High-Hanging Fruit by Mark Rampolla

Author:Mark Rampolla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-06-29T14:08:56+00:00

CLIMBING UP IN THE WORLD

The traditional way to get the attention of the Big Geyser route owners was basically to bribe them—or rather “incentivize” them with big prizes like that Ford F-150 that Vitaminwater had offered. Given that Maura and I were worried about how we were going to make our own car payments, that sort of incentive wasn’t an option for us.

Instead, I decided to focus on the route owners that delivered to the neighborhoods with the yoga studios in which we had already made headway. I started with just three Big Geyser distributors. They all had their nickname they went by: Johnny One Drop, Mike Matco, and Steve LES (which stood for Lower East Side). Not coincidentally, these were also the only three drivers who would give me the time of day after my disastrous kickoff speech at Big Geyser. I asked each one of them if I could spend some time with them to get to know their routes.

I worked on getting to know Steve, who owned the Big Geyser route that covered a yoga-heavy part of the Lower East Side. He had two drivers making deliveries and stocking shelves, while he focused on making sales and personally checking in on his retailers. He wasn’t much on making small talk but after a number of attempts, he let me ride with him as he checked in on each of the stores in his neighborhood.

“So you want to hit some Hispanic markets?” he asked me as we drove out of the Big Geyser lot on the first morning. “Zico’s an ethnic play, right?” By the time we had reached lower Manhattan, I had convinced him that we were starting with a much different clientele. I pointed out the yoga studios along his route where Zico was selling well and told him that he could sell the brand in much the same way he was selling Vitaminwater. The only difference was that Zico was healthier.

“Okay,” he said. “I get it. I know the sort of places where the yoga chicks shop.”

A half hour later he was introducing me to the manager of a high-end corner bodega that had an Odwalla cooler and offered a variety of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. I made my pitch while he went to check the other brands he stocked. I offered the manager a special first-month deal of buying three cases and getting the fourth free. The manager hedged and then asked to think about it.

As he was about to turn away, Steve stepped to my side and took over. “Here’s what Mark is going to do,” he said, regaining the manager’s attention. “Tomorrow he’s going to show up at seven a.m. with a free case of Zico. Make that two free cases. He’ll stock it himself, make it look all pretty. If it sells, you reorder. What do you got to lose?”

“Sure, okay,” the manager said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Thanks a ton, Steve,” I said when we were back on the sidewalk. “Not only are you giving away Zico, you’re having me deliver it.

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