In marketing practice, we inevitably deal with numerous channel customers. Many salespeople return from the market exhausted, feeling that channels are difficult to handle. Some sales managers have said: 'After a lifetime in sales, I've never seen a channel satisfied.' Many salespeople often say: 'The market is calm, why have they suddenly stopped selling our products?' Or: 'Competition is fierce; competitors are running promotions, and many customers are unwilling to sell our products.' This reflects that either you are insensitive to the market and fail to receive information from customers promptly, or you lack market judgment and cannot discern the chaotic information from customers. In short, you haven't grasped channel psychology.

So what are the channel psychologies? Let's summarize them:

1. The Pursuit of Discounts

Merchants are profit-driven; seeking discounts is the most normal and common psychology. However, due to Chinese subtlety, no one will directly tell you; they always convey this signal through clever questions. Salespeople must capture the purpose behind these signals.

For example, a boss who usually ignores you greets you warmly today. Be careful—she wants to ask for gifts.

A customer tells you: 'A new outlet is opening soon with great potential.' This is seeking your support.

When a customer complains: 'Business is tough, not making money,' if your product is a market leader, this is a dangerous signal. It indicates two possibilities: they may want a promotion, or a competitor is contacting them. Probe for information from the side.

When you deliver goods, the customer could order five cases but only orders two—what does that mean? They want a discount.

When your product's favorable display position is taken by a competitor, don't argue. If you haven't been absent for a long time, it's likely the competitor gave the customer more benefits.

When you distribute, regardless of your product's price, customers will say it's too high. They can always name a cheaper product or one with more promotional items.

Customers' pursuit of discounts is endless and never satisfied. As salespeople, what should we do? Here are some techniques:

  1. When a customer asks for gifts, whether you have them or not, don't be afraid; stay calm internally, but appear apologetic and promise to bring them next time (remember to fulfill). Since your visits are periodic, you have ample time to prepare. Give gifts 'frequently but in small amounts'—visit often and give a little each time. When you have many gifts, store them separately and don't expose them. Don't dwell on the gift topic; quickly shift to issues you care about.
  2. When a customer asks for support, you can't refuse; propose conditions (e.g., order a certain quantity or sign a short-term sales contract). If they can't meet your conditions, they won't ask again. Also, report this to your supervisor and record it within the organization to avoid inconsistent answers if they ask others.
  3. Pay close attention to major competitors' movements. This can be reflected in customers' language, inventory changes, and display changes. Stay highly sensitive and take decisive action.
  4. Believe what customers say is true; you can't disbelieve or easily trust. Verify each point. For doubtful information, don't reject or easily agree; investigate and then reply, and always reply to the customer.

2. Finding Faults

Customers often compare your weaknesses with competitors' strengths, saying your price is high, your brand is unknown, you lack promotions, quality is poor, or service is lacking—they can always find faults. This is a strategy many customers use against suppliers: to psychologically undermine you and suppress your morale. Because every transaction or communication is a negotiation, if they undermine your confidence, you'll make concessions, and they achieve their goal. It's said Walmart excels at this; typically, suppliers don't get to meet them in the first two visits, on the third they get only a few minutes, and on the fourth they criticize your product and service harshly, forcing you to voluntarily offer better terms.

When customers find faults, we should be calm, humble, composed, and neither servile nor overbearing. Never oppose their criticism, but state your advantages and selling points, patiently explain, and compare your strengths with competitors' weaknesses. Use the 'Yes, you're right... but' sentence structure. The more thoroughly you understand the market and competitors, the easier it is to handle customers' nitpicking.

3. Desire for Exclusivity

Many customers, especially in county towns and townships, want exclusive sales within a certain area. Because competition among merchants is fierce, exclusive sales allow them to control prices and profits. But unless you adopt a distribution model, suppliers generally won't let one customer exclusively sell the product, unless they have sufficient strength.

For this psychology, first reason with them: the market must be developed together; one player alone may seem profitable but lacks volume and loses customers. Second, give larger customers more gifts and adopt differentiated policies to allow multiple customers to sell. Or start by distributing to small customers, then run exaggerated promotions to create a hot-selling situation, stimulating other customers to order. More often, we let some customers sell first, give up on others, and achieve a distribution rate of 60-70%. Then gradually seek opportunities to expand share.

4. Herd Mentality

Many small and medium customers have a strong herd mentality; they don't dare take risks alone. If others stock up, they do too; if others don't, they don't.

For this psychology, first find influential customers to stock up, even if you relax conditions (tell them only they get this treatment, others don't, and ask them to keep it secret). Then, when delivering, make a big show so other customers see it. Then it's easy—capture the leader and the rest follow. I once promoted instant noodles in a township. I first approached Mr. Zhang, the most influential boss on the street. No matter what, he refused. We tried every possible method, but he still refused. Finally, I said:

'Brother Zhang, let me put 20 cases at your door, okay?' 'No, even if free, there's no space inside.' 'Brother Zhang, not for you, just at the door for a while; I'll take them away later.' 'Fine, but if they're lost, I'm not responsible.' 'Haha, no problem. Who would steal from your door?'

So we stacked 20 cases high at Zhang's door, very conspicuous, then went to other shops on the street: 'Look, even Zhang has stocked up. It must sell well. How about a few cases?' Without much effort, nearly all ten shops on the street ordered, and over 100 cases were quickly distributed, all for cash.

Finally, we returned to Zhang: 'Brother Zhang, everyone else has taken some. As the leader, you should show some face. You can't let us take these back, right?' Seeing everyone had ordered, Zhang was puzzled and couldn't refuse, so he said, 'Alright, leave ten cases.'

5. Seeking Market Information

Customers have a strong desire to probe market information. Our minds should be filled with various information—macro and micro—and we should occasionally reveal 'valuable' information to customers to build trust, and in return, we get the information we want. But never spread false information. Sometimes customers deliberately ask: 'There's a buy-ten-get-one-free policy now, right? So-and-so said so.' Don't verify with that person. This is a bluff to ensure they get the discount. Sometimes customers say: 'Zhang San's business is booming; he delivers hundreds of cases a day.' This is actually an attempt to get information about Zhang San from you; don't take it at face value.

6. Showing Off

Many customers like to show off to factory personnel that they sell well and fast, aiming to gain attention and more discounts. If you're familiar, they might talk about their children, pets, cars, or other proud achievements. This is a good opportunity to build rapport and encourage them; definitely go along with their topics and offer appropriate praise. This way, you not only sell products but also make friends.

7. Fear of Neighbors and Competitors

There's a saying: 'A distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor, and a near neighbor is not as good as the one across the door.' But among merchants, it's different: over 50% of customers can't get along with adjacent or opposite competitors, and 70% are wary and worried about them. This is due to intense competition. Therefore, when distributing in densely populated areas, pay attention to these subtle psychologies and market conditions. Be careful when distributing to adjacent customers to avoid offending them. So if a customer asks: 'Did the wholesale next door take it?' You can't easily say 'yes' or 'no'; judge based on the situation: if the two are equally strong, they're likely to repel each other; if there's a big gap, the weaker is likely to follow. If you can't judge their relationship, these two answers are more appropriate: 1. 'I haven't distributed to them yet; you have priority.' 2. 'He said he wanted it, but I haven't given it to him yet; I'll give it to you first. You decide how to distribute.' Generally, after distributing to a larger customer, don't immediately go to their opposite neighbor. Of course, this psychology can also be used to our advantage: if a customer demands too much and you can't get in, distribute to their opposite or neighbor with promotions to divert customers and force them to comply.

8. Wariness

We're always told: 'Don't talk to strangers.' Customers are the same; they're wary of salespeople who come to their door. They don't know your background and are afraid to deal with you. Their concerns—whether they'll make money, whether it'll sell, what to do if it doesn't—haven't been answered, so they speak cautiously and won't buy.

For example, you ask: 'Is the boss in?' They usually look at you and say: 'The boss isn't in' (even if they are the boss). So experienced salespeople always say: 'Hello, boss' (whether they are or not), not 'Is the boss in?' If they answer 'I'm not the boss,' you say: 'Liar, I can tell you are.' 'Really, I'm just an employee.' 'Then you'll be the boss someday. Where is the boss?' Then they'll tell you. Happy. We often encounter this: 'Boss, this is a new product with promotions; it's very profitable.' 'Never heard of it; no one buys it.' 'It's a Chinese famous brand; it's being advertised on CCTV; everyone knows it.' 'Price is too high.' 'Not high; it's cheaper than brand X.' 'People here only recognize brand X. What if it doesn't sell?' 'Our products are returnable and exchangeable.' 'Where do I find you?' 'We're at such-and-such road, number so-and-so.' 'Okay, come back another day; I still have stock.'

So even if you answer completely, they still don't buy. Why? Because they don't trust you. After you leave, they might check you out and verify what you said. Maybe next time you come, they'll buy because the guard is down. So we should fully introduce our products and company, let customers understand us, and dare to make promises to eliminate wariness. Also, distribute multiple times; a single buy or no-buy doesn't reflect true demand.

9. Rejection

In this buyer's world, customers basically lack nothing, so their first reaction to sales pitches is rejection (including the wariness mentioned above). Hence, marketing says: 'Sales begins with rejection.' If customers naturally accept, there's no need for sales; just deliver.

For customers' instinctive rejection, we need to appeal to their interests: 'good quality, low price, big brand, strong promotions, good service, returnable and exchangeable'—some of these are our advantages and also points that appeal to customers. Be sure to present all advantages and use them to win over customers. Also, compare with a reference brand to make it more attractive.

10. Delaying Payment

All channel members are the same: they only want to take in money, not pay out. So when delivering goods, collecting payment is troublesome. On the first interaction, agree on payment terms upfront. For regular customers, plan deliveries when the boss is present; otherwise, you might not get paid. Generally, afternoon deliveries are most suitable. Sometimes the boss says, 'I'm short on cash; come back tomorrow.' Then agree on a specific time and place to collect. Generally, don't let customers write IOUs (especially in the north, there's an unwritten rule: an IOU means long-term credit, no IOU means temporary credit). Before leaving, repeat the payment time.

Sometimes, to distribute goods when customers are unwilling to pay cash, set different distribution policies: give different promotions for cash vs. credit sales to encourage cash purchases. To achieve distribution goals, you can also let them pay half. Be sure to dispel customers' concerns by promising returns and exchanges; otherwise, they won't pay.

Conclusion: Facing various channel members and their myriad problems, we find that 'eight-step visits' and 'three-step negotiations' don't work well. It's not that the textbook methods are useless, but that you haven't flexibly applied them with channel psychology in mind. It's like a mosquito repellent charm—it only works inside a mosquito net. Channel psychology is the mosquito net. I believe that although channels are complex and changeable, they still have patterns. We need to understand the psychology of channel members from different backgrounds, personalities, ages, and environments. Only by grasping their inner thoughts can we respond flexibly. A Qing Sao in 'Shajiabang' could 'build a seven-star stove and boil water from three rivers' by understanding each customer's psychology. Therefore, attacking the mind is the best strategy.

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