Description
Book SynopsisThis definitive book offers the first focused guide for developing personal wine-selling skills. The authors’ approach is based on a clear understanding of the principles, strategies, and practices used by leading wine professionals. Step by step, the authors explain how to develop relationships, understand customer needs, and deliver both products and sales presentations in an efficient and effective way. Based on the authors’ over six decades of combined research, consulting, and teaching in personal selling skills, the book draws on their countless interviews and interactions with effective sales professionals in the wine and broader hospitality industries. Many of their ideas have been incorporated into the unique consultative selling skills framework they develop in this manual. The strategies they outline will be invaluable for all those seeking to start or enhance a career in wine sales. For anyone who wishes to pursue a career in the wine industry, whether their focus is distribution, retail sales, sommelier sales at a restaurant, or working in a winery tasting room, this book will be an invaluable launching point.
Trade ReviewNow more than ever, it takes a lot more than extensive wine knowledge and passion to be successful in the wine business. The complexity of wine-distribution sales demands that anyone involved should embrace and practice everything this fabulously comprehensive book has to offer. -- Peter Marks, MW, vice president of education at Constellation Brands
A must-read for everyone involved in the wine business. The authors have done a tremendous job explaining how the complicated distribution system works in the United States. A psychology course in the selling of wine. -- Kevin Zraly, James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
A long-overdue, insightful look into the three-tier alcohol beverage system in the United States, as well as how to effectively combine sales and marketing strategies in selling wine. This book is relevant for anyone working in the wine business, serving as a detailed look at an industry that needs more of this type of self-appraisal and sales strategy development. -- Robert Bath, MS, Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgments SECTION I: PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATIONS 1 Wine Sales: Foundations for Success 2 Buyer-Supplier Relationships and Compliance Regulations in the Wine Industry 3 The Exchange of Value between Buyers and Sellers 4 The Organization of a Sales Force 5 Direct-to-Consumer Sales SECTION II: THE CONSULTATIVE SALES PROCESS 6 Buyer Motivations and Presales Call Planning 7 Precall Research 8 Call Opening 9 Probing the Customer’s Needs 10 Supporting the Needs of Your Customers 11 Closing the Sale 12 Negotiating Customer Concerns 13 Selling to a Lack of Interest SECTION III: WINE TRADE 14 Merchandising 15 Strengthening the Relationship 16 Professional Education Development and Your Career Ladder in Sales References Index About the Authors
