… the way the server picked the dirty knife off your plate, set it down, and took the plate away instead of just giving you a new knife. … the way the manager was being mean to the bartender. … the way the sales rep that just walked in interrupted your meeting “just for a second.” Read More…
Category: Retail
Considering Portugal: Encruzado
I just returned from leading a small group through Portugal, via our little side-business travel company, The Flying Grape. You can catch photos via The Flying Grape Facebook page (website coming soon). When thinking about new and shiny, and categories of wines that your competition does not have, Portugal should come to mind first. There is Read More…
The most overlooked wine placement
As a wine wholesale rep, are you using the cold box correctly? Pre-chilled wine is big business. With fewer and fewer people buying wine in bulk and rather grabbing multiple single bottles during the week, the cold box placement is gold. Every single sales call must address this, and a cold box placement can easily Read More…
Monday challenge: Breaking from the normal
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to the readers, something to give a concentrated nudge in a certain direction. This week: breaking from the normal. The normal is a staff training where you hold up a bottle and talk about it. The normal is the parade of sales reps waiting in line at the Read More…
Connect your wine to something bigger and greater
Of course you think the wine you’re selling tastes better than the competition. And guess what? That doesn’t really matter. Playing the game of “mine is better than that” is a fool’s game because the rules can change constantly (via personal opinions). Would you throw money on the table in Vegas if the rules constantly changed based Read More…
Monday Challenge: TMI
Every Monday I throw out a challenge to the readers. Something to think about during the week of wine work. This week: become conscious of TMI, too much information. Over-explaining and over-detailing a wine is all too common. I see it all the time when reps are trying to train the servers at a restaurant, and Read More…
Happy Labor Day 2016 … on your mark, get set …
We’ve reached the end of another summer and the SOND selling season is just about to kick off. Over half of the wine sold in the United States is sold in the upcoming four months. A couple of weeks ago I urged you to take your foot off the gas. Now it’s time to do Read More…
And what if the wine sucks?
If you’re in the position of wine sales (which does not just mean wholesale or winery level, but also restaurant and retail … anywhere in the chain of movement toward the end consumer), how do you handle the wine that truly sucks? I’m not talking about a single bottle that is chemically flawed. I’m talking Read More…
Wine Markup, Margin, and Profit
The benefit to learning even the slightest amount about finances and bookkeeping is that is puts you far ahead of the average person in the wine business. The two terms that are used incorrectly most often are markup and margin. I’ve heard them used interchangeably by sales reps, and I’ve heard them mixed up by people Read More…
Why do you buy a new wine?
This one goes out to the buyers at restaurants and retailers everywhere. It’s a simple question with far reaching implications, and one that I want you to think very carefully about. Why do you buy a new wine? The quick and cheap answer is “because it’s good” which means nothing because everybody’s definition of good Read More…
Getting comfortable
In the world of selling wine it’s easy to get comfortable. VERY comfortable. The restaurant that buys most or all of their wines from you doesn’t need to focused on very much. Just kept happy. The big brands that are popular with the public don’t need to be popped for in store tastings. Just merchandised. Read More…
Monday Challenge: Multiply the success you already have
Every Monday I throw out a challenge, something that can be done relatively quickly but have dramatic effect. This week: sharpen your pencils and pull out the spreadsheets … time to multiply success by choosing the right category and the right customers to focus on. The process is simple, and rooted in the idea that Read More…
Fewer choices make for greater sales
Sheena Lyenar’s 2009 book The Art of Choosing is a must read for anybody in the wine business. Her research focuses on the intersection of science and emotion when it comes to decision making. The “Jam Study” is a key part of her research. During this experiment, tables were set up at a busy premium Read More…
Do you really want the main stage?
Here’s a fabulous story from Moby’s new autobiography Porcelain, talking about playing Lalapalooza in 1995. Lalapalooza in those days ran two stages, with the primary and bigger acts on Stage One and a handful of relative unknowns on Stage Two. Moby was booked for the second stage, which “had made me feel like a techno Read More…
Who is your real competition?
For restaurants, is it any other place that serves food for money? Or is it places that serve food similar to yours and charge the same or less? Or more? For retailers, is it any other store that sells alcoholic beverages? Or is it other stores of similar size and reach and impact? Or is Read More…