Articles
I was Wrong
Remember the sitcom Happy Days? For those of you who weren’t watching TV in the 70’s, Happy Days was a 50’s era sitcom-taking place in Milwaukee. The main character was Arthur Fonzarelli, the ultra-cool, motorcycle riding, chick magnet affectionately known as "The Fonz." According to the Fonz (and only the fonz), he was never wrong. Never; and if he was he certainly couldn’t admit it. Couldn’t even say he was wrong no matter how hard he tried. Are you any better?
Developing Persuasive Sales Behavior
Some salespeople yield great influence in their accounts. I met such an individual last week. Let’s call him Keith to protect his identity. Keith seems to have a persuasive effect over his customers, which leads to fantastic sales, and he doesn’t use sales "force" or the "authority" that may come from his company’s great portfolio.
Don't Regurgitate Last Week's Sales Meeting
This letter is from the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association's weekly newsletter
When I'm on a Roll...
When I’m on a roll I sell – I don’t just take orders… If it only were that easy! I have a favorite exercise I like to do with sales groups. It’s called – When I’m on a roll I do this and not that. I ask my group to consider their last hot streak and what they did (and didn’t do) during that stretch. If we can just replicate those behaviors…
Suggestions for Weathering the Storm – Part 1
Some of my distributors are in states that have been hit hard by tax increases. Recently I visited and shared 10 Ways to Weather the Storm. The first 5 (Part 1) are in this article
My Customers Won't Want This!
A few months ago a young beverage professional told me that when he stopped manufacturing reasons why his customers wouldn’t buy his products, his sales actually increased. How novel! I’m used to salespeople giving me numerous reasons why accounts won’t bite on their offerings, especially before they ask.
Are you Thinking About What Really Matters?
The other day I flew out to San Francisco. The guy next to me seemed to be above the "turning off your cell-phone rule!" He was thumb typing away even as the plane was hurling down the runway. Not a care in the world. Even when the flight attendant asked him to turn off the phone, he barely answered; and still got a few more emails out.
Organizing for a Better Sales Career
Many people come to work without a plan. They proceed to chit-chat with co-workers, send and receive email incessantly and work on 2 to 4 tasks (at the same time) all day long. Many jump from task to task and in the process of trying to un-bury themselves – make more mistakes. In times like these, our communication is too vague and we fail to ask enough questions to do a good job.
Motivating Employees for Greater Beverage Sales
Are you developing and motivating your service staff? This is the greatest area of the low hanging fruit. Restaurants and bars lose millions by not intriguing customers at the point of purchase. Wine lists lay on tables like paperweights. Critical selling moments are frequently missed.
Responses and Reactions
Reactions are dangerous. Reactions are emotional. Reactions are not grounded in any type of logic. Reactions seldom work out well for the reactor. The effects of reactions are often irreversible. In fact, what happens after you get angry is often more damaging than whatever caused your anger in the first place.
Curiosity May Have Killed the Cat
I’m in Seattle this week. I don’t think I’ll get to the Seattle Space needle but I did read up on it a bit. Seems the foundation of this prodigious landmark weights 5,850 tons and has 250 tons of reinforcing steel. It was built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles an hour. I guess to soar above a city’s skyline; you need some kind of foundation!
Happen to have any Key Chains?
One of my distributors is located not far from my house in Illinois. For a long time, I couldn’t catch a cold in my home state but now I work with a talented team of beverage professionals – and don’t have to get on an airplane to do it! Last week got to talking about customers that continually ask for free things.
I'm Out of the Office Today and your Message Isn't very Important to ME
"I’m not in the office today and although I have my blackberry/I phone/(insert other mobile device) right here in my bag/pocket/purse, your email will go unanswered because it’s pretty unimportant to me."
Samples, Support and Something to Sell
On a recent trip to a Midwest distributor, I posed the following question: What can suppliers do to be a more effective partner. A sampling of the comments is below.
What Happens if your Customer's Cooler is Broken?
Creativity is the asset of true sales professionals and I love telling the story of a young beer guy I met in Minnesota. Ricky told me a truly inspirational story to answer the question – what is creativity?
Selling Rufenbrau's Latest and Greatest New Beer
At 2 PM today you and other executives from your company, Marathon Distributing, have an appointment at the friendly local retailer to introduce Rufenbrau's newest beer: Dos Banana's. Yes, the new beer tastes like a banana, a concept you're not quite enamored with, but hey, all the Nielsen reports suggest that the American public is clamoring to include beer as a fruit serving.
Is your road to success paved with objections?
Last week a beverage professional asked me for some of the reasons I typically objected to a salesperson’s presentation back when I was a retailer. Well, the reasons were numerous, but in no way did it mean that all was lost; that the sale was doomed to Death Valley.
What do your Customers Think of you?
Do you ever wonder what your customers are thinking about you? Is this news you can use? Absolutely! It should be of great interest to you. Some of you may be thinking, "I don’t want to know!" Uh, probably not a good idea. Today's brief email is about taking a good hard look at how your customers see you. The goal is to find ways to ask these questions on a semi-regular, or regular basis. Some questions drive at how you're performing within an account, while others are about how your company is performing. Both areas are vital.
Consumers May Buy Brands, But Retailers Buy YOU
Last week I presented at the the Fall meeting of the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois. A-B chief Dave Peacock spoke before me and I remember him saying the following: "We are a brand business. People don't buy companies, they don't buy brewers, they don't buy wholesalers, they don't buy retailers, they buy brands...." A statement that got me thinking. If consumers buy brands, what do retailers buy? Retailers (bars, restaurants, stores and clubs, etc.) buy the YOU…
