Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/230154
WINE WISE MARKETING ELIZABETH SLATER Communication is an Art… Yet most tasting room employees haven't mastered it e talk about communication a lot in marketing and sales, but most of the time we aren't very good at it. When I looked up the word "communication" in the dictionary, the primary definition was: "The act or an instance of communicating; the imparting or exchange of information, ideas or feelings." The phrase, "exchange of information, ideas or feelings" means that more than one person is talking; that communication should be a dialogue rather than a monologue; that communication as a whole is made up of talking and listening. Talk with visitors, rather than at them. Many of us seem to be more skilled at one of Be aware of the level of visitors' these two actions than knowledge when using winespeak. the other. As a rule, we Give guests time to absorb what you are much better at tellsay and regularly ask if they have any ing people what is on questions. our minds, than we are at listening to what they Listen to what the visitor is saying, have to say. Could it be and respond accordingly, rather than that we, as wine profeswith a rote response. sionals, are more interDon't interrupt; pause before you ested in what we have to start talking. say, than what our audience wants to hear? A good listener can be just as effective as a good speaker, and this is especially true in business and sales. It's important that we allow winery visitors to have their say, and not be in a hurry to jump in before they are finished. So why is it that when I visit tasting rooms, I am given lots of information about wine, most of which I have forgotten before I get to my car, and rarely am asked for my opinion? Especially in the wine business, passion and enthusiasm for the product lead SHORT COURSE + + + + + 18 V I N E YA R D & WIN E RY MANAGEM ENT | Jan - Feb 2014 employees to offer a lot more information than many visitors need (or want). We can easily talk guests out of buying a wine because we have overwhelmed them with information that they either do not understand, or have no interest in. Many salespeople think that it is by telling the customer every fact about the product that the sale will be made, and the information will have been understood. It's not necessarily so. It helps to remember that not everyone is as interested in or as passionate about wine as we are. For visitors who are fascinated by wine, go ahead with all the facts, and give them as much information as they can handle. Yet when visitors stop asking questions, take that as a sign that they have received enough information; don't press on. Providing too much information about a wine can bore the customer out of a sale. Photo: Thinkstock It's not only about communication, but also about connecting in ways that the visitor will hear and find interesting. It is easy w w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m