This week, I have a special guest post from Connie W., one of WineShop’s top consultants in Michigan. Connie has recently earned the incentive trip for the first time ever, and now operates her wine business full-time. Read on for some of her insider tips…
I joined WineShop at Home in February of 2015 after hearing about it on Facebook three different times from a friend of mine who had become a consultant. After the third time, I thought, “What is this all about? I need to find out more!”
I was interested right away, especially because I love wine, but I also knew that I wasn’t willing to sell something I don’t like. I told my friend that I needed to try the wines first, and as soon as I did, I thought, “Yep! I’m signing up!” I loved all five wines that she brought to the tasting I attended. It was amazing, and I signed up the very next day.
Three and a half years later, I feel like my life is amazing. My husband, who initially told me that I could start the business “as long as it doesn’t cost us anything,” now regularly comes to tastings and even invites his friends. And why shouldn’t he? The tastings are so much fun and the wine is delicious!
Earning Vienna
When I found out that I could earn an incentive trip to Vienna, I remember being so inspired by the chance to earn a trip to Europe. Go to Europe, for free? Me? The truth is that I’ve never been out of the country. I never imagined that I wanted to travel—but when the opportunity to earn Vienna came up, I could feel in my bones that it was a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing.
I even have a little chalkboard in my office that reads, “Vienna Bound!” on it. I wrote it up there when I decided I was going to go for the incentive trip.
During the summer, about mid-way through the earning period for the incentive trip, there came a point when I had to choose between going to Convention or staying home to work my business so I could earn enough points to qualify. Guess what I chose? Vienna! And not only did I earn the trip, but I’ve decided to extend my trip and will be traveling early to Prague where I’ll get to spend some time with 20-30 other consultants.
It feels like a dream come true.
Make it Fun
I think the key to a successful WineShop at Home business is to make it fun. Even if you show up to a tasting and there are only 1-2 other people, you have to make the best of your situation! And let me tell you, when I go into it with that sort of attitude, my sales never suffer—even if it’s a very small group of people at the tasting.
After being in the insurance industry for so long, I just can’t believe how fun it is to talk about work these days. And wine is so easy to talk about. Get the party-goers engaged in the wine and the process of how we do what we do; our wines are so amazing, that most people who would attend a tasting will be very interested to learn more about the product.
Find Your Niche
Although I’m now seeing great success with my WineShop at Home business, it wasn’t always this way. Actually, growing my business has been a struggle, particularly since I live in the middle of nowhere in Michigan.
When I finally realized that I could drive a couple hours to the nearest city and start attending meetings with different women’s groups, things started to shift. Actually… my business has just exploded! It’s all about meeting the right people, and once I connected with a group of about 300 women who had never heard of WineShop before, I started booking tastings like nobody’s business.
Sure, I spend more time in the car driving, but it’s so much fun to watch the business grow like this that it’s really worth it.
I’m thrilled to be part of the WineShop at Home team, and I cannot wait to go on the incentive trip to Vienna!
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and inspiration, Connie!
If you’re on the fence about joining WineShop at Home, I hope that Connie’s story inspired you. Click HERE to connect with me directly and learn more about whether WineShop at Home is a good fit for you and your lifestyle.