The Stress Of The Unknown - Blitz Drama
Life comes to a halt in August. Hot flashes, an upset belly, and sleepless nights return.
I don’t know if I am the wolf ready to pounce, or the target being stalked by the pack. Everything is calculated, looming, and stealthy.
Creeps me out.
August is blitz month, and what a blitz month it is. Translation: time dedicated - distributors, supplier sales teams, and myself - to all that is good when it comes to the portfolio I am representing. In theory, our main objective as a sales team should be to flood the market with wines from Argentina and Chile, effectivly activate an ambassador on the East Coast, find homes for wines displaced in this vast world, and revel in the glow of a delightful, red, and thunderous wine profile. All eyes on me, all eyes on my wines, and all eyes on my performance. Time to shine, friends - and that encompasses many, many different avenues.
First, and the thing that encompasses much of what I am doing, the optics. If you don’t LOOK good, all is lost. Optics generate feelings and emotions from your audience. Optics help build trust - in me, in my portfolio, in the way it works, and where it can go. No one will follow the girl with ideas - she needs to be the girl with ideas, solutions, and detailed plans of attack - and you need to be able to SEE all of that in one pretty picture. We need planning boards, LISTS - accurate lists- second and third option lists- more lists of things you should make a list of-and then another list of the things that will be taking place. I don’t need questions surrounding my thoughts or actions during the month of August. We gotta go, we gotta see EVERYONE, and we have 31 days.
Now I need to think about - who is my posse? This sounds funny, and it was even funnier when my mentor, about 25 years my senior, told me, years ago, to create a posse. Your ride or dies. Your pack of wolves ready for the game. The people in the trenches with YOU, people who have seen you at your best, your worst, and your most effective. They will do it for you, but in reality, they are doing it for themselves. They have seen you MAKE THEM MONEY.(and I’m here to say, a lot of it) I’m not foolish when it comes to good working relationships. Yes, there is the component where they enjoy me, and that is appreciated. But when both of you win, both of you win. So, let’s call up that marker. I need all the help that is out there.
Here is a question I can’t answer: where do I need to be. This is a losing battle, and the weight on my chest. I want to be where the action is, but that can change quickly. It is August, so people travel, vacation, or just stay the hell home floating in the pools - and can you blame them. The mistake I will automatically make and I know it already - trust a distributor that they have me “set up”. They don’t, they just don’t . Your distriubtor partner has 10 suppliers, just like you, calling them and asking for thier attention. The responsibility to organize this chapter lies on my shoulders. It is a life line to hear that someone knows what you need - but I’m here to tell you it isn’t real. You both want a pleasant outcome as a reality, and there is a slim chance it may come true. I want it to come true, I really do. But I want to create ambassadors, I want love bombs on the bottles I open, and I want that sale to ring. The geography isn’t clear at the moment - it’s killing me.
Now I’m in it - time for strategy. How you are going to win depends on how you stand apart from your competition. And that means - know and live your competition’s life. Know their pricing, the “extras” that THEIR marketing company cooked up. Know where they go (they TELL you on socials…), know where they eat, who they drop the most cases with, who holds their by the glass features and wine dinners. That agenda YOU have created through the years, they have also created; you would think. Fun fact - find the ones without the checklist. (You will be surprised at the number of people WITHOUT an idea of where to go, or what to really do.) It’s like blood in the water.
I’m sounding horrible and very cut throat; I’m not - but I am. Throughout the years I have met some outstanding and intelligent people that I have sold against; side by side, both of us wanting the same golden ticket. I now work - wait, he is my boss - with a man that I chased after, bottle for bottle, in a very competitive market. Both of us knowing the “good accounts” and the best places for lunch. Both of us dragging winemakers with us throughout the state to “activate” and encourage the sale. Both of us with our lists we created, data from our companies, phone numbers, scheduled appointments, and happy hours to celebrate our wins. I chased him because he was good, he was powerful, and his portfolio was better than mine. He was the picture of achievement. So yes, I am looking for those that I can bury, and bury quickly. But I’m also looking for those who are better than me. It is why I am where I am now. I am here because I can’t stand still, I can’t be happy with adequacy, and I can’t lose.
I have about two weeks before the journey known as “Blitz Month” is upon me. Am I ready - sort of. I have the outline, but not the facts. I have the ideas, but not the choreography. Sketching this “how to” format has helped me see what I wasn’t seeing - so thank you dear blog. Bottom line; there is no time like NOW.
