This is geared toward wholesaler wine reps out there, but everybody can and should use a variation of it.
- Take your sales territory list out. Split it into two parts: restaurants and retailers.
- Take each out those and carve them into three sets: highly important/big buyers, medium importance/up and comers, and lesser importance/those that are going down or just don’t get it.
- Learn how to build groups in your email program of choice. Here is a place to start for mac users, gmail users, and for Outlook users.
- Organize your six categories into six groups in your email program.
Now you’re organized. Time to help.
- Write an email to one of the groups. What have you tasted lately? What do you see running out of? Did you read any great wine or marketing blogs lately? Most importantly, what can you say to them as a group that is informative or educating. Write to them as a group. “Hey everybody –” so they know you’re sending it to many.
- Put you own email address into the “To:” section, then Blind Carbon Copy the target group into the email. Be sure to always BCC. If you don’t know what I mean, read this.
- Send it off.
- Repeat with the other groups, and do this every week.
What we have here is building a Point Of Contact, not making a sales pitch. Selling is an individual interaction with the goal of trading money for product. Don’t expect these emails to generate sales directly. What these emails are for are to build loyalty and respect through the giving of information.
Tracking points of contacts is an interesting metric. You are reaching out. You are providing. You are giving. What’s beautiful about it is that once you’ve sent it, you’ve succeeded. Done!
If your competition is not doing this, I assure you it’s the fastest way to move up in the eyes of a wine buyer. Everybody should do it, but hardly anybody does.