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In The Winery

example, if a distributor primarily targets bars and from five to nine with a break for lunch. (You will
restaurants for sales, they will not be the best fit be expected to pay for lunch). Ask to see a list of
for a winery looking to enter the retail market. accounts you will be visiting in advance. In partic-
ular, you need to know if you are visiting on- or
Lewis added that another huge part of this equa- off-premise accounts, as that will impact your attire
tion is the sales team and territory. “You might end and the sales materials you need to bring. Know
up splitting a state up because these mid-level and your pricing and be prepared with collateral. During
smaller distributors aren’t big enough to cover an these visits, be flexi-ble. The distributor arranged
entire state.” an entire day of appointments around your wines,
so be mindful when they need to do tasks such as
Be sure to explore the distributor’s overall opera- putting in an order. Also, expect the occasional can-
tion. What is the size of their staff, and is this staff cellation.
commissioned? Who are the key decision-makers,
and what is their overall reputation with-in the A few things Eddy suggested to keep in mind once
wine industry? Is there an ownership change or you have a distributor in place include monthly
other management issues? Are they look-ing to tracking to check your inventory and update your
consolidate or expand? What is their timeline for distributor on progress versus goals. He said win-
paying their wineries, and do they pay them on eries should know when it’s time to change pricing
time? Does their warehouse and inventory practic- and be aware of chain presenta-tion schedules.
es work for your particular needs? “You need to be clear with your distributor regard-
ing where you want your wines sold.”
They recommend the SevenFifty website https://
go.sevenfifty.com/ as a valuable source in identify- Finally, nothing is more important than having a
ing brand competitors and researching distributors, plan. “Have a plan going in. Check up on it, and fol-
as well as price positioning and mar-ket positioning. low up,” said Eddy.
The website also allows you to look at which pro-
ducers wholesale distributors have in their book.

Launching a Wholesale
Distribution Program

Before releasing a particular wine, be sure your
sales reps and brand managers have adequate
resources so they can tell the story behind this
vintage. Be clear where you want your wine sold,
as well as the pricing for placements. Along those
lines, register your labels when applicable, and
allow for ample time for this registration process
to be completed. Determine if you need addi-tional
staff to manage both this new sales channel and
inventory.

When planning a market visit to a distributor,
timing is everything. Many distributors hold their
general sales meetings on Mondays and Fridays,
with most of their sales staff in attendance. Hence,
these meetings represent an opportunity to tell the
brand’s story and have the staff taste these wines.

When going on a distributor ride-along, be mind-
ful that most ride-alongs occur Tuesday through
Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The typical
visit is six accounts, though it could be any-where

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