Business down? Chin up. You got this.
I’m typing this in January of 2025, with the double whammy of dry January combined with article after article from major news sources about the dangers of alcohol. Pretty dire,
Do unto others with your business reputation
Lately, I’ve been seeing the extremes of people in our industry. Maybe it’s the political season stirring the pot and making people squirrely. I don’t know what’s causing it, but
Aim to be the CONSISTENT PROFESSIONAL salesperson
The beverage sales world is similar to other sales jobs in many ways. You represent a product or products, connect with buyers, prospect endlessly, suffer rejection, and pick yourself back
Marketing, switching, and loyalty
When a wine shop or restaurant tries to reach an audience, most do it wrong because they don’t start with the right questions. The right questions hinge on three terms.
Price tells a story (some customers don’t want cheaper prices)
I was recently involved with organizing some tastings over a couple of evenings for a retailer, putting together wine lists and sale pricing, plus customer handouts, etc. There were two
What is your end-of-year project?
I’m writing this in mid-December, which is unlike any other time of the year in the beverage sales cycle. Retailers and restaurants are too busy for long meetings with their
The trap of the in between
It’s easy for a wine shop or a restaurant to be average. Have average products for average people, give average service, and try to compete on price. It’s lazy, but
Ideas: How wine retailers can generate more revenue the last six weeks of the year
Once we get to mid-November, it’s like running the last mile of the marathon. You’re exhausted, but the adrenaline carries you forward. The group around you, the runners in front
The main hack for beverage sales rep: embrace being Professional
As a follow-up for sales training seminars that I lead, I like to ping select reps a few months down the line to see how they’re doing and if they
The power of unmeasurable generosity
As we become more measurable in our jobs and lives, there is more room for unmeasurable generosity. If a friend works a job with unreasonable quotas and driving trackers so
Some thoughts on leadership vs. management in wine and spirits sales
Wine and spirits distributors have salespeople. And the one “in charge” of them (quotes intentional, as you’ll read) is the sales manager. The role of the salesperson is to sell.
On being a professional (or not)
A professional shows up and does the work, and if they’re good, they do it better than most in their profession along with having a good attitude. A professional eye
“Get some chalk on your boots”
I’m a big fan of “real football,” otherwise known in America as soccer. (The story of why it’s called soccer in America is quite interesting.) There’s a beautiful phrase in
What is missing?
Late August is a unique time in the wine sales and retail game. It’s a moment for a pause, a final vacation, a little breath before September rolls in. It’s
Being in, or out of, alignment (who do you play ball with?)
There is more to business relationships than numbers and sales. There is often friendship (though not always). There is often judgement (spoken or otherwise). There are often pressures on each
Which customers are at the top?
Your best customers are worth ten to a hundred times more than your average customers. Do you know who they are? How do you define best? And what are you
Selling wine during a recession
The word RECESSION is being bantered about far more now than in over ten years. All signs are pointing toward an economic recession on the horizon (and the truth is,
Today is different than tomorrow (end of a quarter)
Today is the last day of Q1. It’s a much different day than tomorrow, the start of Q2. What do you do today vs. tomorrow as a wine sales rep,
Connection points (you never know who you just met)
Here’s a quick puzzle for you. Read carefully but don’t look ahead to the answer at the bottom. See if you can figure it out. David meets Jenny. Jenny introduces
A work fast (not a vacation): The goal of a fresh perspective
I recently had surgery and it was awesome. Not the surgery itself, mind you. That wasn’t fun, and the recovery has taken a couple of weeks. (It was gastro-intestinal, so
Know your history (and that things change)
The history of wine trends, facts, and fads is always good to keep in mind, mainly to recognize that some trends grow roots and stick, white others blow away with
What are you selling? The juice in the bottle?
Ask a wine sales rep or a wine retailer what they sell and they will say they sell wine. But in terms of what you’re selling how much is actually
Your Wine Onboarding
When your organization hires a new employee, they have obviously been vetted a bit and know something about wine. But where they fall on that spectrum varies for each hire.
High gas prices are a wine rep’s friend
A big part of a wine sales rep’s job is driving around. Not only from account to account, but back to the warehouse again and again for the sudden will
Building fences as a wine sales rep
Newer sales reps are prone to be ‘yes’ people, doing whatever the store or restaurant asks to the point of crossing a line. The sales rep doesn’t intend to cross
Selling Wine vs. Taking An Order
You sell wine when you guide the process, when you frame choices for the customer, and when you present options (paths) that lead to the company’s (and your) ultimate goals.
Selling wine is not rocket science
A wine sales job doesn’t involve rocket science. Nobody is going to die if you screw up. There really aren’t that many moving pieces. Keep it simple. Be consistent in
Six Habits of the Best Wine Sales Reps
The best wine sales reps have routines and habits that set them apart from others. Let’s dive into six of the most essential. The best wine sales reps know the
More is not better (focus on focus)
A wine by the glass list that is 90 items long is confounding for the customer (and impossible to train a service staff on, much less preserve the quality in
The Real Goals of a Wine Sales Rep
Most wine sales reps don’t do it for the money. There is surprisingly little money in the wine business. Yes, income can be stable, but you’ll never strike it rich.
A super simple restaurant wine training hack
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
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
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,
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
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.
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
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
Are you secretly trying to fail?
If you fail in selling wine and spirits to a particular account, and you get kicked out or have the account taken off your roster, you are off the hook.
Customer management is not …
… telling your customers how it’s going to be. That’s not customer management. Customer management is done on the backside and in the shadows, not in front of your restaurant
Choose carefully
Think about this: if you see an account for a good sales meeting 30 times a year, and you show them four wines at each meeting, you show them 120
Calm waters and making waves
Swimming in the calm waters is easy. It’s fun. It’s what everyone wants to do. Swimming in the waves is harder, it’s challenging. It’s demanding. It’s not what everyone seeks
Say thanks, now
We are on the cusp of the holiday seasons. Within the next ten weeks the stores will be packed with Halloween displays, followed closely by Christmas chaos. Our homes transform
You don’t need to have the answer
… you just need to know how to help your customers find the answer. Those are two very different things.
Free is never free
Freebies abound in the liquor industry. Look at the umbrellas on the patios, the credit card embossed checkout books, the logos on the beer mugs. And behind the scenes, free
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
A simple question to ask
“Is what I’m doing today improving my life?” Be it personal (physical health, mental health, personal finances, relationships), or work (solving problems, having control over your day, saying yes when
Wine Inventory as Wine Marketing
Inventory is one of the most mis-understood aspects of the wine world. A wholesaler that commits ten percent of their annual revenue to a single purchase of five thousand cases
Problems
Every organization, wholesaler, winery, and sales rep has problems. They may be small, they may be hidden, but there is a 100% chance they exist. How are the problems recognized?
A challenge: more questions
I’ve run into a few wine sales reps lately that only tell, they never ask. They tell me about the winemaker. They tell me about the steel tanks. They tell
“What can I do to help?”
When delivered with honesty and empathy, is there a more powerful statement a person could possibly make? There are situations in life when simply offering help is not only the
What do your wineries want?
What do wineries that you represent really want? “We want to be placed in the right accounts.” “We want to be a category leader.” “We want to grow our direct
When it’s not working
When you know the uphill battle is not getting easier. When you know the problem account has no solutions and will never become better. When you know that stack of
Long term goals without plans are called dreams
I’m in the starting period of a new big project, one that we’ve been mapping out for the last six months. I hoped to be fully up and running by
Tug of War
Watching a tug of war match is great fun. Two individuals or teams, if evenly matched, give it their all. Sweat, power, energy, and eventually a winner. But think about
A challenge for today
I have a challenge for you. It has to be done by the end of the day. You’re responsible for it yourself, and only yourself. No bosses or managers to
When things go wrong
In the relationship between a wholesaler and a retailer or restaurant, things will go wrong. It’s just a matter of time. A forgotten invoice. A screwed up delivery. A change
Tools vs. Skills part two (appearance and smoking)
In yesterday’s post I wrote the following: The most common myth: it’s someone’s physical attractiveness that makes them successful in sales. (The proof? I succeeded big time in sales.) How
Tools vs. Skills
The writer Neil Gaiman was on the Tim Ferris podcast. In the show, Tim asked Neil about his writing process and how he physically went about writing his wonderful books.