On being a professional (or not)

A professional shows up and does the work, and if they’re good, they do it better than most in their profession along with having a good attitude. A professional eye surgeon shows up and does the work they do, even if she is having a bad day or is tired. A professional chess player practices Read More…

“Get some chalk on your boots”

I’m a big fan of “real football,” otherwise known in America as soccer. (The story of why it’s called soccer in America is quite interesting.) There’s a beautiful phrase in the sport that can easily translate into the business of selling, “Get some chalk on your boots.” It refers to the need to spread the Read More…

SOND 2022 is on … what are your plans?

Welcome to September! Start that countdown. We’re only 121 days away from the end of the year. Wholesale reps Open your calendar. Mark the evenings you want off, no questions asked. Family evening, concerts, commitments, downtime, you name it. Your job is a daytime job, and any hours you put in the evening should be Read More…

What is missing?

Late August is a unique time in the wine sales and retail game. It’s a moment for a pause, a final vacation, a little breath before September rolls in. It’s also a great time to ask what is missing and start to work to fix it before the busy season hits. For a sales rep, Read More…

Which customers are at the top?

Your best customers are worth ten to a hundred times more than your average customers. Do you know who they are? How do you define best? And what are you doing for them that is different than how you treat the average customer? This is where marketing begins.

Your Wine Onboarding

When your organization hires a new employee, they have obviously been vetted a bit and know something about wine. But where they fall on that spectrum varies for each hire. So does your company: Sit down with them, taste through a bunch of wines, get some input from them, learn how they describe the wines Read More…

High gas prices are a wine rep’s friend

A big part of a wine sales rep’s job is driving around. Not only from account to account, but back to the warehouse again and again for the sudden will call because your customers forgot something on their order. Somehow, their problem became your problem. Oh and let’s not forget about the account you saw Read More…

Building fences as a wine sales rep

Newer sales reps are prone to be ‘yes’ people, doing whatever the store or restaurant asks to the point of crossing a line. The sales rep doesn’t intend to cross the line, they just may not know where that line is. If you build fences and tell yourself you’ll never breech them, it can keep Read More…