Good day everybody, and welcome to the last work day of 2016! Thank you for joining the VineThinking community. So far 184 blog posts composed of over 62,000 words since I started this in April, and a readership that has grown by leaps and bounds as the months have gone by. Thank you to all who Read More…
Month: December 2016
Playing the long game
As a wine sales rep, how far out do you think, plan, organize, and set goals? The answer to that question might very well depend on who you work for. Some wholesalers are notorious for shifting territories around, pulling accounts from one rep and giving them to the other, all under the notion that it Read More…
High end audio stores (and how they relate to wine)
I love high end audio. I like the older components. I like the texture of a vinyl record, and I love my older speakers. The sound is better, the richness is more complete, and when I take the time to sit down and listen to a favorite album I tend to put other things away and Read More…
Monday Challenge: End of Year Planning
Welcome to the final Monday Challenge of the year. Five more work days ahead for 2016, then this chapter is done and we collectively move into 2017. What to do? Just like Santa, make some lists and check them twice. List One: Do you have the opportunity to invest in your work life for 2016 tax deductions? Read More…
Gifts
It’s that time of the year. Gifts are awesome. I don’t know anybody who actively resists receiving a gift. I also know people who constantly give gifts. Some of these gift givers are pure to the extreme (“I saw this and thought immediately of you”), some are as predictable as the sun coming up (Merry Read More…
Goals vs. Expectations
Goals and expectations are frequently confused with each other at many organizations. “Our goal is provide top quality customer service.” … No, top quality customer service should be an expectation with every single interaction with every single customer. Anything less is simply unacceptable. “Our goal is to make great wine.” … No, the wine should Read More…
So what ya doing today?
What are you doing at 10am? At 12:30pm? At 3pm? If you took up yesterday’s Monday Challenge, then you know. You know exactly what you’re doing and where you’ll be. Not only every half hour of today and tomorrow, but also Thursday and Friday. And because you filled out the chart and thought ahead about Read More…
Monday Challenge: The Final Full Week
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to readers, something to push you a bit and help you grow. As you know by now, I’m big on lists and goal planning. I like to know as far in advance what I’ll be doing on any particular day. Time is the same for all of us. Read More…
You have a duty within the chaos
Welcome to the joyful Christmas season when everybody starts to run around like headless chickens, a panicked look in their eye, insistent on their assumption that one more gift is necessary to buy to show their love (sorry about the cynicism). As wine industry professionals, we have a few duties during this upcoming week of alarms Read More…
A Wine Rep’s Future
There are basically four types of wine sales reps. Brand new, green, inexperienced but excited. Established, productive, successful, and still very much excited about the industry. Established, productive, successful, but pretty entrenched and doesn’t want things to change. Very experienced, continuing to be successful, but complaining about any rumor of anything shifting. You can see Read More…
Enthusiasm, by itself, is worth nothing
You can be the most enthusiastic one at the sales meeting. You can be the ‘idea person’ that tosses new and shiny thoughts out left and right. You can be the beacon of light for those in the fog. But in the end enthusiasm has no value without action and accomplishment. All that really matters is getting Read More…
Your emergency kit is empowerment
What happens when … … your delivery driver drops the wrong case of wine at the wrong account? A case of wine very important to an event that evening. … one of your servers spills wine all over an impeccably dressed guest out for a night on the town with her friends? … the very Read More…
Monday challenge: Make a list, check it twice
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to readers to help arc you toward new ideas, uncomfortable places, and ultimately growth. This week: Make a list, check it twice. We are less than three weeks away from the end of the calendar year. It’s a time to work hard (the orders are flying for about 10 Read More…
It’s about the people, not the wine
A wine wholesaler that has an abundance of supply (an incredible portfolio, amazing brands, and a warehouse full of inventory) does not get a free pass into every account they want to be in. And conversely, a wine wholesaler that has a lack of supply (a few wines in the portfolio, obscure never-before-heard-of brands, and a garage Read More…
Sharing vision
Sharing vision is one of the most important aspects of any of our wine jobs. It shapes the meetings, sets the stage, outlines the expectations, and points out the differentiations between you and rest of the world (otherwise known as “them”). To share a vision you first have to have a vision. A vision is different Read More…
The trouble with robots
Robots are kind of awesome and fascinating. They work fast, they work hard, they don’t complain, they are masters of efficiency. The problem with robots is that they do or say the same things over and over (and over and over and over and over). What many people fail to realize is that being a Read More…
The goal of inducing curiosity (via a Coravin)
It’s one of the most effective but overlooked sales techniques. It’s the key to success for many legendary brands, but can easily be replicated into our industries. It’s curiosity. One of my wine consulting contracts is for a successful privately held restaurant group. Three locations, over $1 million in wine sales. They specialize in burgers (really Read More…
Monday challenge: Awesome at a few things, not pretty good at many
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to readers, something to make people think, get into an uncomfortable space (where growth happens) and in general give you ideas at looking at your job from different angles. This week: what are you awesome at? I’m not asking what are you pretty good at. I’m not asking Read More…
The power of loss over the power of gain (Loss Aversion)
If you’re traveling and looking for a place to eat, where do you turn for advice? Many of us whip out the phone and look at Yelp. And when we look at Yelp, and as scroll through the reviews, what jumps out? It’s not the four and five star reviews, because there are so many Read More…
December planning
The first day of the last month. Welcome! This is a great month to have one of those big paper wall calendars. To have your daily details written out, and a big red marker at the ready to cross out the days as they go by. Reminding yourself that time is the one thing we Read More…