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Successful At-Home Tasting with Shannon Bond

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Ice Perfect Cakes every time!

Learn Avalon's secret hack for creating perfect iced cakes every time - for free!

Full video and easy buttercream recipe inside!

How we do our cake consultations/tasting very much depends on our personal business circumstances. If we run our business out of an in-home studio, we sometimes have to travel to a coffee shop to meet our potential clients. If we have an establishment or a room to host at our in-home studio, we can host our consultations in our own space. Whether you are traveling to your consult or hosting in your own establishment, we've got tips, outlines and insights to make it a successful tasting!

In this blog, we have the amazing guest contributor Shannon Bond from Shannon Bond Cake Design! She is an insanely talented cake designer... I can always spot a "Bond" cake from a mile away! In fact, she's kind the WHOLE PACKAGE. She's the one-woman show to her amazing cake studio and she runs it out of her home (completely licensed and above board!)... and..... AND... she does it while homeschooling 6 kids! I know. I know. Lift that jaw up off the floor my friend. But it's got to make you think, if she can do it... so can you!

Without further adieu, I give you, "Successful At-Home Tastings with Shannon Bond"....

Successful At-Home Tastings with Shannon Bond

With six children, clutter can happen instantaneously! Having a set day of the week for consultations takes some of the pressure off of me to have our home "show ready" at all times. I schedule one-hour consultations by appointment for events ordering over 100 servings of cake. On the rare occasion, a client's work schedule prevents a weekend appointment, I offer alternate days such as a Monday evening.

Before we get to the point of a consultation, the client and I have had a few email exchanges where I've given them my starting prices, copies of my contract, and a Consultation Guide which outlines what to expect during our time together. I try to get as much information from them as possible so I have an idea of style, size and location they are envisioning for their event. I make sure they are aware of my prices to prequalify clients before setting an appointment time. There is nothing more disappointing for a client than to fall in love with a design and a designer, only to have it be out of their price range. It is also disappointing for me to invest my time and samples for a budget that was never even above my minimum. I keep the appointments to a maximum 60 minutes in length with an additional 30 minutes in between appointments to change out sample plates, silverware, water glasses and allow for early arrivals.

sample plates, silverware, water glasses

After I welcome the clients into our home, we sit at our kitchen table which is stocked with prepared sample plates, silverware, glasses of ice water, a full menu, business cards and brochures. I also have a few of my favorite display cakes with various techniques and sugar flowers to showcase my skills. I choose the flavors for my samples based off of my most popular and requested flavors. I offer 2 basic cake flavors along with 3 separate buttercream flavors for them to mix and match. 3 flavors of gourmet cake and buttercream combinations are prepared in dessert shooter glasses on the sample plates as well. Each plate has a "cake cheat sheet" which maps out the names of each of the flavors on their plate.

cake cheat sheet

I encourage them to make notes on the cheat sheets as they are tasting in case they are not ready to decide on flavors immediately. As they begin sampling, I ask questions to fill in any gaps in the information I may not have received through emails. After I schedule a consultation, I start a secret Pinterest board for each of my clients where I keep all of the inspiration pictures they send me along with any design ideas I believe may fit their style.

cake tasting

If they are still unsure of a design style, we will search through the board I've put together to see what design elements they are drawn towards. If they have given me a good starting point through the emails, I have 1-2 rough sketch ideas worked up to present to them.

Tip: I use these sketching templates to sketch my cakes quickly and professionally before my consultation or right in front of my client!

cake sketch template

We amend the designs or start from scratch dependent on their desires and budget. After we have decided on a size, I use styrofoam dummies to stack a replica of the design we discussed so they can see firsthand the size of the tiers they have chosen. It also allows me a chance to talk about cake stand rental and show off the stands I have available.

shannon bond tiered cakes

When we have finalized our design, I excuse myself from the table to work up a quote in a separate room. This allows me to double-check my figures on my itemization form and it gives them a chance to talk in private a few minutes. I return to the table with their quote, if needed, we discuss alternatives that will help stay within a budget and ask about final flavor choices. I remind them their quote is valid for 5 days and their date is open to others until their signed contract and non-refundable retainer are received. The majority of clients will be ready to book the same day, but others leave with a contract to mail back within the week. I fill in the amounts and dates of the retainer and final payments on the contract for them and send a follow-up email within 48 hours to thank them for their consideration and review the breakdown of the order.

It's never lost on me that these potential clients are trusting me with such a special event in their life! I remind them I am always available to answer any questions or concerns they may think of after our meeting and always thank them for considering me to be a part of such a special day. After walking them to the door and goodbyes are exchanged, it's time to re-set for the next appointment!

Resources:

  • Here are the cake sketching tempaltes from Cake and Cookie Planner that Shannon uses to sketch her cakes!
  • Here is the Cake Planner that Shannon uses to keep her orders organized and plan our her weeks.
  • Here are the disposable shot glasses that Shannon uses.

Ice Perfect Cakes every time!

Learn Avalon's secret hack for creating perfect iced cakes every time - for free!

Full video and easy buttercream recipe inside!

 Published: 11/22/2015

Last modified on January 6th, 2023

meet the author

Shannon Bond

Shannon Bond is a master cake designer and sugar art instructor specializing in wedding and novelty cakes. Her career starts with an early love of the arts which combined with her love of baking, created a passion for cake design. Shannon is an award winning artist whose unique designs are known for impeccable details and artistry which frequently blend rustic, organic elements with delicate details from fashion and architecture. Since opening her business in 2013, Shannon's designs have been featured in countless magazines, publications and online blogs. In 2016, she was awarded with the prestigious Cake Master's Wedding Cake Award for her wedding cake creations and in 2017 was named one of Cake Master’s Top Ten Cake Artists in the USA. She continues to strive to explore new techniques to create delicious, edible art designs with a modern aesthetic. Shannon lives in Olathe, KS with her husband and their 6 children who always help expand her creativity with ideas for their birthday cakes.

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