Number Crunch: What Stats Your Reps Need to Focus In on for Best Repeat Sales

Just like baseball, the numbers don’t lie in determining success. There are many vital stats —​ like ​kick dates​, ​rate of sales, ​CE sold, and more​ ​that your sales staff ​can use to strengthen account relationships both at the beer buyer ​and ​wholesale level​.

Yet, each brewery may find a different number that they use to help in that conversion.

​”​The most important number at a wholesale level is simply barrels sold​,” said Chase Hawkins, Sales Manager for Boomtown​ Brewery. ​”​It tells us which beers are selling well and guides our production accordingly.​”​

At a buyer level, ​Boomtown likes​ to look at rate of sales and continuity of sales, as well as BBLs sold. ​What matters most to buyers, ​Hawkins noted, is whether or not the beer sells well to ​that shop’s clientele.

​”​If we notice a declining rate of sales or a rate of sales that seems low given the volume we believe the placement is capable of, we reach out directly to the buyer to try and figure out the reason why this placement may be underperforming​,” he said​. ​”​Sometimes, the account is underperforming as a whole and it has nothing to do with the beer.

​”​Other times, a particular beer or style of beer may not be what their clients are looking for.​”

In ​that case, ​Boomtown will work with the buyer to try and find a different beer ​in the portfolio that will be more in line with ​a buyer’s​ ​preferences.

​”​Having this awareness and willingness to help an account navigate building a beer list based around their clients allows us to strengthen our relationships with these buyers​,” Hawkins said​​. “​A stop in the continuity of sales is also our best indicator that the beer may have been swapped for another brand, short of walking into the account or speaking with the buyer directly.​”​

​Another key “stat” for your brewery’s rep to keep an eye on is those numbers at the bottom of the can, on a keg collar or on the neck of a bottle.

​Code dating has always been very important to Ecliptic and will continue to be during and after COVID,” said Ecliptic Sales Manager, Erin Grey Kemplin. “No one has a good experience with Ecliptic Brewing beers when they are consumed past their best by date.”

The brewery has worked directly with distributors to clean up all out of code beer that was part of the aftermath of COVID, especially at on-premise accounts.

“We are coming out of this is a pretty good position as far as fresh beer goes,” Kemplin said. “Having the highest quality, fresh beer to sell to our bars as they start to re-open will hopefully allow us to continue to build on the trust we have with our accounts.”

Photo courtesy Ecliptic Brewing

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*