I. Difficulties Encountered by Distributors in Assessment and Management

  1. Salespeople are all veteran employees, management is human-oriented, few rules are set, and penalties are hard to enforce.
  2. Shortage of personnel during peak seasons.
  3. No process indicator assessment; service to sub-distributors lacks business functions (mainly delivery). Direct-supply outlets are too few, below 10%; need to increase direct-supply rate and cultivate staff quality.
  4. The group serving second-tier distributors is not assessed, lacks market development capability, and performs purely physical labor. We have always wanted to assess this group, but they resist, complain about low pay and hard work, and lack development skills. We plan to replace them and improve staff capability.
  5. Commission calculation is too simple, lacking incentives for promoting specific products, mainly because no new products have been introduced for a long time.
  6. Imbalance between regions and outlets leads to income gaps among salespeople. Fines are hard to enforce, and turnover is high.
  7. Delivery staff change frequently every 1-2 years due to hard and dirty work; locals are unwilling to do it. This year during peak season, staff collectively resigned demanding raises; when not granted, those willing to stay returned, others left.
  8. Unable to set specific assessment indicators; rewarding is easy, punishing is difficult. Product range is single (only high-end liquor), making it hard to penetrate village-level outlets.
  9. During peak season, employees take leave, and we are overwhelmed.
  10. Employees with 1-3 years of tenure become hard to manage; low business skills, poor discipline, frequent leave; attendance bonus is unattractive.
  11. Need to verify feasibility of ideas; high sales but low profits, high expenses without detailed cost allocation and flow.
  12. Baijiu and beer salespeople earn similar wages, but beer work is heavier, leading to high turnover; currently one team sells beer in summer and baijiu in winter. Unable to cultivate good salespeople.
  13. Unable to solve layoff issues; low efficiency, poor service.
  14. Three years ago, we proposed stabilizing employees, but after stabilization, old employees show problems: 1) not visiting difficult customers (too familiar with outlets), 2) declining service attitude (when products sell well), 3) not adapting to basic tasks (like setting up promotional materials, shelf management).
  15. Wage and workload issues; employees choose low-workload jobs. Confusion: employees are lax, rules are incomplete; we only subjectively know if they work hard.
  16. The "big pot" management has run for 6 years; personnel changes cause delivery management difficulties.

II. Eight Problems with Distributor Salespeople

  1. Playing hide-and-seek at work: After loading, salespeople and drivers gather to chat or play cards, delaying work.
  2. Favoring big stores over small ones: They go directly to large stores based on experience or phone orders, ignoring potential or out-of-stock outlets.
  3. Visiting fast-moving outlets only: They prefer outlets with high turnover and stable relationships, skipping slow-moving ones.
  4. Skipping stores: In vehicle sales mode, they often miss target outlets due to driver speed or distraction.
  5. Low efficiency, high cost: They drive long distances to deliver to scattered outlets, wasting time and fuel.
  6. Wide sowing, thin harvest: New product distribution initially succeeds, but after two months, few outlets remain active; products may be unsold or gathering dust.
  7. Dependence on old products: They avoid new products because old ones are easier to sell and collect payment.
  8. Doing private work, padding expenses, and intercepting promotions: Salespeople use various tricks, and distributors often dare not complain because they are key staff.

III. Eight Dimensions to Assess Distributor Management Level

  1. Delivery method: Vehicle sales mode vs. visit mode (separating sales and delivery). The typical unit is 1+2 (one vehicle, two people: driver and salesperson) for vehicle sales. Visit mode is 1+1 (salesperson on bike takes orders, driver delivers). Vehicle sales is simple but leads to skipping stores and inefficiency; visit mode is detailed but requires strong management.
  2. Business process: Look at internal management from warehousing, delivery, payment collection, to financial management. Many small distributors use a "boss + wife" or "boss + wife + mother-in-law" model, or a "Sun Wukong" boss who does everything, leading to burnout and unclear profit/loss.
  3. Salary structure: Most use base salary + commission based on sales turnover. Initially effective, but over time, salespeople focus only on bestsellers and manipulate prices or payments.
  4. Territory division: Early management is often "bandit-style" without clear territories, causing internal conflicts and wasted resources. Clear division solves these issues and allows better resource allocation.
  5. Assessment results: If employees don't know how their wages are calculated, financial systems are chaotic. Transparent systems help employees understand and stay motivated.
  6. Commission orientation: When the team is immature, commission-based management is common. Once mature, "contracting" (包干制) is used. In commission mode, small distributors often have simple accounting, leading to inconsistent rewards.
  7. Peak/off-season wages: Fixed commission rates cause starvation in off-season and overpayment in peak, leading to turnover. Adjust indicators and consider wage reserves.
  8. Driver and salesperson wage structure: In 1+2 mode, driver and salesperson are a unit; link driver's wage to salesperson's performance to ensure coordination.

Note: These eight dimensions provide a clear picture of a distributor's management capability.

IV. Five Preventive Measures to Avoid Pitfalls

  1. Substitution: Salespeople may sell counterfeit products for higher margins, undermining the brand.
  2. Self-destruction: They may dump products into other territories at low prices.
  3. Overdrawing resources: Contractors focus on short-term gains, intercepting promotions or changing prices.
  4. Setting up independent operations: Salespeople may become competitors by starting their own brands.
  5. Eating away at assets: Without coordination, price chaos and loss of outlets erode competitive advantages.

These measures prevent distributors from becoming "hands-off bosses" and reaping unintended results.

V. Four Stages of Distributor Management

  1. Big Pot (大锅饭) Stage: Equal pay regardless of performance, typical of family businesses. Problems: inability to hire or retain staff. Core issues: distribution and employment systems. Tools: financial system (often chaotic). Self-check: track sales, expenses, profits, and bad debts. Advice: Know where profits and losses come from. First step: implement commission system.
  2. Commission Stage: Base salary + commission. Features: more work, more pay. Two phases: high base salary (initial or trial), low base salary with high commission (mature). Fix territories, test indicators to avoid instability. Consider peak/off-season adjustments. Commission methods: sales turnover (may cause old product dependence) or per-product. Key: financial support, indicator setting, territory division, brand stability.
  3. Contracting Stage: Small contracting (person, vehicle, expenses) with key point on indicators; large contracting (person, vehicle, expenses, market) with key point on sovereignty. Beware of losing control.
  4. Business Unit Stage: Divide by product, region, or customer. Requires mature management tools, stable team, and stable profit model. Elements: relatively independent market, interests, and autonomy.

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