---
title: "A Well-Known Distributor's Techniques for Selecting Factories, Products, and Business Communication, and Countermeasures for Common Business Problems"
description: "When a company launches a new product, it needs to recruit distributors, and every year many distributors also need to select new products. For sales personnel, recruitment is equally important. Recently, a reporter from Jiushihui obtained an internal product selection strategy from a well-known liquor company (with authorization), which analyzes from four aspects: price, brand, model, and product selection. We share it here to help liquor manufacturers and distributors."
author: "酒食汇团队"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-07-31"
language: "en"
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---

# A Well-Known Distributor's Techniques for Selecting Factories, Products, and Business Communication, and Countermeasures for Common Business Problems

> When a company launches a new product, it needs to recruit distributors, and every year many distributors also need to select new products. For sales personnel, recruitment is equally important. Recently, a reporter from Jiushihui obtained an internal product selection strategy from a well-known liquor company (with authorization), which analyzes from four aspects: price, brand, model, and product selection. We share it here to help liquor manufacturers and distributors.

When a company launches a new product, it needs to recruit distributors, and every year many distributors also need to select new products. For sales personnel, recruitment is equally important. Recently, a reporter from Jiushihui obtained an internal product selection strategy from a well-known liquor company (with authorization), which analyzes from four aspects: price, brand, model, and product selection. We share it here to help liquor manufacturers and distributors.

1. Selecting Price Range:
When selecting new products, distributors should choose an appropriate price range based on their resources. There are three situations to note:

**1. Network-oriented:** Distributors with years of operation have accumulated rich terminal network resources and good relationships with terminal customers; they are suitable for choosing dominant products from advantageous channels or manufacturers. For current baijiu, especially for manufacturers in the Anhui liquor sector, new products with retail prices around 60-120 yuan are the mainstream price band.

**2. Network-oriented:** Distributors with social resources and the ability to sell high-end liquor have relatively high social circles; they can choose products with retail prices around 120-200 yuan.

**3. Capital + network-oriented:** With strong capital and network advantages, they generally select strategic brands from manufacturers for full-channel operation, and jointly operate with manufacturers to become the leading brand in the local market.

2. Selecting Brand:

**1. Provincial brands vs. non-provincial brands:**
From the competitive landscape of the Anhui market: below 200 yuan, regional brands dominate; above 200 yuan, national brands are less affected by regional brands.

**2. Provincial super-first-tier brands vs. provincial first-tier brands vs. provincial second- and third-tier brands:**
Anhui provincial baijiu brands can be divided into listed companies: Gujing Gongjiu, Yingjia Gongjiu, Kouzi Jiaojiu, and Golden Seed; regional strong brands: Xuanjiu, Wanjiu, Gaolu Family, Wenwang Gongjiu, Linshui, Laomingguang, Gucaoyun, etc.; provincial second- and third-tier brands: Jinyuwan, Yuanjiu, Guokou, Baohe, Jinkou, Jinbuhuan, Jiuhuashan, etc.
Baijiu development has entered the brand stage, and brand power becomes the dominant factor in the next round of competition; strong brands develop rapidly, while weak brands are eliminated as the new normal. Brand power = performance * price. Specifically, brands that achieve breakthroughs in provincial capitals and establish a foothold at the 100-yuan price point have a future.

3. Selecting Model:

**1. Advantages and disadvantages of manufacturer-led model:**
Advantages:
1. Support from personnel teams;
2. Advertising support;
3. Consumer cultivation support;
4. Distributors operate with ease: mainly responsible for logistics and capital recovery;
5. Good expectations: potential to become a super single product, allowing long-term operation;
6. Core is the pre-investment of strong resources: personnel, capital, and advertising.
Disadvantages:
1. High capital threshold: initial payment + advance market expenses;
2. Long cycle: successful manufacturer-led large single products take 2-3 years;
3. High requirements for manufacturer-distributor cooperation: manufacturer-led, but must handle division of labor and collaboration;
4. Need to enhance operational flexibility: manufacturer operates the market, distributor cooperates in execution, and adjust in time according to market changes;
5. Fixed profits.

**2. Advantages and disadvantages of distributor-led model:**
Advantages:
1. Low capital threshold: suitable initial payment + less advance payment + no vicious inventory pressure in peak season;
2. High flexibility: maximum use of distributor resources/will;
3. Simple manufacturer-distributor relationship: mainly manufacturer personnel cooperation, relatively simple;
4. Lower risk;
5. Relatively higher profit margins.
Disadvantages:
1. Resource investment: no pre-investment, investment based on payment collection;
2. Average expectations: low volume increase expectations.

**3. Combine industry and own resource status to choose a model suitable for yourself:**
If you cannot obtain the distribution rights of a strong regional brand or cannot meet the manufacturer's requirements, choosing an operator product is the best choice.

4. Selecting Product (Operator Products)

**1. A operating products vs. B operating products:**
A adopts a streamlined product line strategy and currently has no operator products; A has opened product development for products below B's price point.

**2. Regional brand A-series vs. B-series vs. C-series:**
From brand power: A-series > B-series > C-series.
From market performance: A-series products have good sell-through and stable market capacity.
From the root: consumer brand awareness is awakening, and brand influence on purchase decisions is increasing.
From scarcity: A-series manufacturers adopt a cautious limited development policy, giving them market scarcity.

**3. A-series products vs. A-series products:**
Comprehensive consideration from dimensions such as operating entity, marketing positioning, product, price/policy, and early market performance:

| Product | A | B | C | D | E | F |
|---------|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating entity | Sales scale | Strong | Weak | Weak | Weak | Strong | Weak |
| Commercial reputation | Good | Medium | Medium | Strong | Good | Medium |
| Staffing | Medium | Strong | Weak | Medium | Weak | Medium |
| Positioning | Marketing positioning | Long-term | Long-term | Long-term | Long-term | Long-term | Long-term |
| Product | Outer box | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Good | Good |
| Bottle shape | Good | Good | Good | Medium | Weak | Good |
| Outer box | Good | Good | Medium | Weak | Weak | Medium |
| Liquor quality | Good | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Weak |
| Price | Market performance | | | | | | |
| Policy bottom price | | | | | | | |
| Market performance | Recruitment performance | | | | | | |
| Sell-through performance | | | | | | | |
| Reorder performance | | | | | | | |
| Total sales | | | | | | | |

The above is a horizontal quantitative analysis conducted by sales personnel when a brand entered a certain market, comparing their product (A) with other products at the same price point. After objective comparison and comprehensive consideration through the table, A product had the best comprehensive advantage, gained distributor recognition, and reached cooperation with A product.

Due to differences in education and industry experience, salespeople express sales terminology and communication differently. A standardized sales negotiation manual is necessary. Today, we also look at how another large distributor's sales personnel handle communication skills and common negotiation problems, hoping to provide some help.

**1. Product Level**
First, salespeople must be thoroughly familiar with the advantages of the products they sell, able to recite them at will. This is the first step in selling products.

1. Outer box
**1) Regarding outer box dimensions:**
Compared to XX: outer box is 3cm shorter, same width;
Compared to best-selling products at the same price: width and length are larger;
Largest volume among products: both length and width are larger than other series;
Possible future adjustment: add foam to increase length.

**2) Regarding outer box element arrangement:**
Other products: brand name arrangement and whether sub-name helps consumer recognition; no other elements, simple and elegant;
Our product uses ** and ** composite arrangement, consistent with bottle element arrangement, strengthening unified communication; added the most important brand asset elements, easy for consumers to recognize and accept;
Our outer box elements break the monotonous arrangement of other series, maintaining a distinct brand image.

2. Bottle shape
1) **Creative source:** Derived from the company's most classic bottle shape in the 1990s, incorporating the most important brand assets, giving many consumers over 50 a sense of familiarity;
2) **Craft:** Mature hot stamping process; three-layer spraying, exquisite craftsmanship, while the market mainstream uses 1-2 layers; smooth surface, unlike some products with rough surfaces or particles;
3) **Bottle color:** Enters the mainstream red color system; enters the mainstream color system of ***.

3. Outer box
1) **Material:** Double-layer board box, high hardness, strong sense of grade;
2) **Dimensions:** Horizontal area same as manufacturer's leading product ***, much larger than other similar products;
3) **Version 1:** Consistent with bottle color, entering mainstream red;
4) **Version 2:** Retro kraft paper color, implying old liquor style.
Note: Lid, bottle head, opening method, etc. are not analyzed.

4. Liquor quality
1) **Guarantee:** "Pure grain solid-state fermentation" (according to company) printed on the outer box, ensuring pure grain brewing, not edible alcohol blending;
2) **Execution standard;**
3) **Liquor body style:** Soft and pure on entry, quality appeal focuses on comfortable drinking;
4) **Three supplementary points about liquor quality:**
Liquor only has different body styles, not necessarily good or bad; for example, strong aroma vs. sauce aroma, Sichuan strong aroma vs. Anhui strong aroma, there is no good or bad, just different styles, like personalities; consumers have different preferences.
99% of consumers cannot taste the difference in quality among products with the same body style, but more than 50% can taste differences between different body styles (mainly taste); specifically, most consumers can taste the difference between strong and sauce aroma; the difference between Sichuan and Anhui liquor, but not the difference in quality within the same grade or region.
Potential distributors who raise objections to liquor quality generally have three reasons:
**Pretend:** To show they know liquor and are professional, but actually don't understand; often new clients;
**Negotiation tactic:** To suppress a point that is hard to verify, seeking more cooperation benefits;
**Excuse for refusal:** Not a target customer, no demand.
**From experience: When customers talk about liquor quality, salespeople can selectively ignore, not explain, not discuss, not disagree.**

**2. Price and Policy Level**
Product advantages relate to product sell-through. Without good profits, distributors and terminals will not accept even good products. Salespeople should be clear about terminal list price, scan code price, retail transaction price, and policy support, and control flexibly:

**1. About terminal list price, scan code price, retail transaction price: establish a complete price system;**

**2. About terminal store shipment price and activity policy intensity:**
1) Terminal shipment price: set shipment price for terminals, as well as terminal guidance price and suggested transaction price;
2) Activity policy intensity (realizable part): best to adopt a unified policy; multiple policies make it hard for salespeople to grasp, requiring approval for everything, reducing efficiency; also, multiple policies can cause price system confusion. For individual core stores, support in other forms;
3) Terminal receiving price: regarding fixed merchant profits, explain policies clearly, give reference values, and let terminal store owners calculate themselves (usually distributors and terminals calculate differently).

**3. Terminal profit guarantee: gross profit XX yuan/piece + rebate (during new product launch, high gross profit helps increase terminal enthusiasm);**

**4. About market investment:**
1) Flexible operation under semi-price-control model: the purpose of price control is to manage prices, focusing on long-term brand operation, not to implement operator's will; this is fundamentally different from manufacturer price control;
2) From expense verification: as long as company price principles are not violated, market expenses are quickly and simply verified;
3) Guiding philosophy for market investment in recruitment: first flexible, then standardized; quickly build distribution system, combine with specific customer conditions, within company policy red lines, apply to regional deputy general manager for policy investment, etc., moderately flexible to accelerate market launch.

**3. Promotion/Brand Level (Creating Hot Sales)**
Brand advantages
1) **Introduce brand assets:** Sort out product brand advantages for channel promotion and consumer communication;
2) **Media placement:** TV, outdoor, and online non-stop placement, creating a strong brand atmosphere;
3) **Good terminal atmosphere:** Terminal atmosphere is the primary task for product entry and promotion;
4) **Sub-brands have become a mature category:** Sub-brands have excellent market performance in Yanghe, Luzhou Laojiao, Jiannanchun, Gujing, Yingjia, etc.; major distilleries have launched sub-brand products, combining main brand advantages, using brand/category awareness and consumption base to help brand promotion.
5) **Conclusion:** Organize product brand power, stable consumption base; in market layout stage, media investment depends on market conditions.

Analysis of first wave of consumers for new product launch
1) Convert some consumers of similar products;
2) Consumers of other series of the same brand;
3) Marginalized consumer groups of other brands;
4) From channel perspective: the first wave of consumers comes from stable customer groups of core terminal customers (with new product promotion ability), who have good relationships and stable trust with terminal customers; the new product promotion ability of core customers should be valued.

Three driving forces for new product sell-through
1) Good brand atmosphere and stable consumer base;
2) Competitive profits for core terminal customers;
3) Strong/flexible consumer activity pull.

New product market performance (XX months after launch)
1) Recruitment: launched XX markets in the province;
2) Distributor reorder rate: XX%;
3) Terminal sell-through rate: XX%;
4) Market shipment: XXXXXX pieces.
These data help communicate with potential customers and promote cooperation.

**4. Market Service Level**
Market division of labor
1) Manufacturer/operator and merchant jointly formulate market plans;
2) Manufacturer/operator mainly responsible for market order management;
3) Merchant mainly responsible for sales execution.

About market management
1) **Price management:** Distributors not following company price regulations: first warning; second termination of cooperation;
2) **Cross-region sales management:** To strictly control product flow, the company takes three measures:
- Copy box codes: warehouse records box codes for each shipment;
- Print on outer box: print **region** merchant exclusive supply on outer box;
- Hidden codes: set by manufacturer/distributor personnel;
3) **Cross-region sales penalty system:**
1. Distributors recover products; severe cases terminate cooperation;
2. Sales personnel jointly penalized 10,000 yuan per occurrence;
Mainly to convey the manufacturer/operator's determination and will for long-term brand and market operation!

Service personnel configuration:
Basically one market can have one full-time sales person; there are XXX sales personnel in the province.

Source: Jiushihui (ID: jiushihui5959)
-END-

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