In yesterday’s post I wrote the following: The most common myth: it’s someone’s physical attractiveness that makes them successful in sales. (The proof? I succeeded big time in sales.) How people look and/or handle themselves is a tool, not a skill. It is a tool to be conscious of for sure, but it’s not the Read More…
Category: Personal development
Tools vs. Skills
The writer Neil Gaiman was on the Tim Ferris podcast. In the show, Tim asked Neil about his writing process and how he physically went about writing his wonderful books. It’s a common question for authors, photographers, painters, and musicians. Why kind of guitar does she use? What type of camera does Annie Leibovitz prefer? Read More…
Nothing is impossible
This was the great lesson of Apollo 11. Yes it may take 400,000 people. Yes it may take over $25 billion dollars. But the great lesson of late July 1969 is that we are allowed to think bigger than we ever thought possible. And this great lesson can pare down to each of us and Read More…
Is it really that bad?
Rejection is tough. Hearing NO is difficult for everyone, across all industries and cultures. And too many times hearing NO can wear down the best of us. But why did they say no? If they said no for a specific reason, that is okay. “We have twenty Malbecs right now, we really don’t need another Read More…
Faults vs. Problems
I used to say, rather sarcastically, that there is no such thing as a wine emergency. The idea being that far too many sales reps run around like chickens without heads solving emergencies that don’t qualify as emergencies. And in the big scope of world problems and social issues, a restaurant running out of a Read More…
More is, unfortunately, free
I’ll bring you more samples. I’ll pour more wine in your store. I’ll put up more shelf talkers. I’ll train your staff more than last year. I’ll spend more time in your account. When you offer more, you’re doing it because you don’t see the costs in dollars and cents. You’re not being billed for Read More…
You’ve made the choice
If you’re a wine retailer, you’ve made the choice to not have Memorial Day or Labor Day off. You made the choice to work weekends. You’ve made the choice to be in one spot, waiting for customers to come to you. You made the choice to know that every New Year’s Eve, the day before Read More…
Strategy solves problems
There are three types of problems for wine sales rep: short term, mid-term, and long term. Short term is tomorrow, the day after that, and the next selling week. It’s the immediacy of having to react. Having to run a will call. Having to correct an error on an invoice. Having to scramble for appointments Read More…
Strengths, and your personal superpowers
Peter Parker can shoot webs and swing from building to building. Aquaman can swim underwater like a dolphin. Bruce Wayne builds great gadgets and tools to help get his job done (plus he drives a pretty awesome car). And what do you do? We all have superpowers. The strengths that set us apart from others. Read More…
A Sales Rep’s Choices
A wine sales rep is in a marvelous and privileged position. You get to choose. Today, are you building a brand or building the market? Tomorrow, are you finding the unknown (wine or customer), or are you learning the known even better? Next week, are you showcasing the new or reinforcing the established? What are Read More…
Reporting to your Grand Plan
It’s easy to be guilted into saying yes. As a salesperson, being liked by your customers is part of the job. So you go out of your way. You do favors. You bring lunch to the store. You say yes to an in-store tasting on Memorial Day weekend. You say yes to another in-store tasting Read More…
Services, products, scalibility, and your job
A wine sales rep is in a special job with some particular leverage advantages. Service-based businesses trade time for money. A hairstylist cannot make money unless he cuts your hair. A therapist cannot bill the insurance company unless she has a client and an appointment with them. A tree trimmer need to trim a tree Read More…
The best things about wine sales
You get to talk about beautiful places. You get to talk about a delicious and historically important beverage. You get to talk about legendary families and fresh new upstarts. There is always something new. There is competition at all levels and price points (imagine the boredom if there was truly no competition). You get to Read More…
Nobody owes you anything
Sorry to bring you the bad news. But it’s the truth. That extra will call you ran? Looking the other way for a week while a bill was due? The extra in-store tasting you decided to do last week, when your kid’s play was being put on? There are no repayment gods that will ensure Read More…
What doesn’t work
It doesn’t work to not show up at an account for weeks. It doesn’t work to forget to tell an account they are overdue on a bill and about to get posted. It doesn’t work to not show new wines during a sales call. It doesn’t work to bad mouth your competition. It doesn’t work Read More…