As the year-end approaches and the Spring Festival peak season looms, many distributors are considering reviving ordering conferences that were canceled or postponed due to the pandemic, especially given the pressure on sales and cash flow from the first half of the year. This year, under the pandemic, the resurgence of emerging internet channels such as community group buying and livestream e-commerce has led the entire industry to focus on digitalization. Consequently, some distributors are hesitating about whether to hold ordering conferences at all. In an era where digitalization is the buzzword, orders can be placed online with a few taps on a smartphone. So, is there still a need for traditional offline ordering conferences? I can give a definitive answer: ordering conferences must be held! Moreover, the more digitalized and internet-driven the times, the more necessary offline ordering conferences become. Because ordering conferences are not only a prime opportunity to boost sales and revenue but also an effective way to leverage seasonal funds, transfer financial pressure, promote new products, and develop new customers. Another crucial point is enhancing emotional communication. With the development of the internet, even thousands of miles apart, WeChat can transmit information instantly. This has led many distributors to have little interaction with local secondary wholesalers and retailers beyond occasional business, often becoming "estranged." Therefore, distributors must hold ordering conferences. To date, there is no better way to combine all these functions than an ordering conference. However, when it comes to actually holding one, many distributors find themselves in a dilemma. Many distributor friends have told me: "We're about to hold an ordering conference again, but we don't want it to be like before. Past conferences cost a lot, attracted a crowd, but results were inconsistent, and signing orders felt like pure luck." I believe many distributors share this confusion: holding ordering conferences year after year, yet unable to control the outcomes, with eating and drinking becoming the main theme, and feeling like a lot of money was wasted. Today, I'd like to discuss how distributors can successfully host an ordering conference. -01- The Purpose of Ordering Conferences and Common Problems To host a successful ordering conference, we must first clarify the purpose, then identify problems from past experiences, and finally find solutions. First, let's clarify the objectives, which mainly include: 1. Selling goods, boosting sales, and increasing seasonal leverage funds. A good ordering conference can solve several months' worth of sales and is also an opportunity to seize market share from competitors. The role of seasonal fund leverage is also crucial. Some say ordering conferences cost money, but think about it: if a company turns over 10 times a year to do 50 million in business, it only needs 5 million in capital. But that's an average, meaning during peak season, your funds may be insufficient, requiring bank loans with interest. What's the interest rate? If you hold an ordering conference and receive money in advance, you might not need a loan and can pass those savings on to customers as discounts. Customers are happy, and you get sales—why not? 2. Promoting new products. Holding an ordering conference isn't just about selling bestsellers. As a rare opportunity, distributors should focus on promoting new products. Promotions for new products should be more aggressive, and there should be opportunities for customers to experience them. Bestsellers can be sold anytime, but new products are the key to significantly increasing profits. 3. Training customers. In today's information-saturated and overloaded era, if you don't meet face-to-face and only communicate via WeChat or phone, will customers remember your sales and service concepts from the manufacturer or yourself? Will they even read them? So, ordering conferences are one of the few annual opportunities to train customers. Teach them how to run their businesses better, use successful customer cases as models, and share experiences with others. When their businesses improve, yours will too. 4. Building relationships. As mentioned earlier, in the highly developed internet era, face-to-face interaction is best for building relationships. Customer relationships are a distributor's most important asset, so make good use of ordering conferences to strengthen them. After listening to many distributors' experiences, I've identified several common problems in past ordering conferences: 1) No one shows up. Many distributors decide to hold an ordering conference on a whim, scheduling it whenever they need funds for the peak season. There's no planning for the date or theme, and sometimes it clashes with other major brands' conferences, resulting in few attendees. 2) Lack of understanding of customers. Many distributor bosses have salespeople invite customers to the company or a hotel for the conference without any requirements. They have no idea how many will come, their quality, or whether they're serious buyers. Some customers bring their whole families just for the free meal. In the end, they see a lot of people eating but have no confidence in the actual transaction volume. 3) Inability to attract orders. After getting people there, the policies are casually mentioned, and the entire meeting focuses on eating and drinking. The policies and prizes are unreasonable and unattractive, so customers order based on luck. There's no strategy to encourage larger orders. 4) Chaotic process and lackadaisical staff, leading to poor customer experience. Some distributor bosses don't know how to plan or motivate employees. There's no standardized process, and the venue setup and meeting flow are disorganized, resulting in poor service and a bad experience for customers, naturally leading to poor results. So, to host a successful ordering conference, you essentially need to solve these problems to achieve your goals. -02- Ten Key Elements for a Successful Ordering Conference A successful ordering conference involves many elements. First, we must clarify that everything revolves around two core objectives: selling goods to secure advance payments and promoting new products. To achieve these, you need precise invitations, an excellent experience, and sufficient incentives to encourage customers to place more orders. Here are the ten key elements for a successful ordering conference. 1. Set the date and theme. First, the conference date should be well before the sales peak season, ideally over a month in advance. For example, if the Chinese New Year is in early February, hold the conference in December. Also, do thorough research and hold the conference before competitors, because customers have limited funds. The more you get first, the less your competitors get. Additionally, avoid clashing with other major brands in the same channel; otherwise, even if you're a big brand, customers splitting their attendance will reduce your invitee numbers. As for the theme, it should be impactful or linked to the brand company's initiatives. For instance, an "XX Manufacturer-Dealer Networking Event" where you bring in manufacturer representatives can also showcase your good relationship with them. 2. Set goals. Setting goals is a key part of the conference, from customer invitations to salesperson signing amounts to advance payment targets. These goals give direction, are results-oriented, and provide motivation. For example, when inviting customers, look at data and prioritize large customers, top 30 existing customers by data, and major customers of competitors. Set reasonable goals, allocate them to departments and individuals, and create corresponding incentive policies to effectively boost team morale and efficiency. There are many specific measures, such as rewarding salespeople per customer invited, cash bonuses for reaching XX ten-thousand in signed orders or advance payments, or treating the team to a meal with families. You can also organize group or individual competitions to motivate the team. In our company, the top five individuals in sales/advance payments receive rewards ranging from 2,500 to 500 yuan, team leaders in PK competitions get 800 yuan, and the daily top advance payment recipient gets a red envelope from the boss personally. The purpose of setting goals is to motivate the team and boost morale. I always believe that for anything, you must first get people moving. Without motivation, the team won't act, and nothing will be accomplished. Another point to note: avoid letting customers' relatives attend on their behalf. Our primary goal is to sell more goods. Relatives often come with instructions to place a 10,000-yuan order, but if the boss is present, we might use methods to entice them to order an extra 10,000 or 20,000 yuan. Also, it prevents a bunch of relatives from just eating and drinking and ruining the atmosphere. 3. Develop promotional policies. Many bosses use the same old promotional policies. In reality, a good set of policies can greatly improve the quality of the conference. A well-designed policy might get a customer who came with 10,000 yuan to write an IOU for an additional 20,000 yuan in orders. Before setting promotional policies, it's essential to "store water"—that is, keep regular promotional policies consistent, focusing on bundling gifts and giveaways without reducing them. This makes customers feel that the conference offers extra benefits, giving them a sense of getting a bargain. When selecting gifts or prizes, be clear about the purpose: the lottery is to keep people engaged, encourage additional orders, and address customers' gambling mentality. The lottery should go from small prizes to big ones. So, gifts and prizes should have strong visual impact to stimulate customers to increase order amounts; they should be of good quality, otherwise a bad experience can backfire; they should be practical for customers; they should offer good value for money to highlight their worth; and finally, you can set up some valuable grand prizes. Lottery tickets can be distributed based on order amounts, such as one regular ticket per 3,000 yuan and one grand prize ticket per 10,000 yuan. Additionally, when promoting, whether it's bundled products or lottery gifts, plan the cost ratio in advance. A product discount of around 3% and prizes accounting for about 1% is advisable. 4. Venue setup. Details often determine success. A good ordering conference will have a carefully planned venue. Highlight key products with neat displays; arrange gifts and prizes; set up customer seating; test audio and projection equipment; plan parking; arrange catering; and manage reception—all aspects should be meticulous. Think about it: if you're a customer and you arrive to find no parking, messy product displays, or slow service when asking for water during the meal, would you want to place a large order? Conversely, a neat and impressive setup might make you trust the distributor and brand more. Also, note that the venue isn't necessarily bigger is better. If you only have 300 customers, a venue for 1,000 will feel empty and have a negative effect. 5. In-meeting design. The in-meeting design is mainly to continuously build atmosphere, showcase team strength, and strengthen customer relationships, ultimately facilitating deals. First, the host is key to driving the atmosphere. The lottery segments and announcements of major deals can energize the crowd. Salespeople should coordinate with the host's rhythm and use sales scripts to encourage customers to add orders. You can also have the boss suddenly announce extra big policies to close deals with major customers and further boost the atmosphere. 6. Invitations. Many distributors have salespeople invite customers directly. In reality, a refined and elegant invitation can provide a great experience and make customers feel respected. 7. Train salespeople. From explaining promotional policies and invitation scripts to signing scripts and morale displays, train your salespeople to improve overall effectiveness and signing success rates. 8. Create a group to report performance. Real-time reporting is a way to motivate salespeople. Visual displays can spur others to keep up. 9. Develop a process. The process is crucial for the smooth flow of the meeting. It's recommended to break down each task, assign responsibility to specific points and people, and preferably document it in writing. This way, it's clear who does what and when, ensuring the meeting runs orderly. 10. Post-meeting summary and follow-up on fulfillment. Spending so much manpower and resources isn't just for signing orders at the meeting; there's still much follow-up work. First, track customers to see if they continue ordering. Second, conduct a post-meeting summary: What did we do right? How much of our goals did we achieve? What could we have done better? What did we learn and gain? Save the summary for future reference. Finally, don't forget to honor PK and incentive policies to keep the team motivated for the next event. Also, fulfill the policies promised to customers to build trust and a good reputation, which is essential for growing the business. Hosting a successful ordering conference is no easy task. It requires comprehensive planning, with the goal of getting retail store owners to order enthusiastically, happily, and competitively. Boost sales, secure advance payments as seasonal leverage funds, promote new product distribution, and seize market share—only then can an ordering conference be deemed a success! Bio: Li Feng, General Manager of Anshan Hongye Hengda Trading, an expert in FMCG distribution operations. With 24 years of frontline market experience, he helped a third-tier city distributor increase sales from 100 million to 300 million yuan, raised the sales team's per capita annual income by 233%, and grew terminal outlets by 462%. Tips: A reward of 400-2000 yuan will be paid for any tip used.