Click to read the original article for details**************** With the pandemic recurring and the economy slowing down, how to find the driving force for sustainable and steady business operation is a topic that more companies are thinking about at this stage. But no matter how important strategy and tactics are, if the sales team lacks execution, it proves the old saying: A first-class idea is not as good as third-class execution! Without execution, even the best development plan is just a fantasy. Now is the peak season for beverage sales in Q3. Whether brand manufacturers can successfully complete the annual target depends critically on this quarter. How to quickly build strong execution with unity of purpose, and let the team stand out with products? Based on my past experience, I would like to share some thoughts and ideas, hoping to inspire manufacturers and distributors. 01 Without open consensus, there is no execution Consensus is a concept at the corporate culture level, which sounds empty, but its influence permeates every aspect of execution. Once I attended a communication meeting of a distributor. It was a pragmatic meeting, so I was eager to hear the analysis of frontline managers on the reasons for slow sales. However, after the leader's opening remarks, the meeting suddenly fell into silence, completely lacking the passion expected from a sales team. Then the leader first expressed his own views, and the deadlock slowly broke. I understood that everyone was waiting for the leader to set the tone. Then everyone began to express their opinions superficially within the leader's framework. My feeling was that the meeting had turned into a formalistic and empty talk, with everyone trying to prove how profound and accurate the leader's analysis was, while the leader showed even more confidence and firmness on his face. So after the meeting, I randomly selected a few supervisors and visited the market with them, hoping to hear their true thoughts in a different environment. Facing the market problems, our communication gradually deepened. They inadvertently showed disagreement with the current marketing measures given by the leader, but the company emphasized an "execution culture," so no one dared to question. The one-size-fits-all resource allocation and lack of focused action requirements made it difficult for them to fully persuade subordinates to go all out, and the execution naturally became distorted. During the visits, frontline salespeople even complained multiple times that the leaders didn't understand the market and were building cars behind closed doors. Consensus is not just holding a meeting, shouting slogans, or imposing one's own views. It is the synchronization of cognition from bottom-up to top-down, unifying thoughts and steps in open communication that encourages suggestions and advice. Therefore, for manufacturer and distributor management teams, the first step is to self-examine whether they have created such a pragmatic, open, and synchronized communication atmosphere, which is the foundation for improving team execution. 02 A thousand threads above, one needle below Xiao Zhang is a salesperson for a well-known FMCG brand. His main responsibility is to help distributors do distribution well. Visiting about 35 stores a day, making displays, negotiating orders, and promoting new products basically take up all his time. But one day, the company changed a sales director. Rumors said this leader was known for detail management, and Xiao Zhang's daily work became hurried and disorganized from then on. Just after visiting three stores in the morning, he suddenly received a call from a colleague in the channel department, needing to research a competitor's ongoing promotion, and a form was sent to him that needed feedback before the end of the day. Then after visiting three more stores, he received a call from a colleague in the marketing department: a promotion activity was happening in his area, but they were out of stock and needed his help to coordinate quickly. Then after visiting three more stores, he received two text messages. One said: The big leader is coming the day after tomorrow, and the new product distribution rate on today's route must reach 70%, and the display space should not be less than the competitor's. The other said: Display redemption should be accelerated, and the audit department will conduct spot checks next week... In this way, Xiao Zhang was busy all day, feeling he hadn't rested for a moment, and his phone was almost out of battery, but he still had more than 10 stores left from his original visit plan. Xiao Zhang fell into deep thought. He is just a sales representative. How can he calmly handle so many instructions? Are these things more important than selling goods? This situation is not an isolated case. The internal functional departments of a company are supposed to assist frontline salespeople, helping them discover market opportunities, coordinate resources, and optimize processes. But often each department only stands from its own perspective, trapped in internal competition, issuing orders to the frontline without planning, in order to let management see their busyness and achievements. How to break this inefficient disorder of instructions? Two methods: One is that departments need to form an action plan that integrates the action instructions of all departments at the beginning of the month (or quarter). The plans of each department should fully revolve around the annual marketing rhythm, focus on the core goals of the sales personnel for the current period, and in principle, each department's instructions should not exceed three. Another method is to establish a buffer organization between the thousand threads and the one needle. This organization is responsible for evaluating and integrating instructions issued to the frontline sales team, ensuring that instructions do not affect the basic daily work of the frontline team, and truly support business. 03 Requirements must be clear and down-to-earth, standards quantified and assessable We have all seen the magnificent military parade. How do hundreds of soldiers achieve uniformity? Through action decomposition, clear standards, and precise execution. Similarly, in a sales team, we also give various execution requirements at different stages. Whether these requirements conform to this twelve-character principle is the third dimension we focus on to improve team execution. Let's look at a passage: "Focus on creating a regional market tipping point. On the basis of quickly completing the set distribution goals, do a good job of promotion notification and frozen display. The distribution actions of sales personnel in stores should be meticulous, pay attention to box code registration and turnover activity, and gradually make the distribution network more refined and thorough." This is a monthly work requirement issued by a company to its sales team. I wonder how our frontline salespeople understand it after reading it. Words like "focus," "quickly," "do well," "meticulous," and "pay attention" can never be used as instructions to the frontline. What is a tipping point? Can the frontline team accurately understand it? The requirements and standards given to the frontline must use plain language and quantified standards, so that there is no ambiguity in understanding and it is measurable in execution. Let's modify the above requirements: "For outlets on the visit route with turnover higher than 10 boxes/month, treat them as A-class outlets and visit them 2 times/week, keep in-store inventory not less than 5 boxes, and observe and record the characteristics of consumers at these stores; Before the end of this month, complete more than 90% of the regional distribution goal. All distribution outlets must have price tags on product displays, with a suggested retail price of 6 yuan; Select 30% of potential outlets from the distribution network for freezer display, prioritizing the second layer of the freezer, with no less than 5 display facings, product LOGO facing outward, and 100% use of wobblers to inform consumers of promotional content; This month's box code registration rate should not be less than 80% of visited outlets, and this month's A product activity rate should not be less than 30% of visited outlets." After such modification, salespeople can more easily formulate effective action plans based on these requirements and their own understanding of the market they manage. Only when actions are decomposed finely enough can the team execute effectively. 04 Real-time tracking, timely warnings, and pragmatic coaching With clear goals and plans in the previous step, the next closed-loop operation is process tracking and coaching. This step is mainly done by team managers, and managers are extremely important in building team execution at this stage. We need to change the mindset from only being a referee to being a good coach, so that everyone in the team on different tracks can see hope and earn more income. This is also part of a manager's leadership. Frontline managers are the ones leading troops in the sales team. Every day, their performance and every move are seen by the whole team. To do this step well, managers need to grasp the following aspects:

  1. Track and rank the detailed action indicators daily, weekly, and monthly, and publicize the data in regular meetings. Name the top three and bottom three, and use methods like traffic lights or "star ratings" to motivate salespeople in various positions, so that everyone knows their position, sets their own benchmark, and fully stimulates the sense of honor and shame of each member.
  2. For assessments related to income or some phased promotional rewards, be sure to give warnings at key nodes. Let team members get the money they should get, and also get the money they can reach by standing on tiptoes. Many frontline managers pay insufficient attention to this point, not caring about the income of their subordinates, thinking it is a matter for HR. This actually misses an opportunity to enhance team cohesion. Leaders should be anxious about what employees are anxious about, rather than always staring at their own big goals. This is a place that needs change.
  3. Accurately perceive the emotions of team members. For employees whose data continues to decline, leaders should focus on helping them, observe every aspect of business actions carefully, explain more reasonable visit scripts, analyze the most practical sales skills, and also can establish an "internal support plan" by recommending employees who excel in certain aspects as internal coaches, giving them additional incentives or priority in evaluations. 05 Bold and exceeding expectations in incentives, clear rewards and punishments with standards Many companies want to learn the success of Pang Dong Lai, but among the many factors that made this company successful, which one is the key? I think it is the precise grasp of human nature, giving employees incentives that exceed expectations. Only when employees live with dignity can they work with dedication. They will cherish the job more, thus generating more sense of belonging and responsibility. This is even more necessary for sales teams. Many companies complain about high turnover of frontline employees. A big reason is whether employees can earn more money at your company. If the salary is not much higher than other companies, but there are many more tasks, and incentives are frequent but the total is not much, and the goals are high and hard to reach, why stay? So, don't repeatedly draw pies for the team. Around the core goals, put real money on the table. Especially in the most stressful months, give more attractive incentive plans, but make them not too hard to reach, so that at least 80% of the team can get them. Of course, for employees who, after repeated coaching, still don't improve, are satisfied with just basic salary, or often show negative emotions, they should be removed from the team as soon as possible. This should be done decisively, because over time it will seriously affect the morale of the whole team. The hot August is the most testing time for sales teams. Around the annual sales rhythm and current business situation, brainstorm to form an orderly marketing strategy, quickly break it down into quantifiable business actions, break down goals to weeks and days, through continuous follow-up ranking, review and correction, coaching and improvement, combined with phased high-incentive policies, so that everyone can see clearly, reach, and hold steadily. This will surely show unity of purpose and competitive cohesion and execution, thereby completing the sales goals of the critical quarter with high quality. About the author: Xing Renbao, with 14 years of marketing management experience, has served in Coca-Cola, Yili, Red Bull and other well-known FMCG companies, focusing on corporate marketing diagnosis, manufacturer-distributor relations, channel operations, and digital transformation.

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