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Like Father, Like Son; Building a Successful Foodservice Career |
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By Ihor Dlaboha; Photography by Memories Studio
It has been said that the most memorable lessons are those learned in youth, preferably with the help of a parent.
This month's ID DSR of the Month, Tom Myers, a 12-year veteran with Favorite Foods, Inc., Somersworth, NH, like many of his colleagues throughout the country, learned well his lessons in college and then on the job, probably in a restaurant.
Additionally, Myers had the opportunity to hone his skills at the knee of his father, Jim, a lifelong sales rep who recently retired after a 47-year career. He had worked with Associated Grocers, PYA Monarch and Sysco. His father wasn't just a DSR with those distribution powerhouses. The skills that he passed to his son were of a higher level. Interestingly enough, Jim Myers was an ID DSR of the Month in the late 1960s.
"I grew up tagging along with him as a kid," Myers recalled during a recent interview with ID Access.
Accompanying his father as the elder Myers called on his customers, the future DSR was impressed with the relationships that he saw his father create with his accounts. He soon realized that those relationships formed the basis of strong business bonds that benefited the sales rep and operators alike.
"They became more than customers. They became close friends with my father. They would come over to our home for weekend parties and we'd go out together. It was much more than a job for my father, it was a way of life and that's what I liked about it," the younger Myers reflected.
Even then Myers began to formulate his own vision of the business and being a successful sales rep. The lesson that he took to heart was that a sales rep just can't turn off the job at 5 o'clock.
"You need to sell yourself and let them know that they can rely on you." |
"In order to be successful, you need to get to know your customers as people. Fortunately, you end up forming some very nice friendships with them. It makes it a lot more fun to do your job and a lot easier to work with your customers when you have that solid friendship as a basis. If you're just going in and taking their orders, running out the door and seeing them next week, then you're only going to get so far. But if you can develop friendships or personal relationships with your customers and get to know them, then they are much more apt to let you into their lives and that's when you can really start to work with them," Myers said.
This concept also worked itself into Myers' tip for rookie DSRs: "Forget about selling products. We all have the same ones. Sell yourself and your company, in that order."
We asked him to explain why a DSR will be more successful if he (or she) sells himself and his company rather than the ubiquitous No. 10 can of peas.
Myers elaborated: "At the end of the day it comes down to your relationship with the customers. They're not buying from you because you have a particular brand of ketchup or your company has a certain logo on the truck. They're buying from you because of you. So you need to sell yourself first because you're the one who's going to be in the restaurant every week; you're the one the customers are going to be calling; and you're the one they're going to rely on. If they don't like you, I don't care how good your products are, you're not going to get the sale. You need to sell yourself and let them know that they can rely on you. You're going to be the problem solver, you're going to be bringing them new ideas, and you are their eyes and ears in the industry."
After graduating from University of New Hampshire with a degree in consumer studies, which he described as a cross between psychology and advertising, Myers set out to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a DSR. His first steps took him to the local office of the biggest distributorship in the country – Sysco. However, not faring well, he consoled himself by saying that No.1 wasn't interested in a 22-year-old.
At the time he was working in a local restaurant, whose owners were buying from Favorite Foods. They suggested that he consider working for that distributorship and even placed the first telephone call to owners Jeff and Chris Barstow. Twelve years ago this past Sept. 26 he was hired as a DSR by a company that was going to win numerous awards, including one from IFDA, for its creative approach to helping grow its independent operator-customers' businesses.
"I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. I certainly wouldn't have done anything differently," Myers said.
Myers has been quick to adapt lessons to his professional growth and his university degree was not overlooked. His degree in consumer studies taught him about treating all of his accounts individually in order to truly comprehend their needs.
DSR NEEDS TO RELATE TO CUSTOMER DIFFERENCES "Sales is all about knowing who you're talking to and being able to figure out what they really want. That's where psychology comes in. You really need to treat and deal with each of your customers differently. They're different people. They have different needs and wants. A DSR needs to be able to identify what their needs and wants are in order to help them," he explained.
Myers has 36 accounts, most of which are independent restaurants – family, casual eateries and a few white tablecloth operators – and also a school, sorority and summer camp. He said the independents are mostly single units, while a few owners have two or three locations. His average account probably rings up $1.5 million in sales.
"I enjoy having a different mix of customers. I wouldn't necessarily want all white tablecloth or family dining or sports bars. Having different types of accounts makes it more interesting because you get to deal with different demographics, customers and menus. That keeps it fresh," he said.
His territory is confined to a 25-mile radius and he limits his driving to 500 miles a week, the amount that he drove when he started as a DSR.
"There is a lot of opportunity in my territory. Everybody is right next to each other. While they are all competitors, they work well together. They are all independent restaurants and they are in the middle of a battle. I encourage them to work together as they fight that battle," he said, adding that their rivals, chains, are everywhere and they are a force to be reckoned with.
With 36 accounts, Myers is able to make five or six calls per day, which means that he gets to see every customer once a week, a cycle that he feels is critical to his success.
"There are some accounts that I've worked with for almost 12 years and we might see each other every other week. We do orders over the phone, or via e-mail or an inside rep. Some of the accounts are so mature that they don't need constant hand holding," he said.
On the other side, he believes it is important to try and see every one of his customers every week – on the same day and at the same time. Almost pedantically consistent and punctual, Myers indicated that if he's running even five minutes late, he'll call his account and say he's behind schedule.
Can five minutes impact a sale?
"I have a rule which says that I never want to have my customer ask me to do something twice." |
"I try to know their schedules. Certain operators don't have their help coming in until 10 AM. Five minutes may not seem like a lot to you and me, but for the operator that's time taken away from getting prep work done before the staff arrives. You can never be too sensitive to your customers' needs and expectations. If nothing else, I want my customers to know that they can rely on me. And that starts with consistency," he said.
Meticulous in setting goals, Myers has set for himself five-year, one-year and monthly goals, which he takes to the customer level. With a target of $10 million in five years, Myers charts his course one case at a time.
"For example, with one account my goal could be to get his french fry and fry oil business. With another customer it could be the bread and clam fry business. Once I establish my smaller goals, it's easier to establish my larger goals," he said.
Preparation and homework are the tactics he uses to reach his goal. Myers said he learns everything that he can about his account before suggesting any new product.
"You ask them what they're using and what they like about it. Then you ask if you could show them products that you think would be better. You need to do your homework on what they're using first because if you bring in a product that is inferior, then you've lost your opportunity," he observed.
The customer can be won over easily if you have proven superior products. If he doesn't, then he finds one that is, he said.
"A great part about working for Favorite Foods is that you're not bound by what's in the warehouse. If the customer is using a product that is better than anything that I have, I can go to my purchasing department and request something that is better," he said.
If the volume warrants it, the distributorship will stock the product on the advice of the DSR, he said.
Just like most successful DSRs, Myers relies on partnering with his customers to grow his business. He does that by demonstrating his reliability.
"It goes back to consistency and building operator's trust. If I'm in their restaurant the same time every week, they know they can trust me and count on me, I'm always going to be there. I'm the one they end up going to when they have a question," he said. "I have a rule which says that I never want to have my customer ask me to do something twice. If they ask me to do something, I answer as quickly as possible, in the most professional way that I can. I may not have a ready answer but I get back to them as soon as possible."
Myers believes that talking about Sunday's football game during a sales call is not the most effective way to form relationships.
"When your customer has a serious problem, you want them to call you. That's how you develop a relationship and partnership," he said.
His strategy has paid off handsomely. Myers said he is prime vendor for all of his customers.
"In most cases I have 100% of the business and for 80% of my accounts I'm the sole vendor of what he have to sell them," he said.
Despite his sales accomplishments, Myers has one fear that he regularly guards against. Having nearly all of the accounts' orders can lull a sales rep into a false sense of security, he admitted.
"I recognize that it's going to take more education on my part to help my customers more." |
"I put more pressure on myself than anyone ever could to prevent that from happening. I'm always looking over my shoulder, always asking what have I done for this customer, when was the last time I brought in a product, when was the last time that I brought in an article, when was the last time I sat down and asked my customer what problems was he having? If I don't have an answer for even one of these questions, I know that I need to get to work," he related.
Freshness, newness and creativity are how Myers keeps his customers profitable and competitive against chains.
Myers recalled that early in his career, he heard a presentation by restaurant consultant and long-time ID sales training writer Bill Main, which he said was a turning point in his young profession.
"Prior to that, two years into my career, still young and green, I was learning how to sell products and what the products were. After hearing Bill Main's presentation on menus, I felt as if I had something to bring to the table, something that most DSRs don't have. I can really analyze and design a menu to help my customers. A bell went off in my head and I realized that this is what's it's all about. It's not about saving your customers money. This isn't about getting products from your warehouse to their store. This is about helping your customers build their businesses and make money and it starts with the menu. I encourage my customers to get me involved every time that they do a menu redesign," he said.
The first operator that felt the benefit of Myers' epiphany was Don Posternak of Muddy River Marketplace, a barbecue restaurant and FIRA member in Eliot, ME. Apparently Posternak was concerned by the appearance of a chain with similar concept, Smokey Bones BBQ, and he turned to Myers for help. Myers had just become the operator's prime vendor and he was eager to try his ideas on the restaurant.
"I encouraged him to be different and we came up with some new menu ideas that the chains weren't going to do. We focused on everything that he could do to be different than Smokey Bones BBQ because you're never going to compete with them if you try to copy them. So let's try to be different," Myers said.
 | | Favorite Foods' FIRA logo which is displayed on its independent operators' windows. |
"When Smokey Bones came into the territory, I encouraged Don to be different. We came up with the concept that we called 'The Squealer.' I wanted him to be different and generate some excitement for his customers. I suggested to him to offer a plate that has a rack of ribs, a half of chicken, a half a pound of pulled pork, baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread. It's a massive amount of food with a $29.95 price tag. We'd give the patrons 60 minutes to eat it. If they finish it, the operator was going to buy the meal for patron, give him a t-shirt and post his picture on the Hog Heaven Hall of Fame. Now there is a wall of photos of people who have tried and succeeded or failed eating 'The Squealer.' It's his the most profitable item on his menu. It was something fun and an example of an independent restaurant being able to come up with something on the fly and implement it," he said.
However, nothing compares with the success that Myers and Golbon-member Favorite Foods attained with the innovative, award-winning Favorite Independent Restaurant Association (FIRA) program. (See Jan. 20 edition of ID Report.)
Myers remembers that several years ago he and Jeff Barstow were discussing ways to help their independent operator accounts. They went back and forth between helping them buy better or help them promote themselves to consumers.
"We decided that a marketing program would benefit the customer more because it's better if we help customers make more money than help them save money," he said they reasoned.
After negotiating with many of its manufacturer-partners for the same purchasing discounts that they give their chains, the distributorship, with radio and television ads, set out to spread the message to consumers that they should support their independent operators.
"They live in your communities and support your communities, and you need to support them as well," Myers said. "I think this is the ultimate example of how independent restaurants can work together. Even though they are competitors and oftentimes they exist next door to one another, they're working together."
Thirty-five Favorite Foods customers, of which 10 are Myers' accounts, are part of the FIRA network and display the logo in their windows. More than 7,000 patrons own the $5 FIRA loyalty cards. The program has boosted not only the member-restaurants' sales but Favorite Foods' business as well.
"It's like a $5 gift card, which patrons can use at the very next visit to any FIRA-member restaurant. Patrons also earn a point for every dollar that they spend. For example, when a patron spends $75 at a restaurant, he gets 75 points. Every time the patron breaks the 100-point threshold, the system adds $10 to the card as a reward for eating at one of the FIRA restaurants," he said.
Myers has successfully used the FIRA program to help build his business.
"I use it as a selling tool. For example, if I only had 50% of an operator's business, I would bring the FIRA program to the operator and explain why he should be part of this program. However, I tell the operator that he first needs to invest in my business, by giving me the rest of his business. Then I'll sign him into this program. It has worked for both of us. My sales grew and we delivered them patrons. I want as many of my customers involved in the program as possible because it gives me the ultimate selling advantage," Myers said.
As for his progressive goals, Myers said that he would concentrate on penetrating existing accounts rather than trawling for new business.
"I don't necessarily want to increase the number of my accounts because I want to always get more involved in my current accounts. So I guess my long-term goal is to find ways to continue to build my relationships with my customers and offer them more than I already am. I recognize that it's going to take more education on my part to help my customers more," he said. |
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Beverage World
