It really doesn’t matter whose sales philosophies we should follow.  What will truly inspire success is a vision of growth and partnership. And that means that all sales people should be inherently connected with the goals and aspirations of the brewery, explains Roger Mittag, founder of Thirst for Knowledge Inc and creator of the Prud’homme Beer Certification program.

A product that has been crafted with care and attention needs an equal amount of professionalism and thought when selling it.  To be honest, I am shocked and dismayed at how business is being done in our industry these days.

Not only do we need to have a comprehensive understanding of the general category of beer, we need to be able to discuss the merits of our products with any potential customer.  It boggles my mind to see so many inexperienced sales people plying their trade in the beer industry.  It’s one thing to love beer and all that it brings to our social experiences; it’s quite another thing to strategically understand how to sell beer. 

Breweries need to hire passion and teach skills. This whole concept of commodity selling has to stop at some point.  In this concept, beer no longer has an individual personality – it’s all about price, discounts and what’s new.  The more we go down this rabbit hole, the further away from true selling we venture.  If we open a door with a deal, we will have no where to go but down.  Selling by price or rebates does nothing to establish a relationship with the customer.  It only opens a gateway to greed.  I urge all sales people to have the pride to say ‘NO’.

Sales people should be just that; professionals who spend time selling, marketing and growing brands.  Sales people should not be a keg delivery service nor should they inherently be collection agents.  All of these activities remove a sales person away from doing what they really should be doing – selling.

“From the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are negotiating, communicating, persuading and influencing, trying to get people to cooperate with you to accomplish the things that you want them to accomplish. So, the pivotal question with regard to selling is not if you are doing it, but if you are good at it.” – Brian Tracy

It really doesn’t matter whose sales philosophies we should follow.  What will truly inspire success is a vision of growth and partnership.  All sales people should be inherently connected with the goals and aspirations of the brewery and every step we make should echo the direction of the company.  There are some simple steps to ensure that you are driving business forward.

Steps to follow

⎫  Understand why your brewery is in business.  What are they all about?  Where do they want to be when they grow up?  What are the annual sales objectives? Do they have any unique characteristics that would endear them to a customer / consumer?

⎫  Define your territory. What are the geographical boundaries of your sales territory?  How many on-premise accounts?  How many retail accounts?

⎫  What defines a sales call? A face to face visit? A phone call? A visit with the customer to the brewery?

⎫  How many calls a day?  Normally, this should range in between 6-10 but it all depends on the customer.

⎫  Call Schedules/Reports. These should always be forward looking.  You should clearly know where you are going for the next month.  Sales managers who want weekly reports on what you’ve done and where you’ve been are looking in the rear-view mirror.  This behaviour is old fashioned and reflects a mistrust of the employee.  It is much more valuable to coach and counsel on future prospects than keeping tabs on where you’ve been.

Steps to a Sales Call

⎫  Planning. We need to create a call schedule so that we have a roadmap of sales calls.  Waking up every day wondering where to go is a disaster waiting to happen. Create an objective for every call you make.  Walking in unprepared will result in a negative experience in the long run.

⎫  Introduce yourself. Everyone you meet at the customer is important.  Make sure you explain who you are and what brewery you represent.

⎫  Assess. When we walk through the door, everything you see and hear is important to understand why this customer should be proud to carry your beers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions from the bartenders or servers.  Ask what’s hot, what’s not.  Look at their food offerings.  Leave no stone unturned. When you are meeting with the key stakeholder, ask a ton of questions.  This will help to evaluate their needs and whether you even want to be a part of this business.

⎫  The Sale. This requires a lot of thought.  Don’t rush this.  Sometimes, it is wiser to just step back and re-evaluate.  Once you have all the information you need, create a thoughtful proposal.

⎫  Closing. This could be as simple as agreeing to meet again. Make sure you have some form of commitment before you leave.

⎫  Evaluate. How did the call go?  Was it successful? What could you do better next time?B

Let’s all bring professionalism back and create great sales opportunities.  This industry has become incredibly competitive and we collectively have to make it better.