Is your tasting room one of the 20%?

Our mystery shopping benchmarks show that only 20% of local tasting room staff is effectively selling wine clubs.

Eventually, someone on your team needs to seal the deal by asking for the wine club sign up. But the real work begins earlier. From the moment a guest enters your tasting room, you can be selling wine clubs – without saying a word. Have you got signage that designates a special area for wine club or VIP members only? Does your price list include regular and “club member only” wines? How about photos of wine club events? Where are your club brochures – are they easily accessible to guests? These are the silent selling tools that can be used to help support wine club sign ups.

Once you engage your guest in a dialogue, you need to weave the benefits of wine club membership throughout the conversation. Include benefits such as access to insider events and “unique wines delivered right to your doorstep.” It’s important to first focus on exclusivity and other benefits, then on saving. Avoid focusing on discounts first to circumvent signing up short-term members. Be sure to take time during the sales process to foster the kind of long-term relationships you’re looking to build.

Wine club sales make sense not only for you and your winery, but also for your guest. Your guest will continue to feel the winery’s ‘love’ with memories from their visit, exclusive rewards, and wine that’s delivered right to them. The winery will have a steady, high margin, profitable income – it’s like selling popcorn long after the movie is over. Staff members, who may or may not receive a financial reward, will benefit from the intrinsic reward of helping a customer treat him or herself to great wine on a recurring basis.

Selling your wine club might not be rocket science, but it does make good sense.