Opening new accounts is the lifeblood of the wine wholesale business. If you’re not opening new accounts on a regular basis you are beholden to the slicing up of the market by competitors. New business is the only way to stay ahead of that curve. A simple prospecting tool is, of course, email. Make a form Read More…
Month: January 2018
The number one complaint (you can do better than that)
Let’s start with the truth: retailers and restauranteurs have it tough. They work in a small box, and live a life of interruption. Vendors, customers, sales people, employees with complaints or issues constantly pulling at them. Trying to structure a day for creative thinking, personal development, or with the goal of flow can be difficult Read More…
Be quick to listen and slow to speak
Sage advice, for sure. But it goes against the nature of the sales rep. The sales rep is wired to talk, and talk, and talk. More tech sheets. More maps. More reviews. More scores. Oh and here’s one more thing to prove to you that my wine is good! In the mind of many wine Read More…
The Playbook: Losing a brand
Every wine wholesaler needs a series of playbooks. These are plans and protocols that you pull out when the inevitable happens. When you lose a sales rep, when you hire a new sales rep, when you bring on a new brand, and of course when you lose an important brand. Here’s a quick outline for Read More…
Sometimes, there is no answer
“How can we sell more expensive wine to more retailers?” “How do we break into the hot new restaurant?” “How can I make my sales reps more efficient and responsive?” “How can we get more market share in this increasingly tight and competitive wine scene?” There is no answer to these questions. If there were Read More…
Your job is not to make it easy for the buyer
As a wine sales rep, the temptation is to make life easier for your buyers. You run that will call. You put up those shelf talkers. You pick up the 10pm phone call, or respond to the 1am email. You train their staff. You figure out the industry trends for them. You do the work, Read More…