It’s your job

If you are a sales rep, it’s your job: to have a current catalog at hand to have current pricing sheets at the ready to have your phone charged up for the day to have extra time built into your schedule to handle last second needs of your customers to know how best to communicate Read More…

What is your job?

Is your job a marathon, ala one person putting long distance effort forward to achieve? Or is your job a 100 meter sprint? One person bursting forth like Usain Bolt to set new records? Or is your job a team effort with many matches, ala the World Cup? Or is your job a single game Read More…

The ifs and the thens

  IF … … your top account closes … your three leading brands move to another distributor. … your top import portfolio goes out of business. … your top salespeople or managers quit. … a recession hits and everybody suddenly buys less wine. … you get fired, or leave a job where you are not Read More…

Out of stocks and auto-shipping

As a sales rep for a wholesaler, here’s an easy way to make your buyers mad. Run out of stock on something.  Do little to nothing to acknowledge the out of stock situation. When the product comes back in, ship it automatically without asking. When you can’t ship something because the item is out of Read More…

Guilt is not a sales technique

  … or is it? If your business goes down in an account, do you mention it to the buyer? And if so, how? Do you whine, say the bills piling up and that things are tough and you need their help? Or do you say, in a constructive and straightforward way, that you’ve noticed the line Read More…

Happy (Wine) Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day to all! There are a few readers of this blog that are outside of the United States, so here’s the short version of why July 4th matters in America: this is the day we celebrate the spirit of our country, the founding fathers and what they believed in, the standards by which freedom Read More…

Twelve minutes

If you’re a wine sales rep on the street, visiting accounts every day, dusting off your bottles, showing new products, trying to hit sales goals, running will calls, answering the phone, and putting out fires all day, this is for you. A challenge for one week. When you park your car in front of an account, Read More…

Currency, value, and street cred

Adding income to your bottom line is usually in the form of selling. Sell more stuff, make more money. But currency and value is not just money. There are thousands of instances every day where you can improve your value. The positive interaction you have with a competitor. The attention you pay to a new Read More…

Who is ultimately responsible?

Sales in an account go down. What’s the common reaction? Point at the sales rep. It must be something they did. Not so fast. Sales can go down, way down, quickly, in an account for a huge number of reasons. The account’s general business is down. They want to work with a greater range of vendors. Read More…

Just show up

True story, heard from a restaurant buyer this week: A sales rep, let’s call him Willy, works for one of the premier top notch best reputation best portfolio best established mid sized distributors. The kind of distributor everybody seems to want to work for and with. Willy is working on getting into this new hot local Read More…

Where is the loyalty?

Is your customer’s loyalty with the brand? If so, you need to keep that loyalty carefully groomed, make sure they have knowledge and access to the gems within the brand, and make sure the brand reaches out to your customer on a regular basis. Is your customer’s loyalty to the importer or distributor? If so, you need to keep that Read More…

When to talk price, and when to not

In a presentation to consumers, there is a simple formula for when to talk price. For more expensive/premium wine ($40 and over retail), talk about price at the forefront of the presentation. For less expensive wine ($20 and under retail), talk about price at the end of the presentation. The logic is simple, but incredibly important. Read More…

Archery, Soccer, Weightlifting, and Wine

Competition level archery is all about preparation, zen like calm, focus, detail, equipment, and timing the release of the arrow to nail the target. It’s a solo sport for the most part, thought at the highest level there can be teams of coaches involved. The bullseye is hit often but repeating the feat is the real Read More…

New thoughts on “value”

I just read an article at Harvard Business Review called Business Marketing: Understanding What Customers Value. Here’s a quote from the article (which you can read here if you’re not doing anything else for the next half hour): Values and Prices are the value and price of the supplier’s market offering, and Valuea and Pricea are Read More…

The first step after setting goals

Goal setting is the secret key to success, especially in the wine wholesale industry. When goals are carefully outlined and targeted, then momentum is driven in the proper direction and true growth can occur. When goals are met then you have a reason to pop a bottle of Cava (this is the wine industry, after all). Read More…

The Power of Wine Maps

In our business we are lucky because we get to talk about places. Places have history, places have stories, places have culture, and places have identity. And by using a map in your trainings, seminars, sales pitches, and presentations you bring forward the sense of place. Some hints and tips: Purchase and download the iPad Read More…

Your to do list is too long

If you’re like most people (including me) you like to list what has to get done in a day. Your to do list might be in a planner, on an index card, in a Google Tasks file, in your head, or just scribbled on a Post it note. It probably starts with the obvious, dives Read More…

Selling Wine vs. Making Impact

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…

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…

Four tips for a perfect wine staff training

A staff training, getting in front of the people that will actually enact and conduct the transaction that leads to larger sales of your product, is an incredible opportunity. It’s an opportunity to instill confidence and excitement, and also an opportunity to screw up royally. Here are four tips for a perfect staff training. Announce 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 Newbie Mindset

The new sales rep, with zero wine sales rep experiences, that crushes her numbers right out of the gate. And she’s one of the most charming and charismatic people you’ve ever met. The new retail wine consultant, with little prior wine experience and no sales experience, who suddenly brings in dozens of new customers as 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…

B2B vs. B2C vs. Reality

I met with two energetic heads of a wine distributor yesterday, people that love catchphrases and acronyms and buzzwords. I imagine they have the Harvard Business Review podcast playing while they sleep so they can absorb all the jargon of the moment. Some of the jargon of the moment is the whole “B2B” and “B2C” conversation. The idea Read More…

Playing the long game

As a wine sales rep, how far out do you think, plan, organize, and set goals? The answer to that question might very well depend on who you work for. Some wholesalers are notorious for shifting territories around, pulling accounts from one rep and giving them to the other, all under the notion that it Read More…

Goals vs. Expectations

Goals and expectations are frequently confused with each other at many organizations. “Our goal is provide top quality customer service.” … No, top quality customer service should be an expectation with every single interaction with every single customer. Anything less is simply unacceptable. “Our goal is to make great wine.” … No, the wine should 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…

Sharing vision

Sharing vision is one of the most important aspects of any of our wine jobs. It shapes the meetings, sets the stage, outlines the expectations, and points out the differentiations between you and rest of the world (otherwise known as “them”). To share a vision you first have to have a vision. A vision is different Read More…

The trouble with robots

Robots are kind of awesome and fascinating. They work fast, they work hard, they don’t complain, they are masters of efficiency. The problem with robots is that they do or say the same things over and over (and over and over and over and over). What many people fail to realize is that being a 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…

A day of planning, a day of pause

Welcome to Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving is always a strange one. Shoppers pack the stores, movie theaters are busy, many restaurants open early to catch the breakfast and brunch crowd, quite a few people simply stay at home and eat leftovers and watch TV. Wine shops are busy but not overrun (nothing compared Read More…

A great use for Thanksgiving Eve

What are you doing today? If you are a wine sales rep or a wholesale manager, here’s a little secret: today is one of the best days of the year to visit unsold or unopened restaurant accounts. Why? Because today the retailers are so busy they don’t want to see you. And your solid on-premise 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…

Practice does make perfect

There is no short cut around practice. Simple as that.  Does U2 just jump up on stage one day and pull off a perfect show? No way. Does an olympic swimmer casually decide to just swim really fast for that week? Of course not. Does a great restaurant built on customer experience just assume the new 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…

A new haircut

Yesterday my wife went to a new hair stylist for a haircut. She was tired of her old stylist for no reason other than “it’s time to change things up.” She came back with not only an awesome haircut, but an exceptional story about customer sales and the overall transaction. When most of us go for Read More…

Do you know …

… what you are doing every day of the upcoming week? … who you need to reach out to, listed in an easy format to check them off? … which wines you need to concentrate on, make sure you know the details of, and know a good story to tell about each one? … who Read More…

The best wine sales reps …

… constantly suggest new wines, ideas, categories, and look for ideas to bring to you from other markets or outside the wine industry. … plan and strategize. They develop sales goals with the buyer, and do whatever they can to achieve them (staff trainings and in store tastings should always be done to work toward a Read More…

Hiring Great Wine People

How do you hire the top performers for your wholesale operation, restaurant, or retail shop? How do you find the wine energized people out there, the ones that can do their job extremely well without thinking the wine world revolves around them? (Which is a monumental problem in the wine business.) How do you, as Read More…

The Little Things

… 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…

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…

Tiny, fast, nimble, and original

The rise of the number of wine distributors in major markets in the past five years has been stunning. Even in heavy handed and “old boy’s network” markets like Chicago, more and more micro-distributors are opening shop and succeeding. Not only succeeding, but making amazing inroads that are pissing off those that feel they “deserve Read More…

Minimum needed knowledge

Is it better to know a lot about a few things, or a little about a lot of things? It depends on who you are and what you do. A server or bartender at a restaurant better know a little bit about all the wines by the glass. It’s an easy quiz to give them. 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…

Ideas, Connections, and Ownership (i.e. Throw away the box)

This one is for the wine wholesale reps out there, especially those feeling down or disenfranchised.  With the rise of the gig economy and the proliferation of freelancers, certain aspects of the wine sales game have changed tremendously. Two things to ponder, plus one radical idea: You own your contacts and relationships. Your boss might disagree, but in my Read More…

Are you selling a commodity? Probably not.

Commodities are products that are driven first by price. Charles Shaw, i.e. Two Buck Chuck, is a commodity. Barefoot, YellowTail, Franzia box wines, Beringer White Zin, and many other wines such as those are commodities as well. Yes, they have brand recognition, but the driving force of the sale of those wines is first and Read More…

New sales rep, old territory

If you’re a sales rep for a wine wholesaler, and you are taking over an established territory or getting somebody else’s old accounts, there are three scenarios you’ll run into. No more, no less.  “She didn’t show up much.” The person you’re replacing didn’t do a good job, didn’t show up, didn’t deliver, stained the 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…

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…

Never leave an unopened bottle

Wholesale wine reps often make a big mistake, usually at the end of the day or with the excuse of ‘being too busy’ or ‘I’m just trying to be efficient.” They leave an unopened bottle with a customer, saying “check it out when you can … it’s awesome.” This doesn’t work. This isn’t selling, it’s giving. Read More…

Do first what you fear most

Sales reps all have their own personality quirks. For years one of mine was actively avoiding things I feared the most. I was great at avoiding the tough conversations and the difficult phone calls. Many of us are. Fear is powerful stuff. “Fear” brings up images ahead of the interaction. Images of high pressure, intense Read More…

Monday challenge: The bottom of your list

This week’s Monday challenge is aimed at wholesale sales reps. One week from today it’s August. That means we’re in the deep part of summer when beer sales are the focus for most retailers, and major wine list changes are low on the priority list for most restaurants. So what to do this week? Aim 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…

Missing the Free Throw

A basketball player steps up to the line. This is no ordinary basketball player. He’s a professional, paid millions of dollars to put the ball through the hoop. There is no defense. Nobody attacking them. It’s a free throw. And how often will they miss? On average in the NBA, over the last two decades, they Read More…

First thing: Tell people about the wine

Time and time again I’m amazed how effective the most basic “system” in wine sales truly is. Tell people what you’re going to pour for them. Pour it for them. Tell people what you poured for them. It’s a simple derivative of a common pattern in communications, but it’s surprising how often it’s not done. Read More…

Welcome to the last half of July

We are entering the deepest part of summer: the six week stretch ahead of SOND (September, October, November, and December … which is traditionally when half of the total wine sales happen in the United States). That means two things: Time to start planning. Get out the calendar. Halloween, the presidential election, Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, Read More…

Why do you buy from ME?

Sometimes the best questions are the easiest to ask. If you’re a wine wholesale rep, during this beer-fueled summer season take the time to dig a bit into your account’s motivations. Ask your customer: “Why do you buy from ME?” By asking this question you’ll break some ice, learn about your wine buyers in a Read More…

Needs and Wants

There are things your customers need to know. There are other things they want to know. And there is a fundamental difference. NEEDS For a restaurant, your customer needs to know when you’re open and closed. They need to know how to get there, and if there is any construction in the way. They need to know Read More…

Measuring Sticks and Managers

Managers are good at managing people, which is very different from leading people. “Management” is a term that goes back to the early part of the industrial revolution when factories and assembly lines proved incredibly profitable if the system was managed correctly. The measuring stick for the factory production of that time was not the Read More…

Wine Motivations

Wine buyers (retailer and restaurants) purchase wine for a kaleidoscope of reasons. There’s a deal It tastes great It’s popular nationally It’s not popular nationally It has limited availability The label is awesome They are doing you a favor Their boss told them to. They’ve liked it in the past They’ve never heard of it Then Read More…

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Every once in a while a site comes along that provides so much pure information and advice that you simply can’t ignore it. One such site for me is Barking Up the Wrong Tree, run by Eric Barker. Join Eric’s newsletter list and absorb his findings into your job. All of his findings are based on Read More…

Surprise the people you see the most

We are all stuck in a rut, because the rut is predictable and comfortable. Same type of clothes everyday. Same shoes. Same attitude. Same jokes (or at least themes of jokes … that one person always tells bad jokes, another only off-color jokes, another long-format jokes). For wholesale reps and winery reps, there is comfort Read More…

The risk of being comfortable

Your business is going well. Not great, but humming along. You do the same thing every week, the same good customers show up, they buy the same types of wines. Life is good and predictable and comfortable. Watch out. There is always somebody around the corner. A new wine shop getting some press. The hot Read More…

A July 2016 wine challenge

Think of your network in your wine world. Think of the people that are either relatively new to it, or so constantly enthused about wine that they still have that buzz of excitement whenever you pour something for them. The people that know enough to know they love it but don’t know enough to get Read More…

The weakest wine

Yesterday I wrote about choices, and about being the person to stand up and be remarkable and make a fuss when things aren’t quite right. There was some chatter on the social channels afterwards about the post, and I want to riff a bit about one line in particular, coming from my examples of situations: Read More…