Inc. Magazine Names VinoPRO to Coveted INC500 List for Third Year Running
(PRWEB) August 21, 2015 -- Inc. Magazine announced today that VinoPRO, a rapidly expanding Santa Rosa, California-based direct-to-consumer wine sales, marketing and technology company, has made the Inc.500|5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. for the third straight year. VinoPRO makes history today with this award by becoming the only wine business in the North Bay ever to achieve this prestigious honor three years in a row. Past Inc. Magazine alumni have included Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Clif Bar, Pandora, Patagonia and Oracle. The 2015 Inc. Magazine list includes Fitbit, Smashburger, Bowlmor AMF, Planet Fitness, Giftcards.com, Radio Flyer, Box and Mindbody in addition to VinoPRO.
“We are in good company, and that’s exactly where we belong. To get this award 3 years in a row is simply astounding, and an achievement that only comes from a passion for our business that is second to none. Once again, this is a tribute to our talented and hard-working team, and I’m incredibly proud of this accomplishment. We strive to provide the most professional customer experience possible for our winery clients, and as a result, our growth rate has accelerated quite dramatically,” said Stevenson.
VinoPRO of Santa Rosa sells ultra-premium wine, wine club memberships, and provides technology solutions for companies such as Iron Horse, Benziger, Beringer, Penfolds, Papapietro Perry, Moshin, Sullivan Vineyards, Michael Mondavi, and dozens of other high-end wine brands, and is the only company to provide a real-time, FCC/TPCA compliant calling solution in the wine industry.
The Most Profitable Sale is the DTC Sale
Wine and Wine Club Membership sales for VinoPRO clients rose to over $10 million in 2014 and expected to surpass $12 million in 2015 according to VinoPRO CEO Jeff Stevenson, “using the most antiquated technology on the planet – the telephone.” Gone are the dark ages of boiler room telemarketers making cold calls at dinnertime. VinoPRO is truly different; the company sells wine by creating long-term relationships with customers over the telephone instead of sending impersonal emails or trying to generate Facebook likes. There isn’t another product on the face of the planet that lends itself so well to telephone sales.
“Iron Horse signed up with VinoPRO over six years ago and we’ve seen double digit percentage increases in sales every single year. Their team is very much a part of our winery.” Joy Sterling, Partner/CEO Iron Horse Vineyards.
Turbocharge Wine Club Sales
VinoPRO started their new Wine Club Sales Division in 2013 and sold over 4,000 wine club memberships over the phone that year. The company has sold thousands more wine club memberships since the beginning of 2015.
“Our partnership with VinoPRO has really blossomed over the past 7 years and they have achieved very strong results for our Rutherford Hill and Sanford brands. We are excited to be working closely with them on several initiatives both now and over the coming years.” Chris Lynch, President at Terlato Wines International.
Customer Data Collection: The Holy Grail
Collecting customer contact information for future marketing efforts is a constant challenge for most wineries. VinoPRO’s Tasting Room Kiosk helps solve this problem and has collected over 75,000 new names for its clients in the past year. The Kiosk is free to VinoPRO clients and available at a nominal cost to others looking to increase the size of their customer list. "It's far more valuable to get a phone number from a customer than an email address because you can initiate a personal relationship over the phone versus over email, and personal relationships are clearly what sell ultra-premium wines," said Tim Wallace, former President of Benziger Family Winery.
We Are Hiring Now
VinoPRO has become a major employer in Sonoma County employing over 65 people, and in August was once again named to the North Bay Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” for 2015. The company has been so successful in brand sales, marketing and customer relationship management they have expanded their offices at The Lakes business complex three times over the past 4 years and now occupy over 15,000 square feet. The company is also adding additional locations to expand further in the coming months. VinoPRO is hiring as fast as it can to support its accelerated growth and the increased demand for its services. The company’s training program for new employees is so effective that several clients also enroll their tasting room staff in the program to boost sales.
“Jeff and his team have created a professional environment that inspires, encourages and empowers his people to do their best with a sense of fun, purpose and accomplishment…Bravo!” said Michael Houlihan, VinoPRO Investor and Founder of Barefoot Wines.
Inc Magazine’s annual list of fastest growing companies is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a three-year period. To qualify, companies have to be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. Revenue in the initial year must have been at least $200,000, and revenue in the most recent year must have been at least $2 million.
Jeff Stevenson, [email protected], http://www.vinopro.com, +1 (707) 396-5061, [email protected]
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