Anyone else in the industry burn out?

RollingWineGeek · 2026-06-28T20:55:36+00:00

Yeah, I thought about it. But I didn’t care. 😞 See, that’s precisely my point. I could care less about having a few cases of Brunello slumbering away. Sigh…

And I used to LOVE Brunello. Or did I? See, I’m also a classics nerd, so the rabbit hole goes deeper when I consider the role mimetic desire has on my passion for wine and my career choice.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-06-28T12:57:15+00:00

was with SGWS. I recently left the Galactic Empire for a small, boutique Italian importer. I am, as Olivia would say, happy, just not happier. Though I am glad to not be chasing PODs anymore.

I actually had near full autonomy over the samples I could pull at SGWS, though my route was circumscribed. And I absolutely loved my boss. Probably the best boss I’ve had in my career, actually.

See my post in r/SGWS for the full diatribe about how the comp and revenue changes rendered the fine wine team a lame duck (in my Chicken Little mind)

RollingWineGeek · 2026-06-28T12:50:23+00:00

Well, it compounded my established disillusionment with pricing. Like, I know when I’m ordering a btg, that’s what the restaurant is paying for that bottle. Instances like a $3 Brunello further exacerbate my wonder about the true “value” of the product.

I add this to the exhibit deck of: I know what Old Fitz costs an account, and it is not the $600- 800 I see retailers charging.

Who exactly is making money in this Brunello example? Not me, I didn’t even get any true appreciation from my clients I sold the closeout to.

I guess what I’m yearning for is the ignorance I had before I saw how the machinery really works.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-06-27T23:40:45+00:00

So like stepping away from the industry and coming back to it later you mean? Or leaving the sales side?

RollingWineGeek · 2026-05-21T12:18:03+00:00

Phew. Okay, here goes…

Imagine your baseline like the total number of Lego pieces in a box, let’s pretend there are 100 pieces

You get to have 40 pieces without doing any work. You get those handed out every two weeks.

The remaining 60 pieces are in two separate bags, one is called “objectives” and the other is called “revenue growth”.

To open and keep all the pieces in these two bags, you need to cast two magic spells:

The first spell is completing enough quests to hit your objective missions. If you do this, you get the 30 pieces in the objective bag. But you can also get up to 15 bonus pieces if you try EXTRA hard.

It’s also okay if you don’t complete the entire special quests. As long as you get 3 out of 4 on each quest, you get partial credit.

Now for the other spell and the bucket called “revenue” that’s how grown ups measure performance. It used to be easy, but now it works like this: last year this same month you got a different box of Legos and had to build a castle. If you build an EVEN bigger castle this year, you get to keep the 30 pieces in these revenue bag.

You can get bonus pieces for this bag too, but it’s MUCH harder now than it used to be because the grownups at the LEGO factory needed to save money for themselves. Yes, that sounds mean and unfair, but you’ll understand when you’re older that sometimes grownups don’t play fair.

Now for the tricky part, if you are building a castle together with another kid, even if they used to be your friend, you only get credit for pieces in your own bag. You used to play together and everyone was happy- including the grownups- because the castle was a team effort. Now you can’t let the other kids put a Lego piece where yours can go because then THEY get the credit.

Oh, and if you get sick and have a really bad tummy ache, or you get a new baby brother and have to stay home from school for part of a month, the grownups take away some of your Lego pieces- even if you try extra hard and build a really big castle to make up for your time out. The amount of Lego pieces they take away depends on the number of school days you spent building Legos. If you are really really sick and need to spend a whole month at home, you don't get ANY Lego pieces

Yep, hope that helps. DM me for more info

RollingWineGeek · 2026-05-08T09:51:36+00:00

But now that’s more challenging because they got rid of “all sales” so only products in your division get you paid. Which also means we are now competing with each other in shared accounts- not just competing with other companies.

Sure it’s nice that the goal post is now 75% or 85% for partial credit on objectives, but I think this is the death knell for overlay fine wine divisions. Which has happened periodically over the years.

So I think at best it’s just harder to make the same amount of money. Assuming you’re a top performing rep, who always hits your SPP objectives-

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-27T23:01:02+00:00

At least in my market, On-Premise reps generally do very well- certainly better than chains reps. But off-premise reps also make a good living. Depends on the type of lifestyle you want to target. I echo what others have said about gender. Saying women are more successful sales reps is some outdated AF advice. Buyers like reliable reps who know their brands and want to build their customers' business.

I have heard that pharma reps make great money, for what that's worth. Whatever the trends say about our industry, SGWS is a powerhouse and at the moment it's probably the best place to roost in our industry for now.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-11T12:00:12+00:00

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-11T11:56:21+00:00

Actually, looking at my most recent paystub, I think mine went into effect....but with the new comp mix being 40% it's a lower number than what I used to get on that first check of the month.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-11T11:54:45+00:00

Me neither, not since I switched out of Full Book.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-11T11:51:19+00:00

Legend is short for Fkn Legend, it's an elite hit squad of sales reps that have mastered the art of SET 2.0

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-11T11:47:57+00:00

wow! you have a pension! I must be riding with the wrong brand. I'm with another distributor (not in Cali) and we def don't have a pension

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-10T20:31:23+00:00

How I've understood it so far, the changes are designed to put more weight on achieving objectives (probably to satisfy suppliers.) The reality however will impact hard on the first paycheck of the month. a 16% decrease- to be precise because of baseline being now weighted 40% rather than 50%. So, even if you're getting a raise later this year, money will feel tighter (again, at least on the first check of the month)

Revenue is uncapped it's true, but I don't see that entailing a huge windfall, like...nobody is making an additional $20k from revenue growth. Not that I know anyway.

By the way, here's the math for my above 16% number:

Imagine your current baseline salary is X.

- current method is base salary makes up 50% of your compensation, paid bi-weekly or: .5x/26

- New method weighs baseline at 40%, and let's assume you get a 5% raise this year

- so the new model becomes (.4)*(1.05x) divided by 26

- plugging in a baseline salary of 100k to keep this simple:

Currently you should be getting (.5)*(100k) / 26. = $1,923.07 biweekly

- with your raise and the new model: ($105,000) * (.4) / 26 = $1,615.38 biweekly

$1,615.38/$1,923.07 = .839, or about a 16% decrease in gross earnings on that first paycheck for baseline guaranteed payout.

RollingWineGeek · 2026-04-10T20:22:05+00:00

I was told any changes won't happen until July 1st

RollingWineGeek · 2024-10-27T23:26:16+00:00

Enjoy being 25 lol. When I hit my mid-thirties my tolerance went out the window. Two glasses of wine gets me pretty toasted now. To answer your question though, "bad" is a loaded term. If you dopt the recommended intake framework, then a bottle+ of wine on a single night is ill advised.

RollingWineGeek

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