Our Articles
Covering topics from public speaking and presentation skills to sales skills and winery hospitality.
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 [...]
Corporate Leader, Polished Speaker
10 Most Common Pitfalls of Public Speaking We truly "make or break" ourselves by what we say, and more importantly, how we say it. For example, a young salesman rose to speak at a regional meeting of the Conoco Oil Company some years ago and did so with confidence, clarity and vigor. I happened to be [...]
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 [...]
Coaching an All-Star Staff
8 Ways to Develop Motivated People "An effective leader skillfully blends the first three roles but doesn't actually have to be superhuman," says Lynda Paulson, president of Success Strategies, Inc. Instead, aspiring leaders and team builders need to learn how to guide employees to the path of productivity and positive attitudes by discovering their motives [...]
Is the Romance Over?
On the Romance with Wine Country Is the romance over between wine country and its visitors? This question was posited last week by Rob McMillan, of Silicon Valley Bank, as he posted an email he’d received from wine country visitors. Despite being long-time, repeat-visitors over many years, the guests expressed a desire not to return in the future [...]
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 [...]
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: Follow Up Fabulous
Follow Up Makes You Fabulous You’ve closed the sale. Your guests had a great time visiting. Think you’re done? Your job isn’t finished yet! To ensure your guests think you’re the most fabulous host and/or winery in the world, employ a touch of follow up to reinforce the sale. After the Sale Once the purchase has been made, [...]
Relationship Sales Success: Selling Wine on Busy Weekends, During Special Events, and with Big Groups
Selling Wine on Busy Weekends Making wine sales during busy periods and special events can be more challenging than during your regular tasting experiences and appointments: Guests may be less patient for responses. You may have limited or no access to POS systems to easily ring up sales. And your attention may be split in ten directions simultaneously! [...]
