Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/155925
only the brand name is required, not a full mandatory statement. Gant cautions that TTB left some gray areas, particularly regarding comments from "fans" or followers. Although the rules state only that advertisers can't make false, disparaging or obscene remarks, it's best for wineries to monitor comments on their websites or Twitter feeds. "This is more of a good practice tip," she noted. "If TTB sees a pattern where you're allowing someone else's negative statements, you're leaving them on for a long time and not taking them down, TTB might look askance at that." Another tip from Gant: Don't be lax about demanding age verification on your website. "I think we all understand that there's not a 'whoops, you lied' button," she said. "It's best to have safeguards in place, like an age verification popup bar." With so many brands of wine on the market, it's hard for wineries to differentiate themselves vis-à-vis social media, observed Ryan Thurman, director of sales and marketing for Contact Center Compliance in Santa Rosa, Calif. "But telemarketing actually does pay off if you do it right," he said. "I think social media is important. But if you've got phone numbers and contacts that you can reach out to, it can lead to additional revenue," Thurman said. He added that when he recently sat on a panel with winery owners who talked about the advantages of telemarketing, he was astounded to learn just how much wine they're selling. FEDERAL REGULATIONS ON THE WAY Thurman noted that for any telemarketer, dialing for dollars is not an easy job. And more federal SELLING RELATIONSHIPS According to the sources interviewed for this article, telemarketing has become one of the most reliable ways to sell high-end wines. That situation has changed considerably since the recession years of 2008-2010, when selling upscale wines required deep discounting. "Sales have picked up i m m e n s e l y, " P a r t o n s a i d . "Now it's more of an availability issue. Now it's, 'I see you bought 'x.' I've got just a few cases left. You want it?' Customers know, if they want more they'd better get it now. Discounting's going away. It's very positive for the winery and it helps them build their brand up." Call for Wine has about 30 winery clients in California and Oregon. Telemarketers are assigned to specific wineries 80 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | and learn as much as possible about the winery and its products from site visits, tastings and get-acquainted sessions with winery personnel. When they call a winery's customers, they refer to data that's been collected from info forms and from previous calls. With successive calls, sales reps add more information, such as the customer's favorite wines, buying preferences, spouse's name, upcoming special occasions, etc. "Our call center's pretty sophisticated," Parton said. "We project the winery's name and area code on caller ID. We have trainings and we drink a lot of the winery's wine. That's part of the education. And we can answer the winery's phones after hours and help consumers." Sept - Oct 2013 Ryan Thurman of Contact Center Compliance says it's harder today to get good phone numbers for telemarketing – but if you can get them, there is money to be made selling wine. requirements are coming. Beginning Oct. 16, written consent will be required for robo calls and autodialed telemarketing to cell phones. As it is, there are nearly 211 million numbers on the DNC registry. "Lately, it's hard to find good numbers and make a whole lot of money," Thurman said, referring to telemarketing in general. "There are a lot of programs that did not survive after the DNC list came out, and now cell phone regulations are going to be a lot more restrictive." But somehow, wine telemarketers have got it figured out. "The wine call centers that have solid relationships with wineries and have been around long enough seem to have it dialed in," Thurman said. Susan G. Hauser is a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore., whose lifestyle and business writing appears in a range of publications, from Workforce Management to O, the Oprah Magazine. Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m