Sales
Drinks industry careers in sales can be exciting, varied and highly rewarding. You will be required to sell drinks to businesses, such as bars, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets. It’s also possible to sell direct to consumers, but we have covered drinks retailing jobs and hospitality career options within our service roles guide.
Responsibilities
Salespeople build relationships with buyers and sommeliers. Some work in telesales, while others hit the road, visiting stores, bars, head offices, trade fairs and producer events. They pitch drinks to buyers and try to hit monthly, quarterly or annual sales targets.
Skills
The best salespeople are confident, persuasive and resilient. They foster strong relationships, listen carefully to buyers and make thoughtful sales pitches. Salespeople need to be organised, as they often have to manage lots of accounts, while excellent presentation skills are also valuable.
To sell effectively, you need to be an expert in your category. A WSET qualification can be highly beneficial, as it helps you speak authoritatively about wines, spirits, beers or sakes. A WSET Level 2 or Level 3 Award in Spirits is a helpful qualification for someone selling to bars, for instance. Meanwhile, anyone working in fine wine sales might consider a WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines, as deeper knowledge will be expected.
Career Progression
It’s common to start out as a sales executive, but this drinks industry career can lead to very senior commercial roles. You can progress to account manager, regional sales manager and then commercial director or sales director. Many successful salespeople then advance to MD roles, or they pivot to working as brand ambassador, export manager or entrepreneur.