THE REORDER 03/20/20

Salescraft: What to do in an Economic Downturn

The current pandemic is the worst market event I have witnessed since September 11th. There is a complete restructuring of the marketplace and the future looks uncertain and at times, downright scary.

What do you do when an economic downturn like this forces your hand and you have to adapt?

These are choppy waters, and the challenge is to observe what is going on, stay present and enter these waters without flinching.

Some ideas and thoughts below. Do not despair.

Zen and the Art of Sales in a Crisis

I vividly remember walking out of the restaurant called Bolo during the economic meltdown more than a decade ago and wondering if I would ever sell a drop of wine again and be able to support myself. I was as scared as I had ever been. The moment I stopped scaring myself, other avenues opened and possibilities arose. I saw the edges and the spaces available clearly.

While the future is uncertain, what we are in today shall pass. If I could hug you, grab you by the shoulders, look you in the eye and tell you that the fight or flight response will not serve anyone, especially you, I would.

It is easy to get tied up in your imagination and think about what has been lost as a forever kind of thing – but the truth of the matter is that you don’t know. What will be reborn, rebuilt and revitalized will surprise you.

What is vital in times like these is to continue to envision a better future.

SALESCRAFT – WHAT TO DO

Retail

Retailers have understandably gotten a positive bump in these turbulent times. If I am sitting down and considering what would be best to offer – it looks like this:

Reaching out thoughtfully with both ideas AND inquiring about needs. Putting up ideas like the ones below. Start here if you are locked up.

Any wine that retails under $24.99 in “good” Inventory that can be a go to core item.

Any wine or spirit on special deal.

A wine or spirit that will be on special deal in the future.

A wine or spirit that has been overlooked for no good reason.

Rosé that can be on deck for when the weather breaks (Most have probably sent offers by now, but I would encourage sending a follow up offer or two now to gauge the temperature/reaction).

Any wine or spirit that is a “call category.”

Restaurant

Get involved. Call your representatives and go to saverestaurants.co to be a part of saving the restaurant industry.

And, reach out to friends and colleagues in this diverse industry that are currently unemployed. There is massive uncertainty, so please extend a hand and support however you can. Give to the gofundme pages that are all over social media supporting various restaurant staffs, if you are in the position to give.

“ These are choppy waters, and the challenge is to observe what is going on, stay present and enter these waters without flinching.

Company

Some companies are in straight up survival mode and they will do whatever they have to do to stay afloat in this trying time. Realize that you probably don’t know what is truly behind the curtain and that the better you can adapt, the better you will fare long term. Also, don’t be afraid to ask to help so you can understand the challenges and what you can offer to get through them.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If companies start adjusting commission and/or salaries down in order to endure, it can potentially set off a domino effect of panic. This type of survival move can have a culture shattering effect unless it is messaged properly and the messaging is exceptionally difficult because no one wants to lose anything in a downturn.

Personal

Be thankful – consider that whatever the future holds, it is a gift.
Immediately scale down any extraneous spending.
Learn something new that you have always wanted to, but never had the time. Challenge yourself to think forward, not back.

THE REORDER 03/01/20

The Concrete Ceiling of Sales

There is nothing worse than being stuck and feeling like your head is hitting the concrete ceiling in sales.
As an artisan salesperson – while you expand your world and as you exceed expectations, the volumes will go up and the connections will accelerate, bringing more references and more accounts. Eventually, you are going to run into a problem: the concrete ceiling of sales.

I can tell you with certainty that it is difficult situation when you’re doing well but you also know clearly the effort required to do more. You are at capacity within the system that you work in. This is the hamster wheel of the high performing sales rep.

The typical symptoms

Feeling like you have to hit a home run every month.

Making deals that benefit everyone but you.

Setting up systems for growth that are undone by the functionality of the company you work for.

Asking to help and not being heard.

Placing and processing orders becomes a problem and not a pleasure.

“ The stuck sales soldier is the hamster in the wheel and the artisan salesperson is at choice.

Once you sell a certain amount and you are connecting a viable quantity of wine and spirits to a group of steady customers, you are hedged to the functionality of the company you work for.

Put yourself in these shoes: there is only one way to get out of the hamster wheel and that is to change a company from the inside or move on.
Both of these are worthy paths you can take, and both are difficult.

The stuck sales soldier is the hamster in the wheel and the artisan salesperson can make change – remember that you are always at choice.

THE REORDER 01/31/20

The Blueprint of the Artisan Salesperson

I used to think there would be a time where things would just happen and it would be near automatic. Wine would flow like a river, spirits would tumble into cocktails and an ease would be ever present as you influence/witness/serve as the salesperson. It would get “easier.”

The truth is that the artisan salesperson never arrives at this heavenly place. You have to always keep reinventing your practice, rethinking why and how – not just with your customers but with what you do on the regular.

Below are five fundamentals that will open the door to being an artisan salesperson – a salesperson that wants to do right.

If you get off track – start here.

#1 Philosophy – It starts with you.

You cannot do this at a high level without a philosophy. You have to know where you start and where the work finishes. You have to know why you are choosing to do the practice of sales. If it is just for commission, at your best you will only ever be just good enough.

#2 The Customer – never a number

Customers are not randoms or black and white numbers in a cell that could be raised 3 percent, they are people. Even in this persona over personal technological world where it can be difficult to know people, and many want to just click and buy, it is better to have a personal connection. I would argue further that you need to have a feel of what it smells like in that restaurant or why that retailer does so well on that block. These observations cannot be faked – get to know who you serve by showing up.

#3 What are you selling?

What is the context of the products? All technical details aside, where does what you offer fit in? Who are the competitors? What makes yours unique? Why this one over that one? This takes effort and you must taste more than you talk to acquire reference points. Actually taste the competitors and see what comes. Have a way that looks at the wine beyond the quality call. Look at the style.

Hint: pricing is almost always the last thing to sell first

“ Most salespeople (often at no fault of their own) get hyper-fixated.

#4 Buyer thinking – Think like a buyer.

Think like a buyer and you will be able to be a savvy matchmaker. It is not easy to do and takes real intention, but if you can put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, you can truly see what drives their choices; not just product or what they like, but something deeper.

#5 Look for the spaces

You must pan out and look more broadly to see the spaces. Most salespeople (often at no fault of their own) get hyper-fixated. I have often. The only way to really be “in it” is to pan out and look at the edges.

The customer just inquired about a pallet of this – why did that happen? What is really going on? If you can figure that out – you will always have a head start.

THE REORDER 12/01/19

The Fluid Salesperson vs. The Tweaked Salesperson

I was sitting with a fluid, jedi beverage salesperson recently and he said something to me that made immense sense.

He said:

“I sacrifice earnings for quality of life.”

While this may seem like an obvious statement, to most owners of importer/distributors, it would sound like heresy.

This is a strong salesperson who has been doing this a really long time – I don’t mean a few big years, I mean 25 plus years of present and high “earner” work. He is a legend.

Ten minutes later I ran into a young and up and coming salesperson. One who has talent pouring out of his wine bag and immense potential. His eyes couldn’t focus, his gaze and manner went towards the ground and he couldn’t bear to listen to more than three words before interrupting.

“I am so busy,” he said.

He was tweaked to the gills. No focus, no balance, and as he tripped over his words, he less than casually mentioned that he was “way up” over last year.

“ ...His eyes couldn't focus, his gaze and manner went towards the ground and he couldn't bear to listen to more than three words before interrupting.

This is the image I want to stay with you: your number could be sexy as fuck, but what if for a little less you could last a lot longer?

What if you could run at a steady clip and not tire as much? Compounded interest works.

If you are so tweaked as a salesperson that you can’t concentrate and it seems so hard you can barely get through, chances are it is you who are adding pressure and constraints. You are the problem.

Try doing less. Try finding another way. Try looking at the possibilities instead of the daily numbers.

THE REORDER 09/15/19

How to Inspire a Wine Salesperson

“How to inspire a Wine Salesperson”

The million-dollar question in the NYC Beverage Market today isn’t about inventory or debt ratio or the “quality” of the producers in the portfolio but actually, how do you inspire a wine salesperson? How do you build a sales team that can make the market move?

I know Companies wrestle with these questions: Why aren’t they taking this wine out? Why aren’t they putting this in their bag ? (I hate this phrase, BTW). Why are certain producers being forgotten? Why do the salespeople lack energy?

The below may have an answer or three – and it speaks less to the product and more to how to inspire your team. Portfolio Managers/Owners/Upper Management take a gander…

Before you go further, this is a FACT: enlarged commission is rarely the answer. Daniel Pink has written extensively about this; money presents like the answer to motivating others, but it rarely is. Can you think of anything else?

Telling a better story

Tell your salespeople a spectacular and also true story. Especially about the Company that they work for. Give them something to believe in. Building trust drop by drop and word by word with honesty and thoughtful care is intentional and takes real work. A sales team that believes and trusts is unstoppable.

Producer “knowledge”

Besides all the technical and “do you like this” talk in a sales meeting, have you passed along a vision of where the producer’s wine belongs?

If you can translate the producer through your lense of the marketplace you will win more often. Show the sales team you see the spaces where the producer fits in.

Have you communicated a gem that isn’t on the tech sheet and/or isn’t some droning handharvested/nativeyeast/lowsulphur BS? That isn’t a story. If a salesperson walks out of a meeting, feels like they have met the producer, and wants to tell others – you are laughin’.

Less Email, more “Eye to Eye”

Is sending more emails to the team working for you? Great results? I doubt it.

Email may feel like the go-to move, but try connecting more eye to eye. Salespeople want to be seen and heard, and email often isn’t the best tool for that. If you are mad when your emails aren’t read, it might be your fault – maybe consider some other way?

The Micromanage Move

Micromanaging doesn’t work. Full stop. Managers who micromanage don’t know how to teach or inspire. Stop micromanaging and lead with actions. Offer a helpful suggestion, an empathetic action and work in some follow-through. The salespeople are the buyers of a wine company – if they are micromanaged and not connected to properly, you are going to see company consequences that hurt.

“ A sales team that believes and trusts is unstoppable.

TALK. LESS. SHIT

This may seem obvious, but talk less shit about the salespeople. Complain less. Try this for a change: how can I help them? Is it possible that the problem is my tactic?

Respect that salespeople earn…(high energy output and low gross profit for the salesperson is not a good formula – no matter how it is packaged).

Repetition Works

Some folks need repetition. Repeating something with a slight alteration so it doesn’t present like some sort of corporate-speak can really help. Think of how sticky natural is. That word was repeated by the godfathers of the tribe for a reason. Find something that resonates with the sales team and repeat.

THE REORDER 08/25/19

To the Salesperson: What to do in a Down Month

There have been long stretches where I have been on a roll and couldn’t even imagine what a down month looks and feels like.

The moment you think a down month can’t happen to you, guess what comes a knockin’?

This is precisely why I am writing this down. Read it when you need to.

The Down Month

It is August of 2019 and I am not having my greatest month of sales. It will likely be a down month year over year, and I have never had more understanding of the movements of the market and what I offer. But, shit happens and here I am.

Did I see it coming? Yes. In many ways, it is just one of those things. A perfect wine storm. It is a super rare pop up in 12 years of hard-hit line drives. I tend to not think any month is worth the worry (I think in 6-month blocks), but in the beverage sales game it is much better to understand why a month trended a certain way.

A few years ago, I would have been sweating myself to sleep. Dreaming of the suffocating action duo of coulda and woulda. But today I breathe easily.

So – when you are having a tough one, lean on this message: what defines our sales game is how we deal with challenges, not any percentage. There is no perfect and there are few (if any) constants. In the most volatile and fast-changing beverage market in the world, yo’ shit will get f’ed up and you will need to be able to roll with it.

So what does one do?

How to deal with a down month

Find a Win

Look beyond the surface and pat yourself on the back for a few things. Realize that keeping glass pours and wine flowing in the most competitive market in the world is a total win.

Good people

Go see someone you truly treasure.

When I struggle, I do everything I can to laugh and spend time with people I really dig. It’s one of the great goldmines of our business. You can always just hit the bar and have a blast.

To do or not to do?

Look at what you can actually do.

Don’t tighten up and just email more. Do something that makes actual connective sense. A real action that propels dialogue in an empathetic way.

Find a Challenge

Is there a curmudgeon-y bro somm that needs to be taken down with a thoughtful Jedi wine move? Go connect them to the absolute right wine for them. Surprise with forethought.

Get. A. PHILOSOPHY

I have gone over this in many posts. I am on record. Having your own philosophy is crucial.

What are you trying to do? If moving boxes and numerical attaboys/attagirls is the philosophy, I can see the meltdown coming. And…it will be devastating.

My philosophy is like my secret mantra. When all else fails, I meditate on the mantra. The constantly changing nature of the NYC market is a beast and having something to go to that is yours will only serve you.

Don’t go Dark

Decide not to engage with the worrying gremlin in your head. Breathe deeply. Enjoy wine, make art, listen to ‘trane. Try the opposite thing.

I know people who are constantly in a recession mindset. Pay attention – but stay off the dark side of the sales game. That side of the aisle is crowded and a bad neighborhood.

Let it go

IF you find yourself really struggling…

Look at the history and write down what led up to the month – what went right and what went wrong. Then write down what you plan to shift around or change next time. Now – let it go. Or reach out to me. @iamlooper

“ ...what defines our sales game is how we deal with challenges, not any percentage.

Epilogue – A Related Story

A conjoined business you have…

Heads up: You are tied to the business of your accounts. You cannot control or predict the trajectory of their business.

That account that is on complete fire today could be in a legal battle tomorrow. A partner could go rogue and disrupt that business forever. A 10k a month account could go to 0 tomorrow. I don’t mean to sound fatalistic, but you must have a longer viewpoint. When it is going well, enjoy it fully and at the same time don’t engage in the thought that it will be that same lovely dynamic forever.

Years ago, I had the biggest sale of my career (an ocean of wine) and a month later they were late paying. I coordinated with the wine director to pick up a check the next day, and when I arrived the doors were chained up and the account was closed forever. In fact, the restaurant that took that space over sold some of the wines for profit. And the crooked previous chef with the closed restaurant took all the expensive Burgundy to his house.

Due to a recent rant post from an Instagram Crazy Wine Importer, I feel the need to make this clear: better people make better business people. They also make better business partners. Keep that in mind when you make that sale to the chum hunting shark who views you as a pass-through or the hot shit restaurant in a constant #metoo brawl.

You can’t control the business of your customers.

If they are dead and struggling and you decide to send 20cs of wine to them, are you a great partner? Only if you have their best interests in mind.

THE REORDER 08/09/19

Samples don’t make Sales

Samples don’t make Sales.

Reports ferreting out who sampled what rarely mean much. Why keep running those reports and scratching your head?

In my experience, most of the time they represent that the wines haven’t been sold meaningfully to the team. These dreaded reports lead to meetings where they bring out the cat o’ nine tails and we all take a turn.

Why don’t you sample this? One should very rarely have to ask this question.

Generally what sample reports lead to is the dreaded sales blitz…Everyone put this in your bag so we can tell the producer we tried.

Sales blitzes aren’t for sales, either. They are for excuses and clean reports.
What gets measured gets managed, right?

Most importantly, as a sales rep you need to launch things. Sometimes you will choose to put wine in a bag and make shit happen.

So how do you put together the perfect bag?

The Perfect Bag

The perfect bag of wine doesn’t exist. It will never happen. You can’t have all the right things unless it was set up and dialogued about beforehand – and even then, the perfect bag will always elude you. It is the Moby Dick of the wine world.

Don’t get mad about it, just flow with it.

“ The perfect bag of wine doesn’t exist. It will never happen.

What works – the sampling playbook

Sample like you mean it.

When you show up with wine, it is better to have thought through why.

Be a matchmaker.

Challenge thoughtfully every once and a while – just enough. New wines, forgotten wines, etc.

Always have three insightful questions and/or 2-3 ideas outside the bag. In your head. Hint: these can be combined.

If you show up with a case you look like a head case. 12 bottles may cover your sample requirement, but they rarely build any trust.

Never open wine for a closed mind.

The goal of samples is dialogue not sales.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We have more choice in this market than ever and tomorrow there will be even more. Every bottle you choose to open is an opportunity to make a small impact. If you can avoid sampling like a drone, you will automatically stick out.