Passionate People Drive Sales
If you live in Los Angeles and you’re on Instagram, you’ve certainly by now seen one of Evan Lovett’s L.A. In A Minute videos. They’re high-energy, passionate, unpretentious and succinct shorts that highlight the region’s history and urban lore, as well as local businesses and long-standing merchants and restaurants. It was the latter that Evan and I messaged about via Instagram recently, as I mentioned my love for local schwag. He was wearing an ugly Christmas sweater that had been a gift from Vallarta Supermarkets, one of my favorite stores in Los Angeles, and we shared our mutual affection for their prepared foods.
I’m not surprised that Evan has well over 100,000 followers at this point. His passion for his subject matter is infectious. Even those who already know the stories he’s sharing can’t help but tune in. It’s not just about the education; it’s the palpable love with which he educates. His tagline states: “I was always told Los Angeles had no history or culture. Turns out, it has plenty of both.” He attacks each episode with a true sense of purpose and what feels like a duty to do L.A. proud. It reminds me of what the booze business felt like fifteen years ago, when importers, distributors, retailers and bartenders alike approached the subject with the same gusto.
When I started writing the spirits blog at K&L Wine Merchants, I was driven by a similar creed. Almost as if there was a chip on my shoulder, I was hellbent on letting the world know about everything we were tasting and why we loved it. Today, I look for that vigor in others. In order to succeed in the wine and spirits business right now, you need influential early adopters and indefatigable ambassadors. Without them, you’ll most certainly drown in an ever-expanding sea of competition. There are so many new brands entering the market every month that it’s literally impossible for any one consumer to cut through that noise, no matter how dedicated they are.
A passionate curator is a vital tool in this atmosphere.
People are inextricably drawn to people who love what they’re doing. There’s a reason every college student has a story about a professor who made a dull subject exciting. It’s the same reason so many intelligent people fall victim to cult leaders. When the right person translates a message with zest and enthusiasm, it stirs something inside of us; often making us want things we had no idea we wanted! The opposite is also true. A boring professor can absolutely ruin what should be an exciting subject. A sarcastic and jaded marketer can bring down even the most dynamic products, which brings me to my main point: finding the right people to carry your messaging.
Burnout is a serious issue in 2023. Perhaps you’ve seen the viral Tiktok videos of the school teacher who quit education in order to work at Costco. She’s never been happier (and as a former elementary school teacher, I know exactly why), but teachers aren’t the only passionate people who are burnt out after the pandemic. Nurses, doctors, and social workers are at their wits’ end, as are many hospitality and retail workers I know. In the wine and spirits world, the fatigue is palpable.
As many of you probably know, alcohol sales went through the roof during the COVID era. Consumers began hoarding their favorite bottles and loading up on booze, hosting private parties at home with close friends and family. As a result, retailers who were used to making recommendations, talking with clientele, and tasting in the store were relegated to simply filling online orders and packing boxes, oftentimes doing carryouts to the parking lot dozens if not hundreds of times per day. Over time, they began to feel relegated and underused, their passion for their positions no longer of any real importance to their daily tasks. They simply printed pick tickets, located the bottles for the order, and packaged them up—on repeat.
As we come out of the COVID fog and back into bars and restaurants, many of the passionate bartenders who lost their jobs during the slowdown have yet to return. Many of the passionate retailers who once advocated for their favorite brands have yet to rediscover their fire. From a distribution side, imagine making sales from the comfort of your own home for two years, then being asked to go out on the road again and sit in traffic all day long to taste in person. It’s been a slow recovery from that side of the industry as well; “back to the office” in this case means driving across town all day long.
From a consumer standpoint, there are two important data points to consider. First off, many of the largest whiskey consumers purchased so many bottles during the pandemic that they have no real need for anything new. Their collections contain more booze than can ever be consumed in their lifetimes, so the only thing driving new sales to this sector is intrigue. Second, many younger American consumers aren’t passionate about drinking the way previous generations were, so they’re not as interested in the messaging. The target age audience for drinks companies is 35 to 54, of which Gallup found 70% consumes alcohol. Yet, from my personal experience, that age group is also the most likely to have amassed a bunker’s worth of alcohol during the last two years.
Which brings me back to people.
If you’re a producer of wine or spirits, you’re going to need a distribution partner with a passionate sales team if you plan on penetrating the burnt-out retail buyers whose job it is to sell your products. You’ll also need to identify which retailers are still passionate about retailing, as simply placing a product in a store these days isn’t enough. It will sit there for weeks, if not months, if the retail team isn’t enthusiastic about selling it.
Accolades won’t due the trick either. Retailers couldn’t care less about points and awards at this point; consumers don’t care either. Their stores and cabinets are stocked with hundreds of highly-pointed, award-winning brands already. What they’re looking for is someone who actually gives a shit about what they’re doing. They’re searching for inspiration.
Who’s going to be the Evan Lovett of retail? Of sales distribution? Of bartending? There’s a lot of opportunity out there for anyone who dares to care.
-David Driscoll