BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

A Wine Sales Trainer Pits Her Views Against Digital Marketing

This article is more than 5 years old.

Getty

According to Lynda Paulson, there’s an old story in Napa/Sonoma wine countries: “Louis Martini told his tasting staff, ‘if I catch you making a sales pitch for our wine, you will be fired.’ Selling was thought of as not necessary, even rude; if they wanted it, they would buy it.” 

=Star Dewar Star Shots Photography

Paulson operates Success Strategies, Inc. a training company, and she just published a wine sales training book: Romancing the Grape: Relationship Selling for Hospitality Professionals. She has been at this for some time, remembering, “In the eighties in Napa Valley a tourist walked into the tasting rooms without appointments, paid nothing, tasted wines and left with the free tasting glass. If you asked [the winery staff] where you could buy their wine they directed you to the nearest wine shop…”

Today, “appointments are necessary, food and wine pairings are offered, tours of the caves, musical events and an extensive menu of various tasting experiences are available…entertainment and memorable experiences are the new goals.”

Although today’s tech people claim metrics and data-driven statistics tell wineries exactly who will buy which wines and how often, Paulson is not convinced that customer profiling and predicting future sales through computer software is the best way to make sales. She says, “ Metrics are the domain of marketing. Relationships are the domain of selling.  There are no metrics for how a visitor feels and thinks from the moment they cross [the winery] threshold. This is learned through human interaction. Tasting room personnel have evolved from servers to hospitality professionals and brand ambassadors.“

She points out, “A visit to Francis Ford Coppola winery is compared to going to Disneyland…Domaine Carneros and many other wineries are now hosting individual tastings…private tasting go for as much as $75-$150.00…to enroll in the wine club there might be a waiting list…some wineries are by invitation only.”

Having said that, Paulson also recognizes competition among wineries has become fierce. For example, she says the number of visitors to Napa wine country has been shrinking, in part because the image and price of Napa wine has been upscaled out of the reach of the average Joe and Jane. Under such conditions, Paulson believes, direct selling is not just good; it’s mandatory.

She says, “There is no better, richer, more memorable feeling than connecting with another person. Having a good time, an exchange of ideas, a conversation. That's when chemistry happens. Can't get it from a blog, nor from twitter or email. The memorable stuff happens in person,” and a relationship built in the tasting room extends itself into the marketplace.

Still, making a sale in the tasting room is not exactly a simple task. The staff needs to know the history of the winery, the background of each wine varietal, coming winery events, viticultural growing conditions, winery back stories, and wine club details. They have to deal with all kinds of people, even the troublesome and rude. Selling wine requires skill, which is where Paulson says she comes in. She teaches that each visitor to the winery must be viewed as a golden sales and future relationship opportunity. 

Paulson says she knows that, “Not all wineries can afford to bring in a training professional,” and since she couldn't find one book that addressed tasting room sales training, ”I wrote one.”  

Maybe in a future post I can persuade a digital marketing leader like Paul Mabray to debate Lynda Paulson on the subject of the differences between a digital marketing program and an on-the-ground sales effort. Meanwhile, winery owners can read Romancing the Grape: Relationship Selling for Hospitality Professionals

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website