Our Articles
Covering topics from public speaking and presentation skills to sales skills and winery hospitality.
Executives Battle Fear of Public Speaking
Advice for Beating Presentation Phobia As the CEO of a major financial institution, he was called on daily to make decisions that moved millions of dollars. The man at the podium had just introduced him, and hundreds of expectant faces turned toward him. But the executive was frozen with fear, unable to deliver the talk that [...]
Executive Speakers
Use Emerging Trends to Your Advantage as a Public Speaker According to the Wall Street Journal, we receive more than 5,000 advertising messages a day. When we add all the verbal interchanges, telephone calls, and written messages, we can see why it's so hard to get anybody to pay attention to what we have to say. If [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Telling Stories to Sell More Wine
Romancing the Grape, Stories and Words that Sell, Evoke and Enhance We're all hardwired to remember stories, particularly simple, well-told ones. On the other hand, when was the last time you remembered the details about a wine "with 30% malolactic fermentation, 3 daily punchdowns, aged in 50% new French oak barrels, unfined and unfiltered"? Huh? Those words may mean [...]
Relationships Sales Success: Buying Signals and Closing the Sale
Recognizing Guest Buying Signals A buying signal is something a guest says or does which may indicate they are inclined to purchase. In a winery tasting room, it may be as obvious as a guest picking up a bottle or two from your display to take to the cash register. But not all tasting rooms have point-of-sale (POS) [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Facts, Benefits and Bridges
Wine Facts, Benefits and the Bridges Between Them People don’t buy wine because it was aged in barrels for 24 months; they buy because it tastes exceptionally smooth to them. People don’t buy wine because it’s a blend of 50% cabernet sauvignon, 20% cabernet franc, 18% merlot, 6% petite Verdot and 6% Viognier; they buy because the unique [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Telling Stories to Sell More Wine
Romancing the Grape, Stories and Words that Sell, Evoke and Enhance We're all hardwired to remember stories, particularly simple, well-told ones. On the other hand, when was the last time you remembered the details about a wine "with 30% malolactic fermentation, 3 daily punchdowns, aged in 50% new French oak barrels, unfined and unfiltered"? Huh? Those words may mean [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Selling a Wine Club Membership
Selling Wine Club Memberships The majority of wineries now focus their business model on growing their direct-to-consumer (DTC) business. At the core of that strategy is converting winery visitors to club members, where they will receive extra care, focus and attention, to retain as loyal customers. Selling wine club memberships, in addition to on-the-spot wine purchases, may be [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Handling Objections and Tough Situations
Handling Objections and Tough Situations “We’re just tasting,” is the most common objection tasting room professionals hear to trial close inquiries. The reason(s) for the objection may be many: Your guests may truly be only tasting to enjoy ambiance with no intention to sign up for clubs or make any purchases. But they may also be giving you [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Body Language Does Most of The Talking
Body Language Does Most Of The Talking We all like happy, positive, upbeat people who make us feel good and put us at ease. In addition to the verbal words that come from those people, what body language conveys "happy," "positive," and "upbeat"? Have you ever walked into a room and immediately had a sense of what mood [...]
