The Wrong Question
If you have logged many hours selling wine, avoid asking this question first:
“Why won’t this work?”
This question bubbles up because you begin to think like you have to checkmate the buyer…to be one move ahead of them. As in: this wine is too expensive, they only buy Produttori, it is not classic enough in style and they won’t like it, etc.
This mentality comes from a good place: Attunement. If you have put in the time interacting with beverage directors you have to anticipate needs or you won’t last long. It is also super seductive. Counting down all the reasons a wine or spirit won’t work is often much easier than counting down why it will.
“ Trying to checkmate the beverage director is actually a form of hiding.
This happens to be one of the surefire ways to get really stuck. You become paralyzed by your process, mired in the wrong checklist.
A few strategies to get out of this:
- Ask yourself what you are most excited about. Start here.
- Remember what you did as a rookie. Picture what resonated, now re-create..
- Ignore all facts and go with the intuitive answer.
- Divorce yourself from the instinct to focus solely on an immediate sales result.
Start by asking the right question and the narrative will find you.