3 Tier Talk
Top 5 Predictions for 2019
We are here again. Like clockwork, December comes and everyone in the adult beverage world looks backwards at their successes and failures, otherwise known as depletions, and then look forward in a hopeful...
3 Tier Talk
Game-On & Game-Over for the 2018 Selling Season
We at BevStrat hope that everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend that was filled with the ideal amount of family and inventory depletions. We, in my family, fell victim to the never-ending supply of...
Wine Spectator Top 10 Does Not Represent the American Drinker
Like clockwork every November Wine Spectator publishes their Top 100 wine list. When I was a retailer this list made customers go crazy, they would scramble for the wines, and call every day from around...
3 Tier Talk
Bet on Yourself in the Booze Game
Musing from 30,000 feet flying from LA to Chicago. There are a few end-of-year comments that need to be made. I am coming back to Chicago after a brief 30 hours in LA working with two brands. For one brand...
3 Tier Talk
30 Plus 30 Equals 30
I consider myself smart, just ask me :). I have been selling booze for nearly 30 years in all tiers of the business. One thing I am sure of is that in the 4th quarter 30 + 30 = 30. How can that be? Is...
3 Tier Talk
The Holidays Are Distributor Merger Time
For the last several years many things have been on repeat during the valued Holiday Sales Selling Season for adult beverage. I am late to my son’s birthday dinner because he had the nerve to be born...
3 Tier Talk
Is Your Brand Built for Expansion?
In America we love growth. We love multiples. We love sequels. No one needed a Rocky VI. We did not need a Disneyland in Paris. We did not need ALL the flavors of Pinnacle Vodka because no one is craving...
3 Tier Talk
The Booze Business Is All About Perception!
Often times when I fly, and I fly very often, I am very grateful for the 3 or 4 hours I get without Wi-Fi. I get time to decompress, think and free the mind of the clutter than often comes...
3 Tier Talk
The Perfect Winemaker
When I was a child there was a movie filmed in my local area caller Weird Science. It was about two kids that designed the “perfect” woman for them to achieve their high school goal of popularity. She...
3 Tier Talk
Why Makers Matter in the Sales Process
Currently I am 30,000 feet above California having just completed a whirlwind 20 hours in Los Angeles. Now our BevStrat team is heading back to New York do to the same. What is it that we did in LA? and...