I'm learning so please bare with me...

After doing some research, I have discovered a few chain restaurants that I'd like to be given the opportunity to bid on.  My company does more bid and spec work with institutional accounts but they have brought me on board to try and dip into the retail accounts.  While doing my research, I have been able to find contact names and numbers that I'd like to call and introduce myself.  Of course, nature of the beast of cold calls, the person on the other line probably already has a preferred vendor lined up and doesn't particularly want to deal with me.  Is it inappropriate to contact these Diretor of Operations?  How do I get these DOP's to listen to me? 

My previous thread was about how I could get ahead and Beth responded with a suggestion to become best friends with the health department.  Can I really go to the HD and sit down with someone and have them give me a list of potential restaurant openings?  How do I approach the HD as well? 

I appreciate any help and advice and thank you for taking the time to read my post!  Take care!

Betsy, the odds of you getting a chain to change their vendor is minimal.  Especially if it's a national chain which does a huge volume of business.  Your company must be able to (1) not only meet the chains' needs, but (2) meet or beat their price point.  Chains are given a rather substantial discount due to their volume and lack of changing needs (the rep/company don't have to work so hard - they know how much of what the units usually require).  Certainly, looking from the flip side, you'd have to not only convince me, but wow me and be able to back up your claims.

As far as speaking with the health inspector, yes you can talk to them.  Call them up, set up an appointment.  When you call let them know you are interested in learning of new restaurant openings and meeting the owners of soon to open restaurants.

Other avenues are in city hall: building permits, fire marshalls, ADA compliance.  People who deal with these issues usually know who's doing what and where.

Ciao,

Thanks for the input Steve!  I do know that national chain accounts are near to impossible to break into b/c like you said, they already have preferred vendors.  I'm speaking more about new concepts, new chains that are still in the developmental stages where someone like myself may have a shot. 

I'm definitely going to the health department to talk to them, thanks for the advice! 

Ummmmmm

Former sales rep here....

For the emerging chains - the 1-10 units in a regional area, chances are that they will stay with vendor that was there from the beginning - the supplier who let their bills ride when times were tough, who brought them their signiture item and the like.  With the emerging chains - there is still a hands on owner-visionary who owes a couple of favors to their wholesalers.  They are as tough, if not more than the chains.

The key to these emerging accounts is to get in when they are still at the 1-3 unit stage.  That is when you get their loyalty.

For the health department guys - yes, you can set up an appointment, but don't think you will get much out of them.  My health department leads came from years of seeing these guys around.  I would be in a place when the health inspector showed up.  After seeing them a couple of dozen times, we began to talk.  I would drop hints about places that needed an off season visit, and he would tell me who needed different cleaning chemicals. 

One of my accounts - a school district built a new school.  The architect neglected to obtain the necessary kitchen permits, which nobody figured out until I asked for it for our records (company couldn't ship to places without one).  At that point, when they realized what had happened, I sat down with the health inspector, convinced him that it was an honest oversight and the district administrator did not know.  The health inspector agreed to allow the permits, on the agreement that I would do the food deliveries and oversee the cleaning and setup for their first visit so that they would pass the inspection.

I got the information about the new accounts because they recognized that I was a good rep - and that I would not do anything that would endanger the public health.  But it took a long time to get to that point where they would trust me.  It is not something you will get with a drive by appointment.  They have a responsibility to the taxpayers and have to stay neutral between vendors.  They are not going to "spill the beans" unless they know you and respect you.

Food Write
The Responsible Serving of Alcoholic Beverages

I'm not sure if I'm in the right place, but I just wanted to say that if anyone is using Ecolab as their dish machine supplier, then they are as desperate as I am.  If anyone knows any other companies that supply dish machines and service them, I would love to know it and try those companies as soon as possible.  Ecolab is as bad as they come, cos they don't care about their customers since they are so big.  Please help!!!

A few tips:

Do research! Find out who their current vendor is. Learn about that vendor, such as their reputation, their service, their staff. Find out how much they are paying. Can you beat it? If not, don't try. We know that lots of vendors will offer a lower price, only to raise it in 3 months. Most times the delivery driver or sales rep will make or break the deal. I have called companies that provide service to me and demanded a new delivery person before. Make sure the person the restaurant sees is a professional. Restaurant managers don't have very much free time. If you get the opportunity to meet with them in person, be efficient with your presentation, point out the cost savings in detail. You need to tell them how much they can save per day, month and year. A common misconception is that local units that are part of a chain have no control over who their vendor is. This isn't true. I don't know what your specific product or service is, but I can tell you that I work for a company that has 170 locations world wide and I choose my dairy, produce,  seafood, linen, waste removal, cleaning service, coffee company, lawn company, HVAC service company. If you can partner with a trade group in other cities you can approach chains with additional savings in more than one location.

Desperate: Auto-Chlor is another company. There market is not as big as Eco-Lab, but they are a good company. I have used Eco-Lab for years without any major problems. Have you tried to contact their national sales department rather than your local contact? Go all the way to the top before you give up.

Quote (original post by: Betsy)

Betsy,

I have dealt with National, regional and local chain accounts for over 10 years and while I agree getting your foot in the door can be tough but not impossible.

First you should never make a "cold call". That implies you have no information going in. You have to be prepared. Know the menu. Learn the management structure and who has decision making authority. Eat at the restaurant if possible and talk to the managers. Believe me, they love to talk about their business. Just ask!  More importantly, listen.

In my market, the local business journal publishes all license applications. Your company should already be purchasing license listings from the Health Dept. It is public record and the fee should be a nominal charge for formatting the info.

Ther are many other things you can do. I am not sure of the rules of posting contact info. I have more info that might best be discussed in a different arena. I can provide you my personal e-mail if you want more info or have specific questions.

Good luck!

Food Sales Pro