Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/72545
MANAGEMENT UNCORKING PR this ridiculous situation to an end, I am going to suggest a communi- cations curriculum for training your tasting room staff. I would love to hear from wineries who include all of these things (I am not holding my breath), and also from those that have other elements of com- munications that they include in their staff training. GET THE STORY STRAIGHT First of all: Know the messages. It won't surprise you to know that the first thing your tasting room staff training curriculum should include is the key messaging about your winery. Of course, many win- eries don't have a written copy of their key messages, so it's hard to use that for training. On the other hand, a good winery web- site should have all of this clearly presented in a way that makes it easy for the web visitor, and new employee, to see exactly what you want to communicate about your winery and brand. So let's assume that your web- site really has been built with a strategic message in mind, and that it clearly communicates your Unique Selling Proposition. Con- gratulations. Now let's discuss how to train your staff to use that language. We begin with an under- standing of what training really means. Training (n). The education, instruction or discipline of a person or thing that is being trained. Did you notice the word disci- pline? Training is not only educating your employees, but also instilling in them the discipline to use that education in every interaction with a customer. While your staff mem- bers may have read your website, and may even understand your key messaging, I will bet a lot of money that most wineries don't truly train their staff in how to use these mes- sages. In most cases, the training is "on the job," which really means "no training at all." The worst place for an employee to practice is with your customers. Practice should be with a skilled trainer, who asks 18 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JULY - AUG 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM