Ask most wine sales reps, owners of wine bars, and owners of wine shops what they do and many will answer “I sell wine.” Selling wine is being an order taker. Selling wine is about making tall stacks and grabbing the end cap. Selling wine is about following benign metrics such as “POD” (points of Read More…
Category: Marketing
Putting wine statements in context
The purpose of an in-store tasting at a wine retailer is not to show a ton of choices to the consumer. The purpose of joining a wine club is not the convenience of having four wines delivered every quarter and automatically charged to your credit card. The purpose of using good stemware in your restaurant is Read More…
The slow build to the big payoff
It’s February, so here’s a little challenge for everybody: What wine or wines can you place in a shop, or on a list, in front of customers right now, which you might hope to sell two bottles a week? Maybe three on a good week. Not a big seller. Nothing that will set the spreadsheet on fire. Read More…
Large and known vs. Small and unknown
Large wineries have brand presence, resources, marketing departments, sales forces, trend reporting and analysis, marketing materials, and larger overall goals. Small wineries lack brand presence, lack resources, often have no marketing department, maybe a sales force of one (and often the owner/winemaker), no trend reporting or analysis, no marketing materials, and smaller overall goals. When Read More…
Find the customers that embrace the New and Unknown
If you do what you did yesterday, you’re doing okay, right? If you buy the brands you have found and like, and they do their job, you’re okay, right? Most people are satisfied with most things, and this applies to wine. Most people buy what they know and are comfortable with. Most people want things Read More…
We are all salespeople
Servers at restaurants are salespeople. Hosts who answer phones and take reservations and greet customers and say goodnight to them are salespeople. Bartenders are salespeople. Retailers that put wine the hands of a customer and earn their trust are salespeople. The ones that ring up the order at a wine shop are salespeople. The delivery crew at Read More…
The Reactive Rut
I had a great conversation last night with a local wine retailer. Her shop is small, based on convenience for the neighborhood, and with more and more competition moving in she’s having a hard time standing out and growing her business. The backbone of her business is reacting to the needs of her customers on Read More…
That’s a wrap!
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In-store wine tasting success
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there will be many hours for sales reps and retailers standing behind a table pouring wine for consumers. The in-store tasting is a powerful tool if used right, but a waste of time if used wrong. Here are some ideas. Less is more: keep in mind the paradox of choice. Offer Read More…
The problem with choices …
… is that most people second guess their decision. When faced with a huge number of choices in front of them, most people will fret and fuss and debate and contemplate until the frustration leads to simply grabbing something that they hope will work and going for it. It’s the video store syndrome. Remember those Read More…
Monday challenge: The Supermoon Effect
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to readers. Something to push you into an uncomfortable spot, to make you see things in a new light or direction, with the goal of growth. This week’s challenge: The Supermoon Effect. Last night more people than ever before paused what they were doing, walked outside, and watched Read More…