Liquor Barons prepares for Transatlantic conference

By James Wells

WA-based liquor retailer Liquor Barons will hold its largest overseas event next week with 128 confirmed attendees for its Transatlantic conference.

In addition to Liquor Barons store managers and staff, all major liquor suppliers are expected to be represented at the conference by either state or national sales directors.

The conference will be the third part of a series of conferences and workshops attached to the group’s Sales & Service Academy which commenced in 2016.

The facilitator of the 2017 Liquor Barons Conference, Leigh Farnell, will follow up on his sales training conducted with the independent retail group to develop the Sales & Service Academy.

Farnell told TheShout that the training modules he has implemented have concentrated on the importance of understanding the life of the customer, the importance of client retention as well as up-selling and reward programs.

Other training initiatives have including the importance of basic management deliverables including top line sales, GP, dollars allocated to stock on hand, and the importance of high margin products and why running a loyalty program should be seen as an expense but an important marketing strategy

“The sales and Service academy exposes people to not just a once-off environment, but a learning environment,” Farnell said.

“It is important for businesses to train their people, not only in product knowledge, but how you can also create a customer experience,” he said.

“An important part of the academy is reinforcing best practice behavior and what can we learn from these people. We use a closed Facebook group to share best practice initiatives to deliver continuous improvement.”

Farnell said delegates will be expected to monitor service levels throughout the conference and share these insights.