A luxury wine (as opposed to a great but expensive wine) exists based on scarcity and social proof. It has to be scarce, because the rules of supply and demand not only keep the proposed value sky high, but actually increases the eventual cost of holding a bottle of your own. A luxury wine cannot Read More…
Category: Marketing
Being relevant
To be relevant in an industry is the simple goal for most workers and most businesses. To be a restaurant that gets mentioned in the “top 10” lists. To be a wine that retailers are asking for, not being loaded upon. To be an employee asked for an opinion on an internal matter. To be somebody Read More…
Let’s talk email
Efficiency is talked about often, and email is definitely one of the most efficient ways to communicate (in many ways too efficient, which is why it gets overused). In the spirit of efficiency some people use email well. And others do not. And it’s painful to watch (and read). Rules: Learn what BCC: is all Read More…
Tell and Show
When we are young, we have Show and Tell in elementary school. Then we grow up and become wine sales reps. And we continue our version of Show and Tell. We pop the cork, we show the wine, then we tell. Flip it around. Tell and Show. It works better that way. Tell your customer Read More…
Proven and tested vs. taking a chance
When taking wine out to show to your accounts, take a moment to think about how you’ll present the wine in the context of the rest of the marketplace. A wine that has been proven and tested can be a big brand, stacked high at all other retailers, on the top ten hot brands list, Read More…
Bird Brains: Proof that there are always haters
If you try to appease everybody all the time you eventually spend an inordinate amount of time appeasing the lowest of the low. In the wine business, there are legendary thugs and bullies that own liquor stores around the country or buy wine for such shops. They harass, they intimidate, they threaten, they position themselves for Read More…
Rosé showers bring May flowers
The rush is on. Containers are landing at a furious pace, and dry pink wine is being stacked high at wine shops coast to coast. Rosé features on wine lists become coveted spots, and it’s a boxing match between reps to get those placements. When most wholesalers put together their rosé offerings into a sell Read More…
Simplifying networking
“Connection points” and “synergy” are terms often bantered about when it comes to networking. Heck, there are easily 12 other overused buzzwords I could list here. There are whole books, blogs, video series, and courses based on the Art of Networking. At its core networking sounds so easy: The idea that you can help them and they Read More…
Investment: Out of the (TV) box thinking
This is going to be a strange one but stick with me on this… I just got a new TV and it came with Roku, one of the many cable-cutting options out there. You scroll through the available services, some free and some not, and add them to your options. I added the CW Network (for free!) Read More…
The myth of the overnight wine success
What is this wine and where did it come from?? It’s suddenly everywhere! Who is that sales rep that is mopping up business all over town? Nobody knows anything about her! Overnight successes are found in all industries, including ours. Some brands, from previously unknown wineries and tiny weird distributors, shoot into a city like Read More…
The customer is always right …
The customer is always right, until they are not. Then you need to distance yourself from them. Burning bridges is a historically bad idea, so don’t do it. But if you have a customer who is simply wrong (in how they do business, how they treat you, how they pay their bills, what they ask for Read More…
What’s your one great talent?
We all have one. The one talent that we can say with confidence “I’m better at that than most.” When I was selling wine for a local fine wine wholesaler, I learned over time what my great talent was: dealing with problem customers. If somebody was pissed of, if they kicked out their previous sales rep, Read More…
A simple formula
Here’s the simple formula for success: Exceed expectations. Again and again and again and again and again. There. Done. Simple as that. (Moral of the story: you don’t have to complicate things to achieve success in business.)
Spring Training
It’s March, and all the baseball teams are in sunny locations getting ready for opening day, happening in about a month. Spring Training is the time to loosen up the joints, play some casual games, let the coach get a feel for the team, let the team get a feel for each other, all the Read More…
It comes down to telling a story
What makes this wine different from others? What makes this wine similar to others? Why was this winery started? What struggles led to winery success? When did they face failure? Was there one hero in the winery that saved the day? When did all of this happen? How many acts are in this winery’s play? How Read More…