Speak three months ahead

This isn’t a sales trick, hack, or tool. It’s just a good habit for a wine sales rep to get into.

Talk three months ahead. Not all the time, but at least once during every sales call with a customer.

In September: “Let’s start mapping out December’s features for the holiday season.”

In November: “I’m focusing on this sparkling wine for a Valentine’s Display.”

In February: “What are you plans for your rosé section this year?”

In April: “Summer heat is around the corner. Here is my proposal for the cold box.”

In June: “I know it seems far off, but here is a Port pre-sell to make sure you’re in good shape this September.”

A regular habit of speaking three months ahead shows forward thinking. Wether they react to it or not doesn’t matter, for the odds are good you are the only sales rep doing it. It’s a subtle way of enforcing the idea that you look beyond the next week or even the next month, and therefore you are a partner in planning rather than just an order taker.