Almost everything we eat is sold by one or more people before it ever gets to us.
Food is such a huge part of our everyday lives that there is no wonder that career opportunities abound from this segment of the economy. At several points along the supply line, there are people who specialize in the selling of foods to retailers or directly to consumers.
Waiters and Waitresses
Waiters and waitresses, also commonly called severs, are not only in the business of taking down orders and refilling drink glasses. They are also responsible for food sales. Restaurants train waiters and waitresses on sales techniques, and they consider them salespeople who happen to be good at service.They are not service people who just write down what you want.
Through the power of menu knowledge, experience and suggestive selling techniques, the servers can often get the dining public to buy more of what the restaurant wants to sell as opposed to leaving it entirely up to customer. The subtle techniques mastered by the best servers can move more of a high-margin item out of the kitchen than the items that do not make the restaurant much profit.
Wholesale Food Representatives
Before restaurants can cook the food that will end up on the table of the guest, the restaurant has to acquire the raw ingredients. Each week, and often more than once per week, a person representing a wholesale food company will call on the management of the restaurant to take orders for an upcoming shipment date.
These sales people come prepared with a knowledge of the particular establishment's trends and typical needs, and they are often able to make recommendations of new or existing products or specials available at the warehouse that will fit into the restaurants plan.
These sales professionals work on a commission based on a percentage of their total sales. They must be willing to work with the rapidly changing atmosphere in a restaurant, see ahead to future trends and be able to react to a restaurant's needs on short notice.
Grocery Store Sales
The majority of the food we eat comes from the supermarket. The sales positions in this type of business are varied, as each part works in a different sales capacity.
Technically, the clerks in a supermarket are salespeople. They arrange the food in the store in ways they believe will prompt customers to pick up certain items before others. The management works with local media in advertising sales.
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