The upended labor market due to the pandemic is making for stressful times to be a restaurant owner. Trying to find qualified labor, good and communicative people to work the front of the house, is more difficult than ever. This leads to hiring people that might not have been hired before, with less knowledge and Read More…
A super simple social media plan for wine retailers
There are very few wine retailers that use social media well. Ask them why they don’t post on Facebook or Instagram regularly and the answer is often “we just don’t have time.” Of course you have time. It takes but a minute, and if there are no customers in the store why not make use Read More…
What if? (50ml edition)
Time for another edition of What if? The pandemic is changing how we have to work, which means there is an opportunity to make things better. An opportunity, only once, here and now, to rewrite the rules of ‘normal work’ in the wine business. So here’s an idea … What if it became the norm Read More…
The Post-Pandemic Wine List
What is your restaurant wine list going to look like on the other side of the pandemic? Will it be the same size? Will you work with the same vendors? Or the same number? Will you allow big brands to wiggle, seduce, push, shove, or buy their way onto the by the glass program (yet Read More…
What is your job?
Give me the one sentence answer to this questions: What is your job? “My job is to represent my brands to retailers and restaurants.” “My job is to grow my account base and increase company revenue.” “My job is to provide the ultimate in customer service.” “My job is to show what truly great hospitality Read More…
Four Months from Today
Welcome to SOND 2020. This is a final third of a year like no other. The global pandemic, the unrest in America, the upcoming election, and for those in our industry the continued upheaval of the business in general. Taxes, tariffs, the crash of restaurants, the boom of retail business. Wildfires, overproduction, competition … the Read More…
The Annual Review
Merry Christmas Eve, happy holidays, and Bestest Festivus to all! This is not the normal Vinethinking essay. It’s more important than that. This essay is about the Annual Review. The Annual Review is a process that I’ve been going through since 2009, during which I take the time to get secluded, get reflective, get analytical, Read More…
Payoff
It’s mid-November, and the sales call in this time of year changes in shape: the buyer has less time to meet with you, but orders more wine. Ironically, and seemingly counter-intuitively, you make more money for less work. But this is the moment to realize the payoff from ten months of building, planning, relationship massaging, Read More…
Measuring a sales job by dollars, or not
Sales reps usually measure by dollars. It’s an easy yardstick to use, it contributes to the quality of your life, and it’s a measurement that allows instant comparison to others in the industry. An “Annual industry salary survey” can be useful to a small degree. But it can also be clickbait. When you measure by Read More…
Problems, solutions, and the blame game in wine sales
Problems between sales reps and buyers come up naturally. Sometimes small, sometimes big. And sometimes opportunities are simply problems with a costume on. And sometimes problems are simply problems. But it’s the job of a good sales rep to always present solutions. Better yet, present two. Maybe even three. That’s part of the job. Telling Read More…
Looking into the crystal ball of wine retail
Let’s look into the future. I don’t know how far into the future. It might be two years or maybe ten. But sooner than you think. Amazon has entered the liquor retail game. Not in a small way either. Through their Whole Foods locations, they now permeate into many key urban areas. And through Amazon Read More…
What happens if …
… you present ten Pinot Noirs to an account, they don’t find joy in any of them, then a competitor presents just one and that makes it on the list? … you own 95% of a wine list at a local restaurant, but the company that has the other 5% suddenly starts spending a lot Read More…
Your internal narrative
We tell ourselves stories. Stories of failure. Stories of hesitancy. Stories of contrast and scorekeeping. The tough part about our internal narrative is that it’s the driver of our actions. Our hesitation to make another call to an unopened account because of the look you got the last time you were there. Or the phone Read More…
Six minutes
You just pulled into the parking lot of your next sales call. You’re about to bounce out of the car and rush right in. Hold on! Before going in, stop and breathe. For one minute, sit in your car, radio off, and think. What is the goal of the sales call? Do I have all Read More…
The easiest way to sell anything
There is one surefire way to sell anything. This works across all industries, across all cultures, and during all economic situations. You give it away for free. Not just your product. But your time. And your energy. And your ideas. Free is a dangerous downhill slide, and once you have put no value onto something, Read More…