This is a tricky week for the wine sales rep.

Retailers are busy. Too busy for sales calls. But they may need the emergency will call. Displays have to be stocked and looking good. It’s the classic situation of “you can’t sell it if you don’t got it.”

Restaurants are historically a bit slow (but not always). The attention for the consumer dollar is between shopping for Thanksgiving and the looming Black Friday, leaving less time and money for eating out.

And of course, everyone will have leftovers in the fridge this weekend.

For a wine sales rep, it’s a week of empathy. A week to really put yourself in the shoes of your buyers and help in any way you can.

Take off the salesperson hat for a few days. Be a helper. Be a buddy. Be sympathetic to their situation. It’s a good week for restaurant staff training. Wednesday is a particularly good day to stop in on unsold accounts. All week is good for a quick call to the retailers: “Need anything? I’m at the warehouse this morning.”

It’s not a week for selling. It’s a week for helping.