As a distributor, dealing with manufacturers' salesmen is inevitable. Since 1992, I have encountered over a thousand salesmen from various manufacturers, ranging from large to small, state-owned to township, and foreign-invested enterprises. Although industries and companies differ, overall, one can clearly sense the varying levels of competence and personal quality among these salesmen. Over the past two decades, the overall competence of manufacturers' salesmen has been on a declining trend. This is not just my personal view; many distributor peers share the same sentiment. Current salesmen cannot be compared to those from ten years ago.
So, what were manufacturers' salesmen like over a decade ago? What are they like now? What factors have led to the decline in their competence and quality?
In the past, salesmen, especially those from large manufacturers, maintained a relatively high level of competence and quality. Overall, they possessed the following characteristics:
1. Older Age They were older, with richer life experience. Salesmen in their 30s and 40s were common (many were former supply and marketing personnel). Many salesmen were of similar age to distributor owners, allowing for more common ground and smoother communication. At the very least, they could quickly find shared experiences in daily life.
2. Solid Product Knowledge They had solid product expertise. Many early salesmen were selected from production departments, having personally participated in product manufacturing. They possessed practical product knowledge, such as in raw materials, processes, procedures, and warehousing. This expertise provided practical guidance in later manufacturer-distributor cooperation.
3. Adept at Social Etiquette They were skilled in handling social nuances, thanks to their age. They had keen observation, quickly reading distributor owners' facial expressions and implied meanings. When visiting, if they encountered loading or unloading, they would proactively help. Many veteran salesmen remembered owners' and their families' birthdays, and even chronic illnesses, noting them for future use.
4. Lacking Theory but Strong in Practice Salesmen over a decade ago did not have modern theories like the 4Ps or 5Ps. Their methods were simpler and less clever, but they were hardworking and practical. In fact, sales work has no profound secrets; diligence and reliability suffice.
5. High Stability It was common for salesmen to have over a decade of tenure at a manufacturer. This stability meant they avoided short-sighted actions, considered long-term manufacturer-distributor cooperation and market plans, and enhanced their sense of responsibility. They could view issues from the distributor's perspective and empathize with their difficulties.
The above describes the state of salesmen ten years ago. Now, what is the current state of manufacturers' salesmen?
1. Young Age Some salesmen enter the manufacturer's sales department directly after graduation. They are inexperienced, unable to speak properly, and constantly cite company requirements and regulations. They lack basic social skills, fail to read owners' expressions and implied meanings, and even miss clear dismissal cues. Communication is exhausting; to distributor owners, some salesmen seem like children.
2. Little Ability but Big Attitude Some young salesmen learn to put on airs, treating themselves as leaders and distributors as subordinates, speaking in a condescending tone.
3. Lack of Patience When new distributors experience slow initial sales growth, salesmen do not investigate the market, analyze problems, or find solutions. Instead, they cut off the current distributor and open a new one. If the new one also fails, they cut again. Often, in certain regional markets, salesmen have already developed all potential distributors, leaving no clients to develop—effectively killing the market. In such cases, their solutions are either to request a market transfer or simply quit.
4. Using Distributors to Climb the Ladder To achieve personal promotion goals, they ignore market conditions and distributor situations, disregard the harm of overstocking to distributors' working capital, and overlook the dangers of large-scale stocking of untested new products. They deceive distributors into paying and stocking up, leading to frequent collapses of distributors' capital chains due to excessive pressure.
5. Widespread Deception of Distributors In recent years, the term "fooling" has become popular. To facilitate their work, meet personal sales targets, or even gain illicit benefits, salesmen resort to various tricks. For example, they impersonate the manufacturer's headquarters to deceive distributors, and there have been cases of forging headquarters documents. Many salesmen believe that distributors must be deceived, otherwise work cannot proceed.
6. Not Helping Distributors Solve Problems They only make simple demands, such as requiring distributors to pay or stock up. Beyond that, they rarely help solve any problems.
7. Unfamiliar with Basic Product Knowledge They are unfamiliar with product knowledge but memorize commission and bonus methods for each product.
8. Believing Distributors Grow Only Because of the Manufacturer They think distributors should be grateful to the manufacturer and, by extension, to the salesmen personally.
9. Lack of Creative Thinking in Market Work They rely on a few standard tactics. When they cannot devise new methods, they blame distributors for not working hard or claim insufficient company resources, refusing to reflect on their own shortcomings.
10. Not Caring About Distributor Owners' Personal and Company Background After years of cooperation, they do not know the owner's age or birthday, let alone the internal management and development issues of the distributor's company. These details are not impossible to learn; salesmen simply do not bother, considering it unnecessary.
The above lists the current state of some manufacturers' salesmen. Compared to those from a decade ago, their overall quality and ability have significantly declined. Yet, over the past decade, marketing theories and techniques have advanced greatly, and salesmen's theoretical knowledge has improved. Why is there such a gap in practical application?
Everything has a cause. The decline in salesmen's competence is primarily the responsibility of manufacturers' management, including owners. As the saying goes, "Problems appear in the front rows, but the root lies on the rostrum." Owners' mindsets and practices are key factors. As companies grow, owners are surrounded by flatterers, and many believe they built the market single-handedly. They think distributors are merely following the manufacturer's lead to get rich, so obedience is expected. Moreover, many owners look down on distributors, viewing them as uneducated nouveau riche who deserve to be fooled. Even when designing training programs for distributors, they openly talk about "brainwashing" them. "When the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones are askew." Owners' attitudes directly influence salesmen's attitudes toward distributors. Additionally, as companies expand, owners become engrossed in government relations, new investments, and new fields, focusing on bigger things. They pay less attention to sales (often delegating to VPs or marketing directors), becoming distant from frontline employees and distributor clients. This reduces their awareness of market changes. Fewer meetings between owners and distributors also give unscrupulous salesmen more opportunities. Besides these, there are issues in management thinking and systems. Of course, salesmen themselves have problems. Here, I offer some analysis:
Rapid company growth and employee recruitment outpace management systems, especially with a shortage of managers. Many managers only pressure subordinates without providing methods, leading salesmen to treat distributors simply and roughly.
To gain government support or go public, owners expand scale and capacity abnormally, increasing market sales pressure. To meet targets, sales management only rewards sales volume, driving salesmen to focus on short-term sales increases while suppressing market-building activities that do not yield immediate returns.
As companies grow, bureaucracy emerges, leading to internal friction and infighting, especially in joint-stock companies. During the founding phase, shareholders worked together; now that the situation is stable, each believes their contribution is greatest, leading to power struggles and factionalism. Salesmen must choose which leader to follow; if they back the wrong one, even excellent performance is futile, leaving no time for market work or distributor management.
Veteran employees now hold positions and power, some reaching mid-level management. They believe they deserve to enjoy privileges, flaunt their seniority, turn market visits into leisure trips, and see promotions as opportunities for personal gain. Although owners may implement internal competitions, these are often mere formalities to please the boss. To secure their positions, veterans emphasize the value of their experience and ideas, suppressing newcomers and rejecting new ideas, which discourages creative work.
Some salesmen are overly eager for quick success, believing that hard work is less effective than networking, and that direct money-making is faster than sales bonuses. They switch jobs frequently, lacking interest in studying business. With such a mindset, they not only seek personal gain but also collude with colleagues and distributors in corruption.
Owners' management ideas are exploited by unscrupulous employees. For example, supervision systems become like the Eastern Depot, making employees fearful. Corporate culture, which owners favor, is used by middle management to exclude dissidents, suppress subordinates, and advance themselves.
Some manufacturers' salaries remain unchanged for years. For instance, a famous grain and oil company I worked for still implements the 2000 salary standard. Some companies cut costs by reducing employee income rather than optimizing systems, leading to low income, which drives away excellent salesmen and forces others to find ways to increase their own pay.
Regarding stocking pressure on distributors, many owners believe that pushing goods to distributors, draining their funds, forces them to find ways to digest inventory. This also prevents competitive brands from pressuring distributors to stock, which is another reason salesmen force distributors to stock up.
Although every owner talks about brand, innovation, and strategy, daily work focuses on promotions, sales volume, and costs. That is, they consider hard indicators like sales but rarely soft indicators like distributor satisfaction. If owners do not care, subordinates naturally do not either.
There are many other reasons for the decline in salesmen's competence. I have analyzed only a few for reference. In conclusion, I believe the core cause lies with owners. As the saying goes, "Example is better than precept." Owners' thoughts, concepts, and practices directly influence subordinates. To change the current decline, owners must lead by example, starting with self-change and adjustment, to gradually improve salesmen's abilities and stop cultivating salesmen who rely on deception.
Author: Pan Wenfu Born into a private business family, he managed a family distributor company for years, during which he also served as a business manager and trainer in several production enterprises. His research focuses on internal management of small and medium-sized private enterprises, with main topics including personnel management, cost control, management backend construction, and demobilized military personnel entering private enterprises. He has continuously broken down over 400 topics related to private enterprise internal management, maintaining material collection and solution updates.
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