themselves to keep in touch with new
trends. Together with the wholesa
lers, promotions are devised and
organised. "Those promotions give us
visibility and that is very important.
We have to stay in front of the consu
mer", says Eric Morham.
Hammering home
Ken Blair, division manager for
New Jersey, explains that one of the
important tasks of the division
managers is to ensure ongoing moti
vation of the sales reps working for
wholesalers. "They have to keep
hammering home how strong the
Heineken image is and the fact that
they can benefit from that in their
daily work. Our district managers
must be able to put across the mes
sage that it's all about the pride in
selling Heineken Beer. It's something
special".
The selection of promotions is
also something special for Van
Munching. Manny Busto, metro divi
sion manager (the metro division
includes the important conurbations
of New York and Long Island) has this
to say about promotions: "Van
Munching targets its promotions
much more than the local breweries.
We use promotions technically; only
when there's a need for it, not that we
have to have it. We also have a firm
rule that a Van Munching division or
district manager, plus the whole
saler's sales rep, must always be pres
ent during a promotion. That is how
you demonstrate your commitment.
On average, each district manager
has about two promotions a month,
but in Manhattan he attends one
almost every night. During our pro
motions a Heineken product may be
sold at a slightly reduced price. But
we make sure that the price is never
below that of the local beers."
Asked what it's like to work in the
hectic city of New York, Manny Busto
turns almost lyrical: "You can make
things happen in New York. It is a
very cosmopolitan business, where in
a business meeting you get to the
point very fast, cut the deal and away
you are. In the city of New York every
four or five blocks bring so many dif
ferent sceneries, landscapes, people
and cultures. To me New York is a
fascinating market."
Jim Sloane is a district manager.
Together with two colleagues, he
looks after the city borough in which
Heineken has the incredibly high
market share of almost 40%. Jim
regards maintaining contacts with bar
owners as one of his most important
tasks. "In Manhattan there is little
consumer loyalty. If a new bar opens
its doors and it proves to be a trendy
establishment, then consumers will
flock to it anyway, whether or not
Heineken is available there. So it's a
matter of maintaining good contacts
with the owner of that bar, persuad
ing him to include your products in
his range. And what's really crucial is:
never promise anything you can't
deliver. It's the kiss of death for the
relationship with the client."
