---
title: "Diary of a Marketing Director [8 Entries]"
description: "This article presents eight reflective entries from a marketing director's diary, covering topics such as challenging conventional rules, changing communication environments, the importance of communication, management methods, persistence, strategy, process versus results, and not complaining after making choices."
author: "崔迎"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2014-12-01"
language: "en"
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# Diary of a Marketing Director [8 Entries]

> This article presents eight reflective entries from a marketing director's diary, covering topics such as challenging conventional rules, changing communication environments, the importance of communication, management methods, persistence, strategy, process versus results, and not complaining after making choices.

**Friendly reminder: Click the ↑ "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting" to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.**

**1. Nothing Is Impossible**
At first glance, "nothing is impossible" seems like a passionate declaration, showing a determined resolve to challenge the objective environment. In business operations and market maneuvers, this mindset often yields unexpected results.
But from a rational perspective, "nothing is impossible" reflects two points: (1) The mindset or actions it embodies change one's own or others' conventional operational thinking; (2) It carries a one-sided desire to change the objective with the subjective. Of course, "nothing is impossible" requires courage, which comes from: (1) The determination to change the status quo; (2) One's own past experiences. In real business, because we know too many logics and rules (which are the result of long-term environmental balance), we become habitual. For example, supermarkets should charge slotting fees, and displays cannot be touched... Because we can't find a fulcrum, we constantly encounter setbacks, resistance, and harm in our actions, and thus submit to the rules!
In sales, it actually stems from information asymmetry, will asymmetry, and asymmetry in expected logical thinking, and these are mutually influential.
Therefore, "nothing is impossible" precisely demonstrates the basic character required of salespeople: (1) Not submitting to rules, creating new rules; (2) Forming harmony by changing others...

**2. Change the Environment for Communication**
Today, I went with Lao Ma to meet a distributor. As we talked, I felt the other party wasn't excited, and the conversation seemed to narrow. In a pinch, I invited the distributor to look at the shelves in the store. Surprisingly, when we talked about cooperation and operations in front of the shelves, the distributor suddenly became excited...
In actual work, to negotiate with distributors for a specific purpose, we often make preparations such as props, materials, samples, etc. These preparations are essentially about providing more evidence to move the distributor and make them believe. From another angle, it's about simulating a thinking space (or simulating a vision) — building sensibility on rationality; making their brain produce a feasible illusion through text, images, language, and other communication media (actually a very complex process). All this is correct, but the purpose is to stimulate the other's vision and hearing, influencing their thinking. In actual work, we subconsciously assume that negotiations with the other party take place in the office. Because the office is a familiar place for the distributor (and because being there for a long time makes it hard to reach an excited state) [Note: The order of stimulation for people: text, tables, language, expressions, body language, images, animations... Correspondingly: text introductions, statistical tables, vivid language, brochures, physical samples, commercials. Following this logic, can we boldly imagine conducting communication and negotiations with distributors at the terminal site?
The above is deduced from logic. In real work, our communication with distributors generally falls into a few points: 1. Discussing cooperation; 2. Discussing problems; 3. Discussing plans. All these are to achieve terminal sell-through, with the ultimate goal being product sales at the terminal. So why can't we place the negotiation environment in the context of the goal? It's conceivable that it's entirely possible, and negotiating at the terminal can be imagined to stimulate the distributor more, creating an immersive feeling, which is very valuable for us to grasp the initiative and control of the negotiation. Because in front of the shelves: our thinking with the distributor easily aligns with the environment; in front of the shelves, we are more professional; in front of the shelves, we can better demonstrate advantages; in front of the shelves, we give the distributor more confidence; in front of the shelves, our information with the distributor is more equal...
Therefore, we should try to place the negotiation location at the terminal, in front of the shelves, whether discussing cooperation, promotions, product items, or displays... The problem itself isn't the problem; changing the environment yields twice the result with half the effort!

**3. Communication Is the First Step to Solving Problems**
In actual work, we often encounter many problems. But if we carefully review, can we identify the same factors affecting problems in the process of problem generation and problem solving (which often creates new problems)? From an interactive perspective, communication is a key factor influencing problem development.
Because of lack of communication, information asymmetry arises, making both sides speculate about the other's behavior and thinking based on their own. Also, because of lack of communication, when behaviors manifest, we tend to analyze problems from an opposing perspective, forming the belief that everything the other does is contrary.
Why do such simple problems recur in actual work? What hinders our communication? In a sense, it's treating matters as people. When based on people, matters can be right or wrong, so people are also seen as right or wrong. But in essence, people are not right or wrong; matters can be right or wrong. People can admit they did something wrong, but no one admits they themselves are wrong. This is the key factor affecting communication!
How to do it? The key is one's own mindset. I often say in business negotiations, the most feared thing is "winning a negotiation but losing a deal," which also reflects this issue from another angle. So, we must establish a basic mindset: communication is not about admitting you're wrong, but about solving problems.

**4. Summary of Management Methods**
For a long time, I've wanted to describe management methods in the simplest sentences. A few days ago, we conducted a sales management session at Tsinghua University. This time, when arranging the course, I specifically used the method of thinking hedging, expanding horizontally and vertically, and the distributors responded strongly!
Over the years, I've also been thinking: What is management? Management is a relationship, but relationships have positioning. I once described it with this sentence: Management is managing your own behavior to clarify others' thinking. The self-relationship points (producing value) are three: hands and feet, brain, and heart. All management thinking revolves around these three points in self-relationship and other-relationship. From brain to behavior is institutional management; from heart to behavior is emotional management; from heart to brain is situational management (Zen). To help distributors understand simply, I used the following sentences:
If commands don't solve it, use systems;
If systems don't solve it, use performance;
If performance doesn't solve it, use incentives (material incentives, expected incentives...);
If incentives don't solve it, use culture;
If culture doesn't solve it, use emotions!

**5. The Power of Persistence**
Many times, when chatting with distributors or peers, we often discuss what is most important in sales. After thinking it over, combining my own feelings, and reflecting on my 11-year sales career, I conclude: it's learning to persist.
Indeed, our past successes came from continuous effort and dedication to a goal. But what I mean by persistence is whether we know to persist when we're in the most difficult times... People often choose to give up in the hardest times, not because they don't know to persist. Everyone understands that the darkness before dawn is the darkest. But reflecting on ourselves, how many plans and ideas did we later think were right, but we chose to give up at the time...
So what is persistence? I think it's not a mindset or personality, but a wisdom. Because when we mention the word "persistence," "difficulty" immediately follows; without difficulty, there's no persistence. Matters often involve the fusion of two wills, either one merges into the other, or the other merges into one; "seeking common ground while reserving differences" is merging. The two wills must communicate, and the result of communication is the fusion of wills, meaning the stronger will merges the weaker. This process is persistence.
The question is: What are we persisting in? Are we persisting in rules, our principles, our interests? But fusion is interactive and cannot be dictated by one side's will. So, persistence is persisting in the thinking of fusion. Therefore, persistence is wisdom.

**6. On Strategy**
Today, I listened to a lecture by a very knowledgeable teacher, and I was deeply impressed. The morning topic was about corporate strategy, which was very meaningful, but what moved me more was his "inclusiveness." I checked some materials; he has never worked in a company. Because he hasn't worked in a company, his talk had more universality, and universality lets us see the essence of problems.
The issue of corporate strategy is a dialectical process from complex to simple, and from simple to complex. When formulating corporate strategy, we find logical relationships from complex phenomena to see the essence of things. Once the essence is found, we can easily establish goals. After goals are established, we have strategies. After strategies are implemented, we have results. And results are phenomena, forming a cycle.
In my personal view, to describe it in the most common language: Who am I [advantages], where do I come from [accumulation], who do I want to become [positioning], where am I going [goals], who do I unite [cooperation], who do I fight [competition], for whom do I do it [management]...

**7. Process and Results**
Tonight, it started raining outside. People are like this; when encountering such weather, we tend to think too much. Unintentionally, I recalled some feelings about the company. Frankly, in the past, we were somewhat eager for quick success in business because we often pursued results too much. So, at the last national distributor conference, I also frankly said that we and the distributors were too eager for quick success. But results are just results; a company's advantages are cultivated in the process. We often judge heroes by results, or results at a certain stage. Under such interaction, to achieve results, all our behavioral orientations are based on reaching goals, thus neglecting the accumulation of advantages. Why do we discover problems in cooperation only after cooperating with distributors? Actually, this problem was already generated when we first chose the distributor. Cooperation is the complementarity of both sides' advantages, not the complementarity of both sides' results. In real work, the most common phrase manufacturers use to evaluate distributors is "strong strength," and similarly, distributors often say manufacturers are "strong strength." These are results, but from results, we cannot deduce advantages. Good results may not come from good processes, but good processes will definitely lead to good results.
For individuals, I still use this sentence to tell all salespeople: "Our results are for creating value for others — the salary is for the wife, the achievements are for the boss; only the helplessness, hopelessness, and ups and downs in the process belong to us, and these will become our true wealth."
The process requires continuous learning. First, we must have an inclusive mindset to learn things. The purpose of learning is not to imitate.

**8. Once You Choose, Don't Complain**
Recently, my state hasn't been good, and I've felt tired. Although I've been adjusting, and my work state can still be adjusted, I still feel some pressure facing the current situation. Of course, personally, I hope to challenge my limits. Only by constantly challenging our limits can we continuously improve ourselves and understand ourselves.
Life is a process of struggling with oneself and with the external environment. In contradictions and struggles, we gradually see the essence of things. No matter how many people there are, they all have the same nature and logic. This is also why we constantly pursue relatively unchanging things; otherwise, there would be no order. But this unchanging thing is formed in change, so it has its complexity.
Life has many choices, but what do we base our choices on? We often regret our choices and analyze them with logic. Or finally use so-called objective logic to determine right or wrong, but this right or wrong is relative to the environment, with time and space boundaries.
People are a process of harmony between subjectivity and objectivity. When right and wrong appear in our minds, it's a reflection from the objective environment. Making us more inclined toward the objective environment is what we call maturity; so-called maturity is fusion with the objective.
So, when we choose and then think we're wrong, and complain, it's actually an irresponsible behavior toward ourselves. Choice is subjective, and complaint is dissatisfaction with the objective.
Once you choose, don't complain!

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