Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/122527
MARKETING By the way, all lunches or dinners should be billed back to the sales division. The tasting room is already providing the labor, the wine and the venue for free. It should not have to pay for the meals as well. Speaking of food, if you are hosting lunch at your winery, try to find out what was served at the wineries the trade guest visited before your lunch or dinner event. I have had a guest say, "I am so happy that you are taking us out, because we had lamb at the last three meals!" It is extremely important to follow up after the trade visitor has left. Either call or email right after the visit and let your team in whatever region the folks came from know how things went. "Sally Jones, the buyer from XYZ Restaurant, was here. She really liked Wine A, so you have a good chance of placing it with her if you will call on her as soon as possible. Do not waste your time trying to sell Wine B, because she was not that interested in it." Remember that when your rep calls on Sally in her office, he is the fifth sales rep she has seen that day, and all her defense shields are up. When she visits your winery in a fun and casual way, she is much more open to suggestive selling. 56 W IN E S & V I NE S M AY 2 0 1 3 on wine lists or in wine shops, it does not reflect well on your winery. It can have a negative impact on their impression of you. Last, have drop-in trade procedures in place for your staff. It is not unusual for trade visitors to come in and announce themselves unexpectedly. Make sure the visit is always immediately brought to the attention of the management so they can decide on an appropriate course of action. For example, if it is the waiter at an account that pours your wine, he or she might get a general public tour, but a private tasting as opposed to a general tasting. Handling the trade is an essential function of the tasting room. Always remember that these are visitors with a capital "V" because they can potentially buy or sell pallets—not cases—of your wine. Sean Brosnihan, guest services manager at Jordan Winery in Sonoma County, Calif., prepares to host a trade tour. He says the tour for retail, wholesale, restaurant and hotel accounts gets a little more technical. 'We show them more of the industrial side of the winery...production processes that we utilize that differentiate us.' Try to look good in local restaurants and stores. If buyers and reps are in your area for several days and never see your brand Craig Root has 30 years experience working with tasting rooms, the past 17 years as a consultant. He has helped create more than 80 tasting rooms and 150 wine clubs all over the United States. He analyzes current operations and teaches tasting room design and management at the University of California, Davis. He still works one day per month in a busy tasting room in order to stay in touch with the public and the work.