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ISO brewery rep position (NJ): craft beer enthusiast with 20+ years experience

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  • ISO brewery rep position (NJ): craft beer enthusiast with 20+ years experience

    Thank you for taking the time to click on my post.
    My name is Mike, though I also answer to Guinness, and I am seeking a position as a brewery rep. I live in South Jersey and my preference would be for NJ, or surrounding areas of DE and MD included, to be my territory. I am open to either a brewery that already distributes in NJ or one that is looking to enter the NJ market soon. I feel this is a good market for new/upcoming breweries to test themselves as it's situated between Philly and NYC, which are two of the best craft drinking markets in the US, and there are more beer bars popping up in NJ every year. Plus it's not a large market like PA or NY so a new brewery wouldn't get overextended having to up production to keep up with demand. Looking for someone to run point for your brewery and find the right distributor/s for you? I would love to help.
    I currently am the store/beer manager for a high volume liquor store and have worked in the retail end of the business for nearly 23 years now, starting right out of high school. To answer your thought, no, I don't have a college degree. Think of it this way: I am already working for you and representing your product. In a manner of speaking, I am the face of your brand since I am there on the front lines 5-6 days/week talking with customers on the floor. I can count on one hand how many brewery reps I've seen more than once in the past 2 years at my store. My store, though only 5 years old is one of the bigger accounts in the area, especially for craft beers. We are what the VIPs and brand/sales managers from our beer distributors call a 'key account'. There are loads of breweries that I've never seen nor heard from a brewery rep since I've been there. I understand some reps have a large geographic area to cover and it's difficult to hit every store/bar, but to not visit what's considered a key account is something I wouldn't overlook and would work hard to make sure I visit all the accounts that need encouragement and help. Whether that's just providing crucial information, doing an on/off premise promo or tasting, helping to better display product on shelves or displays or working with accounts to better market the product through social media, since I'm already doing it for multiple breweries in one location then I'm sure I can do it for one brewery in many locations. Honestly, I'm not the cookie-cutter prototypical type, but then again I don't think most brewers/owners of craft beer are either since brewing craft beer is about doing something different and being off center.
    I am in my early 40s, though to look at me you might not think I'm over 30. I have also been a bartender for a couple years, worked as a beer sales rep for a now defunct distributor, dabbled in homebrewing for a short while (which I am looking to take up again) and I am very passionate about craft beers. I have been in my current position for over 4 years now with the store not yet 5 years old. We have a Beer Club at our location which I built myself from the ground up. It currently has over 400 members on e-mail. I write all the Beer Club e-mail notices (which are craft-centric) myself, which include some of my own reviews from BeerAdvocate (listed under GuinnessAtRogerWilco if you want to check them out), to inform my beer loving customers about new and limited beers. I then post the e-mails to our website as a blog, which you can read here: http://rogerwilco.net/blog/
    My beer preferences are wide ranging. I enjoy everything from lighter styles like Hefeweizens to big bold Stouts, from the most robust IPAs to Belgian Sours and pretty much any funky creation in between. Being on the retail side and knowing what is needed to help promote craft beers, I feel confident I can help any brewery to either gain a foothold in the NJ market or better their current position. I already work nights, weekends and holidays so I won't mind being on the road and working with stores/bars doing promos and tastings or working a Beer Fest. I also don't mind traveling. My goal is to do what I'm doing now in terms of promoting craft beer and do it on a larger scale.
    Should you feel I am a good candidate to help your brewery grow in the NJ/DE/MD markets, please contact me for my resume and any other queries at guinnessnj@gmail.com.
    Thank you for your time and consideration.
    Last edited by GuinnessNJ; 07-16-2013, 02:16 PM.
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