Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/172581
SALES & MARKETING After using the many techniques discussed here, you need to remember to ask for the sale, as noted in the introduction. You are representing a premier brand. Encouraging people to buy your winery products is part of helpful sales—because you are enhancing their lives with superior wine at a great price. If you don't truly believe this, it is extremely difficult to be an effective sales rep for the winery, and you should reconsider working at your winery. 12. Wine club sales Wine club sales deserve a dedicated section of this article in addition to the specific training you will be receiving from the club manager. You need to know the club backwards and forwards in order to sell it, for example, membership benefits and terms and conditions of the club. Always keep this scenario in the back of your head: You are a gal in Sacramento, and you just had a rotten day at work. Your boss was a jerk, your feet hurt and you got caught in traffic on the way home. When you go into your kitchen, there is a twopack from your favorite winery sitting on the table. Does this make you feel better about the day or worse? Next, you start chilling the sparkling wine while you change your clothes and take a shower. When you finish, you have a flute of cold sparkling wine. Now you are feeling even better. If you remember this scenario, it is easy to sell the club because, in essence, you are helping the customer give themselves gifts in the future, which make their lives more fun and joyous. That is a wonderful sales impulse. Also keep in mind that wine clubs are one of the most profitable parts of the wine business—and a tremendous asset to your tasting room sales picture. In addition, the customers are paying to be reminded about the winery. They also frequently share the wine with friends and relatives, which influences those folks to purchase our products. The other component is that there are excellent monetary and other incentives for you, the staff member. It's a great way for you to enhance your income on a regular basis. Here are some tips on selling clubs: You can say the following to potential club members: 1) You get 20% off, which means you save $40 on a $200 purchase. (The point is: It makes the discount more concrete.) 2) You can quit anytime you want: This isn't like a CD club (for those who remember them). Or, you can quit anytime after you receive two shipments (if your winery has such a stipulation). 3) Any shipment you don't like, you can send back. 4) For a party of four, you can say: If just one of you joins the wine club, your first savings will be $40 (the cost of tasting for four people). In summary, when we work at a tasting room, we have many tasks such as being wine educators, being guides to local attractions and restaurants and being engaging. But never forget that we are sales reps as well. 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. WI N E S & V I N ES O CTO B E R 2 0 1 3 61