The Pointless Insanity of a Wine Market Blitz 🍷

While I’m sure occasional successful sales blitzes do exist, most of them are a giant waste of time and money. I know I’m going to get some vitriolic responses to this post. But someone has to tell the emperor he has no clothes. Might as well be me.

There’s only one reason you would want to continue doing something that's not effective. And that is if the thing you’re doing is really about something else. In the case of the time-honored wine market blitz (or crew drive), it’s about demonstrating activity. It's not really about selling more wine or expanding distribution. For proof, just look at the evaporative nature of these “new” points of distribution.

One of the Most Dog-Eared Pages in the Standard Wine Sales Playbook

The standard playbook for the wine sales game has remained unchanged over the last 30 years. And, by far, one of the most dog-eared pages in that book is the wine market blitz. The idea is to send a large number of people into the marketplace for a day (or multiple days) to present and taste a supplier’s wines to numerous buyers, to secure new distribution. In theory, it makes total sense. And, to be fair, there was a time in the late 80s and early 90s when it worked. But here in 2021, anyone with an I.Q. above room temperature knows very few, if any of those new placements “stick.”

Watch: 4 reasons wine sales blitzes are foolish (video breakdown)

Stop Wasting Time: The Cost of Low-Value Sales Activity in the Wine Industry

Our industry venerates activity. It’s why we tally the number of sales calls we make. It’s why we want to see our salespeople scurrying around, having meetings with distributors, “working the market,” and filling out reports (so we can ensure there’s lots of activity). After all, it costs a fortune to have a sales team! To justify the expense, we expect to see people being “busy.” I read a lot of ads on winejobs.com, and most of them include a bullet list of “essential functions” of a sales job. These dockets are rife with activity, especially those related to the distributor. Here is what I consider the perfect wine salesperson job description.

Now, I have written extensively about the futility of expecting your distributors to get much done for you, so there’s no need to belabor those points here. Suffice it to say, most of the items on the list of activities to do with (and to) a distributor are useless. But, of all the activities you could squander precious resources on, the wine sales blitz is the most colossal waste of time imaginable. So, why do so many wine companies still do it? Do they not “get” that none of those placements stick? Do they not realize the entire charade is orchestrated in advance, even to the point of retail and restaurant buyers playing along?

The Real Problem with Traditional Wine Sales Tactics (And Why They Persist)

The best way I can explain it is like eating one of those king-size Snickers bars. It feels fantastic when you’re in the middle of doing it. Managing distributors and their accompanying geographical scope is a tough job. It’s tough to get a meeting with their management. It’s like pulling teeth to schedule salesperson ride-alongs. At times, it feels like you’re getting nowhere. But a wine market blitz! Oh, my heavens. It feels like everyone at the distributor has stopped what they are doing for a day. Or two. And is focusing solely on you and your products.

The happiest day in a winery salesperson’s life is at the end of the blitz day, crowded around a small table in a dive bar quaffing cold beers (it’s always beer) with their “crew” swapping war stories and tallying the cases and placements. Sheer euphoria!

There’s only one problem. It was all for show. An illusion. A farce. A charade. And, if you ask me, an inferior substitute for doing the real, very un-sexy work of building high-quality distribution that STICKS. Not sure how to do that? Send me an email at ben@winesalesstimulator.com and I’ll be happy to help you out of your straitjacket.

Ready to Replace the Blitz with a Real Strategy? Meet the Revenue Rangers

If you’re tired of sales tactics that look good on paper but fail to deliver long-term results, it’s time to make a smarter move.

Revenue Rangers is a FREE comprehensive guide designed specifically for wine and spirits sales teams. It teaches you how to identify and pursue the highest-volume opportunities—the ones that actually drive revenue, not just short-term activity. Whether you're managing a team or building distribution yourself, this guide will give you the tools to track down placements that stick and accelerate sustainable growth.

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