What To Do When There Is Nothing To Do
That is a ridiculous statement.
This may drive others insane, but I will say it; If you are planning on a career in wine, where, at the end of the day, there is a nice tidy “to do” list taken care of, life is wrapped in a pretty little bow, there are no dirty dishes in your home office where you had your last three meals, your car is emaculate, the kids are fed, and your house looks like a Pinterest Board - don’t get into sales. I go to bed KNOWING I have not completed everything, I created on a daily, to propel myself ahead in this game. It took me a long time to be comfortable with that, but it is a fact. Goals, new directions, selling desires - all of it - will come at you in a constant flow - sometimes within the hour. It’s a hamster wheel - till it isn’t.
I have the gift of not working on commission, which is a true comfort to my well-being. I sometimes have the urge to take a “run”, but I know I will change into a monster. We will not be friends - there is no such thing. I will trip you up, become a total sleeze, use up a supplier like a tissue, be the favorite child at the distributor for my evil ways, and work every moment of my life - and quite frankly, probably love it. It’s the angel and the devil sitting on my shoulder, and it sits there in this position as well. Is it the need to win? Do I have such a black heart that I don’t care what bodies I step over to get it done? Please tell me I haven’t gone there. (yet)
Everything I’m writing, thinking, and saying comes back to who you really want to be. This is probably true in whatever career I would have chosen; how much of my soul do I want to sacrifice to be the best at what I do? This is not a negative. Giving up and digging in deep becomes a sort of refuge and luxury only you get to understand. Looking forward to analytic thinking and solving a puzzle only brings on more questions - and then more answers. Layer upon layer reveals to me what I am capable of, and what more can be achieved with the job I’m dedicating a lot of time to. There is always another step to take.
It is now the week before Thanksgiving. I have been trying to show up, but it is getting more difficult. It is go time for retailers, and restaurants are starting to see extra action. Want to taste some new wine and buy a crap ton of it? Owners run from me like the plague when they see me. Yes, I have a bottle of wine in my purse ready to open. Sure, I have a great deal that you can’t miss. Interested? Not so much…
Does this mean I stop - no. It means I shift.
The “situational’ wines of a portfolio begin to rise to the surface. August is not the time to sell a $100 wholesale bottle of Carmenere, however, it sounds good now. Anything bubbly works, opening off-set red blends makes buyers feel they are at the big boy table for some reason, and the “every day” ten-dollar special is always good conversation when all of a sudden it is eight dollars. I don’t do the dirty, that is to easy. However, the expectation is there. People are starting to get desperate. There are only a few more selling days for you to get it done, so you go to the easy - under the table, dishonest, grimy conversation time. It makes my skin crawl. You don’t need to be doing anything illegal to become a creep. Just remember - we all see you living in the mud. Is this the look you want going for yourself?
Don’t stop; it looks like the obvious choice, but you can’t. You can become smarter, you can look harder at the holes that you missed the first time around, and you can lend a hand that your competitor is not - but you can’t stop. Do I want to stand in a store tasting consumers on wine on a Friday night - of course not. Does this bring me closer to how the store works, do I become an asset to the owner, do I learn more about the managers - you know the answer. By the way - you want me in that store. Yes, I am tasting and promoting my portfolio, but I am also selling everything else I can to make the account successful. AND it is fun in a strange alternate-universe kind of way.
Some people do their job every day, every year, and for years, the same way. Are these the people lighting the world on fire? No, but these are the people making comments about YOU lighting the world on fire. It’s hard to be different, and it is hard to work hard. Both are the things that show who you are and want to be, and both come with a cost. I admire the people who have accepted this and understand that complacency is not an option. It fuels me.
You can rest in January, but now you need to recreate the scene a bit differently. Everyone has good wine, and some have better wine than what is in your bag. The big question is, how are you staying present, valuable, and dynamic all at the same time?
