BD Live! emcee Darryl Rosen (right) , of D. Rosen & Associates, introduces retailer panelists, from left, Ken Lewis, president of The Party Source in Bellevue, KY, Dennis Kohl, beverage consultant for Trigs Cellar 70 in Minocqua, WI, and Michael Binstein, president of Binny’s, in Chicago.
computing to the audience and showed how costly infrastructure and software can be replaced by on- demand web applications. Among the services he suggested: Google Apps, Ringcentral, Timeforce, Bill.com, Join.me, and his own serv- ice Shopkeep.com.
After lunch, the negative side of online and social media came to light. Nancy Flynn, Founder and Executive Director of the ePolicy Institute, explained that there are legal and financial risks to using social tools. Despite that, she recommended everyone familiarize themselves with sites like Facebook and Twitter as long as there are policies and proce- dures in place to shield companies’ reputations. The beverage alcohol
David Jabour, president of Twin Liquors in Austin, TX, moderated the panel of retailers.
Burt Notarius, president of Prime Wines Corp. in Kenmore, NY, has the audience’s attention as he explains a point about customer loyalty programs.
industry is especially susceptible to legal entanglements because of the need for data security and regulatory compliance.
Moving the focus back on sales, Darryl Rosen, a management consultant and motivator who emceed the event, energetically demonstrated his 9 Steps to Outrageous Sales. One of his key takeaways? Pull money out of lowering prices and put it into training staff and motivating customers to do business with your company. Rosen said that sounds counterintuitive, but price point isn’t the only motivating factor when cus- tomers choose between competing stores. Richard Brandes, editor-in-chief of Beverage
Dynamics, then introduced the Retailer of the Year, Ken Lewis, owner of The Party Source in Bellevue, KY. He presented Lewis with a laminated plaque that repro- duced the cover of the January/February 2011 issue of Beverage Dynamics.
Lewis then joined fellow panelists Michael Binstein, president of Binny’s in Chicago, and Dennis Kohl, beverage consultant with Trig’s Cellar 70 in Minocqua, WI, for a discussion moderated by David Jabour, president of Twin Liquors in Austin, TX. The panelists traded best practices and insights from their decades of experience in the off-premise business. Lewis emphasized that in his store, “I simply want passionate, trained, knowledgeable people on the floor who listen to customers so we can get close to the hearts and minds of customers.”
Binstein discussed the move toward experiential retailing, where customers get more than just low prices and quick service. “Is the store about an errand or an experience,” he asked. “We can lament the growth of big box stores or we can find ways to stand out and compete with them.”
Kohl answered a question about newspaper and bill- 12 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • March/April 2011
