We recently connected with Joe Reyes and have shared our conversation below.

Joe, appreciate you joining us today. Any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace?

So much goes into creating the right conditions for an inclusive workplace. As a leader of a team, I dedicate my work to guiding each individual I manage in realizing the depths of their true potential. Establishing group intelligence takes time and practice but once its effects are realized the team can work as one unit. In our competitive world of beverage sales, a team always beats a group of individuals.

Joe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Thank you for this opportunity, CanvasRebel and hello to your wonderful audience. My name is Joe Reyes, and I am in the beer and brand building business. I work for the Tank Brewing Company in Miami, Florida, where I lead a sales department of creatively talented people through the volatile world of beverage sales. The last time I spoke with VoyageMia, I was the Regional Sales Manager for Lagunitas Brewing Company, leading ten high-performing salespeople across the southeast (US) through industry-changing hurdles caused by Covid. My territory included 55 distributors with a sales target of 2.7 million cases of beer a year.
As a result of everything I learned during Covid, I built up a sales team at Tank Brewing Company who are prepared to navigate another pandemic-type event. With only 15 months under our belt, faced with many challenges along the way, we have grown our market share significantly. At the beginning of 2022, we celebrated a 60% sales growth (over last year) during the first 9 months after launching our strategy.
I am most proud of two things powering our momentum –– consistency in our brewer’s production of quality products and our sales force’s spontaneity in engaging with our customers. My team sells with confidence, enthusiasm, and a deep understanding of building a brand. A transformation is happening at Tank Brewing Company and within all of us supporting the company’s operations. Come check us out and see for yourself.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

These days, I see myself more as a coach than a manager. I don’t just believe in the potential of my team, I hold myself accountable for improving each team member’s capabilities. My duty as a coach is to guide the team through the highs and lows of this job. This collaboration between coach and team depends on trust, humility, and respect. I think people do their best work when they feel appreciated and when they find a deep level of purpose. At The Tank Brewing Company, we all share the joy of creation. We are raising this brewery together. As a team motivator, I establish, inspire, and elevate an all-in team culture where everyone has a voice, building a foundation with a disposition toward earning better retail positioning, greater floor space, and brand visibility. We can compete with a calm mind and go for our personal best, not the world record.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

This story happened years ago when I was just starting my career in sales and didn’t know what I didn’t know yet. Eager to make a sale, I figured I would go to as many bars, stores, and restaurants before the end of each month. Back then, at Lagunitas Brewing Company, we thought of our business like a reverse mullet, party in the front and business in the back. When I started at Lagunitas, the company was only in the early stages of developing a hands-on sales training. I remember being so excited about my new career that I made business cards to give all my new contacts but mostly to show everyone how professional I had become. There was one bar I thought was so cool, and I thought they must bring in my beer; I am cool too, so I thought. I walked into the bar, introduced myself to the bartender, and asked to meet the beer buyer- let’s call him Greg. Greg came out from a back room, and as he walked toward me, I began to pump myself up for the pitch. I started to introduce myself, and as I began talking about the first beer, he cut me off and said, “thank you, we will think about it, goodbye.” I left my card and walked out. Before this interaction, I thought this job was easy. Who would say no to BEER or, better yet, a bright-faced spanking new sales guy ready at your service?
It took me two weeks to collect my broken confidence to go back to that bar to face Greg. I walked in again and experienced the exact same interaction. Several more attempts and business cards later, I was in the same position I was in when I first visited the bar. Months had passed, and I learned a thing or two in my new role, and while I did not stop visiting Greg, I did change my sales approach. I would visit the bar to learn what was important to him and his staff instead of focusing on selling our product. I rooted myself in their eyes as a regular customer. One year later, Greg invited me to sit down and talk about beer. He put 33 of my business cards on the table and said, “you have earned our business; you have shown me that my business matters to you.” He told me that most salespeople stop around the 3rd or 4th visit, discouraged with the outcome and, in most cases, never return to pitch again.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this story, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and to this day, I don’t know what I don’t know. I have learned to put more interest in the other person than myself. I was not getting anywhere rushing through my day.
If you’re just starting in the business, I advise you to take your time and listen. My first boss in this industry once told me, “you have two eyes, two ears, one mouth; use them.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thetankbrewing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joereyes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joe.m.reyes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philanthropist/

Image Credits
Photography by Julia Rose Photo