The Coldest Cold Call
I get a lot of no thank you’s.
I am being gracious about the tone of the no thank you. I can’t be surprised anymore by the rudeness that meets me at a retailer’s door. Before you jump down my throat, in this industry, I am finding the off-premise buyer (wine shop, bodega, grocery store section, counter dude) has become someone I look forward to dealing with. The off-premise buyer is direct, time-conscious, often swayed by a gift of food or coffee, and has a bunch of Dad jokes that I find amusing. Most of the conversation is based on price; mine, someone else’s, what it used to be, what THEY think it should be, I could go on. It’s the wine-educated buyer who decides to become the retail guy that I have my eye on. You may ask WHY; judgment has now entered the room. We all have it, don’t get me wrong. Judgement begins when I walk in the door; what I’m wearing, yes-I am a woman and I may have to apologize for that horrible fact, am I pulling a wine bag as big as me, do I have a guest with me (often frowned upon - like, no one else is allowed to see you?), and the big question - do I have an agenda? WE ALL HAVE AN AGENDA. The question is, whose is more important?
The obvious answer is- the customers, and I will admit, I bend a knee to the Buyer King quite often. Here is the first dilemma: the power has shifted. I am here to negotiate, strategize and sell. When you take the advantage away, now I have to start dancing - and I hate a forced show. I’m not always calm in this situation, and you would think I would be. The art is to have a few situations outlined in your pocket, but the emoting element sometimes throws me for a loop. I’m not into anger.
But now we are all faced with what to do. I was told you are not interested. I was told not to come back. I was told my wines suck. (exact words - people can be mean) I think back to when I was given a lovely compliment years ago from a Sales Director - “You take on tasks and jobs that no one else wants or thinks can be successful, and you change our minds about the outcomes.” I don’t know if this makes me resilient or crazy, but game on. I can’t settle for no, or I would sell nothing. Nine out of ten times, the no is already outlined in a buyer’s mind when he remembers we have an appointment that day. Who gets to have the emotional control?
What I just discussed is an outcome from a designed and scheduled meeting. I would love to tell you that the stars always align, and that the South American Wine Gods have winked my way- not always the case.. I spend half my time scheduling life and putting it on my Outlook Calendar for validation. Unfortunately, that calendar that looks like a mish mash of my head- how much more can I shove on that poor suffering internet space. There are scheduled tasks, desired tasks, things I may do, places I am passing by and could go in - just a horrible mess of “maybe” situations that exhaust me. At the end of the day I clean it up, but the damage it done. My head hurts, my boss is confused about my direction, and I’m still searching for the sale.
I’ve gotten my power back by changing my perception. The last few months I plan only what I know I can accomplish. The cold call is not gone, it is just refined. More research is done. More pre calls are made to the sales representative, the regional manager, and my mother for support. No one likes this part of the job, so I’ve decided to make it my secret weapon. I have refined what it means to “take the room”. I’ve always wanted to be that woman, and now I am her. Sure, I get stares and still get thrown out of stores - but there are more stores out there son. My coworkers think I am nuts, and make comments that I’ve taken over a situation too quickly - they may be right. That term “sharpen the sword” couldn’t be more appropriate now. Am I faking an authoritative attitude? Maybe, but you would never know.
If I wanted a kind word, I may have chosen the wrong job. Kindness comes in all forms to me now, and most of all, in the way I spin it to myself. (healthy?) The wave of animosity is not about me, and it is not a defining moment in my life with our nemesis the retailer. The funny part in ALL of this is that the retailer I meet in a cold call is usually the retailer I am the most successful with. It’s like I passed some screwed up test, and I can float in the sea of skilled wine professionals that show up. I’m still looking at your “wine guy” with a side eye - I don’t trust him. My problem, not yours.
