Turn Every Cooking Class You Lead Into a Client-Generating Event

Do you love leading cooking classes but wish you could get a few more private clients from your efforts?

You’re not alone. Many personal chefs struggle to get business from the cooking classes that they lead, and they all too often give up on using them as a way to market their business because they don’t see results.

This is a BIG mistake.

What’s wonderful about cooking classes is you get a chance to showcase your talents in front of a group of people so they get to know you and the type of cuisine you cook. I’ve stumbled upon many people who say they would love to hire a personal chef, but before they do, they want to sample the personal chef’s food. A cooking class is a great, low-risk way for people to experience your food firsthand.

In addition, you get your name out in front of others while making extra money for your efforts. You are being paid to market yourself. Now that's a good deal, isn't it?

Leading cooking classes also gives you an excellent chance to bond with your audience so they begin to feel so comfortable with you that they wouldn’t blink an eye inviting you into their homes to cook for them.

Offering regular cooking classes means you always have something to invite prospects to as well. It’s a way to deepen relationships and to stay in touch with all the people who have expressed interest in your services but have never hired you.

BUT…

To get personal chef or catering work as a result of your cooking class, you’ve got to make sure you are doing all of the following:

Promote Your Cooking Class Like Crazy

What good does leading a cooking class do you if you can’t fill your class? Or even worse, no one signs up for it at all?

You’ve got to have a promotional plan in place and then execute it well to ensure you get tons of people to sign up for your class. And don’t wait until the last minute to promote. Starting your promotion 4 to 6 weeks prior to your cooking class date isn’t too early, and you'll need to tell everyone about it more than once. 

And here's a hot tip - Create a "get-the-word out" packet for the people you know who are connected to your ideal clients.  The packet should include suggested email copy, subject lines and social media posts that can be sent out by your contacts.  Be sure to include a link to your cooking class registration page in the email copy as well.

Know Who Your Ideal Clients Are

Even if you are excellent at promoting your class, you still may not get anyone to attend if your cooking class topic isn’t of interest. To ensure you have a topic that motivates others to take action, it’s important to understand your ideal clients intimately.

If you do, you should know exactly what kind of cooking class would get this group super excited and highly motivated to attend your class.

The knowledge you have of your ideal clients will also help you come up with an attention-grabbing title and promotional copy that will get them to take action and sign up.

Communicate the Benefits of Hiring a Personal Chef and How You Help

Be sure you don’t just focus on teaching and fun during your cooking class. You must also find ways to talk about what you do and how you help your ideal clients solve the problems they desperately want resolved.

Make it crystal clear how your services work and what people who sign up for your services experience. Bring it to life for everyone in the audience. Feel free to use examples by sharing stories about the people you have helped.

Always Capture Names and Contact Information

Don’t just hand out your business cards and/or a brochure and expect much to come of it. You must also make sure you collect attendee names and contact information and ask for permission to follow up with everyone at a later date and time.

One way to do this is to give people an incentive to give you their names and email addresses by offering them a free gift in exchange. A free gift I recently saw another personal chef offer was a Cookie Recipe Book with favorite traditional cookie recipes along with their healthy and equally tasty alternative recipes.

Whatever free gift you offer, make sure it is one your ideal client group would really want to have.

Invite, Invite, Invite

You MUST remember to invite your cooking class participants to take further action with you.

What next step do you want them to take? Do you want them to sign up for an initial phone chat to learn more about your services? Do you have a cool seasonal promotion you want them to sign up for and pay for right on the spot after your class? Are you selling a cookbook at the back of the room that you want them to purchase?  Do you want to get a list of people who are ready to sign up for your meal delivery service by the end of the class?

To lead a cooking class that turns into more than just a cooking class, you must know what the next step in your sales cycle is, and you must invite your audience to take that next step.

Have you landed private clients because you hosted a cooking class?  If yes, what if anything did you do to get the business? 

Want more clients?  Sign up for my free audio e-course 5 Secrets to Keep Your Calendar Fully Booked by clicking here.