It’s the final round. The pressure’s on and $50,000 might be at stake. Monica Leiker sets down her Bud Light and steps up to the front of the small, dimly lit stage at Johnny’s Tavern, 401 N. Second St. Leiker faces her opponent with her entire body and on the count of three, both players pound one of their fists against the other open hand three times and then...

The Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament sponsored nationally by Bud Light was more than just a friendly competition; to sales managers for alcoholic beverages distributors, promotions like this tournament are a part of the job.

On-premise sales managers for local alcohol distributors say that while their jobs are full of fun and socialization most of the time, it’s not always easy.

There is only so much space in a bar and there are endless possibilities of what alcohol to fill it with, says Josh Burnett, Glazer’s of Kansas’ on-premise sales manager for Lawrence. That’s where he comes in.

On-premise sales managers for alcoholic beverage distributors put a lot of effort into marketing and selling alcohol. They can see their efforts when their products are sold in bars, restaurants and liquor stores. Making it available to consumers is a lot of the battle, but generating brand loyalty is another matter. That’s where promotions at bars, giving away pins, T-shirts and other prizes comes in. If the customer doesn’t already like the product, sometimes it’s hard to tell if the promotions work.

Leiker, a Hutchinson fourth-year nursing student, says it did work. She ended up winning the tournament at Johnny’s on Jan. 19, and says that promotions that get people involved rather than pass out free stuff are a lot of fun. They get people involved and raise the energy in the bar. She would probably buy Bud Light for a few of her drinks even if it wasn’t already her beer of choice, she says.

“Really? How many of those T-shirts are you going to wear? They’re usually extra-larges,” she says. “I’m digging the competition. I’m a big competitor.”

Not so much fluff

Alcohol distributors compete for business and space on the shelves behind local bars, in restaurants, liquor stores and convenience stores. The number of accounts, or places that each distributor sells varies for each company, but the number ranges from 45 to 60.

Managing these accounts, sometimes doing inventory and submitting orders to the distribution center and supervising promotions are all common tasks for an on-premise sales manager. Glazer’s most well-known alcohols are Jägermeister, Jack Daniels, UV, Malibu, Stoli and New Belgium, Burnett says. Glazer’s has around 5,000 beers, wines and liquors to distribute in the area from their home base in Lenexa. Burnett specializes in beer and spirits, he says, although he is jointly responsible for the Quinton’s wine night promotion that has been going on for a few years.

“On-premise sales is key to the liquor industry,” Burnett says as he take a sip of his beer and sits back in his leather-backed bar stool at a tall table near the bar at the Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St. Without it, companies would not be able to compete for space on bars’ shelves.

Burnett showed off one of his latest accomplishments at Yacht Club, pointing out a sign on each table that said various flavors of UV Vodka were proudly served there now. In a smaller bar at a restaurant, there is usually not room for variety, he says. A restaurant can probably only pick one brand of flavored vodka to carry: Smirnoff, Grey Goose or any other brand, but it’s UV for Yacht Club.

Bryan Miller, a manager for Jayhawk Beverage, which sells Coors products, Pabst and Boulevard, is in charge of 45 accounts. He does promotions in bars, on-premise sales to the bars and makes sure that his accounts are fully stocked. He comes by each bar every week multiple times to check the inventory and to order more. He also checks to make sure all of the neon signs and posters given to the bar for display are in pristine condition, and installs and replaces them as needed. He’s pretty much the only liason between his company and the accounts.

Burnett is in charge of 60 accounts, sells beer and spirits, and handles the selling and marketing of the products. Inventory and restocking is usually not handled by him, although he does it occasionally for a bar he’s already at as a favor.

Is it all fun and games?

Getting to know new people, making friends with clients, bartenders, bar managers and owners and getting to go out and socialize on a regular basis are all perks of the job.

None of the men have any real complaints. Burnett says it is a demanding job with sometimes inconvenient hours for a family man, but he was happy to do it to pay his bills.

Destined to sell?

Burnett and Miller do not think their careers as sales managers are permanent. Burnett says that he’s been in the business for more than seven years between his time working for Budweiser and then at Glazer’s, and it’s beginning to wear on him. It’s a 40-hour work week, plus nighttime promotions at odd hours, he says. He’s married and has a 3 year-old daughter, so he may not stay in a college town forever, he says. Moving to a bigger city like Kansas City would be ideal because he could continue his job, but the older crowd wouldn’t demand the late-night hours.

Miller, a 2004 KU graduate, says he never really planned to do the job he’s been doing; he only knew he was sick of architecture. He’d been working for Coca-Cola doing nearly the same job as he is now for Jayhawk Beverage, but got the job through a friend who was taking over another position and recommended him for the job. It’s the ideal job for a 23- to 30-year-old, he says. His ultimate goal is to own a chain of restaurants like his grandmother does in Chicago, but he thinks he’ll stick around for a while first.

Mike Bourneuf, a team leader for O’Malley Beverage of Lawrence, moved to Lawrence from Tulsa, Okla., to start his new job working for his stepfather this past November. Before, he’d worked for Anheuser-Busch for three years. For Bourneuf, it’s a family business, so he thinks he’ll be working for O’Malley Beverage until he retires.

Six months from now, Leiker will be competing against winners from 23 other promotions in Lawrence for the city title. If she wins, she’ll get a free trip to Las Vegas to compete in the national tournament for a chance at $50,000.

Six months from now, Mike Bourneauf will be overseeing the sales and distribution of Anheuser-Busch products at O’Malley Beverage. But from now until then, he will be working hard to get many more like Leiker involved in one of the many promotions he does, selling fun to students and beer to bars.