A critical question to ask at the start of your sales day is this: Why am I selling wine? Making money is one reason. This is your living. “Bad salespeople have hungry kids” is the old (old, old) saying. You have to convert sales to make dollars and keep your lights on. Pretty simple. For Read More…
Author: Jason Kallsen
Buying motivations
A critical question when selling wine to restaurants and retailers is this: who is really making the decisions? The wine buyer might be making 100% of the choices. But usually not. An invisible hand exists in all business, and the motivations of the owner is often a controlling force within an organization. Sometimes for better, sometimes Read More…
Milestone Dates
Happy October 1st. To most people, maybe all, it’s just another day. But for me, it’s October First, The Milestone Day. A milestone date is a marker. It’s a particular date when something eventful, positive, negative, traumatic, celebratory, life-shaping, or just plain big happened to you or because of you. It’s a date that as Read More…
Knowledge, experience, and hustle
Some wine sales reps are newbies to the business, without much experience with wine or sales. Some wine sales reps have incredibly deep wine knowledge, but little sales experience. Some wine sales reps are pros in sales, but not so much in wine. And some wine reps are pros in sales, lots of experience, plus Read More…
Sometimes paper is better
Your customers, the wine buyers at both the restaurant and retail level, need one fundamental thing. Without this, it the sales relationship falls apart. With it, it grows stronger over time and builds in accountability on both sides. Communication. But here is a trap many fall into — thinking that email is communication. It can Read More…
The list of quick improvements
This is a good exercise. Grab a piece of paper. Turn off the inputs and interruptions. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Namaste. Now answer the question: “What can I change, improve upon, upgrade, do, or fix in just one or two minutes, that will have a lasting impact on my work?” A Read More…
The wine velocity sweet spot
Right now, today, we have the technology to put self-driving cars into the world that are safe and reliable. Seriously. The technology is there to have fully self-driving cars all over every city in the world. The problem is they max out at two miles per hour. Would you hop in a self-driving car that Read More…
The alternative to working smarter, not harder
It’s sage advice for most people. We’ve heard it time and time again. Work smarter, not harder. But after you have organized your work life, after you have figured out systems to work harder on your business instead of being stuck in your business, after you have figured out the key customers to make an Read More…
A seven year (payment) plan
How far forward do you plan? Some very smart people insist that five year and ten-year goal setting is not realistic. That there is no way to project that far and know what will happen with the economy, your industry, or even the state of the world. I see their point, but they are wrong. Read More…
The easiest formula for opening new business
New business is the lifeblood of most wine sales reps. You need to be opening new accounts to help energize the growth needed to expand your business. Here is the simple universal formula for 100% success in opening a new account. Show up. Show up again. Be there. Call. Email. Communicate. Show up more. Shake Read More…
Overwhelmed
Another sales call. More samples to pull. Who is the new buyer again? Oh yeah, that will call I have to run! The focus winery of the month. Do I have a sparkling wine stopper? OMG Thanksgiving and Christmas is around the corner! My phone is out of juice! Yet another sales call. I know Read More…
Passions vs. Skills
Two wine sales reps. Two different ways of doing business. Sales rep number one has a passion for what she does. She is so into wine! It’s her life. It’s all about the aromas, the flavors, the food, and the occasional travel. Wine is first and foremost the creator of her energy. A wine sales Read More…
What customer service is not
Customer service for a wine wholesaler takes many forms. Clear information. A heads up. A lead. Running the emergency will call (when it truly is an emergency, not a matter of convenience). Being on time. Making sure your customer knows your portfolio and what you can do to help grow their business. Customer service is Read More…
Under promising? Over delivering?
“Under promise then over deliver.” The problem with that equation is that you intentionally under promise. Why do that? Just over deliver. Keeps it easier.
High end chocolate
The world of high end, exclusive, limited availability, hand-made chocolate is pretty neat. Where the beans came from, the roasting, the pressing, the sweat involved in every step makes each bar simply taste better. It’s a world where knowledge multiplies the taste experience. And the folks that buy the high-end chocolate have little hesitation to Read More…