Sales leadership

When I took over at East Coast we didn't have a unified sales strategy. The approach was passive and we were getting customers who were in search of our niche product. I identified ways to take control of the sales process and integrated all channels into a seamless and unified customer experience. The goal was to provide consistent and personalized interactions across channels. 

Here is the approach I took that grew our sales revenue from $300k to $3.4M in 2 years.

1. Direct Sales: Leveraging our digital footprint we generated leads which our sales team would engage with directly. The sales team builds relationships, conduct meetings, and negotiates deals directly with potential buyers.

2. Telesales: My sales representatives use phone-based communication to reach out to prospects, generate leads, and close deals. They conducted cold calls, follow up on leads, and provide information about products or services from the office. Scheduling consultations and information sessions where they would turn these leads into customers. 

3. Trade Shows and Conferences: We built displays and floor model projects which we took to National and Regional Restaurant Association shows to generate business. At the show we would conduct sales meetings and close deals. 

4. Strategic Partnerships: We identified key influencers like Sysco and the DC Maryland Virginia Food Truck Association and identified opportunities for collaborative selling, joint marketing efforts, and access to each other's customer bases.

At Dirty South Deli our primary source of customers pre-pandemic were office workers in Downtown Washington DC and guests at our Cafe located inside the National Museum of Women in the Arts. That changed suddenly on March 13, 2020 with the declaration of a state of emergency that closed all commercial spaces in DC. 

In response I developed a new Go-To-Market strategy which led to a per unit increase in sales relative to our pre-pandemic experience. 

Pandemic Response

1. Serve our customers where they are located. We began to set up in high density residential neighborhoods and market our product through neighbor to neighbor communications, neighborhood hosts, list-serves, and sites like Nextdoor. 

2. Offer order ahead for demand leveling,  social distancing, and ease of scheduling pickup. 

3. Leverage marketplaces that partner with multi-family buildings to source food for residents. 

4. Sell meal kits to reach other meal times. Customers could buy a sandwich for lunch and ingredients for dinner at that same time.