Love selling our bread. It’s easy when you have a conviction of selling something really, really good. High quality. Healthy – for most parts, we do have the coconut buns. But I always tell people that those are a treat. Don’t eat too many of them, no matter how delicious they are.
I’ve learned a lot about the trade. About who needs what. Most people can’t deal with the complicated side of food and illnesses, doctors recommendation and such. And the doctors here are generally playing it safe. They tell you “no yeast” when they actually mean that you should stop eating all that sugar and simple carbs stuffed into regular “bread” that is not fermented well and made with refined flour. It’s just easier. Yeast sounds like a good enemy. Something tangible and not as intrusive as “stop eating crappy products full of cheap fat, refined flour and sugar.”
Nobody wants to change their lives.
So they ask if I have yeast free bread. Oh boy. How do I explain them that sourdough does contain yeast, too, just that it’s wild yeast? I usually don’t. I ask for their diagnosis and why they can’t eat yeast, and most of the time it’s nothing yeast related.
For references, these are the reasons to cut yeast:
- Candida infection
- small intestine bacteria overgrowth
- histamine intolerance (fermentation produces histamine)
- MAO inhibitors (anti-depressants)
- yeast allergy
- gout (yeast produces purines that raise uric acid levels)
- sometimes acid reflux flares
It’s generally diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and the combination – metabolic syndrome. Incredibly common around here, and in many parts of the world I’d guess. Both our local and foreign customers suffer by them.
And we have the solution.
I mean, we can’t force them to buy what we think is best for them. But we know by testing that our Sourdough Seed Bread, the Walnut Rye Bread, the 100% Sunflower Rye Bread and other whole grain sourdoughs do not cause any hyperglycemia and have a lower glycemic value than other stuff. And it’s great bread. Fills you up nicely. Tastes awesome. Holds for a long time.
I just ate a dry seed baguette from 2 weeks ago.
No mold, just dry. Dunked it into the tofu soup. Perfect. We still recommend everyone to keep it within a plastic bag and eat it within two days, or else we’ll have complaints about the bread being “so hard.” No wonder, everyone is used to the bread described above, which is incredibly soft and rather falls to dust when it gets dry. And then the teeth problems…
In short – you have to know your product.
And your clients. Their peer group and the “information” that they carry. Gluten intolerance is such a big thing, until it isn’t. So is the yeast. It’s like with everything, easy to toot a headline, but when you take the time to ask more questions and really assess the client in their needs, without getting distracted by their superficial initial statement, you can find out enough to recommend either one of your products, or refer them to some other bakery that does just that. Like for real celiacs.
And they’re the happier for it.
Taking sales seriously is important. At the same time, when a relation is already established with the client, jokes go a long way. When they know you’re not one of those slimy platitude salesmen, you can imitate one and get a good laugh. I have the pitch for our promotions down so well that I can spill them out very quickly in one breath, with the right movements and overkill-attitude to make even those chuckle who don’t know me.
And the promotions are good, anyway.
Really saves you some money. In the end, it’s not about selling. Is about client satisfaction. We’re an artisan bakery, the quality of our products depends a lot on the mood of our sourdough (and the bakers). Happy clients don’t care about that slight inconsistency. They value it. The authenticity, the personal touch.
I derived a few core-values for a good sales person:
- Honesty. Never lie to sell, never obfuscate. If you believe in your product, you don’t need that. You know it’s not perfect, and you don’t need clients seeking perfection.
- Responsibility. When you screw up, admit it. Apologize, make up for it, even if that means a short-term loss. Every feedback can be useful, reward those who give it to you.
- Integrity. Don’t become someone else when you sell. Sure, you’ll have to smile a little more. But don’t abandon your principles for a sale.
- Empathy. Listen to your clients, take time for them, attend to their needs rather than yours. Walk the extra mile when they need it. Nothing binds them more than doing a delivery when they’re sick.
There’s much more to it, obviously. Presence, creativity, perseverance, and a whole ton of patience is needed, too. Yesterday, I walked over 20k steps to sell everything. It took me 7 hours from start to finish. The last salesman I had needed 10h. For many reason, but one was shown in the comment a restaurant owner made to me (we walk into restaurants of friends or clients to offer our bread):
Wow, you move so much faster than the guy who was selling before.
So yes, stamina is in the mix, too.
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