As part of my work for the Israeli wine distributor I am presently working for, I went into a wine shop on Friday afternoon to “hand sell” some of their wines. The wine shop manager set me up next to the shelf displaying the producer’s wines. I opened up 3 bottles to pour for customers as they came in, and said customers were offered discounts if they purchased any of the wines (in 3, 6 or 12 bottle increments) I was pouring – as well as others made by the producer.
I must say, things went brilliantly. OK, it could have been better. There was not as much traffic as I may have liked. A few people did come in just to try some free wine. Yes, there were one or two people who I suppose felt a “hard sell”, and ending up opting for other wines. BUT for the most part people tried the wines, engaged in conversation about the wines, asked lots of good questions and then bought at least one if not 3 bottles of wine (to take advantage of the discount).
I have heard this from others but I am now fully convinced that this method of “hand selling” is truly the best way to sell wines. It may seem obvious, but you have people entering a wine shop/liquor store with the intent to purchase a bottle (or more) of wine. Yet they are suddenly faced with the daunting array of wines set before them.
And standing right there to help is Mr./Ms. NON-PRETENTIOUS wine expert happy to provide a quick taste of wine for said customer and answer any questions they may have. Two very important elements. I always recommend that people taste a wine before buying a bottle of it (when possible of course). And having someone there who may know a bit more about wine than the ordinary average Jane is also helpful and generally appreciated.
It was a great few hours and I really hope everyone who purchased some of the wines I recommended were happy with their selections.
Now if only I can figure out a way to be in 200 stores selling wine at the same time…
ASIDE: All NYC (and vicinity) residents are invited to an Israeli wine tasting this Thursday night. I’ll be at the Le Rendezvous wine bar at 80th St. & 2nd Ave pouring FREE wine from 7-9PM. There will be bubbly (show up early for this) as well as some whites, a rose’ and of course some fabulous reds. Come say hi and introduce yourself!
Happy wine tasting & buying!
WTG
Tags: hand sell, Israeli Wine, wine shop
ahh bummer! I’m flying out on Thurs =/
It also happens to be my bday so please have *lots* of bubbly for me, and keep us posted on future tastings!
ps. Take good care of that knee!
Chico, where you going? We could have finally met. Next time I suppose.
Have a great trip…