Start with the operator's next improvement
A broad product portfolio creates a surprisingly difficult sales problem: deciding where to begin. The seller can explain everything the company offers. The restaurant operator still needs to know why any of it deserves attention today.
Erik Wetzel, introduced on ChatGTM as vice president of sales at Buyers Edge Platform, approaches that problem through discovery. Even when an operator says business is going well, he wants to understand the one thing they would improve. That answer gives the conversation a starting point grounded in the business rather than the order of the slides.
In his conversation with Michael Beck and Chad Horn, Wetzel connects that discipline to lessons from baseball, sales coaching and the daily realities of independent restaurants. His emphasis is on useful progress: understand the need, find an appropriate way to help and build enough trust to remain relevant as the business changes.
Respect what the purchase represents
Wetzel describes a difference he noticed after moving into hospitality from other technology sectors. For an independent restaurant owner, spending on a business tool can feel closely connected to the family's livelihood. A cautious response is therefore worth understanding on its own terms. It does not necessarily mean the operator fails to appreciate innovation.
That perspective changes the discovery conversation. A seller needs to learn what the operator wants to improve, what they have already tried and what would make a change worthwhile. The proposed solution should connect to that situation clearly enough that the buyer can evaluate the cost and disruption alongside the potential benefit.
A practical extension is to write the problem in the operator's language before presenting the offer. If the team cannot agree on that description, another demonstration is unlikely to solve the disagreement. It may simply add more information to a conversation whose central question remains unanswered.
Make the small wins repeatable
Wetzel uses baseball to explain his preference for consistency. A team cannot depend entirely on home runs. Getting on base and advancing the runner still matter. In a sales organization, that translates into the repeatable work that creates opportunities and helps customers move forward.
He also emphasizes resourcefulness. Real business problems rarely arrive in a form that fits every step of the standard process. A good salesperson needs to find a useful next move while preserving integrity and the customer's interests. Activity alone is not the same thing as progress.
For a manager, the coaching opportunity is to make those small decisions visible. Review where a representative clarified a need, involved the right colleague or discovered that the proposed product was a poor fit. A closed deal matters, but the habits that produced an honest, useful conversation are what the team can practice again tomorrow.
Coach the work people can control
Rejection is part of Wetzel's account of both sports and sales. He talks about helping representatives recover, take another attempt and avoid treating every no as a verdict on their personal worth. He wants the team to keep perspective about work alongside the rest of life.
His management distinction is between weak effort and a difficult month despite strong execution. He says he will support people who follow the process and do the work, even when the immediate result disappoints. That gives accountability a more useful basis than simply arriving after a missed target with a louder voice.
Applying that approach requires specificity. Review the calls, the discovery quality and the follow-through. Determine what the representative could reasonably influence and what needs to change in the process. Encouragement is more credible when it comes with a clear diagnosis and a next step, rather than a demand to feel more motivated.
Use the time saved to improve the conversation
Wetzel describes using AI to improve written communication and reduce administrative friction. He sees value in assistance with work that otherwise takes representatives away from selling, including the reporting and recordkeeping they often resist. These are examples from his experience during the recording, rather than a specification for any particular tool today.
The leadership work remains personal in his telling. He wants representatives to feel supported enough to admit a mistake and committed enough to correct it. A manager's relationship with the team cannot be reduced to a polished email or a completed activity field.
The same principle applies to the customer relationship. Saving time creates an opportunity to ask better questions and follow up with more care. A larger catalog and faster tools are useful when they help a seller understand the operator's next improvement. That understanding is what gives the product tour somewhere meaningful to go.
