---
title: "A Letter to Traditional Frontline FMCG Professionals in 'Deep Water and Scorching Fire'"
description: "The article addresses the challenges faced by frontline FMCG professionals amid retail upgrades, offering career planning and transition advice. It emphasizes long-term planning, continuous self-improvement, and stepping out of comfort zones to seize new opportunities."
author: "阿湖"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-10-12"
language: "en"
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# A Letter to Traditional Frontline FMCG Professionals in 'Deep Water and Scorching Fire'

> The article addresses the challenges faced by frontline FMCG professionals amid retail upgrades, offering career planning and transition advice. It emphasizes long-term planning, continuous self-improvement, and stepping out of comfort zones to seize new opportunities.

**“Once you enter FMCG, it's as deep as the sea; hard work and running around make it hard to turn back. Retail upgrades show no mercy—where is the path for FMCG professionals?”**
I graduated in 2013 and worked as an FMCG sales management trainee for one year, then transitioned to talent development for six years. Over seven years in retail, I witnessed the explosive growth of new retail models, saw the decline of once-glorious FMCG brands, and heard the anxieties of veteran FMCG colleagues.
At the outset, I want to ask my FMCG partners: How long have you been in your current position? 5 years? 10 years? Second question: What changes have you experienced in these 5 or 10 years? Any salary or position improvements? These are sharp and realistic questions.
Because I have many frontline FMCG professionals with 5-10 years of experience around me. With the impact of new retail models, their days are not easy. Their income has declined compared to five years ago, and performance assessments are harder to complete. Describing it as "deep water and scorching fire" is not an exaggeration. This article focuses on sharing career planning and transition experiences for frontline FMCG professionals.

**-01- Make Long-Term Plans**
**"Keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars." Besides doing the current job well, every FMCG professional should make long-term plans.** Frontline FMCG sales roles are highly replaceable, and companies tend to prefer younger, more cost-effective personnel. So frontline FMCG sales is also a "youth job."
You can treat frontline FMCG as a starting point, but don't expect it to be the end point (even if you are willing, the company may not be).
**My advice for FMCG career development includes two paths: internal development and external development. Internal development includes transferring positions or promotion within the current role.** For transfers, consider marketing or operations roles, which can lead to more valuable directions.
Another direction is toward grassroots management. Managing several distributors or leading a team in a region brings a completely different experience. Internal promotions and development look great on a resume; HR will see your upward trajectory and consider you promising, giving you more opportunities.
Next, look at external opportunities. FMCG companies call sales roles "business representatives," while internet companies call them "BD" (business development). The scenarios or products sold may differ slightly, but the essence of the work is the same. If you have management experience, you can try management positions in new retail companies.
These platforms are numerous: Alibaba, JD.com, Meituan, Didi, Ele.me... These platforms not only bring income increases but also expose you to corporate culture and help develop good work habits, while also serving as a strong endorsement for your career background.

**-02- Persist in Doing the Right Things**
"Begin with the end in mind." First calibrate the compass, then set the clock. Once we have decided on the direction, the current task is to benchmark against the target, identify gaps, fill shortcomings, and practice basic skills diligently.
"Knowledge changes destiny." Education can sometimes limit development. **The first right thing to persist in is improving your education.** Whether it's upgrading from high school to associate degree or from associate to bachelor's, there are many ways to improve your education. Make a small investment and reserve for yourself, so at least when opportunities come, education won't be too limiting.
**The second right thing is to improve office automation skills.** Because frontline FMCG professionals spend a lot of time in the market, their office automation skills are often weak. Basic email writing, PPT, Word, and Excel skills can be self-taught. I've met many FMCG professionals transitioning to internet companies who made many jokes when writing weekly reports or summaries in their early days.
**The third right thing is continuous review and summarization.** The experience of each project is presented to us as surface phenomena. If we can find the essence of what was done well or poorly, we can distill it into our methodology. Next time we encounter similar situations, we will handle them with ease.

**-03- Break Out of Your Comfort Zone**
"Do the right thing, not the easy thing. Self-development starts with breaking out of your comfort zone." The previous points are more about operational aspects; this one is more about mindset. Compared to operations, the first layer is to pass your own mental barrier. Breaking out of your comfort zone is especially important.
When we are dissatisfied with our current situation but don't like our state and don't change, it's very scary. This state is like "boiling a frog in warm water." When you get a bit older, jumping out becomes very difficult. There was a real case: a senior business representative had the opportunity to become a supervisor but was unwilling. On one hand, sales during promotions had high wages; on the other hand, he didn't want to manage people, thinking it was better to be free and independent. Another partner had a suitable opportunity when new retail emerged but was afraid of risks. The FMCG industry had a base salary and various subsidies, so he didn't want to leave his familiar comfort zone and thus didn't change. He missed an opportunity.
These are examples of missing opportunities both internally and externally. But when you take on greater responsibility and pressure, the corresponding opportunities and returns may also be greater. **So break out of your comfort zone. While the pressure and burden are not too great, adjust your life's course in time and find a suitable path for yourself.** The times eliminate people silently, and the path of growth is lonely. Managing life is like running a business; ultimately, it's the process of monetizing your abilities, experience, and resources. The operator is you. Embrace change, seize opportunities, and ride the momentum. May every striving FMCG professional have a good outcome. **Start at the FMCG frontline, but don't stop there!**

Introduction: 1 year as a management trainee at a well-known FMCG company, 2 years of headquarters training experience at a well-known FMCG group, and 4 years of talent development experience at the headquarters of a top 5 internet company's new retail group. I have both frontline sales experience and group headquarters talent development experience.

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