Dean Adams, with Performance Foodservice – Lester in Lebanon, Tennessee, is the latest inductee into the AFDR DSR Hall of Fame.
For almost 17 years, Dean Adams has been using the knowledge he gained while running restaurants before becoming a DSR to provide advisory services to help his customers make money.
Adams sought out the top DSRs at Lester for help when he first started because he was so frustrated with trying to learn his products and how to sell them. Dean says that it takes about 3 years for most Greenhorns to have the product knowledge to be confident in suggesting the right product for a purpose. A Greenhorn must reach out and seek advice from Veteran DSRs.
Dean tries to teach Greenhorn DSRs to ask a ton of questions of their prospects, customers, and all of their peers so they can learn every angle of the business from both the company’s and the customers’ sides. He encourages them to take interest in their answers and treat peers the same as they would treat their customers. These tips can help them become successful DSRs.
Topics Adams talks about on the show:
•How he handles issues when things go wrong, and how he separates himself from the competition
•Pricing and how he creates his and his company’s value
•Samples work really well, but he would like enough of a sample for a proper cutting and sample process
•Helping Greenhorns to be successful
•Prospecting and being a solution
DSRs, Be a Resource…and Sell Something!
