There are four main types of current/modern one-on-one communication. The first is the email, the most common form of transferring information from one person to another. It’s passive, and sending an email implies less urgency, usually, knowing that the recipient will see it at some point and will respond at some point. Also good for Read More…
Category: Brands
How to …
How to get into an unsold account: Show up. Ask questions. Network. Show up. Ask questions. Network. Repeat. Repeat. Don’t stop. It takes work, it takes time, and there are no shortcuts. How to advance in the wine industry: Show up. Ask questions. Network. Show up. Ask questions. Network. Repeat. Repeat. Don’t stop. It takes work, Read More…
Appreciation of circumstance
No job is perfect. There are plusses and minuses to all work situations. Consider yourself lucky if you’re working at a restaurant that has continuous staff wine training (beyond sales pitches by sales reps), and encourages or invests in outside education. Consider yourself lucky if you’re working at a retailer that encourages the whole staff Read More…
First tasted, last consumed
We have all seen this at tastings, but haven’t thought much about it. The wine that everybody rushes forward to try. And it also happens to be the last one consumed. It’s the flash in the pan wine. Look out for it. It’s fancy, it gets lots of attention, and it turns out it’s also shallow, one dimensional, Read More…
Your wine list is a bonus, not a primary reason (and that’s a problem)
People got out to eat for many reasons, and they choose which restaurant to patronize for many reasons. Primary reasons for choosing certain restaurants: buzz or anticipation, reputation, location, price, quality of product and service. If a restaurant doesn’t have most of those figured out, then it’s going to be a tough go for them. Bonus Read More…
The glass debate (and I’m not talking about Riedel)
I’m talking about optimism vs. pessimism. Here’s a new take on it for you. Take a (wine) glass and fill it up halfway with something good. Now ask yourself the common question, is it half empty or half full? Are you looking toward possibility or are you thinking negatively? Now dump that liquid into a larger Read More…
I finished, now what?
This is a brilliant idea from the floor of Barnes and Noble, where I’m writing this. To my left is a table of books. A variety, and I don’t know any of them. Above them is a sign. “I finished Twilight. Now what?” Books, like wine, can be intimidating. Plus there’s an investment of time Read More…
Competition
There’s always somebody cheaper. And somebody more expensive. There’s always somebody smaller moving faster, and somebody bigger moving slower. There’s always the cool kid, always the brainiac, the shiny new things, and the pretty ones. Who is your real competition? Most of the time it’s not more than 20% of who you can choose from Read More…
Happy Memorial Day. Now get to work.
Wine retailers, most of them anyway, can’t look forward to Memorial Day and Labor Day as long weekends of relaxation. The store has to be open. Customers want beer and wine to enjoy around the grill. Can’t ring up sales if you’re home grilling some food. Which of course means for many wholesale reps, Memorial Day and Read More…
Fighting for change (in the right ways)
If you work for a winery, importer, brand, or wholesaler that continues to do things “the way we’ve always done it” then maybe you’re the one fighting for change. Change is a big word, and a scary word to many. It threatens the status quo. It puts those that have been in the decision making Read More…
Package size first, price second
Two quotes. Same math. Different presentation. “It’s $180. It’s a six pack.” and “It’s a six pack for $180.” The way you present the price can have big impact. Be careful to always say the package size first, price second. Nobody likes to find out the wine is actually $30 a bottle after thinking, just Read More…
A Challenge: Make Something
Don’t do the same old thing this week. Don’t call the same accounts and pitch the same products and get back in the car or on the phone and do the same thing again and again. I challenge you to make something. Make something you can hand to people or email to them. Maybe it’s Read More…
Is Your Business Model Distinctive?
The Harvard Business Review recently published a quick read called Your Whole Business Needs to be Distinctive, Not Just Your Product. In it they cite the normal line up of Apple and IKEA when it comes to something distinctive. “The most effective companies don’t rely on distinctive products, services or brand for differentiation; instead, they focus Read More…
The danger of being a horrible winery rep
If your job is to travel the country, meet with wholesalers, and most importantly get into the car with sales reps to see accounts in their territory, then you better be good at what you do. It’s one of the hardest jobs out there. You have to add to their conversations. You have to give Read More…
What if they don’t like the wine?
It’s the trap of our business. You cut the foil while telling the story. You pop the cork. You pour the glass. They lift it to their nose then take a sip. They reject the wine. “Nope!” “Crap!” “What the hell did you just pour me?” The trap is that you can’t help but be tainted Read More…
The race to the middle tells you nothing
The explosion of personal wine tracking apps such as Vivino and Delectable have enabled the average consumer to have a quick and easy way to track and catalog what they enjoy. Those apps serve that function very well, both of them. But the problem comes when you, as a wine marketer (and being in the Read More…
Are you pulling down or pulling up?
You have a trusted group of followers, customers, clients, and associates. We all do. They call you when they need advice, they seek you out for options, they trust you with information. These people are the core of your business life. The insiders. Ask yourself a key question: when they communicate with you is it Read More…
Momentum
The scientific formula for momentum says it all. Momentum = Mass x Velocity. In other words, you have a choice of how to grow. It’s multiplication, so if one metric stays the same, while the other grows, then greater momentum is the result. No matter where you are in the wine sales chain, the formula Read More…