AHey CC,

My biz is legal: my office is home and I bake from a commercial kitchen. However, my biz is new in this area (I relocated here) and I am having trouble reaching the clientele that will pay my prices. My niche is novelty cakes and I've been met with a lot of folks that think that "specialty cakes" should cost no more than $60.

I am working on a marketing plan to include reaching out to local venue managers/owners. My question is how I should do it. It would essentially be a cold call. Should I bake a dozen mini cupcakes and deliver with examples of my work (brochure)?

Any other ideas to target a higher end market would be extremely helpful!

TIA, Toni

I've done the drop off cupcake samples with a brochure thing too several times.............and not gotten anywhere (No response) doing that, yet.

I talked with Chefs who already buy from me about how they want to be approached by new sales people and they said they hate people who just show up. Always email or send a letter first as a contact and try to set up an appointment. They said when all else fails, than do the stop by with-out an appointment and drop of samples.

I emailed 12 places near me to try to give them a free tasting. Of them, one responded right away and told me he'd love it! He said he would pass on my email to the person in charge of banquets and he made me promise he'd get some cake personally. That was two weeks ago, I tried contacting that person directly twice.........I can't get a response out of her, nothing. I will now drop off a tasting by sneak attack since there's no way she's going to welcome me.

Of those 12 I do have my first tasting tomorrow at 11:00!!! That person happened to be new to the this job and new to the area. They have been extremely friendly through emails (I wish everyone was that nice). I've got my fingers crossed that this works..........I'll let you know what I learn.