The Big Interview

JOB DESCRIPTION:

A leading fine wine specialty retailer is looking to hire self-motivated sales professionals. The successful candidate will have a proven record in fine wine, luxury goods, wealth management, etc. The candidate will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with high net worth individuals.

Key Skill Set: Strong knowledge of fine wine industry, experience making sales calls (including cold calls), capacity to develop and grow client base of high net worth individuals, ability to formulate and present proposals to client base, refined communications skills, ability to multi-task, prior experience with Net Suite a plus.

Qualifications: BA or Certified Sommelier (impressive life and wine related work experience will also be considered). Minimum 1-2 years experience in fine wine sales or other industry experience. Proven measureable results from prior direct sales experience and demonstrated ablilty to successfully manage client relationships are required. Excellent written and verbal communication and teamwork skills and the ability to influence cross functional teams to achieve results are highly desired.

Compensation: The qualified individual will be provided with a competitive base plus incentive compensation unique to the wine industry. Our incentive program is highly competitive and rewards top performers.   

When I walked into the place, I just knew.  I knew that I belonged here.  This tiny store front couldn’t convey what beauty lay behind it.  The place was quite large.  A boutique of sorts.  All the shelving, floors and counters were wood.  I felt like I just stepped back in time to an old-school European enoteca.  I remember what I was wearing, too, which is unusual for me since I can’t remember what I wore yesterday.  It was the middle of summer; a hot and sticky NYC summer.  I wore a flowing cream skirt and a very light cream colored top.  It said professional without a suit.  I didn’t want to alert my current company that I was interviewing on my lunch hour.  And besides, showing a little leg on my interview with a man was a good thing.

I was greeted by Roberto.  He claimed to be Italian, but had a German last name.  He had just started with the company and gave me a tour through the store and into the back where the kitchen was.  The kitchen was open and facing a room that was built for parties.  A salumeria was in the back holding lots of hanging meats from prosciutto to salami.  There was more wooden shelving farthest from the kitchen.  There was also a full wine cellar underneath us, but I was not given a tour below.  All the wooden shelves in the kitchen held empty bottles of wine long since opened.  Back in the store, the shelves had individual bottles for sale with a small shelf talker (a small wine tasting note) next to it.  When someone ordered a wine, the order was taken and sent to the cellar through a dumb waiter where workers below filled the order and sent the wine back up through the dumb waiter.

My interviewer Arnie had arrived and greeted me.  He was cute, younger than me and somewhat GQ.  The interview was in the small, temperature-controlled wine cellar. One wall had a window that faced the store, but the room was almost sound proof.   It was 56 degrees.  Remember when I said I had a light skirt and top on?  I was freezing!  I couldn’t concentrate on anything he was saying.   I sat facing the store and my interviewer sat across a table meant for dining.  Besides the cold distraction, I could watch all the activity going on in the store. People actually ate in this room.  Probably drinking a lot so they could stop shivering!

I don’t remember much about the interview. He liked me enough to call the President of Sales down……. while I waited in the cold room.  The whole interview was one hour long.  I couldn’t feel my fingers, or my toes.  But, I got the vibe from these guys and the place.  I wanted to work here bad.  I left with a great feeling.  A few days later, they offered me the job and I jumped on it.

My boss at the agency was happy for me.  Don was always in my corner, a true Debbie supporter.  On my first day of work with Don, we had a meeting with a radio advertiser.  It happened to be St. Patrick’s Day.  I suggested beers afterwards and Don was all for it.  When I told him I was switching careers, he said, “so I can’t counter offer you?”  He couldn’t.  The department took me out to lunch for my final farewell and Don was acting weird, but it was a good time.