Have you ever thought of hiring a personal chef?  Most of us think of Oprah or other ridiculously wealthy people when we think of personal chefs, but I've just had the most interesting meeting that has convinced me otherwise.  Not only will you want to use this service personally, but you can actually use it to build your business.

"So, how is someone who cooks for a living going to help me sell real estate?"

Karen Rosenzweig of Incredible Chef has the one-two punch - she is a personal chef who cooks up to a month's worth of meals in a client's home AND she has a public relations background.  We just had an amazing coffee date where we discussed more ideas than I can even fit into this article (if I'm working on brevity, that is).  I love talking to business owners who are truly passionate about what they are doing and how their business not only fills a void (say, a closing gift), but also creates additional income sources for clients.  Karen is one of those people.

Karen's rate is $275-300 a day plus the expense of the groceries, so how you use her services is up to you.  A few suggestions from Karen:

• Throw a housewarming party for your clients and invite all the local neighbors plus their friends.  It is a great way for you to introduce your clients to their new neighbors as well as pick up additional business.
• If you've sold a couple of homes in an area recently, you can book Karen to cook for your party and have neighbors and friends caravan to both homes, having appetizers at one home and coffee and dessert at another.  (Karen will cook everything at one place.)  This gives you even more exposure for the same price.
• Give your new homeowners a closing gift of personal chef service.  Some of Karen's biggest clients are single men with demanding jobs, and these are the same clients who may be looking for a high-end condo from you.
• Have you thrown a client appreciation party lately?  My Realtor(R) team does this every year and they always have over 100 people attend.  As long as you have the party in a place with a kitchen, even a small one, Karen can cook for you.  
• How about your annual office party?  For holidays or even after a community service day, having someone do the cooking can let everyone enjoy the party, even the host and hostess.
• Do you work with a builder?  Hosting an open house for a high-end property is the perfect setting for a personal chef.  If you are a builder, this is a great gift for your clients who have just built or renovated their home.

Karen's services start with a home consultation and questionnaire.  She goes over the likes/dislikes/allergies the client may have as well as views the kitchen to make note of how best to utilize the space for preparation as well as freezer storage space.  Remember, she brings all the groceries PLUS the pots/pans and utensils she will need to cook.  She finds out jow many servings the client wants per meal, and then she begins developing recipes.  The neat thing about this is that her training prepared her to cook for storage, so that when you defrost and heat your food it tastes like it should.  This means things like oversaucing in preparation so it comes out okay when reheated. 

On cooking day, Karen purchases the groceries needed for the meals, comes to your home with her handy tool cart, and begins preparing and storing food for you.  When you come home from work, you will have food in your freezer and a clean kitchen.  Set it up just like you do your housekeeper or lawn service and you never really have to think about it again (see, you can be just like Oprah!).  If your market has a lot of busy professionals, especially 2-income couples with no children, this is a fantastic gift.  Karen even has a worksheet that shows many people actually save money by hiring a personal chef, and you may be surprised to see this.  I joked with her that it is much like virtual assistants - people can't imagine how they can afford one, but properly used, you can't imagine how to live without one!

As I've said before, make sure your closing gift has the staying power to make your clients remember you.  Whether it is a small piece of art  or the memory of a great party, always keep in mind that your closing gift is part of your marketing budget and treat it as such.  

If you don't live in the Seattle area, you can find your local personal chef through http://www.hireachef.com/, a service of the United States Personal Chef Association.  Although many people probably do operate chef services from their homes, you should really count on someone who is part of a governed body to make sure they operate within sanitary guidelines, which in Washington means cooking in a client's kitchen or a commercial kitchen.

Even though this article has already broken my brevity rule, I've left out a lot of detail in what we discussed.  Feel free to contact Karen directly if you want to discuss her services, and please check back to let us know how your first housewarming party goes!