1. Tailor the profit story to the audience In small and medium terminals, there are two types of people who can decide on stocking: the owner and the store manager/buyer of small supermarkets. Different identities have different needs at different times: owners generally care more about profit, and during new store openings, they care about whether the product can bring foot traffic or enhance the store's image. Store managers/buyers generally first care about whether bestsellers are already in the store (otherwise they'll be scolded by the boss), and second, whether they have met their monthly assessment indicators. Salespeople should also tailor their profit stories to the audience. ※ When negotiating with store owners on a regular basis, emphasize product sales profit: "Hello boss, this double-sided instant noodle is our best-selling new product locally. It's currently on TV ads and has a scratch-and-win consumer promotion. Our company gives you a box for 20 yuan, with 24 packs per box, which is 0.83 yuan per pack. Including our bonus, the net purchase price is 0.8 yuan per pack. Retail is 1.5 yuan per pack, so you earn 0.7 yuan per pack, with a return on capital of over 87%! Because our company's promotion is strong, sales and prices are guaranteed. Trust-Mart took our product for a poster promotion last week and sold over 800 boxes in two weeks. Guess what their poster price was? They set it at 1.5 yuan (they usually sell it at 1.7 yuan). You're at the entrance of a residential area, so if you sell at 1.5 yuan, you can calculate whether you'll make money." ※ During new store openings, emphasize profit, delivery convenience, damage exchange, and visual merchandising support: "Boss, you have great vision; this location is excellent. Our company wants to cooperate with customers like you with a good store image. I've already calculated the product sales profit for you. Let me give you some good news: I want to apply to the company to make your store a model store. For your new store opening, we'll improve your store image for free, put up high-grade laminated posters, install waterproof and sun-proof film on the exterior walls, and hang lanterns as a sign on the counter. We'll also provide stack display rewards (show them photos of our model stores)... You just need to maintain these items. We'll give you two cases of goods per month as a reward and support. Model stores get VIP service priority; we visit weekly, and with one phone call, we deliver. Products with short dates can be exchanged as long as the shelf life hasn't passed half. Promotions will prioritize model stores to help drive business. For stores with good location and cooperation, we may also apply to make store signs and light boxes." ※ For store managers/buyers of small supermarkets, emphasize that other stores have already stocked and are selling well: "The largest supermarket around your community, Wanjia, has already stocked and is running a promotion. You can go check. Also, Hongcheng Supermarket at the community entrance and Haodi Convenience Chain at the intersection have stocked and done end-cap displays. Hongcheng even wants us to do a Mid-Autumn Festival stack display with a buy-and-gift promotion. I'm worried that their store is too close to Haodi Convenience, which might lead to price undercutting, so I'm stalling them. Your store is in the residential square, with a better location than theirs. If you want to do it, I can support you." (Implication to the buyer: these key stores in the business circle are your competitors; if they're doing so well and your store doesn't have it, the boss might scold you one day.) ※ For well-managed small supermarkets, also probe the buyer's assessment indicators: A few well-managed small supermarkets imitate large supermarkets in assessing store managers on several indicators (sales, gross profit, expenses, inventory, etc.). During communication, you'll find which indicator he's interested in, indicating pressure on that indicator this month. Then prescribe the right remedy: if he cares about performance, emphasize activities to boost sales and foot traffic; if he cares about gross profit, push high-priced new products; if he cares about expenses, present the model store support plan.
  2. Choose the right time and target for the profit story ※ Observe when the boss becomes "interested" and "add fuel to the fire": When the boss starts asking detailed price questions or uses a calculator to calculate profit, it means he's psychologically assuming the product is in the store and seeing how much he can earn. At this point, seize the opportunity to calculate profit in detail (see point 3 below for specifics). ※ See who in the store cares most about profit: Sometimes the owner of a small terminal has many concerns about new products, but the boss's wife is more "money-minded" and likes to calculate detailed accounts, easily swayed by profit, and doesn't consider things like "Will it sell?" "How's the service?" "Can I return it?" "Will it tie up capital?" So next time, your key negotiation target is the boss's wife.
  3. Calculate profit thoroughly from multiple angles: "You've been in business for years; you've already calculated profit thoroughly, right? Let me help you with the detailed accounts." ※ Price difference and promotional policies generate unit profit: Keywords— ? Purchase price: Deduct all promotional bonuses and support from the purchase price. (Case omitted.) ? Retail price: Small store owners don't set prices based on what they want to sell for, but first look at what the neighboring store sells for. So salespeople should emphasize that other stores sell at this price, and our company stipulates all terminals sell at this price. Our price stickers and posters indicate this price, giving the owner confidence in the retail price. ? Return rate: Unit profit divided by net unit purchase price equals return rate. For example, in the case at the beginning: the owner usually remembers earning 0.7 yuan per pack, but if you calculate the return rate of 87%, it sounds more convincing. ※ Exclusive supply variety price management helps protect unit profit ? We only supply one outlet per village, so there won't be price undercutting among several outlets in a village. Moreover, our products are different from those in large supermarkets, so price undercutting by the town's big supermarket won't disrupt your price. Your profit is guaranteed. As long as you display and recommend actively, once this product sells, the profit is always yours. ※ Sales volume generates total sales profit: ? "The price difference profit is there; it's up to you to take it." "I won't say whether sales are big; you can see for yourself—give reasons why your product can sell, like advertising and promotion support, and cite specific cases and numbers of other stores selling well." (Specific methods to make the owner confident in sales will be covered in the next article: Model 4: How to use herd mentality and the leader effect to sell; Model 5: How to make customers believe sales are guaranteed and they won't lose money.) ※ High consumer consumption per occasion generates per-customer transaction profit: ? "Our liquor is light, mellow, and doesn't cause a headache. High-end restaurants now prefer healthy, small-pack, mellow, and non-headache liquor. Consumers drink more of this type, so you earn more. **liquor (competitor) in your store is sold in 1.3-jin large bottles with high alcohol content and a 'buy one get one free' lottery. Think about it: that reduces how much liquor you sell and how much profit you lose." ※ Fast turnover generates turnover profit return: "As a store owner, you don't earn unit profit but turnover profit return. Selling our product earns 0.5 yuan per pack, while selling generic brands earns 2 yuan per pack. But our product sells fast, selling out in three days, turning over ten times a month, so monthly gross profit return is 0.5 yuan times ten equals 5 yuan. Generic brands earn 2 yuan per pack but take two months to sell, so monthly gross profit is 2 yuan divided by two, which is 1 yuan. Calculate which has higher profit?" ※ Rebates generate cumulative profit: ? "If you accumulate 200 boxes in a year, we'll give you a refrigerator (retail price 1700 yuan/unit). What does 200 boxes mean? Less than one box a day; selling six bottles a day completes the task. A table of heavy drinkers can consume several boxes. As long as you promote seriously, you'll definitely complete it. (Don't calculate the total task for the owner; break it down to daily. Selling 200 boxes of high-end beer to a small restaurant isn't easy, but breaking it down to six bottles a day sounds easy. In reality, this doesn't account for competitor sales or seasonal factors.) That's an additional 8 yuan profit per box. Earlier I mentioned an 87% return rate; with this, your profit is over 100%. Besides, for a small supermarket, you need a refrigerator; if we don't give it, you'd have to buy one. Now we give it to you first. After completing the task, we refund the deposit, and you get to use the refrigerator a year early." ※ Packaging returns generate secondary profit, and handling fees for packaging returns generate tertiary profit ? For the beverage industry's cap returns and instant noodle industry's box returns promotions, calculate in detail: "For example, each cap returned gives you 0.5 yuan, adding 12 yuan profit per box. For empty bottle returns, we pay 0.5 yuan per bottle, while competitors pay 0.3 yuan, so you earn more profit."......... ? "As a terminal small supermarket, you collect caps from consumers at 0.5 yuan each, usually offsetting purchases, which boosts your business. Additionally, when our factory redeems, we give you 12 caps' worth for 10 caps; those two extra caps are your handling fee. We run promotions to boost your sales and total profit, and we also pay you for redeeming caps." ※ Display rewards generate stable profit and boost sales, increasing total sales profit ? "If you display 20 empty boxes at the entrance, we'll give you two cases of goods per month, which is another 50 yuan profit (at retail price). This is free money; just display the empty boxes and you get it. This is stable profit. Don't forget, for these two cases, we also return bottles, boxes, and caps, which is profit on profit." ? "We help you with display rewards: place six bottles on each table with a neck tag showing the retail price, and add laminated posters. Consumers who weren't planning to drink might grab a bottle or two. Product display is like having a promoter in your store without paying a salary; it boosts consumption without much effort, and you increase profit." ※ Special agreements generate agreement profit: ? Special agreements include exclusive shelf display agreements, rebate agreements for completing sales targets, exclusivity agreements to prevent competition by not selling competitors' products, and exclusive sales agreements in the beverage industry. ? "Our product is in the same tier as competitors. Do you want to earn a few dozen yuan per box from them, or do you want our 5,000 yuan annual exclusive reward? If you become our exclusive model store, in addition to sales profit, you'll earn an extra 5,000 yuan a year. I'm tempted to quit and open a store myself." ? "All signed model stores are recorded, and we give them VIP service priority........."
  4. Benefits beyond profit: If your profit isn't advantageous, know how to step back and explain value beyond profit. ※ Bring foot traffic: A supermarket selling goods needs products that don't make money to bring in foot traffic. In short, if you don't have products that don't make money, you won't make money. ※ Bring golden customers: "Yes, this product doesn't sell much in your store and brings little profit, but it targets white-collar workers. They come to your store with high per-customer spending and buy high-end products. My product is the phoenix tree that attracts the golden phoenix; the customers it brings are the god of wealth." ※ Bring price image: "My product is low-priced with low unit margin (or high-priced imported with low sales), but it's a price image product. Because this ultra-low-price (high-end) product is in your store, people will think your prices are low (or your store is high-end). That indirectly creates profit for you." ※ Good logistics service, no capital tie-up, damage handling, etc.: "We visit weekly, deliver, return bottles, and calculate rebates promptly, without tying up your capital. We exchange products with half shelf life remaining if the outer packaging isn't damaged. We have promoters to help with activities........."
  5. I can help you increase profit ※ Sell-through generates new sales and new profit: "We plan to invest in displays, consumer promotions, and boost sales and profit........." ※ Changing product mix generates profit: ? "I plan to use your store as a promotion base, distributing consumer discount coupons in the surrounding business circle and promoting high-priced products........." ? "Selling mature products that customers order won't make money; only by selling products you want to sell to customers can you make money!" ? "New products have high initial profit; sell them first to make money. Once they sell well and prices get chaotic, you won't make money!"
  6. Let customers get a small advantage; they'll feel the profit is higher ※ Explanation: Letting customers get a small advantage doesn't cost us much; it just amplifies their fear of missing out on the opportunity—making them realize what they lose by not accepting our product. Many people like small advantages. For example, why do so many people sign up for mobile phone packages? Many don't need that many minutes, but they sign up because they don't want to lose the benefits. ※ Promotion flexibility: For example, if a very small store can't order enough at once, within company allowances, be flexible: let the store order a few packs first, do a trial display, and next week when they order again, accumulate to reach the threshold and still give them the gift. ※ Promotion is ending soon; I've applied for an extension for you; keep it confidential: ? "It's cold now, and our distribution promotion is strong. After the holiday, when it warms up, there won't be promotions. Anyway, the peak season will come. You're not afraid of not selling this product." ? "This activity is the last day; I came specifically to tell you." "The activity has ended, but the report hasn't been submitted yet. If you want, I can find a way to 'cut in line' and treat you according to the original promotion policy. Don't tell anyone." (Even if the boss doesn't order, he'll thank you.) ※ Who's asking whom? My stock might not be enough today ? After confirming the profit story is clear and the boss is interested but hesitating, either directly help him decide and write the order, or make a move to leave: "You go ahead; I have other stores to deliver to. I'll come back after unloading their goods. I'm afraid I might not have enough stock today." Even in front of him, instruct the driver to unload at the neighboring store. Summary and Analysis: In business, store owners (especially small and medium terminal owners) care most about "profit," so telling the profit story is always one of the most effective sales methods and a necessary skill for salespeople. If you think telling the profit story is just subtracting the purchase price from the selling price, you're wrong. To truly master the profit story, it's not easy— ※ First, learn to tailor the profit story to the audience......... ※ Second, choose the right time and target for the profit story......... ※ Third, comprehensively analyze and explain the profit story from multiple angles: "Price difference and promotional policies generate unit profit"; "Exclusive supply variety price management protects unit profit"; "Sales volume generates total sales profit"; "High consumer consumption per occasion generates per-customer transaction profit"; "Fast turnover generates turnover profit return"; "Rebates generate cumulative profit"; "Packaging returns generate secondary profit & handling fees generate tertiary profit"; "Display rewards generate stable profit & boost sales to increase total sales profit"; "Special agreements generate agreement profit"......... ※ Fourth, for situations without profit advantage, shift the negotiation focus to benefits beyond profit, emphasizing that our products bring foot traffic, golden customers, good service, and other value-added content that indirectly generates profit. ※ Fifth, provide plans to increase customer profit, telling the profit story with "future profit prospects"......... ※ Finally, letting customers get a small advantage often makes them feel "more profitable." It must be noted that the profit story is important, but relying solely on low prices and high profit isn't the best choice—there will always be products with lower prices and higher profit. Moreover, salespeople who only talk about profit can be "passive" because over time, as soon as they enter a store, the owner asks, "What's the gift for this order?" Telling the profit story is important! Besides the profit story, we also need to learn other models like "using service to break the ice," "analyzing what the store lacks and selling that," "selling with customer relationships," "selling with visual merchandising," "selling with herd mentality and the leader effect"......... 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