of about $28 (rounded tax).  Or, for $30 they can show up when it's done, take it home and eat dinner. 

That's $2 well spent, isn't it?  Plus, if you can get a better deal at Costco, Sam's, RD, whatever in your area, then you're profit just went from $14 - fuel/rub, etc to however much.  

Also, people don't pay attention to what kind of meat they buy.  However, if you play up using "High Quality" whatever grade meat you use, then that has more value, because people think that's better than they would get at the store, weather it is or not.  Whatever info you can get from the meat you would buy, use it.  Locally bred?  Great!  Do you get it from a local butcher that's been in business for a long time?  Use it (long business success = quality to many people).  Enhanced ribs? Tell them!  Before you got into this, did you know what enhanced meant?  If you're like me, you probably that enhanced meant better!!  It's all in how you spin it.

Don't forget your own "secret" rub that will have their guests begging for their recipe!

I have been thinking about starting a catering company at some point, and I have a friend loosely involved in it, and as we talk about it I'm amazed at the apparent lack of salesmanship involved in a lot of these companies.

If you can't sell your product/services then you have to compete on price.  If you compete on price, you won't survive, because there's always someone with a pencil who will beat that price.


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## ismoke (Apr 22, 2010)

I should mention, I like the idea of smoking on certain days so that you fill it up as well.  This will greatly increase your profit margin, as well as your hourly rate.  If you figure that most people would probably want it on Saturday or Sunday anyways if they want it fresh, and don't really care if they're going to freeze it, I'd say I smoke on Saturday's, order must be in by 5pm Friday night.  I will also smoke on Sundays if you meet requirement X (# of lbs, pay a premium, whatever you want), and with notice can smoke other days of the week, but need advanced notice, and requirement Y.


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## cheech (Apr 25, 2010)

Recently I had someone ask me to smoke some meat for their party. They thought it was a good idea to ask if they helped me would it be less money. So I took them up on it for giggles sake. Let's say their eyes were opened up. Really after they found out how much work it is they would have rather paid the extra.


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## scarbelly (Apr 26, 2010)

My wife and I did the catering gig for several years. It is NOT a fun business to be in. It is real hard work. We did it as a second job which is tough.  You will have many happy customers but you will also have the ones that you can never satisfy and those are the ones that make your life miserable.  We did a wedding in our back yard for a friend and only charged for the food cost and the servers as a wedding present and the guys check bounced 2 times so you need to keep that in mind too. 

On the smoking others food issue - I would not do it unless you were confident of their commitment to food safety and even then I would have them sign a waiver of liability. 

As for pricing - like others have said - only smoke on certain days and do them all at one time. If you do that you could charge a flat fee for each item and make some money - to do it by the # is a pain and tough to sell. 

I wish you the best with the new venture - just make sure you look into all the pitfalls too


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