advice on getting into the wine biz

[Michael_Martin]

I sold my business two years ago and we retired next to one of my state’s largest wine regions. I was always a berserker about wine and approached one of the wineries to see how I could help. They hired me on to work the tasting room, then that morphed into bottling, then blending trials, then working events and festivals. Now I wear many hats. Work only a few days a month. It scratches my wine itch, while still giving me time to do other things. I learned a lot about wine, the industry, farming. Know a ton of cool wine people now too. For me, it worked out better than I thought.

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

That accords with everything I’ve heard about being in sales at the wholesale level. I would only add that some distributors’ sales people are paid 100% on commission.

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

[James_Wright]

don’t.

[Joseph_Grassa]

Not to be discouraging, Joe, but I came on this Bob Johnson cartoon for Pacific Wine Company, which seemed apropos of this thread.

lol. not a problem at all. It is a pretty funny comic.

[John_Morris]

That accords with everything I’ve heard about being in sales at the wholesale level. I would only add that some distributors’ sales people are paid 100% on commission.

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

[John_Glas]

Start a wine blog and become an influencer and take the tax write offs for 3 years as then you become a hobby. Make sure to save all your receipts for purchases.

[Michael_Martin]

That accords with everything I’ve heard about being in sales at the wholesale level. I would only add that some distributors’ sales people are paid 100% on commission.

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

Owning your own business is 100% commission.

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

That accords with everything I’ve heard about being in sales at the wholesale level. I would only add that some distributors’ sales people are paid 100% on commission.

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

For sure. That was something I didn’t add in though because I don’t think that’ll be close to the situation here.

That said, if one is starting off in the biz or transitioning from retail/floor somm to the sales side, 100% commission normally means a bad route, nothing but opening, or a company to use as a stepping stone. If I ever do wholesale again, it’ll almost definitely have to be base+commission

[John_Glas]

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

Owning your own business is 100% commission.

And 100% of the work!

[Brent_C_l_a_y_t_o_n]

That accords with everything I’ve heard about being in sales at the wholesale level. I would only add that some distributors’ sales people are paid 100% on commission.

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

You are both correct. Negotiating is the key, which is hard to do if you don’t have any relationships. But an entry level job at a decent wholesaler will probably have you on a draw. You get a minimum salary regardless of your sales but you have your goals and if you’re under one month you still get your pay and if you’re over you ‘pay back’ anything under before you get commission for whatever is above your goal.

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

And those 100% commission jobs usually are for those just starting out or requiring you to basically do nothing but open accounts. They aren’t fun. Like, at all. I learned my lesson on that twice.

Sometimes very senior people are on 100%.

You are both correct. Negotiating is the key, which is hard to do if you don’t have any relationships. But an entry level job at a decent wholesaler will probably have you on a draw. You get a minimum salary regardless of your sales but you have your goals and if you’re under one month you still get your pay and if you’re over you ‘pay back’ anything under before you get commission for whatever is above your goal.

Oh, for sure. My point was more geared towards what’s being asked in this thread. Coming in with no wine sales experience, Joe definitely wont be getting an established and strong on-premise run for Skurnik. He’d have to sell some gawd awful shit that he doesn’t want to drink or get saddled with a distributor that has an overly expensive book.

I’m more than willing to say that I probably wasn’t that good at wholesale and that’s why I haven’t gone back to it……yet(it’s a hell of a drug in some ways). And I think someone going into that side of the business really needs to know how rough it can be. It takes a different mindset and ability to shrug a ton off that many people can’t handle.