Year over year, May would mark the end of feverish Spring allocation and buying season. I use the analogy of being on a roller coasting ride and May is the end of the ride before you get off and go stand in line and wait for next October. Times are clearly different. What we are seeing is a decline in contact rate due to heightened levels of customer travel – but average order values are up 10-12%.

• Contact Rate May 2021 17.75% (down from 22.2%)
• Conversion Rate May 2021 4.08% (down from 5.26%)
• Average Order Value May 2021 $589 (up from $526) 

We translate this data in a way that should be quite encouraging for those engaging in outbound to help drive DTC/wine club sales. And although we are seeing a dip in contact rates, it’s a very telling sign that consumer travel is picking up in a way that should benefit wineries in a very positive way. 

Although it’s taking more touches to close deals the AOVs continue to escalate. Translated, it may take a few more times to get Chuck the Orthodontist from Ohio to complete his transaction, he’s buying more per order. And, he’s either booking a tasting for his family or collecting information for someone he knows that will be visiting. 

A Quick Playbook To Increase Your DTC Sales 

Here’s a few tips to help you generate sales and engage more customers. Let’s use your next email campaign as a way to generate a list. 

These tips should benefit anyone who doesn’t love outbound – but wants to sell more wine. This is also for the manager who wants to increase productivity between scheduled tastings. 

• Create a list of your openers, non-purchasers. They were interested – they might need a little encouragement. 
• Create a template that you can copy and paste into your email. 
• Ask your team to send personalized emails requesting a 30 minute meeting to discuss your current offers.
  • Request the meetings the following week to provide the customer ample time to fit you in to their schedule. 
  • Book the meetings between your tasting appointments. 
• Follow up with the customer the night before the meeting with a reminder of your meeting time. 
• Leave room to reschedule with you. 
• Call them on time and review the wines with them personally. 
• Watch your conversion rate, contact rate and AOV go through the roof. 

The process above benefits everyone. Leadership get higher sales and a more productive staff. The staff doesn’t have to make a cold call, but, more a planned review with a willing recipient. And, the customer – they get your time on their time. They know why you are calling and when. You should close 1 out of 3 calls. 

Go get em’