"Sometimes I just crack myself up"
Robin Robinson has built small brands for most of his working life and is currently working with small spirit brands across the US as a “brand sherpa” to help them enter and endure a volatile and competitive marketplace. See Clients here.
Contact me for a free consultation:
201-263-1141
robin@robinrobinsonllc.com
Previously, he helped build the Compass Box Whisky Co. as its US Sales and Brand Manager and Brand Ambassador, responsible for sales, retail and consumer education; managing distributor, retail and consumer relationships; driving field sales across all markets; and promoting the brand through field marketing events such as tastings, pairing dinners, seminars, festivals and social networks.
To succeed, you educate and persist, systematize your approach and create evangelists.
Prior to that, Robin was in sales in the tech industry, working primarily with small Silicon Valley technology startups, ranging from CRM to ERP to eCommerce, selling mission critical enterprise-level technology systems to Fortune 1000 companies.
To win, listen intently to your client and promote solutions that ease their pain and they will trust you to gently lead the conversation; then, you must under promise and over deliver.
Robin got a taste for the salesman’s life with Shaw-Walker, the 20th C leader in office furniture and open office modular systems.
Talking about 1 chair for seven minutes is about linking fact to benefit to value to need.
And in the beginning, he plied the streets of small towns, the avenues of New York and boulevards of LA as an actor with credits in theatre, film, TV and radio: the ultimate small brand experience. Create, market, sell, deliver, service and repeat.
To succeed, to just survive, you have to master process - whether its your technique, your marketing, or your street time. You are carrying the wing of a butterfly wrapped in the hide of a rhinoceros through a battlefield of broken dreams.
Throughout, he developed a life long love of all whiskies and as such he is in demand as a lecturer on that subject.
His “Whiskey Smackdown” series at the renowned Astor Center in New York is the longest running whiskey class in the US, currently 16 years since 2009. Robin taught a 2 day Route-to-Market class for nascent brands at Moonshine University.
He has lectured at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), French Culinary Institute, Institute of Culinary Excellence (ICE), and The Flatiron Room; BarConventBerlin, Tales of the Cocktail and various USBG chapters across the country.
Robin has lectured on various sales and marketing topics for American Distilling Institute and American Craft Spirits Association.
Robin is the proud author of “The Complete Whiskey Course” published by Hachette.
Robin is a spirits judge for two renowned competitions:
Kevin Bemel of “The Way to Wow Show” interviews me on the path of authenticity:
Robin has been featured in publications such as 201 Magazine, the Chicago Sun Times, New York Times, AskMen.com, Heritage Network, Las Vegas Weekly, VinePair and was awarded “Highest Commendation” from Whisky Magazine’s 2014 Icons of Whisky.
Here’s Robin’s personal blog for things other than whiskey: Bile
He writes whiskey lifestyle articles for The Whiskey Wash
Robin lives in the Metro NYC area.
Recent Interviews:
New York Times interview on the state of World Whiskey
When Johnnie Walker Blue was King: Punch Magazine
Japanese Whisky Breaks World Auction Records, Again: Abby Schultz for Barron's
Should Booze Brands Get Political?: Aaron Goldfarb for SevenFifty Daily
New Whiskies, New Definitions: The State of Craft by Lew Bryson
Who is Robin Robinson?: Shared Spirits
Are we really running out of Whiskey? The Whiskey Wash
Millennials, Brand Loyalty and Whiskey: UTB Studios
On the Popularity and State of Craft Whiskies: Inc.com
Why is Japanese Whiskey so Popular?: Playboy.com
A Peat Primer: Learning to Appreciate Scotch: SF Weekly
The Rise and Fall of the Brand Ambassador: Alcohol Professor
Masters of Whiskey Closure: The Whiskey Reviewer
Diageo's Wild Ride: The Whiskey Reviewer
Q&A with Robin Robinson: The Whiskey Reviewer
On Scotch Whisky: VinePair
Drop him a line...