How to Sell Wine to Restaurants
Consumers tighten their belts in a recession. But spending on alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine and spirits, is notoriously resistant to recessions.
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Instructions
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Obtain all necessary licensing and documents. Make sure you have an employer identification number from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the appropriate business licensing from the county. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also need a specific license to sell alcohol, or work for a distributor who has one a license to sell alcohol.
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Obtain the Wholesaler's Basic Permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a unit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. You will need to download and complete the Application for Basic Permit, the Personnel Questionnaire, and the Power of Attorney from the Treasury website in the Resources section.
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Join the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, a leading trade group encouraging best practices in the alcoholic beverages distribution industry. If you work in the wine or restaurant business, the dues are tax deductible.
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Gather marketing materials and samples. Winemakers will generally help provide you with marketing materials and limited samples for their own wines. Contact a number of winemakers, or work with an established distributor who already works with a list of winemakers.
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Introduce yourself in person to restaurant owners and managers, starting where you live and work. You can frequently reach them from 3 to 5 p.m., after the lunch rush in the restaurant business and before the dinner period. Ask for an appointment to discuss wine options and how you might help them increase their profits. You must prospect constantly, all day long. During working hours, you should either be on an appointment or fighting to get an appointment with a qualified prospect.
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Listen to the restaurant owner. Selling great wine isn't enough. The restaurant owner needs to be able to command a healthy markup by the glass and by the bottle. Identify the owner's requests that are unfulfilled with their existing wine stock, and where they feel they may have pricing power to move to a more premium brand. Also identify where they feel they may need to move downmarket.
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Qualify the owner. Find out their overall wine budget and expected order quantity. By keeping your ordering requirements modest, you can acquire clients and keep the response of, "I'll have to think about it" to a minimum. When you deliver as promised, you will get your share of larger orders.
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References
Resources
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