Needless to say, sales are an important outcome of most cellar door activities. It is widely acknowledged that brand loyalty can only be achieved if a customer actually makes a purchase. Often the success of cellar door activities is difficult to quantify if customers purchase wine after they leave, so it is important to initiate the purchase while the visitor is at the cellar door.

Mark Davidson of Tamburlaine Winery in the Hunter Valley says that from a retailing perspective your cellar door should really be your "cellar window" and that visitors who leave without buying are actually leaving without being sold.

Ready to Buy
People are conditioned to buy and any visitor to your cellar door has the potential - and the will - to purchase, even if it may not be that day. When people are ready to buy they will give "buying signals". It's important that your staff are trained to pick up these signals, or, when they are absent, to prompt the visitor.

There are many different methods for selling products and the terms "hard sell" and "soft sell" are common. Most cellar door operators employ soft selling methods, using mild persuasion and a benefits approach. Or they might abdicate selling responsibility all together and rely on the visitor's sense of obligation to purchase.

The style you use will reflect your own personality and approach, as well as the type of products you actually sell. Irrespective of the method you feel comfortable with, there are specific selling techniques that can increase your strike rate and ensure your visitors leave satisfied.

In this Section:

• Learn how to make effective sales presentations using a structured selling process
• Discover the pitfalls of offering discounts
• Learn how to handle objections and convert visitors to customers.