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76 WINES&VINES May 2018 TASTING ROOM FOCUS W ith the arrival of spring, tasting room managers know that it's just a matter of weeks until the busy season starts. They can get ready to shine with these 10 tips from the edu- cators at WISE Academy (Wine Industry Sales Education), based in Napa, Calif. 1. Great greeting You only have one chance to make a great first impression, so you need to make sure that your greeting is exceptional. Studies show that if guests aren't greeted or acknowledged within the first 15 seconds, they typically rate their experience lower. Their first impression is an important one, and recovering from a bad start is almost impossible. Start off every experience on a positive note. If your tasting room is by appointment, you already know who is com- ing, so you can list the names on a welcome board they will see as they enter. 2. Referral source The best ice breakers build rapport by finding out what brought your guests to your winery and is a natural part of the initial greeting. Understanding where your guests heard of you – and what specifically brought them in today – helps allocate marketing dollars to those who send qualified guests. Did a nearby winery or restaurant recommend your tasting room? Then you can thank your referrers and recip- rocate by sending guests to them too. Remem- ber to note the source of each guest so that you have that key information in your database. Perhaps even more important, these relevant open-ended questions set you up to easily build rapport and then tailor the rest of the experi- ence based on your guests' interests. 3. On stage vs. backstage On stage refers to the performance concept, where "on stage" is the guest experience – ev- erything the guest sees, hears, touches, smells – and "backstage" is all the things behind the scenes that need to take place in order make sure there is a great on-stage performance. Backstage issues are usually physical (e.g., smudged glasses, bathroom that needs servic- ing) but they can also be verbal (inappropriate attitude or comments in front of the guests). The tasting experience is an on-stage perfor- mance and you must rehearse to be ready. Your guests are here for the pixie dust. Don't spoil it for them by allowing them to see your back- stage nuts and bolts. 4. Service heart Do the hosts really want to be of service? Is service in their DNA? You can always tell if the person at the bar loves to be with guests. Did you go out of your way to make the visit extra special with some element of surprise and delight relevant to their interests? Did you offer water, a pen, a dump bucket? Let's make it your personal mission to ensure that each guest leaves with the feeling of wow! 5. Build rapport by asking open-ended questions Use relevant open-ended questions to posi- tively profile and understand each guest and then adjust the experience accordingly. Are they new to wine? How do they enjoy wine? Are they celebrating a special occasion or here on vacation? These are questions that tell us how to best serve each guest. To move cus- tomer satisfaction higher (as well as get more natural sales), more dialogue (less presenta- tion mode) is needed. This can only be done by asking open-ended questions. 6. Use analogies & storytelling These skills help to educate and entertain guests all at once. Make wine accessible to those who are learning by explaining concepts in terms of something they already under- stand. For example, your winery plants roses to act like the canary in the coal mine to warn of pests in the vines. Analogies make visitors 10 Tips for Successful Tasting Rooms WISE Academy recommends how to optimize the visitor experience and encourage sales