Hi Guys, 

Just a quick question from a newbie... 

I am confident and happy about my cakes, the way they look and the way they taste. 

I do however tend to come across quite uncertain whilst talking to customers. This is how I feel anyway

.

I have an order for a friend next month and I've asked a series of questions about the order and he hasn't answered them all.

So I've been asking him in dribs and drabs and today I verbalized some of my thoughts on the cake size and I think I sound like I'm about to have a nervous break down, because his response was - do whatever is easy for you, I don't want to you to  have a panic attack. 

I was trying to get all the info and I am afraid that i don't give the best impression. And as a new cake maker, I definitely want to nip this in the bud.  

Does anyone have any tips or articles I can read to improve on this? 

Thanks in advance. 

A

Your friend hasn't even given an indication what size cake he wants? He's certainly not making your life easy is he? Cake muggles we call them- no clue at all what information we cake decorators need from clients in order to create a cake that fits their expectations.

You are asking for advice about how to make a good impression to clients. I think you do- you're asking questions because that's what we need to do. How would we know otherwise how big to make the cake? How many tiers? What's the theme? Where's the venue? Etc ETc. Your friend is simply knocking your confidence because he's refusing to give any details- not even the size he needs!!! Sorry but that's just ridiculous. Most customers welcome these questions- it shows you are interested and you know what you are doing. 

I know you're not asking advice re your friend, but if I were you I'd send him an email with the questions I NEED answering. Have it in writing. No answer, no cake. Get payment in advance too- he is a client, treat him like one :) Good luck!

Oh by the way, I was the same at first- a bit unsure about what to say when people rang me. With time and experience you'll know what to say and what to ask. One of the best things I've learned is never give a quote over the phone unless you're very definitely sure your quote is correct. Ask for their email address, and give the quote via email after you've done your calculations.

Petitecat - Thank you so much! 

I have sent him and email and hopefully will get all the details this time. 

Cake Muggles! Haha! 

Have a checklist that you go through when discussing orders with potential clients.

First questions should be:

1.  What's the date of your event?

2.  How many guests are you expecting/how many servings do you need?

3.  What's your budget?

Once they answer those questions I give them a quick estimate of what the cake is going to cost. "Ok for a buttercream cake for 50 people the starting price is going to be $200.  Depending on the final design or if we do fondant the price may increase. Is that going to be within your budget for the cake?"

If I can work with their budget then I move on to questions about the design.

Having it written down in front of you so you can refer to it while you talk will help you sound more confident as well.  If you are just nervous about talking to people in general do some role playing.  I used to have my kids pretend to be customers so I could practice sounding like I knew what I was doing

Thanks Cathy! Appreciate the tips! :) 

AI'm with you, Andie79! As soon as I hear the word"cake" my mind starts spinning around ideas and I can see a cake forming in my head, well, many different versions, and forget all the basics I need to know /ask. Having a check list is very helpful to focus, you got a good advise from Cathy. I normally listen to the customer and say "let me come back to you with costs and ideas". Like that you avoid going backwards and forwards like a headless chicken asking every day a new question which looks unprofessional indeed (I think that was what you're worried about, right?). But petitecat is right, not nice of your friend to say something like that!!!