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From Chef to Salesman
From VANEEpedia
One thing lead to another, and Karl joined the Total Source team as a salesperson the following year. Chuck Vanee, Southwest Regional Manager, said, “Karl is a great salesman and a fun guy to work with–he understands our product and knows how to sell it.”
Q:How did you enter the foodservice industry?
A: My first job in the restaurant business was at a Sub Shop/ Hot Dog stand called “Diane’s Yellow Submarine”. Since, I’ve spent 20 years in the kitchen and have loved almost every day of it. I met a lot of interesting people and worked with literally thousands of people from all over the world. When I started a family, it became a little harder to work the hours.
Q:Does your history as a chef bring advantages as a salesperson?
A: Absolutey. I can walk into a kitchen and get a basic understanding of what’s going on in the first 30 seconds. You can tell by the mood and the staff’s behaviors. If people are running around in a hurry – maybe they need to be more organized – or maybe they are trying to do too much with too little staff. That’s when I talk to them about things that will make their jobs easier and faster without compromising their menus. That’s where Vanee products come in – they take a lot of steps out of the recipe chain while still allowing cooks to add their own personal touches.
Q:What in your job are you passionate about?
A:My favorite part of my job is seeing people, talking about food and finding solutions for my customers. I also enjoy helping to train the newer members of our team. My favorite part about being a chef is making people happy with my food. Its like art and science rolled into one.
Q: Any Vanee “success stories?”
A: I helped the Chef of an in-plant restaurant write a cycle menu utilizing Vanee Gravies and other ingredients he already had in the kitchen. He was able to use the same core gravies and never have the same dish on the menu for a cycle of 6 weeks. We did Tetrazzini, Marsala Sauce, Mushroom Sauce, Picatta Sauce and Chicken and Dumplings with the Chicken Gravy alone. His regular customers loved the new dishes and the Chef was able to control his Food Cost while making his menu more interesting.
Q:Words of wisdom?
A: Listen to what your customers say their needs are. Sometimes as salespeople we think we know what they’re going to say, and we plan for that instead of listening to them.
Q:What is your biggest challenge in selling Vanee products?
A:The biggest challenge is that people are reticent to try canned food. I bring warm Vanee Chili with Beans to the account in a thermos. After they try it they usually don’t care if it came out of a can or not. They know it is a good product.
Q: What makes Total Source unique?
A:In addition to food, Total Source has an Equipment and Supply Division. We are the only firm in Arizona, to my knowledge, that can offer both food and equipment. This works well as both divisions can help each other with leads and projects.