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David Ross was inducted to the AFDR DSR Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ross says that most customers will never stop buying from you if you are making money for them. “My goal is to help move them from making $100k this year to making $150k next year; I’m selling money!”
When David Ross first started his DSR job, his company, Hillcrest Foods in Cleveland, Ohio gave him their top 500 product list to learn. So Ross began asking tons of questions about those 500 products until he learned more about them.
Ross’ goal was to learn those products so he could determine which ones would help his customers MAKE MORE MONEY. In David’s words, “I’m selling money, not products. The right products make my customers money.”
David describes his prospecting as “pull marketing” versus “push marketing.” He does his research on a prospect by becoming a customer and eating in their operation. In most cases, the prospect will ask Ross what he does for a living, and when he tells them, they ASK himwhy he’s not selling them (a.k.a. pull marketing)!
Most operators will not make a change with the distributors they use without seeing some kind of savings. Ross makes sure a prospect understands he has the pricing program worked out in their best interest and also for his company.
After a prospect feels comfortable with Ross explaining how his pricing system works, he then focuses on some of the other areas in their business in which he can help make them more money, for example, by updating their menu with products from his Top 500 list.
The David Ross’ closing pitch (by using his Top 500): “If I can save you 4-6%, what else can we do to move our relationship forward and help you make a decision to move your business over to our company?”
DSRs, Be a Resource…and Sell Something!