Distributor Dispatch

I came into foodservice sales after spending years in restaurant management, including running a high-volume operation. Since then, I have worked for both Sysco and US Foods, which has allowed me to experience the foodservice business from two very different perspectives: the restaurant operator and the distributor.

Restaurant experience can provide a strong foundation for foodservice sales, but moving into this profession requires a major change in both lifestyle and mindset.

You may still use your restaurant knowledge every day, but you are no longer operating the restaurant. Your responsibility is now to manage and grow a sales territory.

You Are Responsible for Growing a Business

Foodservice sales involves much more than taking orders and checking on customers.

You are responsible for prospecting, developing relationships, opening new accounts and expanding what existing customers purchase from you. If a restaurant currently buys seafood and disposables, for example, your job is to identify opportunities in produce, meat, poultry, groceries, chemicals and other categories.

The goal is to earn more of the customer’s business while providing enough value to justify it.

Ultimately, you are measured on sales growth, profitability, new business and activity. Building strong relationships matters, but those relationships must eventually produce measurable results.

What a Typical Day Can Look Like

There really is no completely typical day in foodservice sales.

A day might include company meetings, pricing work, reviewing product availability, solving delivery problems and driving throughout your territory to visit current customers and prospects.

Some stops turn into productive conversations. Others may be a quick introduction, a dropped-off price list or another attempt to reach an owner who is rarely available.

You also have to document your activity, keep track of follow-ups and regularly review your performance with management. Organization becomes extremely important because every customer has different needs, schedules and opportunities.

The flexibility is real, but you still have to hold yourself accountable for how you use your time.

Effort Does Not Always Produce an Immediate Result

One of the biggest adjustments is learning that effort does not always lead to an immediate sale.

You may visit a restaurant several times before reaching the decision-maker. You might spend hours building a competitive price list and never receive an order. A prospect may show interest and then stop responding. Another account may take months to open.

That can be frustrating, especially for someone coming from restaurant operations, where many problems require immediate action and produce an immediate result.

In sales, much of the work is planting seeds.

Pricing and territory certainly matter, but persistence, organization and the ability to build trust are usually what separate successful representatives. Sometimes the opportunity comes simply because you continued showing up professionally after everyone else stopped.

The Lifestyle Can Be a Major Improvement

There are some real advantages to making the transition.

Compared with restaurant management, foodservice sales can offer much more control over your schedule. You are often able to manage your own day, spend more weekends at home and build relationships with operators throughout your market.

After years of working nights, weekends and holidays in restaurants, that freedom can feel life-changing.

The network you develop can also become incredibly valuable. You meet restaurant owners, chefs, managers, manufacturers, brokers and other people throughout the foodservice industry. Over time, those relationships can create opportunities far beyond an individual sale.

For someone who enjoys the restaurant industry but no longer wants to live inside a restaurant, foodservice sales can be an attractive career path.

Flexibility Does Not Mean the Job Is Easy

The schedule may be better, but foodservice sales can still be a grind.

You are competing against several distributors for the same business. Every competitor is offering products, pricing, programs and promises of better service. Even long-term customers can move part of their business elsewhere if they believe another distributor can provide more value.

Restaurants also do not operate on a traditional schedule. Customers may call or text at night, early in the morning or on weekends. If a delivery is late, a case arrives damaged, an item is missing or a restaurant suddenly runs out of something, the sales representative is often the first person contacted.

Even when the problem was outside your control, you are still the face of the company to that customer.

Sometimes that means locating a substitute, arranging a will-call pickup or personally helping solve a problem. Setting reasonable boundaries is important, but so is understanding that responsiveness can be the difference between keeping an order and watching it go to a competitor.

Restaurant Experience Helps, but It Is Not Enough

Restaurant experience gives you credibility because you understand the customer’s world.

You know what it feels like when a truck is late, a key product is unavailable or food costs begin moving in the wrong direction. You understand that an owner or chef may not have time for a long conversation during lunch service. You can also recognize opportunities that someone without restaurant experience might overlook.

However, knowing restaurants does not automatically make someone successful in sales.

You still have to learn how to prospect, communicate value, handle rejection, manage a territory and ask for the business. You must become comfortable discussing pricing and profitability while continuing to protect the customer relationship.

That is a different skill set from running a restaurant, even if the two worlds overlap.

Is Foodservice Sales Worth the Transition?

Foodservice sales can provide a better lifestyle and a rewarding long-term career, especially for someone who understands restaurant operations.

But it is still a corporate sales position with goals, accountability and constant pressure to grow. The freedom comes with responsibility, and the relationships come with expectations.

Restaurant experience may help you get through the door, but it will not carry you through the entire career. Success requires persistence, organization, responsiveness and the willingness to continue working even when the answer is no.

For the right person, it can offer the best of both worlds: the opportunity to remain connected to the restaurant industry while building a career outside the four walls of a restaurant.