DSR Dave and Hall of Famer, Corey Young from Jordano’s (CA) have a great conversation about all the different things a DSR can do for their customers to make money.  You need them to stay in business so you have a customer to sell to. 

Corey and DSR Dave observe that the DSRs and customers who are working together through this tough economy are having some of their best sales ever, and the DSRs who are not working with their customers as a business partner are falling by the wayside.

“DSRLive” is now mobile!  You can now listen to the show on most smart phones while you drive around! 

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Todd also goes into managing his own $16 million route, and reminds himself to listen twice as much as he talks since he has two ears and just one mouth.  He says he doesn’t take things personally when a customer says they are happy with who they are currently buying from. Hauser explains how he uses his brokers as his own sales force.

DSRs, AFDR has been listening…we’re building afdrTV www.afdrTV.com and the AFDR Brand Library so you finally have one place to go to find product information on multiple brands.  We are working with manufacturers to source all product information like Product Training Videos (PTVs), Product Info Pictures (PIPs), POS, Nutritional, and other all product information.  It is a work in progress.  All the research is paying off! 

Listen in for this and more!

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Pellman and DSR Dave discuss how Mark takes care of his A/R, and that “feeling” you have when you are trying to get the customer to sign the personal guarantee on the credit application even though 90% of them don’t even read the fine print.

DSR Dave Miesse talks with Pellman about selling on the “Inside” and not blaming folks for mistakes that happen every day.  Pellman says that when he first started, he too “threw buyers under the bus” when something went wrong, but has since learned that it didn’t help the situation, his customer or himself.  Taking the responsibility for things that happen every day, being more patient, and building great relationships with folks who work on your team can definitely help you.  Treat teammates like your customers.  For example, Miesse talks about asking the buyer for products off the 90 day and older list to see if he can help move those products and/or asking your credit manager if you might help out a fellow DSR with their collections.

Listen to the Show…

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Pellman started with no accounts and has built his 4.5 million in annual sales with his 86 accounts using some basic Foodservice sales principles.  Become a customer and a trusted friend first, and then help prospects with money-making ideas before they’re buying from you.  Mark chooses to be persistent, not pushy!

DSR Dave and guest host Todd Hauser, AFDR president, discuss with this DSR of the Month when a good time to take a vacation is, and why you better have your order guides up-to-date and in good order BEFORE you leave for vacation.  Have you heard that before?

Produce is Mark’s favorite category to sell which is no surprise after hearing that Pellman’s father and grandfather both were produce “Hucksters”… Google that!  We did:  A good huckster is a consummate salesman who can sell products and services to practically anyone. 

Listen to the show … and Sell Something!

Tom and DSR Dave discuss how DSRs need to have their own twist that separates them from the rest. What special value do you bring to your customers? Shea will explain how building your own “brand” will separate you from the DSR crowd. DSR Dave agrees with Tom, that the good DSRs who he has worked with over the years, who have built their own brand identity, beat their competition every time!

Tom explains how to figure out what you and your “brand/value” stand for, then surround yourself with accounts that will benefit from your expertise in that area, and build a network of people that help you be your brand. As some of us heard from a parent or mentor when we were young, “If you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand for anything.”

This month’s DSR of the Month, Chester Gatliff was a great example of what Tom and Dave talk about in this show. You might want to listen to that show again after Tom details for you this great sales strategy.

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You see, Chester passed on before he knew he had won the award. So, today we’re talking to Chester’s customers and co-workers who give you their honest take on why Chester Gatliff was known by all for his “Legendary Customer Service.”

Chester was one-of-a-kind, and can still be a mentor to all DSRs. We learn why he was successful by listening to these folks tell how he impacted their businesses and lives. While listening, you might really want to think about your life and how you treat people every day, whether they are customers, peers or family. Listen to what folks said about Chester.

This show will challenge you, inspire you, and make you glad you weren’t selling against Chester Gatliff!

Listen to the show:

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I know you DSRs are saying, “Are you crazy?  Do you know how crazy it is for me for the next six weeks?”  But DSR Dave knows if you don’t get started now while you are in and out of your accounts, it will suddenly be January!  The knowledge gained from picking up these nuggets of info. along the way, becomes your outline for your plan in January. 

During the Holiday Season, your accounts are busy and full of opportunities for you to figure out some of the problems they are having, and present them with time, labor, or money-saving solutions or creative ideas, and possibly product alternatives. 

Good DSRs see things that could be changed or improved on in their accounts, in many cases, well before the owner or management sees them, but you have to make it a top priority, or your competition might beat you to the punch.  DSR Dave urges you to get your company Experts, Specialists, Marketing Dept., and Brokers/Manufacturer Reps to help you out with this effort, and he gives you some creative ideas on how to get them involved.

Take this opportunity to get ahead of your competition.  Your customers will thank you by buying more from you because of the homework you did during the Holiday Season.

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AFDR Hall of Famer explains how he dealt with A/R when he first started, and how he does it now. 

Snyder and DSR Dave hooked up late one Sunday night to talk about collecting money and managing A/R.  This subject is not easy to talk about even late at night. 

When Don was a “greenhorn,” he used to apologize for asking for money.  It’s a scary tight rope you walk as a DSR when you don’t have the experience to know the right way to manage the collections and keep the account.  Snyder says it’s all about your attitude when collecting.  You have to go into the account with confidence; it’s business, even though the customer may be your friend.

Don explains why you have to trust your credit department as they know more than you, most of the time, when it comes to this.

Are you asking yourself if being a DSR really is the job you want to make a career out of?  Listen to Snyder tell how you might answer that question, while he also leaves you with a tip on what to do when you’re having a bad day.

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Don also talks about how he makes a cold call, and how he figures out what an operator sells the most of while making his first visit.

Don is a real “Pro,” so listen to the first of two shows with Don “writing the book” on being a successful DSR/TM/MA/Sales Dude.

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You know that feeling you get when you go somewhere and a salesperson comes walking up to you with that, “I’m gonna try to sell you something” look on their face? Then, you turn and go down a different isle, or look the other way acting like you really are not interested in anything, just hoping that person does not try to sell you anything.

Do the folks you cold call on feel that way about YOU?! We try to put this issue in perspective.

Can making a new account call really be FUN? DSR Dave explains how to turn the anxiety of a NEW ACCOUNT COLD CALL into something much more fun, listen in.

Customers always tell you what to do next, IF YOU LISTEN . DSRs have two ears and one mouth, maybe you should try listening twice as much as talking. Did they really tell you not to come back, or did they just say they were happy with who they were currently buying from?

DSR Dave and Bill Hornung, the Marketing dude, discuss how DSRs are as much marketing people as they are sales reps doing market research every day while doing discovery work in each account . . . or they should be.

Listen to the show:

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DSR Dave and Marketing Guru Bill Hornung get caught talking on the DSR Live Hotline about:  Cold Calls; Never giving up on an account you want; and breaking things down for the “Price Shopper Customers” to help them figure yields and real costs on products, and maybe turn them into some of your best customers.  

DSR Dave explains how many good DSRs utilize brokers as an extension of their own sales force, and why you need to capitalize on the relationships some brokers have with their customers.   It’s sort of like being sales managers . . . listen how.

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Listen to the Show:

Credit Managers should be your adversary because they know things DSRs don’t know.  Worry about the customers that the Credit Manager has on a short leash; it’s in a DSRs’ best interest to do so, listen why.

Greenhorns, listen up, Corey gives you some great advice on learning how to manage your A/R.  Maybe let your competition spend a little time with the credit problem accounts, so you have a little more time to spend with the competition’s good accounts.  Young calls these problem accounts “Time Vampires,” as they suck away your precious selling time.

**AS AN ADDED BENEFIT:  We have the rest of the interview with Corey, great discussion on Cold Calls, using the Internet as a tool, Top 200 product list, and Young’s favorite brands: General Mills and Tyson.  Listen as he tells you why.  DSR Dave asks Corey what he would think about being part of a Brand’s V.I.P. Club, if there was one, to be more informed.  Trident Seafood’s, Mahi Mahi PTV is one for his product library. Click here it will be worth it, if you can find the time to listen.

This California DSR discusses with DSR Dave how he got through the altitude of the $60,000 dollar per week of sales sound barrier, and what it feels like when you break through.  DSR Dave asks Corey if the work necessary to break through this barrier is worth it to make a career as a DSR.  Corey explains the tremendous amount of freedom a DSR has, even though it’s hard work.

They also talk about a DSR getting his/her pocket picked by another sales person and wondering why it happened… Could it be because the DSR quit peddling the bike for a few weeks?

Listen to “Part II” next week, and have the option to listen to the rest of the interview if you have the time. 

Some of the topics covered on next week’s show include:

Best place to double your sales; getting into the rhythm of your A/R; working with brokers; Corey’s favorite brands; teamwork with drivers and others at the company; and will-calls.

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Six Operators including, two college foodservice operators, a nursing home, a country club, a family dining restaurant, and a small restaurant group (several different concepts within it), tell this group of DSRs the down and dirty on how they would like to do business with DSRs.  The operators even tell the DSRs who they would like to come in with the DSR on the “Final Pitch” sales call, and it’s not always the boss . After the meeting, an operator tells DSR Dave about DSRs making cold calls on him, and describes the way one DSR made a cold call that maybe other DSRs should try, because it worked.

Listen to the show:

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They sit down to eat while waiting for the owner to come out and talk to them. When the waitress was taking their order, they asked her what items were the “most sold” on the menu so they could order them to see and taste them plus check out the kind of quality the restaurant was using. Right after the owner sat down with them, their order, the “most sold” item, came out to their table and it looked HORRIBLE, and tasted AWFUL! Dave and Todd had hit the jackpot . . . opportunity!

The owner made it pretty clear that she was very happy with the suppliers she was using, and she really didn’t need another supplier. Then, DSR Dave just about got smacked by Todd when he asked him point blank, “Todd, why should she buy from you; you all have the same products?” Listen in for Todd’s answer and more.

They then offered a sample of the new Heinz 14 oz. clear plastic, upside down ketchup bottle, as a solution to a problem they identified at the table.

Todd and Dave went back a few hours later and ordered the same thing just to see if it was a fluke that it was bad when they were there earlier, and OMG it was worse in a different way! So, Todd is going to ask the owner if he can come in and work a shift or two to see if he might be able to come up with a different procedure in the kitchen for that “most sold” item that came out to them TWICE in bad shape.

Oh, by the way, Todd’s sending his third order into this account this week!

Do you think you would be the one out of the ten DSRs who would make a 2^nd call on Chef Glenn Taylor of L’eglise Fine Catering in Pittsburgh, PA?

Chef Taylor discusses the cold hard truth about how DSRs try to deal with operators like him every day.  He covers the things DSRs SHOULD or should NOT do on Cold Calls when dealing with him and many other chefs/operators.  In particular, don’t come in at 12:35 PM to try and sell him something when he has 35 tickets on the line, or you might get thrown into the meat cooler! 

Chef Taylor suggests if you want to be a more effective DSR, make sure you get in a kitchen and work a couple of shifts so you have a clue of what’s going on in an operator’s daily life.

DSR product knowledge is essential!  You’ve got to know your products, and know your operator so you know WHEN it’s a bad idea to try to sell him something, or whether you should even attempt to sell him products he doesn’t need or want, because he might get his DSR Taser out!

DSMs, take note on how you might consider handling a DSR change on a route/account with the operators beforehand for a smoother transition. 

 Listen to the show to hear how they turned a dismal prospect into a profitable account.

We interviewed nine drivers to get their point of views from cussing to delivery times:

• Get all your cussing out of the way in the cab

• Drivers can’t be like a DSR and talk to the customer over the phone, they have to face them

• No Deliveries between 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM through the back door, you might want to go in the front door, and or ask if they need the whip cream

DSRs — you might want to pass this on to your drivers and transportation managers.

DSR Dave and Bill talk with Drivers, DSRs, Transportation managers and Operators about the kind of relationships that really win the game in Foodservice Distribution.  Listen in to hear how beneficial it is for everybody when DSRs and Drivers work hand-in-hand:

We interviewed nine drivers to get their point of view.