When people think of food service, they often picture restaurants, chefs, or kitchen action. But there’s another part of the industry that’s just as busy: sales. Behind the scenes, Sales Professionals from companies like FrieslandCampina Professional, Lee Kum Kee, Unilever Food Solutions, and Nestlé Professional are out there every day, helping restaurant chains, cafés, and hotels serve up better menus, faster service, and consistent quality.
These Sales Professionals don’t just sell sauces or ingredients. They support food operators by sharing food trends and helping them find smart ways to use those trends in their kitchens. And because they work in a fast-paced, competitive market, they also need to keep learning, growing, and adapting. That’s where coaching comes in.
What Coaching Means in a Sales Role
Coaching in sales isn’t about fixing mistakes or telling people what to do. It’s a conversation that helps someone reflect, think more clearly, and take better actions.
Sales jobs come with pressure:
Coaching gives Sales Professionals and Sales Leaders a space to step back, make sense of their challenges, and decide on better next steps. It’s not about giving answers. It’s about helping people figure things out for themselves and grow because of it.
Coaching in Food Service Sales: What It Looks Like
In the food service world, Sales Professionals don’t just sell products. They need to understand the customer’s kitchen, operations, and menu challenges. That means conversations with chefs, outlet owners, and procurement teams.
Through coaching, I’ve seen Sales Professionals shift from pushing products to asking better questions like:
These simple questions often lead to better insights. And once that happens, the sales conversation becomes more relevant and useful. Coaching supports this mindset shift by helping them listen, ask, and respond with purpose.
Coaching for Sales Leaders: Leading with Clarity
Sales Managers often juggle performance reviews, market pressures, and team challenges. Coaching isn’t another task. It becomes the way they lead with purpose.
I’ve supported Sales Leaders who started using short coaching conversations during team check-ins. Instead of focusing only on numbers, they’d ask:
- 1What’s one conversation you find it difficult with the customer?
- 2What went well in your last sales visit?
- 3What support would help you most right now?
Those kinds of questions helped their teams think more clearly and take more ownership. They became better at solving problems, and more confident in managing their customers. I wrote more about this coaching style in my blog on elevating workplace performance through shadow coaching, where the real learning often happens during the workday, not just in training rooms.
Coaching in Daily Sales Activities
Coaching in food service doesn’t always happen in formal sessions. It’s built into everyday moments, which include before and after customer visits, during one-on-one chats, or in weekly huddles.
Here are a few ways coaching shows up in the field:
When done consistently, these coaching moments build stronger habits, sharper thinking, and better teamwork. When coaching is also part of business direction and planning, everything starts to align. I explore this further in Mastering Strategic Sales Planning, where coaching is embedded in the way we lead and plan.
What You Can Apply Outside of Food Service
You don’t need to be in food service to use these ideas. They work in any team, client, or leadership role.
I also shared simple ways to use coaching in The Art of Giving Constructive Feedback, where clear and thoughtful language makes a real difference at work.
Conclusion
Coaching helps Sales Professionals and Sales Leaders bring clarity, confidence, and impact to their work. Whether you're in food service or another industry, the value of coaching is universal. It starts with better conversations, and grows from there.