Hi sweet friends!
St. Patrick’s Day is this week! To get you ready for this festive holiday, here are some treats to inspire you!
Decorated Biscoff Cut-Out Cookies
Fiona’s Cottage, St. Patrick’s Day Gingerbread House
St. Patrick’s Day Rice Krispie Treats
I hope these treat ideas make you feel empowered with the Luck of the Irish!
Happy Caking!
Sharon
Hey it’s Sharon —
I’m sure you’ve noticed the recent craze in cake decorating: the gravity defying cake!
The old days of the “simple” topsy turvy cakes like below are gone.
Now it’s been taken up a notch, with increasing tilt angles and the use of custom internal structures to achieve the seemingly impossible:
They can be intimidating; especially the first one you make. But with that also comes the fun of the challenge and the feeling of pride when you’re done.
I’m an advocate for all of us trying to push past our comfort zones. I encourage you to give them a try if you haven’t. You might be surprised at what you can do.
If you do foray into the anti-gravity cake world, here’s a few basic tips to keep in mind:
Full length video tutorial for this gravity defying Birthday Bash cake is available in my online school along with a special offer:
Happy Caking!
Sharon
Hi sugar babies! Today we have a guest post from Natalie over at Sweetness & Bite.
Today, she is going to show us how to make this super cute name topper!
You know that moment when a child does or says something that makes you suddenly feel really old? That was me a month or so ago when my niece Jazmyn told her mum (my best friend Katie) and I that she wanted “a Tumblr party”. I’ll admit, I had vaguely heard of Tumblr, but considering I can barely keep up with Facebook, I’m sporadic with Pinterest, and I’m only just slowly easing my way into Instagram, investigating this mysterious Tumblr thing was not on my list of priorities. After a bit of questioning, a few Google image searches, and a (for me) scarily perky YouTube video called “How To Be Tumblr” we eventually figured out that what Jaz liked about the Tumblr images she’d been looking at were the bright colours, room decor and, um, donuts. Sprinkles also seemed to feature heavily. That’s when I perked up, because sprinkles, I can do. Sprinkles, I understand. Sprinkles are kinda my thing.
The cakes we talked about were very sprinkly, and Jaz also liked the “drippy cake” trend inspired by Katherine Sabbath‘s fabulous cakes, so I threw those ideas together with a watercolour effect like some of the fanciful, pastel-y coloured Tumblr photos we’d been looking at.
I’ve got a couple more tutorials coming up for the sprinkle tier of this cake, and also the watercolour effect I did on the top tier, but I thought we’d start right at the top and talk about the gumpaste name cake topper.
The easy route would have been to cut out individual letters in a block font, but I wanted a look similar to the gorgeous toppers made by businesses like Design at 409, Glistening Occasions and Communicake It, so I picked out a cursive font. I knew it would have some weak points where the letters joined together, so instead of cutting out one thick piece of icing, I decided to sandwich pieces of wire between two pieces of gum paste to reinforce the topper and make it less likely to crack. Clearly this means that despite being made from gum paste it’s not an edible cake topper, unless you enjoy flossing with wire, but it gives you the benefit of being able to use whatever font you like, make the topper whatever size you want, and colour-match it to the rest of your cake.
I haven’t yet tried this with a longer name, but my guess is that it will work best for names under 6 or so letters. That’s not to say it definitely won’t work for longer names, but if you do try it with one, make sure you add plenty of the reinforcing wires, make the support wires (the ones that you’ll insert into the cake) thicker or use florists tape to attach some skewers to the wires for extra support. And always, always make a backup topper.
You can also use the instructions for cutting the letters to make a name using individual letters in a block font, just cut each letter out from a thicker piece of gum paste (4mm or so is good) and insert a toothpick or skewer into the bottom of each letter.
There aren’t any terribly fancy tools needed for this, but a silicone-tipped colour shaper (from an art supply store) or the wedge tool from a set of Sugar Shapers (their new mini shapers are on my drool-list) will make smoothing the edges of the letters a lot easier.
I cut up a thin plastic document sleeve to make my template, but you can use any thin, flexible plastic that is similar in thickness to acetate (or, if this helps, like good old fashioned overhead projector sheets. Ahh, primary school memories.)
I should warn you that this is a real watch-the-work-in-progress tutorial, no prettily staged and photographed stunt-toppers here, all these photos were taken as I made the topper I used on the cake, and the back-up topper. The only way it could be more raw and even less professional is if I’d videoed myself making it whilst wearing my pajamas and then uploaded it to YouTube for you to watch.
But don’t worry. I’ll never make you suffer through anything like that. I’ll just let you read through it and look at the pictures. Of the topper, I mean. Not me in my pajamas.
What you need:
Thin plastic or acetate
Cutting mat
Waxed paper
Scalpel or craft knife
Small scissors
Isopropyl alcohol (or other strong alcohol like cake decorator’s alcohol/rose spirit)
Rolling pin and/or pasta machine
Gum paste (or fondant mixed with tylose). I have the best results with Satin Ice gum paste.
Shortening (I used Crisco)
Large resealable plastic bag
Paintbrush and sugar glue (I used glue made from tylose and water)
Silicone-tipped colour shaper – wedge shape (from an art store) or Sugar Shapers
Ruler
20 & 22 gauge paper-covered wire
Vodka
Foam pad
Thin straws or flower picks
What to do:
Choose your font and write out the name. I did this in Photoshop, but you can use Word, Pages or any other program that you’re comfortable using. For Jaz’s name, I used ‘Salamander’ font, and did the ‘J’ and ‘az’ on separate layers in Photoshop, so that I could move the ‘az’ lower to make sure the the end of ‘z’ was in line with the end of the ‘J’. Where the bottoms of those letters sit is where the name will sit against the cake, and where we will insert the supports. Don’t be put off, that’s just what I had to do to make these particular letters work. With most other fonts the bottoms of the letters will line up on their own.
Print out the name onto regular printer paper, then place it under the sheet of thin plastic, and use a permanent marker to trace the letters onto the plastic. Use small scissors and/or the scalpel to cut out the name. Rub the plastic with some strong alcohol to remove the ink from the edges (even though it’s ‘permanent’ I still find that it can come off on the icing, so I just remove it with alcohol.)
(Now is the part where I apologise for the amount of pink in this tutorial. I used a pink cutting board, pink gumpaste and (this is the really stupid bit) pink plastic for the template. So yeah, sorry about that. It makes it hard to see, but hopefully I can make up for that with some exceptionally well written instructions. Hopefully…)
Have a look at your lettering and pick out the places that you think will be the weakest and most likely to break. Here I figured it would just be the joins between the letters. Cut small pieces of 22 gauge wire and curve and bend them to shape, ensuring that you make them long enough to bridge the weak point and reach a thicker part of the letters, which won’t be so fragile. Then find the bottom points of your letters (here the tails of the J and Z.) where the base of the letters will sit against the cake. Curve the end of some longer, thicker pieces of wire to shape, then bend the wire so that it will go straight down into the cake. Set the wires aside.
Tape a piece of waxed paper to a cutting mat. Rub the surface of the paper lightly with shortening. (I’d already done this in the picture above.)
Roll out your gum paste, to about 2mm thick (I used #2 on my pasta machine). Make sure the piece is big enough to fit the name. Place it onto the Crisco rubbed paper.
Rub the back side of the plastic template with a very thin smear of Crisco, then place it onto the gumpaste. Gently run along the letters with your finger to make sure they’re stuck to the gumpaste. You can also rub over it very gently with a fondant smoother.
Begin cutting around your letters using a craft knife or scalpel. If you find your knife dragging or pulling at the gum paste too much, try applying a bit of shortening to the tip of the knife. Don’t panic too much about drag marks or pulling though, you can smooth them out later. Remember that as you cut you can move the whole board around to get the most comfortable angle.
As you finish a section, it’s good to cut away the excess paste from the outside. When it comes to fiddly bits like the tail of the ‘z’, trim around it so there is about 4mm remaining, then use lots of small vertical cuts to trim close around the point. You can then use a tool like a silicone tipped paint eraser or sugar shaper to smooth and round off the point.
Once you’ve cut all of the excess paste away, use your silicone tool to go around all of the edges, smoothing any rough spots. You can also go back with your scalpel and trim any little flappy bits.
To remove the template, loosen an edge and very gently pull it away. If it’s doesn’t come away easily, you can slide a soft paintbrush between the plastic and the gum paste and use that to gently ease it away.
Carefully remove the tape and remove the waxed paper from the board, leaving the name in place, still stuck to the paper. Rub a second piece of waxed paper very lightly with shortening (and I do mean lightly here, you can wipe over the paper with a piece of paper towel to remove any excess), place the sheet (shortening side down) over your gum paste letters and gently rub over it with a fondant smoother to further flatten the letters and adhere the paper.
Place the whole thing into a resealable plastic bag. If you think the gum paste has dried out too much as you cut the letters, you can place a slightly damp paper towel into the bag with the letters, just make sure it doesn’t touch the paper or the letters. This will help keep the gum paste soft.
Repeat the process to cut out a second set of letters. Once they’re cut, leave the plastic template on the letters and set this piece aside.
Remove the first set of letters from the plastic bag. Find your bits of wire, and stick them onto the top (front) of the letters, adhering with a little sugar glue. Press the wire down gently into the gum paste using a fondant smoother, aiming to embed them about halfway into the gum paste. Brush a little more glue over the top of the wire.
Paint a small amount of vodka onto the rest of the letters, just enough to lightly dampen the gum paste, and making sure you go right to the edge. I like to use vodka as if any seeps out between the layers, it will evaporate. Sugar glue will dry shiny and look messy. If you don’t want to use vodka, then water is the second best option, but be very sparing.
Gently flip over the paper with the second set of letters, and peel off the paper from the back. Flip the letters right side up (the plastic template will keep the letters in place) and place it over the first set of letters, lining up all the edges.
You can use your silicone tool to gently nudge the letters into place so they line up and use it to smooth the joins. Leaving the template in place while you do this will stop the letters getting misshapen.
Use a ruler to make sure the bottoms of the letters line up nicely and that the wires point straight down. Or you could use the lines on your cutting mat, if you remember that they’re there, which I clearly didn’t.
Leave to firm up for half an hour or so, then remove the template from the top, smoothing around the top edge of the letters with your finger to remove any drag marks (use a little shortening on your finger if they’re stubborn marks). Leave for a few hours, then place a foam pad over the letters and flip the whole thing over, and remove the back piece of waxed paper. Leave for several days (a week is better) to dry, gently turning the letters over occasionally so they dry evenly.
Now here’s the bit you will either love or hate me for, but it is very important. Do it all again to make a second topper. And if you’re clumsy, or have less than a week for the topper to dry, do a third set. Remember that an extra half hour spent now making another set will be far better than breaking your only topper at the last minute and not having time to make a new one and have it dry in time. Trust me. One word: experience.
Place the toppers into a cardboard box, and store in a cool, dry place until you need to use them. If it’s humid where you live, add some silica gel packets or dry rice to the box to help absorb moisture.
To insert the topper into the cake, first decide where on the cake you want the topper to go. I don’t recommend inserting wire (even paper covered wire) directly into a cake, so you will need to use flower picks, small straws or as I used, plastic lollipop sticks with holes through the middle. Trim the wires on the topper slightly shorter than the length of your straw/pick/stick (which in turn should be slightly shorter than the height of your cake). Insert each straw/pick/stick into the cake using the guide markings. Once your cake is delivered and all set up, gently insert the topper into the straws/picks/sticks. I don’t recommend travelling with the topper on the cake – always wait until the cake is set up.
So there you have it, one (or more, you did make a spare, right?!) gum paste name cake topper. I’ll be back soon with a couple more tutorials for the sprinkle and watercolour tiers of this cake.
Happy, er… topper-ing.
~Natalie
Check out the other tutorials for this beautiful cake here!:
About Natalie:
I love candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach… um, no. Not unless the sand on that beach happens to be crushed biscuits on their way to becoming a cheesecake crust.I love to bake. Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to baking. Not just baking, but creating anything that’s sweet/pretty/yummy and makes people go “Ooh!” While most of my recipes are gluten free, they are most definitely not glutton-free. I’m not into low-fat, sugar-free or everything but the kitchen sink-free. If I’m going to be naughty, I’m gonna do it properly. However, that’s not to say if you have further dietary needs you can’t adjust these recipes to fit! My hope with this blog is to throw my three baking loves {cake decorating, baking in general, and baking gluten free goodies that aren’t just “good for gluten free,” but just plain good!} into a bowl, mix them up with a spoonful or six of my own brand of crazy and come out with something wickedly good, quite possibly dripping in chocolate, and all going well, covered in sprinkles.
Hello all!
Today I want to spotlight one of our new tutorials and guest instructor. Shannon Bond of Shannon Bond Cake Design is an AMAZING cake artist, who in this fondant dominated cake world, has perfected the art of the buttercream ruffle technique.
This hour long video is packed full of valuable techniques, that will help you become a buttercream master! Check out some photos below from the tutorial:
Gorgeous symmetrical buttercream rosettes with rustic icing on the top tier:
Asymmetrical rosettes and free form ruffles, all in buttercream:
All done with one piping tip:
Both of these cakes are taught in the video tutorial.
How amazing is her work?
If you’d like to learn these gorgeous techniques, do take advantage of our special offer:
You’ll get access to the full website, over 300 tutorials, and our private members’ only Facebook group for 30 days. At that time you can stay and pay at the regular price of $10 per month or cancel anytime. No risk and no obligation.
I’d love to have you join me.
Sharon
SugarEd Productions
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Shannon Bond is an award winning cake artist based in Olathe, KS and owner of Shannon Bond Cake Design, which serves the greater Kansas City areas. Shannon has been featured in publications such as Cake Masters Magazine, American Cake Decorating Magazine, Cake Central, Cake Design France Magazine, Papilles Magazine, EA Bride Magazine, Australia CAKE!, Sweet Magazine, DIY Weddings Magazine, Party Cakes Magazine, and other multiple online blogs and websites. Visit her Facebook page here.
Hi guys! Valentines Day is fast approaching and love is in the air.
And I just happen to love pretty Valentine sweets and treats. So I’ve rounded up some tutorials and recipes from around the web to help you get inspired (and help me too 🙂
Valentines Day Ombre Heart Cake
Lifes A Batch: Valentines Day Cookies
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
Now go forth and maketh cute and sweet Valentine treats. I’d love to hear whatcha makin’.
Happy Caking!
Sharon
I was blessed (or sentenced, depending upon how look at it) to be born into a large family, the last of 5 siblings.
The age gap between me and my older siblings was too big for them to be my playmates.
In fact, I think I was more an object for their entertainment …they harassed and tortured me for their own evil pleasure.
All of them but my brother Michael.
He was never mean to me. He never stung me with rubber bands, beat up my teddy bear, or forced me to look at skeleton pictures. He never scared me with a vampire face, or tricked me by wrapping rocks to look like candy just to see me cry from disappointment. He never talked on the phone late at night when I was trying to sleep, pulled me off the desk chair to do “college work”, or ate all the fresh cherries at the beach so that I got none. (You’ll hear that story soon.)
Nope, not Mike. (You others know who you are and what you have done. I wonder how you sleep at night.)
Michael doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him utter a cross word. He taught me to play chess, did word jumble puzzles with me, and took me on vacation to the Grand Canyon.
Heck, he took my very first cake decorating classes with me! How cool is that?
He is the most gentle, kind and selfless person I know, and has always looked out for me.
Case in point, he’s good to me still to this day.
Whenever my PC gets all bogged down with junk and viruses, and starts running badly, I can always take it in to him for a full clean-out and tune-up.
Just like he did this week.
So how do I thank him for his help? By doing the only thing I know how to do: BAKE!
But, Mike can’t have sugar, so I make him sugar free cakes. Gives me a chance to try out some new recipes.
Over the years I have collected a nice little stash of sugar-free recipes.
Not all are created equal: some are really bad.
It takes a lot of trial and error to be successful with sugar free baking but here’s a few tips that will help:
Now go forth and bake sugar free goodies with confidence!
And be kind to your little sisters 🙂
Happy caking!
Sharon
PS. I’ve got a bunch of yummy sugar free cake, filling and icing recipes in the online school.
Details here:
http://www.sugaredproductions.com/membership/
Hi guys!
So you might remember, a while back we posted a blog post titled: “Does It Really Matter What Buttercream I use?”
We talked about the different types of buttercreams in general terms, and some of the high points of each. Today, we’re going to get a little bit more in depth about the two most popular types of buttercreams.
Crusting buttercream consists of powdered sugar, butter, and/or shortening, and a liquid component (like milk, cream etc.) Non crusting buttercream is usually made with butter, granulated sugar, and egg whites. For this type, the eggs are whipped then boiling sugar is slowly added. That mixture is then whipped to room temperature and butter is added and whipped some more until light and creamy. Shortening is not usually used in this type of icing, and this is called a meringue buttercream. Crusting buttercream is often called American buttercream, whereas non crusting buttercreams include Italian Meringue and Swiss Meringue.
But what exactly is crusting? That sounds kinda yucky and not like something you want to eat 🙂 But it’s not really “crusty”. The icing will develop a “sugar skin” over the surface that will allow it to be touched without pulling up the icing. This occurs because of evaporation of the liquid in the icing, creating that fine crust. This is also what allows the use of paper towels to aid in smoothing, as they won’t stick to the surface of the icing.
Tips and Techniques:
? The very first and most important thing to remember when making a meringue based frosting is that grease will break down your eggs. Make sure that you use metal utensils and bowls that are clean and have been wiped with lemon juice.
? You can use either pasteurized fresh or carton whites, however, fresh whites will make a fluffier, more voluminous icing.
? When making Swiss Meringue Buttercream or French Meringue Buttercream, make sure that your bowl is not submerged in the boiling water, or you will have scrambled eggs. It’s the steam from the bain marie that is going to slowly heat the eggs, and make a fluffy meringue.
? Be careful not to add the butter too early in the process. Make sure that the meringue is room temperature and the bowl is cool to the touch before adding your butter.
? Each of these meringue based buttercreams can be kept for about a week in the fridge in an airtight container. When you need it, take it out and allow the buttercream to come back to room temperature then rewhip it. These buttercreams can be frozen for up to 8 weeks.
? These meringue based buttercreams can be used under fondant, however, you’ll want to place an iced cake in the fridge to firm it up first before applying your fondant.
? Raw eggs should be cooked to the proper temperature called for in the recipes to kill any bacteria present.
Troubleshooting:
Sometimes even the most experienced baker will encounter a batch of buttercream that just won’t cooperate. Fortunately, MOST of the time, your buttercream can be saved.
? If your buttercream looks “soupy”, the meringue isn’t quite cool enough. Stop whipping, and put the mixer bowl in the fridge for a few minutes to allow it to cool down. Resume whipping in the butter when cool, and it should come together. OR just continue whipping until it the bowl feels cool to the touch. This can take quite a while, even 20-30 minutes.
? If it appears “curdled”, don’t panic, the butter has simply not emulsified with the meringue yet and may have been too cool. Continue to mix on low speed or wrap a warm towel around the bowl while mixing, just to bring the temperature back up. Keep whipping and it will come together into a nice, fluffy frosting.
With both of these techniques for troubleshooting, remember, patience is the key to success.
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NOTE: I have a whole blog post dedicated just to this recipe here.
Cream the shortening, flavorings, and hot liquid with the paddle attachment until well combined and creamy. Then stream in the first 3 pounds of powdered sugar with mixer running at speed one. When incorporated somewhat, stop and scrape down sides of bowl well. Stream in last 2 pounds of powdered sugar at speed one. When incorporated, turn the mixer up to speed 6 and let it beat for 5 – 7 minutes, until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl very frequently while the mixer is going at speed 6.
The goal is t get all of the icing down into the belly of the bowl and fill the bowl from side to side with no air gaps around the walls, as well as covering the paddle up to the springs. If the icing is making a “kissing” noise after all the sugar is in, add just a few drops more of liquid, while scraping down the sides, with the mixer running, until that stops. You should create a bowl full of icing side to side, where the paddle is completely submerged and beating in a vacuum under the icing. Five to seven minutes at speed 6 and you should have a smooth as silk and nearly airless icing. Cover and cool before using.
In a large metal bowl over a double boiler, whisk the granulated sugar into the egg whites. Stir constantly until the mixture reaches 115 degrees F on a candy thermometer and is no longer gritty feeling when a small amount is rubbed between 2 fingers.
Transfer this mixture to your stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, whip on high speed until it is thick, glossy and white in color and forms stiff peaks. While making the meringue, sift your icing sugar, then add the all at once to the firm meringue. Mix until incorporated on low speed.
Add the butter and shortening in small amounts at a time to the meringue, but try to add it all quickly.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the water and sugar, and bring to a boil, while stirring. Once it comes to a boil, stop stirring. Bring mixture to 238 degrees or soft ball stage.
In the bowl of the stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites till soft peaks form. Add the sugar/water mixture to the egg whites in a slow steady stream down the side of the bowl, with the mixer on medium speed. Be careful not to hit the whisk with the syrup.
Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is cool or to room temperature. It is very important that the mixture is cool, or the when you add the butter, it will turn curdled and soupy.
Grease a heatproof glass measuring cup.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the yolks until light in color and fluffy.
In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. At this point, its entire surface should be covered in tiny bubbles. Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measuring cup to stop the cooking.
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Hi guys! Christmas is just around the corner! Today we have a guest post from Ella Sugar Boutique! Look at this utterly charming holiday gingerbread cottage. The best part? You can use a purchased kit and crank it up a big ole notch by using Ella’s decorating tutorial. My heart pitter patters……
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Roll out white fondant and cut out the 2 pentagons or squares to cover the front and back of the house. Place the pieces on separated powder sugar-cornstarch dusted paper
Tint fondant in soft blue, roll it out 1/16 ” thick and cut out diamonds, then attach them to the front and back pieces
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And your done!
Ella Buitrago MS is an Engineer, Cake Decorator and Sugarpreneur owner of the Ella Sugar Boutique. She is a software engineer from Colombia, has a Master in Information Technology form Harvard University. Her love for the sugar arts started when she was a teenager; she took culinary clases in high school, she self-taught the fondant preparation, royal icing piping and more, until she came to UU.EE and took independent clases in the arts. From 2010 to 2012 she worked as a freelance cake decorator at the Decorating Room for Wilton Inc before moving to the Boston area. Read more here…
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How seriously cute is this little house. All the similar gingerbread houses we make over the years; this is such a fun and new approach. I’d love to see yours!
Happy Holidays!
Sharon
Hi guys!
Are you thinking about your holiday sweets yet? I haven’t, but I just started looking around the inter-webs to see what I could see. So while I was at it, I rounded up some fun ideas from around the net to help get you into the Christmas spirit!
Red Velvet Yule Log by Kraft
Christmas Tree Cupcakes bu Just a Taste
Marbled Christmas Ornament Cookies by Sweetopia
Bakerella’s Snowman Cake Pops by Bakerella
Easy Peppermint Marshmallows by Betty Crocker
Christmas Tree Cake Tutorial by i am baker
Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Tree by Chef by Night
Oh man, I don’t think I can choose.
I hope that these treats get you inspired for the holiday season!! Happy Baking!
Sharon
Hi guys! Today we have a guest post from Michelle Green, the genius behind the blog www.thebizofbaking.com, a treasure trove of solid advice about running a cake business. Today, she is going to talk to us a little bit about how to get more sales! (Yay for more sales!) — Sharon 🙂
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When you’re first starting out in business it can be a little disheartening to answer a whole bunch of enquiries but not get any orders. In business speak we call this your ‘conversion rate’ – meaning the amount of people you manage to convert from prospects into paying clients. Effective converting and selling is a skill set all on its own. Some people are just born salespeople who have the gift of the gab and are naturally persuasive, while the rest of us really need to work at it. If you already find “putting it out there” uncomfortable, then me telling you that you’ve got to learn sales skills probably feels a little, well, yuck. It feels somehow dishonest or desperate, both of which are things nobody wants to be! Here are a few things which help you convert better (make more sales) but that don’t require you to wear a bad suit or feel like you’re begging for the order.
MAKE IT REALLY, REALLY EASY FOR PEOPLE TO ORDER FROM YOU.
Don’t make ordering a fifteen step process that exhausts people before they have begun. If people can order online from you (either product or classes), make sure the entire process, from selecting the item to checking out of your shopping cart is uncomplicated and easy to use. The “buy now” button, “shop here” and “online ordering” buttons and pages should be really easy to find. I’ve seen a lot of websites where I want to buy something from them, but it takes me so long to figure out HOW to buy something that I just give up! Don’t make it hard for people to buy from you.
The same is true for offline purchases. Make it VERY clear how they can pay their deposits, what the process is (and make it a short process.) Don’t wait for them to ASK how to do it, tell them! This is another place where having clear, simple and defined business procedures will really help you out because there is no question for you or your customer how to proceed with the order.
TAKE CONTROL OF THE COMMUNICATION
When you’ve reached the point in the email conversation where they clearly are interested and wanting to order from you, actually pick up the phone and call them. “Hi Jane, I thought it would be quicker if I just called you to confirm the details we spoke about in email and get the deposit organized.” The longer you keep dragging out that email conversation, the more of your time you are wasting, and the less likely you are to get the sale done and over with. It’s also a lot harder to say no over the phone to someone – so you’re effectively closing the deal just by calling them. If this sounds scary to you, remember that you’ve already established their interest in you via email, so this isn’t a cold sales call. (How to get their phone number: Make it a required field on your website “contact us” form so that they have to give it to you to submit their order question. If they didn’t come through your website, ask for it at the very beginning – “What’s the best number to reach you on in case I need to get in touch about your order?”)
People always ask me if they should chase up quotes after they’ve sent them. My feeling on this is two-fold: if you’ve got the time and you really want to do that order from a creative point of view, a follow up is not a bad idea. If however it’s not really an order you need or are interested in (or it’s a small one that won’t make much difference to you), I’d leave it alone and not bother. I DO think there is a lot to be said for following up, if only because your competitors won’t bother – but nor do I want you wasting hours and hours on chasing up people who aren’t the kind of client you want (eg a client that calls back.)
ACT AS IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE ORDER
This one works unbelievably well, so often in fact for me that it was far and away my secret weapon to converting enquiries into orders. From the very first time someone contacted me, I would act as if I already had that order confirmed. This means that the language I used in emails or over the phone had an assumption in it that I’d be doing the order. You’re not ASKING them to pay the deposit, you’re telling them they’re going to do it! No, not in a “pay now or I will cut you,” kind of way, but in a gentle, natural way as though the deal has already been sealed and you’re just helping them get there. So at the end of the email instead of saying, “The price is $100,” my email would end by saying, “To create this for you is $100. To secure the date, I ask for a 50% deposit which needs to be paid by Pay Pal (include link to PP) by April 20th. I’m really looking forward to making this for you, you picked a gorgeous design – the party is going to be amazing!” Nobody reading that would say it sounds slimy or desperate in the slightest. It’s 1) friendly, 2) makes the sales process VERY easy for them by outlining the steps and gives them the chance to take the next steps, and 3) it openly assumes that I’m going to get the gig. If you’re acting as if the deal is done, and confident that you’re going to be the only person who can make this thing for them, they are going to feel that confidence and just go with it. Plus you’re saving them a ton of time and effort here – you’re making the process easy, simple and most of all you are meeting their needs right NOW, not ten emails from now.
So how do I know this stuff works? I used to ask ALL my clients for feedback and testimonials and the one sentence which got repeated over and over again was, “Thanks so much Michelle, you made the entire process so easy for me!” We live in an age where people are immensely time poor, reluctant to commit, and bombarded by sales requests all day long. If you can help them save time, help them commit to making a choice – you’re already halfway to getting the order. You’re flat out saying that you’re going to make it happen for them. Don’t we ALL just want that certainty, that confidence, that knowledge that a job is going to get done, get done right, and not require a bunch of flapping around to make it happen?
HERE’S THE BFO (BIG FAT OBVIOUS) KEY TO CLOSING THE DEAL AND MAKING MORE SALES: DON’T MAKE THE PROCESS ALL ABOUT YOU, MAKE IT ALL ABOUT THEM.
About Me
Hello! I’m Michelle and I’m a chef, cake decorator and writer…and like you, I often wish there were more hours in the day.
My blog was created for people who want to make a living doing what they love – and what they love to do is bake, decorate and create sweet art. On my blog you’ll find education and inspiration to help you live a better life and run a better business. In my recipe for success, I also like to include a dash of humour and big pinch of real life. I started my business on my kitchen table, so I know what it’s like to go to bed at 3am and hope that magical fairies will clean the kitchen for you while you sleep…but they never show up! When I started my business, I had no idea what it meant to run a business, let alone a business that made any actual money.
This post originally appeared on The Business of Baking Blog on April 21,2015
