Click 'Read Original' for details Foreword: In 2016, many distributors didn't make money, and after a busy year, they felt uneasy. There are many reasons, but the main two are: 1. Not choosing the right products. 2. Not managing well. We have compiled the key work points and precautions for the whole year of 2017 to help you roughly plan your annual schedule. The aim is to help you better organize your plans, make reasonable arrangements, and ensure a more structured and prosperous 2017.
Focus on Gifts at Year-End January-February 2017: This is the key sales period at year-end. Focus on promoting gift box products, increase promotional efforts and market maintenance, and strive to achieve 60%-80% of the annual sales during this period. Sales Focus: Sell products in bulk, increase the frequency of market visits and product display, and intensify channel stocking. Sales Challenges: Stockpiling goods ties up capital, increases employee workload, and there is a risk of employee turnover. Handle the year-end details for employees' families to ensure they earn money and maintain team stability.
Plan for the Year in Spring March-April 2017: Quickly select products to lay the foundation for the year's sales products and targets. Expand the team, focusing on summer bestsellers like beverages and snacks. Sales Focus: Choose the right products. A year's plan starts in spring. When selecting products, note: they must have market differentiation, catch trend categories, have packaging that stimulates appetite, offer sufficient profit margins, be priced according to consumer perception, and fit your channels and local consumption. Don't be fooled by manufacturers; trust yourself. Sales Challenges: Choosing the wrong products wastes the whole year.
Test Sales and Identify Trends May-June 2017: Conduct test sales of products. Expand channels and provide in-depth service. Whether the chosen products truly have the potential to sell well can be determined in two months of testing. Once you find a product is not suitable, quickly switch. Don't stick to one product; maintain a product portfolio to prevent agency risks. Sales Focus: Test sales in 60% of key markets to ensure a 40% sell-through rate within a month. With pleasant spring weather, increase the development and visits of terminal outlets. Strengthen employee training to enhance team professionalism. Sales Challenges: Insufficient distribution at outlets, and stocking large quantities without testing new products, leading to a lack of funds to choose better new products.
Care for Employees in Summer and Push for Volume July-September 2017: Increase sales efforts for summer products and push for volume. Strengthen care for employees during summer to prevent turnover and heatstroke risks. Sales Focus: During the peak summer sales season, increase market promotion of summer products. Sales Challenges: Market service may lag, and outlets may be squeezed by competitors. If salespeople are not professionally trained, they cannot build market accumulation, and gradually the market is squeezed out.
Plan Winter Products in Advance October-November 2017: Select products in autumn and plan winter products in advance. Expand your network and product selection range. Strengthen professional skills training for the team and enhance your own professional learning. Sales Focus: Increase learning to understand more industry trends and 2018 consumption trends, increasing the success rate of autumn product selection. Sales Challenges: Being too closed off, having too narrow information, being overconfident, and failing in product selection, causing you to miss the year-end sales push in 2018.
December 2017 - February 2018: This is the peak sales season. Summarize the shortcomings of the previous year and strengthen the advantages of the previous year's sales.
For food distributors, selecting products in spring and autumn is like a farmer sowing in spring and harvesting in autumn. With hard work, you will reap rewards. Keep learning to improve yourself, expand communication to enrich yourself. I believe business will get better and better.
Conclusion: Two major considerations in business: 1. Always pay attention to product selection. Once you miss the agency rights for a good product, it's gone forever; you must seize it. For a distributor's business, the product is the core. 2. Persist in learning and improvement. Establish an internal training system and continuously strengthen professional skills.
Classic sayings distributors should remember: The height of a company's development is proportional to the boss's vision, The speed of a company's development is proportional to the boss's ability, The company's profitability is proportional to the boss's marketing ability, Employee loyalty is proportional to the boss's management wisdom. When a distributor boss grows a small step in ability, the company will develop a big step. Never refuse to learn, never refuse to communicate, never refuse to try. Plan the entire 2017 in advance, so you have a clear plan and confidence.
Wish all distributor friends a prosperous Year of the Rooster with booming business and abundant wealth! -END-