It’s here: the next generation of Brizo FoodMetrics is waiting for you. Learn more.
It’s here: the next generation of Brizo FoodMetrics is waiting for you. Learn more.
If you’re a food manufacturer or distributor, you’ve probably realized that waiting for inbound leads won’t always cut it. Sure, it’s nice when customers come to you, but sometimes you have to go out and get them.
That’s when you must actively pitch your products/services to the restaurants.
At Brizo, we’ve seen how businesses use smart strategies and data to turn those cold calls into real opportunities.
In this article, we’ll discuss actionable outbound calling tips to help you connect with ICP restaurants without blowing your budget or wasting hours chasing dead ends.
Here are our top tips to help you make your outbound calls successful and land more deals without breaking a sweat.
The more you know about a restaurant, the better you can solve their problems—and the better your solution will fit. In fact, a study found that 42% of sales representatives feel they don’t have enough information about their potential customers before making a call. That’s a big missed opportunity.
This is where a market intelligence tool like Brizo FoodMetrics can make all the difference. Our restaurant database helps you uncover key details about each food establishment, including:
Now imagine this: Your sales team is about to call a restaurant chain that’s growing fast. With Brizo, you’ve already discovered that their best-selling menu item is gourmet burgers. Their website traffic spikes on Fridays, they’re using an outdated POS system, and the operations manager’s name and email are in your notes.
Instead of going in blind, you start the call by complimenting their menu and mentioning how gourmet burgers are trending nationwide. Then, you casually bring up how your product integrates seamlessly with their current POS system, saving time and money. The operations manager is impressed because you’ve done your homework, and you’re not just another generic sales pitch.
You’ll find plenty of online advice on how to prepare detailed scripts for outbound sales calls. But let’s be honest—over-scripting is overdoing it. Instead of sounding confident and conversational, you risk sounding robotic and stiff.
Scripts can make you sound unnatural. Your prospect will notice if you’re reading lines; it can turn them off before you’ve made your point.
Structuring your call is a better way. Let your conversation flow naturally, and talk to your prospect like you’re helping a friend.
Here’s the difference:
A Scripted Call: “Hello [Name], I’m [Your Name] from [Company]. I’d like to talk to you about [Product/Service]. Are you free to discuss?”
A Structured Call: “Hi [Name], I noticed your restaurant focuses on [specific menu or value]. That’s amazing! I’m [Your Name] from [Company], and I’ve been helping restaurants like yours with [specific solution]. Mind if we chat for a moment?”
Your call won’t always go smoothly. Prospects will have questions, concerns, or doubts about your offering. That’s normal. What matters is how prepared you are to handle those objections.
Here are some common objections you might hear when selling to restaurants:
It’s okay if you lose a few prospects over these objections. Not every call will be a home run. But the key to success is preparation. Before you start your next cold calling session, take some time to think through these objections and how you’ll respond.
If you own or represent a food product or service company, your best bet is to invite prospects for a free demo or consultation (not try to sell directly on call).
92% of marketers say video is an important part of their marketing and sales strategy. An audio call alone often can’t show the full picture of your product’s features and benefits.
For example, if you pitch a food delivery solution or a kitchen inventory tool, a demo lets you highlight how it works, how easy it is to use, and why it’s worth their time and investment.
When cold-calling restaurants, being locally presentable can make all the difference. It helps prospects feel comfortable and more willing to listen to you.
Here’s how to nail those local details in an outbound call strategy:
Customer feedback on different platforms like Yelp, Doordash, and Ubereats often reveals what a restaurant might be struggling with. It can be slow delivery times, inconsistent quality, or missing menu items.
Use this feedback to your advantage. Identify common issues and professionally point them out during your outbound call. Then, explain how your product or service can solve those problems.
Let’s say you’re a local food distributor selling fresh produce. While researching a prospect, you notice several Yelp reviews mentioning that their salads are often “not as fresh as expected.” When you make the call, you could say:
“I noticed a few customer reviews mentioning concerns about freshness in your salads. We specialize in providing farm-fresh produce with same-day delivery so your kitchen can serve the freshest meals without any delays. Could this be something you’d like to explore?”
If you’ve been cold calling for a while and want to cut costs without overhauling your entire process, A/B testing is the way to go. The average cold call conversion rate in 2024 is below 5%, so the margins are razor-thin, and every single conversion matters.
You can create two segments of restaurant prospects and tweak one element of your pitch to see what resonates better. This could be:
Let’s say you’re a dairy farm selling premium organic milk. You want to pitch to two types of restaurants:
Track the results: Who responds better? What feedback do you get? This data helps you refine your outbound calling strategy and focus your efforts where they’re most effective.
Respect your time and your prospect’s time by keeping your pitch clear and to the point. But remember, being concise doesn’t mean rushing to close the deal.
Take the time to answer questions thoughtfully and build rapport. Interestingly, one study found that the average length of a successful call was 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
Even if the call doesn’t end in a sale, leave on a positive note for follow-up calls. Say something like, “I’d love to follow up with more details if this sounds interesting to you.”
You never know how close the deal might actually be. Sometimes, it just takes another touchpoint or a bit more time for the prospect to recognize the value you bring.
Looking to start outbound calling for restaurants? You’ll need more than just a phone and a pitch. You’ll need a market intelligence tool like Brizo to back you up.
For food manufacturers, distributors, and restaurant tech, we have over 2.1 million food establishments data from the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland.
Know more about your sales prospects. Start your free trial today!
