---
title: "Distributor Bosses Afraid to Manage Employees for Fear They'll Quit—What to Do?"
description: "Distributors often fear managing employees because they worry about losing them, especially during peak seasons or when talent is scarce. The key is to improve the business model to generate more profit, offer competitive compensation, and establish clear career paths and management systems to reduce turnover and maintain market stability."
author: "魏庆"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2019-04-22"
language: "en"
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# Distributor Bosses Afraid to Manage Employees for Fear They'll Quit—What to Do?

> Distributors often fear managing employees because they worry about losing them, especially during peak seasons or when talent is scarce. The key is to improve the business model to generate more profit, offer competitive compensation, and establish clear career paths and management systems to reduce turnover and maintain market stability.

**Introduction:** The same early rising and late nights yield different results; sometimes choice matters more than effort—if the distributor's business model is good, they make money and can pay employees well. When employee compensation is competitive, the boss can speak with authority.

**Distributors' 'Boss Fears Employee' Is Common**

I started an online video course in 2018, expecting many factory personnel to buy and listen, but unexpectedly, half of my video course members are distributors. The distributor community is facing many difficulties and carrying heavy burdens. They have a strong thirst for knowledge, even a strong will to survive. Often, distributors ask me questions in groups or via private messages, and many questions sound a bit heartbreaking, such as:

**Case 1:**
Teacher Wei, I have an employee. When I work with him on the route, he sells a lot. But when he goes out alone, he sells very little. I asked him to switch to a driver role for delivery, but he is not proactive in delivery and is even stirring up trouble in the team. What should I do?

My answer: First, talk to him to find out why he is like this—is it a compensation issue, a skill issue, or something upsetting him? If there is no special reason and this is just his character, why keep him?

The distributor replied: I really want to fire him, but it's peak season now, and we're extremely busy with not enough people. If I fire him, I can't recruit a replacement.

**Case 2:**
Teacher Wei, my employees used to be on a commission-only system with no sales targets. As a result, they had no pressure and came back at 4 PM. I plan to introduce task assessments, but when they heard about setting targets, they all rebelled and said they would quit. What should I do?

My answer: If your salary and benefits are not competitive, managing the team is passive. In this case, you can't do it all at once: Step 1, during the training period, first set the tone: "Salespeople without targets are unreasonable; other distributors have already set targets for their employees." Step 2, during the reward period, only reward those who complete the tasks best. Step 3, during the reward and punishment period, the worst performers pay a fine—the money goes to the best performers, or the worst performers treat the best to a meal. Step 4, after the previous steps, everyone is used to it, then implement the task assessment, ensuring that most people earn more than before, and proceed gradually.

The distributor replied: I'll try it, but if they really don't want to, forget it. It's hard to recruit people now.

**Case 3:**
Teacher Wei, I have a veteran employee who is special. Everyone else is on commission, but she insists on a fixed salary of 5,000 yuan. This has caused dissatisfaction among others. What should I do?

My answer: For veteran employees, you need to give them face. Talk to her politely: "Sister, do me a favor. Everyone else is on base salary plus commission, but you're the only one on a fixed salary, and everyone has complaints. Can you also switch to base salary plus commission? Your base salary will be higher because of your seniority. I'll support you. If you struggle to complete tasks in the first three months (earning less than your previous fixed salary), I'll work with you on market visits, give you display fee support, and credit support. You also push hard to achieve high sales and earn high commission, setting an example for everyone. You sell more and earn more, and I won't face the problem of other employees saying 'the boss is biased'..."

The distributor replied: No, this veteran employee has been on a fixed salary since my father was the boss. Now that I've taken over, she doesn't listen to me. Moreover, the market she manages has the highest sales volume. Other salespeople are not familiar with her area, and the customer relationships are all in her hands. If she leaves, my business will definitely be affected!

**Reflection:** 1. The manufacturer's goods are sold through the distributor's team, and the distributor's team is in such a state of assessment and management—if the manufacturer manages the market but cannot help the distributor improve team management and assessment, it will be hard to achieve results in ten years; 2. It's heartbreaking that distributors have to be bosses like this.

Bosses "fear" employees. They attend courses and learn a bunch of "how distributors manage and assess teams," but they dare not use it—what if employees resign, especially in groups?

**How Distributor Bosses Can Face Employees Without Being Passive**

Most distributor bosses who "fear" employees have four problems:

**1. Poor business model: they don't make money themselves, so they can't afford to incentivize employees, making the boss passive.**

The distributor's business model has limited room for imagination. Some have tried transformation and cross-industry moves, like internet finance or real estate... Most will "die"—in life, you don't do what you're not familiar with. Making money is most reliable in your own field.

In the distributor's traditional business, business model upgrades are nothing more than "which products to represent," "which channels to use," "sit-back or mobile sales," "what price to set"... At the technical level, it's about competing in management expertise. In terms of direction, structure determines function.

For example: From a product category perspective, distributors selling instant noodles and beverages generally have lower gross margins than those selling mid-to-high-end liquor, condiments, and side dishes. Distributors who only sell old products don't make money, while those who are good at assessing and managing employees to push new products generally make more money.

From a channel perspective, distributors mainly doing KA (key accounts) can only turn their capital four times a year (KA actual payment period is 90 days), with high expenses and promotion costs, and most end up with low profits. Distributors mainly doing convenience stores and farmers' markets generally have much higher profits. In the condiment industry, distributors supplying 2B to restaurants have high sales per store, no need for displays, no returns, and thus make more money.

The same early rising and late nights yield different results; sometimes choice matters more than effort—if the distributor's business model is good, they make money and can pay employees well. When employee compensation is competitive, the boss can speak with authority.

**2. Base salary and average income issues.**

Distributors like to give employees low base salaries and high commissions: "Brother, sales is about earning commission, not base salary." My view is that the level of base salary represents the quality of the team. Believe it or not, the waiters at a five-star hotel and those at a 80-yuan-a-day guesthouse look different. I'm not saying that people with less education or from poverty are inferior. In the Chinese market, there are many cases of primary school graduates achieving great things.

But that's individual competition. A particular primary school graduate might stand out due to timing, location, people, and their own efforts. If two teams of several hundred people compete, one team all master's graduates, the other all primary school graduates, in business, I think the master's team will crush the primary school team without suspense.

Competition among distributors: regional channels are shared, and product differences are small (big brand products are generally not too bad in quality), so the competition is on the team.

If others offer a base salary of 4,000 yuan with an average employee income of 7,000 yuan, and you offer a base salary of 3,000 yuan with an average income of 4,500 yuan, the result is that your good performers will all run to others. Those who stay with you are the bad apples, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, just going through the motions, leading to a vicious cycle. You're doomed to lose.

Bosses always tell employees: "Work hard, and I'll pay you well." Employees always think: "Pay me well, and I'll work hard." These two groups think in opposite orders, so the boss should be generous and follow the employees' order. **Pay first, then ask them to work hard. If I pay first and you still don't work hard, I'll replace you.**

**3. Employee promotion mechanisms are not attractive.**

Manufacturers operate nationwide, with large teams and many positions, so sales representatives have opportunities for promotion, creating an illusion. A distributor's sales representative looks up and sees the company has only three leaders: the boss, the boss's wife, and the boss's mother. I could work here all my life and still be a salesperson.

Distributors need to establish internal promotion mechanisms. If there aren't many management positions, they can grade employees. Drivers can be divided into junior driver, intermediate driver, senior driver, and senior expert driver, with rules set so that promotion brings a raise and better benefits, giving employees something to look forward to.

**4. Loss upon resignation.**

When an employee resigns, is there any loss? For example, buy a car for the employee and reimburse it over five years. Buy a house in the company's name, with the employee paying the monthly mortgage, sign a contract, and after ten years of service, transfer ownership... These economic levers will make employees hesitate when they want to leave—after eight years of mortgage payments, with only two years left until the house is mine, I'd endure for two more years even if it kills me. (For details on the first four issues, I explained the methods in detail in my 2018 Wei Qing video course; here is a summary.)

**Pre-Resignation Management for Distributor Employees**

Every employee is a potential resigner. Not letting employee resignations cause major market fluctuations is what I call "pre-resignation management" for distributors.

**1. Customer information management system**

Tip: Don't rely solely on distributor management software. Many current software systems have incomplete information. Export the software content to Excel, do secondary processing, and supplement complete information:

> Which channel does this store belong to, which township area, which salesperson, which agreement type (exclusive agreement, volume agreement, display agreement, etc.)—these details need to be added manually. Then, you can use Excel to aggregate sales data by township, channel, salesperson, and agreement type for classification analysis, identifying problem channels, problem areas, and problem salespeople.

> Credit limit, credit period, overdue days, and over-limit amounts—fill in this information to avoid account chaos and receivable issues when a salesperson leaves.

> Sales volume, expenses, expense-to-sales ratio, and gross profit for each store—fill in these four pieces of information to know which stores are good (low cost, high output), how much profit each store brings you, and how much to give as gifts during the New Year.

**2. Customer contact card**

A "terminal visit card" should contain the following information. Sales reps can change, but the ordering phone and complaint phone cannot change. Terminal customers recognize the distributor, not the salesperson. It's even better to widely distribute the distributor boss's business card.

**3. Strengthen customer relationships**

Some distributors use a dual-post system for terminal visits: two people per group, one responsible for negotiation and sales, the other for managing goods. The advantage is that specialists do specialized work more professionally, and you're not afraid of anyone resigning. Two radishes in one pit—if you leave, someone can fill in anytime, and recruiting a new merchandiser is not difficult.

Similarly, if the boss feels an employee might leave, go on joint visits with that salesperson more often, at least become familiar with major clients, and keep customer relationships in hand.

Sign agreements like "cumulative sales rebates" with major clients to lock in long-term customer relationships, making it even less likely that employee resignations will hurt.

**4. Mitigate financial risks**

Channels like KA, restaurants, and group buying involve more credit sales and expenses. I've seen some distributors have finance reconcile accounts with major clients quarterly, some have the boss reconcile, or salespeople bring back reconciliation statements monthly for the boss and finance to check.

This simple action must be persisted with. Otherwise, if an employee leaves, IOUs are lost, and money can't be collected—such losses are too low-level.

**5. Mitigate regional risks**

Some "problem veteran employees" oppose the boss hiring new employees—if a new employee comes, they'll have to carve out a region from them. "I conquered this territory; why should I give you a piece?" Then, the "problem veteran employee" occupies a lucrative region, only visiting big and old stores, not small and new ones, so the market is never fully developed. But their sales volume is large, so the boss doesn't dare touch them, and the boss is effectively sidelined by this "powerful minister." What to do?

**Here is a real case from a distributor that can serve as a reference:**

A salesperson has a base salary of 6,000 yuan, plus a 2% commission on sales exceeding 100,000 yuan. Suppose a salesperson has monthly sales of 300,000 yuan, their total income is 10,000 yuan (6,000 base + 2% of 200,000).

Rule: When sales reach 300,000, the veteran employee must allocate a region with 100,000 yuan in sales to a "new subordinate employee." The veteran employee doesn't lose out—they still enjoy a 2% commission on the 100,000 yuan sales from the "subordinate" region—previously, selling 100,000 earned 2,000 commission; now, even if someone else does the work, they still get 2,000.

The "new subordinate employee" with monthly sales within 100,000 only gets the base salary, no commission—this is the performance created by others (the veteran employee). When the "new subordinate employee" develops the region finely and sales exceed 100,000, they start earning commission on the excess.

**Company cost:** For the 100,000 sales in the "new subordinate employee's" region, the company not only pays the veteran employee 2% but also pays an additional base salary to the "new subordinate employee"?

The distributor replied: Impossible. Our salespeople all earn over 10,000. A new employee won't be content with just a base salary; they'll definitely develop the region finely to push sales up. Once sales exceed 100,000, the company's cost is diluted.

Source: "Sales and Market" Magazine, Management Edition, Issue 04, 2019

**-END-**


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