Making the jump from player to coach

Nation's Restaurant News, May 16, 2005 by Caroline Perkins

Rodney Carrillo is national account sales manager, mentor and coach at the Dallas branch of Labatt Food Service in Texas. Labatt is the 12th-largest broadliner in the United States, with 2004 sales of $480 million. Carrillo began his career there 16 years ago as a transportation manager when he was fresh out of college. He and Labatt management soon determined that his metier was sales, however, and he became the company's star distributor sales representative, or DSR. Promoted to his present position in 2002, he is charged with helping all of his territory's sales reps to become more successful and increase overall national account sales. He is an internal partner with the sales team as well as an external partner with his customers.

How does the mentoring process work at Labatt?

It takes about a year and a half to mentor one rep. Many people think that's long, but when people come into distribution with no knowledge of the industry whatsoever, it takes a long time. The product knowledge alone is enormous.

What do you look for in a potential mentee?

I play a big part in recruiting. We try to find people who have had some experience on the operator side so they have some understanding of the industry.

Are there classroom lessons?

Not really--only to the extent that the reps-in-training attend manufacturer sales meetings to learn product knowledge. Some core vendors provide training, like Fish 101 or Meat 101. Mostly, the trainees are out on calls. They shadow other reps, learning how to manage time, how to organize their customer calls, how to do business reviews, how to do cuttings and all the skills that make a rep successful.

How do the seasoned reps like having shadows?

It helps them. Once a rep teaches the "shadow" how to run the business, he can hand over some of the work, and it frees him or her to make cold calls and penetrate the market. It's like having an assistant.

When did you start mentoring, and how many reps have you mentored?

I was the first one to mentor anyone here, in 1999. I've finished mentoring four reps and there are two in the pipeline. The first guy I mentored is now one of the top 10 reps in the whole company. He still comes back for advice.

Do you miss being out in the field?

I still work with multiunit customers. I'm responsible for national account sales as well as helping sales reps to grow. So I get a chance to be out in the market.

Is it satisfying to see mentees do so well?

It is. There is a lot of satisfaction. I was on my own as a rep for so long, responsible for only myself. Now I like helping other people. It's like going from being a player to being a coach. It's very rewarding.