4.3 The Sales Process

Sales Process

You now have an understanding of how your guests go through the decision making process and how you are a part of that process. Now, we are going to look more specifically at your role and ultimate goal of making a sale (we will call this the sales process). As your guests are going through their decision making process, your responsibility is to help guide them. The way that you can best help the guests and the winery achieve both goals is through the sales process. In many ways you have been exposed to the sales process throughout each of the modules in the WINEHOST program (we are now bringing this all together). There are 5 steps that we will discuss ...

• Initial contact

• Engaging (relational-based sales communication)

• Presentation of options to satisfy needs and wants

• Upselling

• Close

So let's review ....

Initial contact

First impressions are vital to the success of your winery and to the success of the guests having an enjoyable experience. Therefore, you want to make the best first impression as possible. Two easy things you can do:

• Set the mood

  • make sure everything is ready for the guests to arrive

  • make sure the area is clean

    • trash on the grounds may discourage a guest from buying

• The welcome

  • smile

    • remember "the more you smile, the more you sell". So after the smile, what comes next .... talking or engaging the guests.

Engaging (Relational-based sales communication)

Each guest is looking for some type of relationship with the wine and the winery. This relationship can be as basic as a simple purchase or complex where the guest has a feeling of belonging or a bond with the wine, winery and even you. The more complex the relationship the more beneficial it should be for both the guest and the winery. In general, the levels of relationship include:

• Basic Sales Relationship: This relationship is based solely on the current transaction. Guests are looking for the best price while the winery wants to make the most profitable sale that will meet the wants of the guests. In this case guests' purchases are based on price. 

  • To manage the basic sales relationship you should make the guest aware of prices, specials, value and any discounts available.

• Social Sales Relationship: This relationship adds a social element to the basic relationship. The guest desires a social bond with the winery. They would be interested in newsletters/ mailing lists, events at the winery, and bringing friends to the winery. They are more loyal, will buy more wine, and recommend the winery to their friends. 

  • To manage the social sales relationship you should learn the guest's name or at least their face so that you can say "welcome back" and try to remember their preferences and wants (you may need to ask them to confirm, but have an idea).

• Membership Sales Relationship: This relationship adds a formal element, such as membership, to the social relationship. The guests want to feel a part (a member) of the winery. At this level of relationship the guests are looking for the different ways they can be involved with the winery beyond purchasing products. These guests will be interested in all the social relationship aspects as well as wine clubs, special dinners with the winemaker and/or owner, walks through the vineyard, volunteer opportunities, working in the vineyard or winery, etc. The more they can do to feel a part of the winery the more they will be engaged,

  • To manage the membership sales relationship you must lean the guests' names and their preferences. The winery may want keep a database with this information. Make the conversation more about them and the winery. When appropriate have them assist you with discussing the wine, the winery, and benefits of options, such as wine club membership, with other guests.  

No matter what level the relationship, it always begins with trust. Trust (the guest trusting you and you trusting the guest) is required for you to be able to best guide your guests through the decision making process. This type of communication is called - Trust-Based Sales Communication. From the perspective of a winery, trust-based sales communication is two-way communication between you and the guest that allows the guest and you to better understand the guest's wants and needs. Based on this understanding you and the guest work together to meet the guest's needs (Ingram, LaForge, Avila, Schwepker & Williams, 2010). This involves:

• Speaking (asking directed/ qualifying questions)

• Listening (what are your guests saying)

• Nonverbal (facial expressions, body language, eyes)

All are equally important. So, let's take a look at each of them:

Speaking

When talking to the guests it is important to remember your story elements discussed in MODULE 3: The Art of Story Telling (Wine and Winery Knowledge and Communication). You also need to be intentional (strategic) about the questions you ask the guests. The right questions will allow you to:

• control the conversation

  • don’t let your or their attitude get in the way of your own message, because

    • it too easy to appear to “talk down” to customers when you know more about the product then they do

    • arrogance and condescension work against a possible sale

• discover important information about the guest

  • their wants and needs

  • possible opportunities for upselling

• show that you are listening

• encourage the guests to be active participants

  • in your conversation you want to get the guest involved with the wine and stimulate them into thinking of the all the ways that the wine can meet their wants and needs.

Asking the Right Questions

Developing and asking the "right" questions at the "right" time takes practice and more practice. One key tip is to watch what other successful (veteran) tasting room staff members  do, what they ask, and how they ask it. The questions you ask the guest need to have a purpose: 

• to make a connection with the guests, ask

  • "Where are you from?"

• to find out their preferences, ask

  • "What types of wine do you usually prefer?" or "Do you have a wine preference?"

• to identify their wants and needs, ask

  • "What are you looking for (thinking about) in a wine?"

• to further the conversation, ask

  • "Is this your first visit to our winery?"

• to look for opportunities for an upsell, ask

  • "If you like this wine, you might want to try our Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon."

Once you know the purpose, then you can think about the type of question. In general, there are two types of questions you can ask:

• Closed-end Questions

• Open-end Questions

Closed-ended questions are normally questions that have a fixed set of responses the guest can choose from (for example - yes or no).  

Examples

"Is this your first time in the area?"

"Is this you first visit to the winery?"

Open-ended questions are questions that invite the guests to respond in their own words about a topic.

Examples

"What tastes do you detect from the wine?"

"What are some of the ways you use wine?"

Listening

Listening is just as important as speaking and asking the right questions. You need to be an active listener. As with asking the right questions, this will take practice and time. You are listening to what the guest says and how they say it. It is only through active listening that you can fully understand the customer’s needs and concerns.

Key Pointers to Active Listening

• Pay attention

  • This requires concentration and cognition

• Make no assumptions

  • There is always something you can learn from the guests that will help you

• Encourage guests to talk

  • You control the conversation, but you do not need to dominate the conversation. Let them talk. The more they talk the more you can learn. 

• Visualize

  • Try to make visual pictures of what they are talking about

• Paraphrase and repeat

  • When appropriate, repeat what they are saying in your own words

    • For example "So, what you are saying is that most of your friends like dry whites, but you are more of a fan of bold reds."

Think About It

Think of a time when you were a customer and the sales person listened very carefully to you.

• How did you feel?

• What were the immediate results?

• What were the long term results?

Now, think about a time when you were a customer and the sales person did not listen.

• How did you feel?

• What were the immediate results?

• What were the long term results?

Nonverbal

We can communicate a lot without even saying a word. People communicate by their facial expressions, eye movement, posture, etc.. It is estimated that more than half of the communication between you and your guests will come through nonverbal communication. This can be intentional or unintentional, so, as a tasting room professional, you need to make sure you do not "say" something through your nonverbal actions that might cause the guest to not want to make a purchase. Also, you can tell what interests your guests through their nonverbal actions. So, be intentional and aware about your actions and your guests' actions. 

No matter what question you ask or are asked, remember you are the professional in the conversation. Always choose your words carefully ...

• • • Instead of “I don’t know”  try “I’ll find out”

    • Instead of “We can’t do that” try “Here’s what I can do”

    • Instead of “You’ll have to…”  try “I’ll be happy to help.  First we need  you to..”

Present Options to Satisfy Wants

During the tasting, the conversation, questions and nonverbal actions of your guests should provide you with some idea of guest needs. Once you identify a need, try to work into the conversation a "solution" to that need. What wine or other products would best meet their needs? For example, if your guests are talking about a party that they will be hosting in the next few weeks you could suggest specific wines that appeal to a wide audience. This is where you will also explain how your product can meet their needs. Also, do not forget about the other products that you sell (some wineries also have sauces, baked goods, chocolate, novelties) that could meet their needs or help them remember their visit to your winery.

Upselling

Once you have guided the guest to the products that will meet their needs and wants you can then add to the guests' experience by upselling. It is important to think of upselling as adding to the guests' experience and not just simply having guests buy more. Upselling can be described as:

Offering a higher-priced product or additional options/related products to a product (which will increase the overall sell) that will better meet the customer’s needs (Kotler, Bowen and Makens, 2014).

To be effective (short-term and long-term) with upselling you need to make sure that you connect your suggestions with their wants and needs (remember to listen to the guest) and the product that they are planning to purchase. For example, if the guest is buying 10 bottles of wine, you might suggest they think about joining the wine club (if your winery has a club). You can then explain the benefits that the club will give them including how much they would save with any associated preferential pricing on their current purchase. If they are not interested in the wine club, you might point out that if they purchase just 2 more bottles today they will receive a 10% case discount.

Closing the Sale

It is now time to close the sale. At this point you need to make sure the guests know how to get what they want to purchase. Depending on your winery's layout, staffing and policies (check with your manager and make sure you know what is expected) you may offer to gather the products the guests wish to buy for them or direct them to where they can find the products.

Now let's pause for a minute to check yourself on the ideas we have just covered. Which answers do you prefer? When you are ready, look below the questions to see the answers.

1. What is required for you to be able to best guide your guests through the decision making process?

a. speaking

b. upselling

c. trust

d. assumptions

2. What type of communication is the most important?

a. speaking

b. listening

c. nonverbal

d. all are equally important

3. All the questions you ask the guest need to have a purpose. Which of the following would not be a strong purpose to ask a question? 

a. make a connection with the guests

b. to satisfy your own curiosity

c. further the conversation

d. find out the guests preferences

 Did you get them all? The answers are: 1. c; 2. d; and 3. b.

Now that you are almost done with the WINEHOST training program, let's take what you have learned on a test run. Please click on this link WINEHOST Simulation to begin.

Congratulations! You have reached the end of the fourth module. When you are ready, click on the following to move to the WINEHOST Certification Exam.

WINEHOST Certification Exam