Conducting a successful Off-Premise tasting is not as easy as it sounds. To create a true impact you need to go beyond just handing out samples to consumers as they walk through the door. A successful Off-Premise tasting results with you deepening your relationship with the account, turning floor staff into brand advocates, providing consumers with a memorable experience and selling large quantities of inventory for the store.

THINGS TO NOTE

1. Managers and Store owners have experienced bad promotional people in the past. Making them skeptical of people's capabilities. It is your job to convince them otherwise by creating an excellent customer experience, conducting yourself as a professional and helping the store sell products.
   
   
2. The staff, including the owner, may not be educated on spirits or cocktails. Do not speak down to them! Instead, take the time to find out if they would like a tutorial on the product category as well as your brand.
   
   
3. Selling-In: A store's tasting calendar books up quickly. You must schedule your tasting at least two months in advance to get good dates and time slots, especially approaching major holidays. Tasting can be scheduled over the phone with the store manager or owner.

TASTINGS

Below are the best practices to follow when conducting tastings.

1. Engage with the store owners and the floor staff:

• Introduce yourself to management and the floor staff.
• Work on building rapport.
  • Find out their names ( make notes on your phone under the store name, so you don't forget. I find it helpful to include a description of each person as well.i.e. Lucy- has a Game of Thrones tattoo on her left arm )
    
    
  • Be vulnerable and share "appropriate"personal stories. i.e. travel, hobbies, cocktails, books etc
    
    
  • Ask questions about them and after the tasting jot down notes about your conversations ,i.e. their dog names, vacations, and other interests. Etc) This will you recall them next time . A person will feel more connected to you when you remember their name and facts about them.
    
    
  • Listen more than you speak. People love to be heard and usually like talking about themselves.
    
    
  • Gift them POS: If you have pos make sure to gift the staff first
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  • Offer education and tasting to the staff- keep it organic, do not force it. If the staff feel and see your passion for the brand and you engage them, they will naturally sell the brand for you even when you are not there.
    
    
  • Provide them with short 40-second - 2 minutes key talking points that they can easily repeat to their customers. If they have the time and seem interested, provide them with category knowledge so they can intelligently sell their entire portfolio.
    
    
  • Taste them on the product and the cocktail (if they are allowed)
    
    
  • Exchange contact details and connect with the staff.
    • Friend them on social
    • If they are open to it, ask if they want you to send them the information about the brand and the category.
    • Communicate about the upcoming tasting.

2. SETTING UP YOUR STATION

• Arrive at least 45 minutes early to set up. The setup should be neat and orderly. Keep everything that is not needed underneath the table.
  
• Position yourself in a prime traffic area. Do not position yourself in front of your competitors? i.e. If you are selling American Whisky, don't position yourself in front of a floor stack of Bulleit Bourbon (unless you are promoting Bulliet :)
  
  
• Attire: Wear branded attire if available. If not, make sure to look neat and professional. A neatly pressed black tee shirt and pants are the simplest.
  
  
• Bring a table cloth-preferably branded or at least black.
  
  
• Product for display and sales: Ask staff if you can take a product from the shelf to position it on the table. Have multiple sizes and bottles if they are available to sell to consumers.
  
  
• Product for tasting: If you bring product with you, make sure to have 2-3 bottles on hand. 2nd make certain the product is cool and not coming out of a hot trunk.
  
  
• Tasting cups: Bring with you and make sure they a nice looking 1- 2 oz clear plastic cups.
  
  
• Consumer Snacks: ( if you have the budget)Consumers are more likely to spend time at your table and chat when you have food present. 2nd make sure the snacks complement what you are tasting.
  
• Cocktails: Consumers want to know how to drink your product once they get home. The cocktail should be simple and only utilize 1-3 ingredients. If the mixers are available in the store, have them close at hand so consumers can grab everything they need from you.
  
• Recipe cards: Provide them to all consumers who taste the product.
  
  
• POS: Have them on hand to provide to consumers.
  
  
• Signage: can include QR code that leads to the brand website. Pricing should be visible, and 3-4 core brand facts.
  
  
• Pricing: should be visible on a sign, or you should be able to recall it easily.
  
  
• Tasting the staff: Once you are set up, organically ask the staff if they would want training or to revisit the product if you have been trained on it before.
  
  
• Have a pre-order sheet for consumers so if you run out of products to sell, you can take down people's names and emails to inform them when the product comes in. Show the owners the sheet to demonstrate that people are interested in purchasing the product.

3. TASTING THE CONSUMER

TASTING YOUR CONSUMER

Your goal is to draw consumers over to your table by fostering an engaging brand experience.  Ask consumers what they are specifically shopping for, what they are making for dinner that evening, or what special occasion they are shopping for. 

Ask genuine questions and then explain how your product would be perfect for what they need. Consumers appreciate when you start by asking for their input or their needs instead of being constantly sold to.

THE TASTING

If possible always serve a simple cocktail, along we a neat pour of your product. Have them taste the neat, chilled pour first and then the cocktail.

While sipping the neat pour, remark on what they are tasting. i.e., If you are pouring a high rye Bourbon and they are tasting baking spice notes, let them know this comes from the high quantities of rye in the mash bill. When you use technical words such as mash bill, make sure to explain what that is. i.e The mash bill is the percentage of grain that xxx bourbon is made from. Each grain provides a specific flavor profile to the final spirit.

Communicate your unique selling proposition: how does your brand differ from the competitors or the consumers favorite brand. What benefit does your brand offer i.e. The high rye content provides a nice spice note to balances out the sweetness of the corn and adds a touch of complexity that makes it the perfect Bourbon for your next Old Fashioned.

p.s. remember do not speak badly about the competitor only how your brand differs and the benefits.

Ask them questions such as: what do they like about it? What are they tasting? What type of cocktail do they usually like to drink with xxx spirit?

ADJUST YOUR PITCH

When tasting consumers, you need to adjust your brand pitch based on their level of interest. Levels of interest can be determined by their body language.

• Have they tuned you out, or are they intrigued by what you are saying?
• Are they asking questions or do they only seem concerned with getting the shot and the cocktail?

Not Intrigued does not necessarily mean they do not want to purchase a bottle. Taste them on the product and cocktail, provide them with the three top facts and ask them if they want to purchase a bottle.

Intrigued: you can go deeper into the brand story and speak about cocktails and the category itself. Ask them questions. Consumers love to show off their knowledge if they are really into a spirit category. i.e.

• What is their favorite brand?
• What do they like about it?
• How do they like to drink it?

Acknowledge what they say and play off it.

Remember to keep it fun! Your goal is to make yourself endearing to the consumer, so they want to purchase the product to support you. If you feel connected, ask them to purchase the product to help you out.

PULLING IN CUSTOMERS

• Greet every guest
• Ask them if they would be interested in tasting your brand.
• Remember to keep the request fun, and light
• Lastly, if guests are not coming to you, find them where you are. If you are sampling vodka, seek them out in the vodka aisle and invite them to your table. 2nd target customers who seem interested in purchasing products at the same price point as yours. i.e. If they are shopping for bottom shelf booze and your product is mid tier or above these are not your people.

CLOSE THE DEAL

• Provide them with a recipe card and a pos item.
• Have a bottle in hand, ready to give them.
• Ask them to add a bottle to their order ( find the closing that words for you) but always ask for the sale.

WRAPPING UP

• A typical tasting is two hours long, but If you are on a roll stick around to maximize your efforts.
• Clean up your area- throw out the garbage, put back the unsold products, etc
• Keep track of the # of consumers sampled and the # of bottles sold.
• Have the account keep track as well.
• If you have built a rapport with the buyer, send them a text afterward to thank them for their support and to let them know how many bottles were sold.