How To Charm Snakes, Herd Cats, Sell Beer

I highly doubt every beer rep would do this, and perhaps it's not necessary, but it reflects the overall impression I get from hanging out with Tyler. He could just as easily be a marriage counselor: "Relationships are everything. You have to build them, foster and maintain them. It is important to always say what you mean and do what you say. Only promise things you can and will deliver."

By seven o’ clock I’m *tipsy, exhausted and I throw in the towel. Tyler drops me off at my car, and promptly returns to the city. Though any job that requires drinking quality beer is a good one, being a beer rep is not a cakewalk.

Was this an average day in the life of a beer rep? Maybe a little more active than usual, but definitely not unrealistic. It’s a dynamic, rewarding job for an extrovert – the kind of person who can “make conversation with a lamppost”, which is how Tyler’s mother described him as a child.

By the end of the day, I had become the lamppost. Throughout the day I may very well have been a snake to be charmed and a cat to be herded, but it never felt that way.

Tyler’s a good salesman, but I think his real success comes from being genuine. In an industry where you share a pint or three with your competitors at the end of the day, there’s no other way to be.