Sales guy needs help in relationship repair

I represent a small French portfolio, all limited production some of which wholesale for over $50.00 per bottle - especially the Burgundies. I am a relative newbie and have had to teach myself everything about the portfolio and fine wine because my company is small and does no training. That’s OK, I knew that when I signed up.

Most of my time is spent selling products that wholesale for $10.00 to $25.00 per bottle. I know these products very well. I do not know the high end Burgundies very well. These are bought by a select few customers. However, I have one customer who is buying a lot of them which is great. I stalked this guy until I finally got a meeting with him and he is buying a lot of wines at all price points. He is an old school French chef with a thick accent. I made an ass out of myself in front of him yesterday because I was having a hard time understanding him and I was utterly unfamiliar with the high end Burgundies he bought (without tasting, great customer!). Plus I was fumbling around with a printout of our inventory to make sure we had what he wanted. I was looking and feeling stupid so he flatly told me to get my shit together or he would buy from someone else. I said OK, agreed with him and made no excuses. The guy that owns my company is French and in France otherwise I would have called him. When he gets back I am going to ask him to go to the customer and say I know that I need to improve etc., etc.

Other than getting my act together with product knowledge and a rudimentary understanding of the proper way to pronounce the product names in French, does anyone have suggestions how I can fix this?

Thanks.

I’ve been in sales for a long time. The key to success is knowing your product. Next time you see this customer, it’s up to you to be the teacher, and the customer the student.

Don’t put your tail between your legs or turn to your boss. This guy is testing you, so show him how confident you can be next time you make a presentation.

So, get your shit together and show this guy your cajones!


Confidence, knowledge and determination. That’s sales baby.

Good luck!

Justin,

You might find somebody in your area that is in the business and knows his French wines, who is willing to spend some time with you, along with some research on line or via books. I for one, still have trouble figuring out which name on the bottle is the vintner/winery and butcher names and words. My wife is getting a little better but started like this:

The bottle: Guigal Cote Rote

The pronunciation: Gweegle Coaty Wrotey

There are a lot of people on the board who are very knowledgeable about France and French wine. Hopefully one of them can give you a easier answer.

Good Luck.

Well, the first step is to get your shit together… :slight_smile: Don’t merely view yourself as an order taker - “Hey, I know you buy a lot of high end Burg, whaddya want?” If you do, you’re not adding any real value. I think your mistake was stalking this guy, putting a lot of effort into getting the meeting and not really knowing your stuff. From his point of view, you were wasting his time.

So,

Step 1) KNOW those wines before you ever meeting him again. KNow how to pronounce them, know what they’re like, know the market. Know vintages.

Step 2) Think about the questions he asked and why you came off as unprepared. Was it merely not knowing your stock so that each time he asked “I’d like a case of X” you had to fumble in your paperwork? Or was it that he was asking about the wines? Was it that you had no clue on how to pronounce the wines? Basically, WHY was he so annoyed?

The accent’s a hard one. If he’s really hard to understand that’s a barrier that nothing but familiarity will break down.

“Next time you see this customer, it’s up to you to be the teacher, and the customer the student.”

You trying to get this guy killed??? I think the dynamic here is always gonna be letting this French chef feel HE is the teacher and that the salesman is going out of his way to provide great things for HIM to choose from. Otherwise knives will fly…

I’m talking about this specific case.

So, you’re suggesting that Justin show him his boxes. Which kind?

Justin, bear in mind that selling is a journey that the salesperson and the buyer take together for their own mutual benefit, not something the salesperson does to the buyer. Make it a joint venture and, perhaps, admit to him that you speak no French, apologize for that (the nuns forced you to take Spanish in school?) and perhaps you can help by having him look at your book where he can read rather than having to listen to your lame (and no worse than mine) pronunciation of French words.


You did the right thing - stay humble in this situation - as others have said, do your homework - at least know how to pronounce the wines & vineyard sites - you don’t have to have a 30 years history of tasting vintages - but you do need to know the drinkability levels of your wines - ask your boss about that -

AND ANOTHER THING - Many, many, many wine buyers are egomaniacs - they like to think they are in charge (and don’t change that) - AND they don’t like being “taught” about wine - they already think they know everything -

So the most important thing to do is know your inventory, know how to pronounce the wines - know the deepest discounts you can offer - and let him dictate the situation - just keep getting an audience with him -

After you’ve called on him a few times - you should be able to anticipate his needs and wants -

ONE MORE THING -

Just because you get no training at all - you need to corner your boss and make him go over the wines with you - at least the burgundies - he SHOULD know the proper pronunciations - write each one down like a dictionary for yourself - ask about “the goodies” that might not be on the list (many importers will hold the smallest lots of the finest bottlings and not list them - especially with Burgundy) -

Egomaniac wine buyers love “goodies” - they love to “think” they are the only one getting them -

That guy is French. You will never pronounce the words like he can so don’t even try. He knows that too. But don’t waste his time. He wants to taste some wine and he wants to know about it. Screw the pronunciation - ask HIM for help with that, but know the product and be able to tell a story. Don’t just recite some stupid facts - X hectares, etc., show some passion. Tell him if you think the wine sucks or if you think it’s great and exactly what you love about it. You don’t have anything to sell except the product and yourself. And ask him what he’d like to see in particular.

I’ve had my ass kicked by more French chefs than I can count, and I’ve learned a few things along the way.
TBone is right - he’s testing you, he wants to see what you’re made of. Don’t be intimidated.
Absolutely, you have to master your book, and know what you’re selling.
But often, these types just want their egos stroked. You can turn it around and be honest. “Chef, I have to admit, I’m a bit unfamiliar with these wines. Can you explain this to me?” It will give him a chance to demonstrate his superior knowledge - not necessarily a bad thing.

I used to ask a ton of questions of my chefs - it showed I was interested, and wanted to learn. And I DID learn in the process.

Domaine Guigal is a Facebook friend. I asked how to pronounce Guigal.

Here is the reply:
DOMAINE GUIGAL Let’s do it this way.
“Gui” like the beginning of guild.
“Gal” like the beginning of gallery.

So if the buyer is not in charge, who is - the salesman?

Good lord…


Obviously spoken by a person who has never been on the wholesale end of the wine industry -

I hope you are joking here, other wise…fail.

-paul