I just started my distillery and will now have possibly 11 states that I will distribute to. Main thing for me is "Persistence!" I don't give up even if someone tells me no. My product is so unique that when I meet with a new distributor, and after some tastings, I tell them what I want for my product and don't budge. I had a distributor in Milwaukee that wanted to pay $xxx for my product. It was so low that I said, no and thanks for your time and left. After that, I've gained all the states that I have, with the price that I had asked for and then more. If you believe in the quality of your product, do not budge or undercut yourself short. You have to make some profit too! Overall, I've been blessed to have all the states that I have and when I was going to all the liquor stores in my states to introduce my product, less than half of them told me NO but more than half said YES! All my prices are FOB prices and I do not have to deliver anything.
Believe in your product and you will succeed. Like they say, "If you build them, they will come", well, this goes true about us as distillers. Best of luck to you and don't give up!
Cheers!
Po Lo
Lo Artisan Distillery, LLC