Want Foodservice Sales Success? Learn to Think Like a Restaurant Operator

Empathy. Emotional intelligence. Mind reading.

Whatever you want to call it, it’s an essential skill for salespeople to cultivate.

Restaurant operators are incredibly busy. When you approach them, you need a pitch that cuts through the noise of a chaotic day and gets right at the heart of what they need or want.

To craft it, you’ve got to look beyond the many wonderful attributes of your product and instead focus on your operator. How can what you’re selling address a problem that haunts them day in, day out?

Answer that question in a sentence or two, and you have a shot at commanding their attention.

How do you uncover what operators want to hear? Keep reading for the tactics that we've seen work across over 50 First Bite customers.

Review the data: understand current operator sentiment

Before you can home in on the specific needs of your target operators, it’s helpful to get a read on the industry at large.

So, let’s look at some stats. What hurdles do operators face right now?

According to a November 2024 report from Nation’s Restaurant News, independent operators are facing a decrease in foot traffic and a subsequent drop in sales.

Unsurprisingly, then, these independent restaurant operators have identified the following as their top business objectives for 2025. Ask yourself: How can your product pitch address one or more of these concerns?

Does your product offer:

• Labor savings? Pre-portioned packages, with no additional measuring and prep required, can contribute to lowering BOH labor costs.
• Built-in marketing? If your brand already has a big following on social media, your popularity can rub off on your operator partners and generate some free marketing attention.
• An extended shelf life? If it last longer than your competitors, it could translate to less food waste — and lower operating costs.

Go deeper: Get in front of operators early in your process 

After reviewing the data, you can start to see the general form your pitch might take. But to refine it further, you’ve got to go straight to the source.

Building personal relationships with your actual customers is the #1 thing you can do to improve your sales approach.

Whether you already have a handful of customers or are looking to sign your first contract, here’s where to focus your energy.

Meet operators in real life

Stop by their restaurant, connect with them at a conference, meet them at a local event — do whatever it takes to get actual face time with the people you want to pitch.

Then, share your product and ask for feedback. As you do, be open to hearing anything operators have to say — good, bad, or ugly. Graciously accepting honest feedback is key to cultivating operator trust and, ultimately, strengthening your product.

Your conversations with operators are where you can learn more about the nitty-gritty of their operational pain points. Go beyond the basics like flavor, quality, and price. 

Does your pack size work for restaurants, or is it hogging valuable shelf space? Is your packaging designed to reduce food waste? These operational details can play an outsized role in operators’ buying decisions.

Watch what other manufacturers are doing

Undertaking some opposition research can inspire new selling tactics for your products.

We love to see how other companies are talking to operators in their sales collateral.

‍This search for foodservice sell sheets turns up a whole host of examples. As you review, you’ll start to see trends in how successful brands tie their product benefits directly into core operator pain points. 

How can you take what they’re doing and apply it to your work?

Take this example from Mike’s Hot Honey. On this menu tips sheet, the brand makes it easy for restaurants to visualize exactly how Mike’s Hot Honey could fit onto their current menu.

Since cost is a major concern for most operators, demonstrating the financial benefits of your product can have a big impact. Notice how Mike’s Hot Honey showcases the economics of adding their products into popular food categories by providing a breakdown of the approximate cost per application, which is minimal.

Another way to help operators envision the incremental revenue and gross margin dollars your product could drive is to create a calculator.

This example from Kerry Foodservice allows operators to see the economics of each beverage they make. The tool helps them visualize key metrics like:

• Unit costs
• Unit profitability
• Total incremental revenue
• Total incremental gross margin

Keep learning, keep iterating

The foodservice sales landscape is always shifting — world news, economic disruptions, industry trends, and more all impact what operators want to hear from manufacturers.

Staying abreast of those changes allows you to keep your sales message relevant. These are some of our favorite sources for timely operator news:

• Industry publications and newsletters, like:
  
  • National Restaurant Association
  • The Food Industry Association
• Podcasts featuring interviews with operators, like:
  
  • Restaurant Unstoppable
• Operator-focused webinars
• Conferences
  
  • Distributor food shows (e.g., PFG FoodCentric Shows)
  • Regional food shows (e.g., Northwest Food Show)
  • National conventions (e.g., NRA Show)
  • And franchisor expos, which are often less expensive to attend and give you firsthand exposure to how franchisors talk about their business model
• Online forums—the right Subreddit or LinkedIn group can be a goldmine of information

Set a regular cadence for checking in on your sales messaging, measuring results, and making adjustments to respond to what you’ve learned in the intervening time.

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Remember: Great first pitches aren’t about closing a deal, they’re about opening the door to a conversation.

Once you understand your target operator’s mindset, you can move past the all-too-common urge to make your sales pitch about sharing every wonderful attribute of your product. 

Instead, you can craft a message infused with empathy for your prospect’s daily experience and speak succinctly and directly to how you solve their pains.

Key takeaways:

• The key to successful foodservice sales is developing a deep understanding of operators’ frustrations and needs.
• Connecting directly with operators is the best way to uncover challenges you might not see from the outside.
• Watch how fellow manufacturers are positioning their products and see how you can apply successful tactics to your sales approach.
• Linking your product to increased restaurant profitability can be the most powerful way to get attention, but there are multiple ways your products can contribute to that boost (e.g., reducing food waste, reducing labor, increasing traffic, increasing check size, etc.).