---
title: "Distributors Leverage Major Brands for Growth"
description: "This article discusses the strategy of small distributors partnering with major brands to accelerate their growth, using the 'leaning on a big tree' approach. It outlines the benefits, challenges, and practical steps for small distributors to attract and secure partnerships with top-tier brands, illustrated with real-world examples."
author: "朱志明"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2014-09-05"
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# Distributors Leverage Major Brands for Growth

> This article discusses the strategy of small distributors partnering with major brands to accelerate their growth, using the 'leaning on a big tree' approach. It outlines the benefits, challenges, and practical steps for small distributors to attract and secure partnerships with top-tier brands, illustrated with real-world examples.

**Warm reminder: Click the blue text above “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting” to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.**

In supermarket displays, it's common to see unknown brands placed next to big brands, using this neighborly tactic to boost sales—this is the "leaning on a big tree" principle of product display. This method also applies to liquor distributors. By partnering with major domestic and international brands, distributors can quickly enhance their corporate image and industry standing. Riding on this big ship, a company can climb several rungs in just a few years, eventually transforming from a small trader into a scaled enterprise. There are countless such examples.

Example: Ten years ago, Xiao Lu was the East China sales manager for a German building materials company. Although it was a global multinational with production scale ranking among the world's top three in the industry, it had just entered the Chinese market and had little brand awareness. Before heading to Hangzhou to find an agent, Xiao Lu arranged to meet with the general agent for northern Zhejiang of a then-domestic leading brand. He planned to take the earliest train from Shanghai to Hangzhou the next day to see if there was a chance for cooperation. The boss, surnamed Sun, agreed to meet him.

When Xiao Lu arrived at his office in Hangzhou early the next morning, tired from the journey, his assistant told him that Boss Sun had already gone on a business trip without leaving any instructions. Although Xiao Lu was frustrated, he didn't want to waste the trip, so he asked the taxi driver to take him to the most famous Qiutao Road building materials street in Hangzhou, a 4-5 kilometer long street. He started visiting shops one by one on foot from the beginning of the street. Most merchants showed little interest in their products because they had never heard of the brand, but through conversations, Xiao Lu gradually learned about the Hangzhou market. Around lunchtime, he came to a small storefront owned by a man surnamed Fang. Fang wasn't a major player in Hangzhou, at best a mid-tier one, but due to his hot temper, he was known in the industry as "Crazy Fang."

Xiao Lu still vividly remembers the scene: when he walked into the store, Fang was drinking beer with peanuts on his desk. Xiao Lu began what turned out to be his truly valuable visit in Hangzhou. Fang remembers the meeting even more clearly. Years later, when Fang had become the company's largest distributor in China and a major influential figure in Hangzhou, he once said over drinks, "When Xiao Lu came to Hangzhou, it was pitiful—no one paid him any attention, and I even treated him to lunch." A few years later, Fang was poached by a competitor who promised him the entire Zhejiang general agency. However, every time I visit Hangzhou, he still insists on treating Xiao Lu to a meal. He says he is very grateful to Xiao Lu because Xiao Lu gave him the opportunity to handle a major brand, which helped his company climb several rungs. In recent years, I heard that Fang bought land and started a factory, with annual revenue reaching several hundred million yuan. As for Boss Sun, there has been no news of him lately; I heard he switched to running a restaurant.

For liquor distributors, the so-called "leaning on a big tree" means following the development of national first- and second-tier brands to grow stronger. Especially for distributors in the early stages of their business, partnering with large enterprises and big brands can bring numerous benefits, and these strong supports directly promote the distributor's rise and takeoff.

**So what exactly are the benefits of "leaning on a big tree"?**

First: You gain the influence of a strong brand and advertising on the market.
Second: You may receive financial support from the manufacturer.
Third: The manufacturer's sales staff can assist in developing the terminal network.
Fourth: You can systematically learn the methods of large manufacturers in managing the market.
Fifth: Large enterprises with strong strength focus more on long-term goals in cooperation with customers.
Sixth: The agency rights for a big brand are a golden signboard that will attract more big brands and manufacturers eager to cooperate with you.

With so many benefits, everyone is eager to "lean on a big tree." It's hard not to be tempted. But it's easier said than done—not everyone can lean on a big tree. The big trees also wear colored glasses and are even picky in finding suitable agents. In a market as competitive as a battlefield, facing a diverse array of distributors, the big trees are always making choices.

**1. Have certain resources and strength yourself, so "leaning on a big tree" comes naturally!** If a distributor has certain resources and confidence, they can speak with more confidence when dealing with first-tier famous liquors. Big brands will also proactively approach them, making it easier to "lean on a big tree"!

For example: Hebei Shunxin Famous Liquor City is impressive because of its unique advantages in the group purchase channel. When this liquor city was established, it had no products to sell and no network. Should they become a second-tier wholesaler or take on a second-rate product as a general agent? When determining the development direction, General Manager Xu faced a choice. "If we had chosen one of those options, we probably wouldn't be where we are today," Xu said after careful consideration. Instead of choosing the traditional distribution model, he opted to build a famous liquor city, entering through the group purchase channel. With this positioning, all activities of Shunxin Famous Liquor City revolved around group purchases. Within two years, Shunxin Famous Liquor City became a special distributor for Wuliangye, Moutai, Jiannanchun, Luzhou Laojiao, and regional famous liquor brands, and began to take on agency roles for mainstream brands.

2. Distributors just starting out may not be a match for first- and second-tier brands, and these brands won't even notice them. **For such weak and small distributors, to attach themselves to famous liquor brands, they must rack their brains and use every means to strike up a conversation with the big tree, and on the other hand, they must be willing to start small, as sub-distributors or retailers, making a name for themselves and achieving results before they have a chance to attach to first- and second-tier famous liquors, or even become agents.**

So, how can the vast number of small and medium distributors win the favor of large enterprises? It can be summarized in a few phrases: seek opportunities externally, strengthen the foundation internally, cater to their preferences, and build relationships!

**1) Seek opportunities externally**: On one hand, seize opportunities—that is, opportunities to cooperate with big brands. When the opportunity comes, you must be able to grasp it. Sometimes, when ordinary people don't see it as an opportunity (like the case I mentioned above), you need to rely on your vision to judge. On the other hand, if there's no opportunity, create one.

Effectively creating opportunities is the prerequisite for seizing them!

**1. Create opportunities to contact big brands**

**Situation 1: A big brand that already has a local agent**
If a small distributor favors a big brand, don't avoid contact with the manufacturer's sales staff just because there's already an agent in the local market. If you do, you'll forever be sighing over the brand. You should seek every opportunity to meet with the manufacturer's sales staff, with the mindset of making friends first and discussing cooperation later. In your interactions, consciously or "casually" (actually deliberately) show interest in the brand. At the same time, express admiration and recognition for the salesperson, laying the groundwork for future cooperation.

**Situation 2: A big brand that has no agent locally**
Small distributors often have tight staffing and handle many things personally, spending all day on the front lines, making it hard to find time to learn about the latest product trends in the outside market. Thus, their information sources are almost closed. When they occasionally learn that a certain brand or category is doing well and want to become an agent, they find that the local market already has an agent.

To address this problem, there are two solutions: First, entrust the sales staff of the products you already represent to keep an eye out for newly launched, well-performing big brand products in other markets, and introduce you to the relevant manufacturers' sales staff to create contact opportunities. Second, regularly keep in touch with peers in other markets to learn about new product information, and select suitable brands to represent.

**2. Effectively connect with big brands**
Due to their own limitations, small distributors may not be a "match" for big brand manufacturers. In a sense, wanting to represent a big brand can be like unrequited love. To make a "poor scholar marry a rich girl," you need to do the following connection work.

**Plan 1: Create a harmonious atmosphere and treat others with humility**
Small distributors often imagine big brand salespeople as "arrogant and unapproachable," thinking they won't favor small distributors like them, thus losing the opportunity to cooperate with big brands.

In fact, most big brand salespeople prefer to cooperate with small distributors. The reason is simple: although large distributors are a match for big brands in all aspects, their advantages often become leverage to threaten and constrain the salespeople. Large distributors have no shortage of funds, channels, networks, brands, products, or even ideas, so much so that "the guest overwhelms the host," making the manufacturer's salesperson the weaker party in the cooperation.

In response to this, small distributors should create a relaxed, casual, and harmonious atmosphere when contacting big brand salespeople, treating them as friends and being humble. This makes the salesperson feel you are a trustworthy and reliable friend, and that cooperating with you would be a pleasant experience, with mutual respect and cooperation to jointly do well in the market.

**Plan 2: Know what the other party needs and prescribe the right remedy**
To gain the opportunity to cooperate with big brands, being humble alone is not enough. You must also understand the other party's basic market operation ideas and special requirements, such as channels, networks, business models, and requirements for the distributor's product categories, manpower, and material resources. Then, based on these requirements, formulate a detailed and thorough operation plan, do what the manufacturer wants to do, say what the manufacturer wants to say, and make the salesperson feel that your business ideas align with the company's. When explaining these issues, avoid being false, grandiose, or empty; focus on practicality, effectiveness, and operability.

**2) Strengthen the foundation internally**: Distributors in the startup stage are not strong, lacking funds, manpower, and customers. Sometimes the temptation to take on small brands is great because the profit margins are larger. If you don't have a long-term vision, it's easy to get distracted. In the end, you'll find that after three or four years of busy work, your company is still in the same place.

Case:
Mr. Wang is a liquor distributor in a prefecture-level city in Hebei. He has been in the liquor business for nearly 8 years since starting his business. Reviewing his business history, before 2009, he switched one or two small and medium liquor brands almost every year and never cooperated with a formal large enterprise. As a result, by the end of 2009, Wang Cheng was still in the third or fourth tier among local liquor distributors. With the intensifying competition in the liquor market and consumers' growing brand awareness, Wang Cheng found that the small and medium brands he handled, due to their weak brand influence and appeal, were increasingly unable to win over terminal stores and consumers, causing his business to decline and plunging him into deep distress.

At the beginning of 2010, Mr. Wang conducted market visits and exchanged learning with distributors who were doing well in the industry. He discovered that distributors cooperating with large liquor manufacturers not only had larger profit margins but also benefited from the strong influence and appeal of big brands, with stable product quality and sales, and no major market fluctuations. Although these distributors faced greater pressure from the enterprises, large enterprises managed more standardizedly and provided greater support to distributors. In addition, large enterprises, based on actual market conditions, would irregularly send sales staff to help distributors solve operational problems, train distributors and their teams, and organize visits, exchanges, and learning trips to base markets. As long as distributors followed the manufacturer's operational ideas without compromise, they could receive support from the enterprise and continuously expand their market network.

Combining the development trends of the liquor industry and his company's current situation, Wang Cheng believed that to establish a foothold and develop long-term in the liquor industry, he must cooperate with large enterprises and win their favor. He realized that he currently lacked the conditions to negotiate with large enterprises. However, for better development, he had to create conditions to cooperate with large enterprises, even if it was temporarily difficult.

Through investigation, he learned that "Brand A (which sells over 1 billion yuan annually in Hebei Province) had a distributor in the urban area who failed to actively cooperate with the enterprise last year, causing the sales target for that area to be unmet. The enterprise was looking for a suitable distributor to re-operate that area." Upon hearing this news, Mr. Wang immediately contacted the office manager overnight to seek cooperation opportunities. He said that if the enterprise gave him the distribution rights for that area, he would pay an additional 10,000 yuan in deposit when signing the contract compared to other distributors, guarantee to complete the enterprise's basic indicators for that area within three months, such as store coverage rate and promotional visual merchandising, and give up the other small and medium liquor brands he was currently operating, concentrating the company's existing manpower and resources on operating that area. Wang Cheng's sincerity moved the office manager. As Wang Cheng said, he concentrated manpower and resources and strictly followed the enterprise's regulations to operate the market. After three months of market operation, the area's performance was on par with other distributors. After half a year of effort, it finally achieved a "spark can start a prairie fire" trend.

During this period, he also proactively requested the enterprise's sales staff to provide training for himself and his employees on issues in market operation. By the end of 2010, Brand A's sales exceeded 10 million yuan, and he ranked first in the comprehensive evaluation of the four distributors in the urban area, earning recognition from Brand A's regional manager. When the enterprise launched a new product category in 2011, he was upgraded to a first-level distributor for Brand A, responsible for operating the entire urban market, achieving a magnificent transformation.

Mr. Wang's process of winning the favor of a large enterprise is quite representative. So, what strategies should small and medium distributors adopt to win the favor of large enterprises during their development?

**Establish correct business concepts and ideas**
You need to have a certain level of business acumen and a clear business philosophy. As the saying goes: ideas determine the way out. A distributor without ideas has no way out; finding ideas is equivalent to finding a way out. As excellent production enterprises, they first care about whether small and medium distributors have clear business ideas. As "big trees," when choosing agents or distributors, they generally select those whose ideas are similar to the production enterprise's. Small and medium distributors, because of their small scale, must constantly adjust their marketing ideas to adapt to changes in the market environment. When production enterprises provide a series of supporting measures (such as promotional gifts, sales policies, advertising, etc.), they need to see from the distributor whether their investment can bring about product and brand enhancement and sales growth. Clear business ideas are a prerequisite for small and medium distributors to do well in the market.

**2. Strengthen learning and continuously improve professional knowledge**
Large enterprises favor cooperation with distributors who are professional and can grasp market cooperation trends, as this improves cooperation efficiency and saves operating costs. For large enterprises, the operational capability of front-line distributors is crucial for effectively controlling the market. For example, if a certain brand's sales decline in the local market, a distributor who can analyze the reasons for the decline before the enterprise reacts and summarize market rules to adjust can reverse the brand's passive situation in the market. Enterprises feel at ease and reassured when cooperating with such distributors, and these distributors will receive the enterprise's favor and greater support.

**3. Strengthen the management and training of sales staff, and build a sales team that can endure hardship and has drive**
"People are the first factor," and the quality and level of people determine the outcome of work. Distributors should establish and improve various internal management systems, assessment systems, and reward and punishment systems; clarify job responsibilities, job requirements, work content, and work processes. Achieve standardized management of "restraining people with systems." Training is the necessary path to solve the quality and skills of business personnel. Through training, cultivate a common value, and through training, let front-line employees master more sales methods and skills. As long as employees' standards improve, it's hard for performance not to rise! Distributors should establish training systems, formulate training plans, strengthen the pertinence and effectiveness of training, and pre-job training for employees is also very important. In addition, distributors should introduce various policies to encourage employees to improve themselves, participate in various part-time training classes, and continuously improve the overall quality of employees.

Furthermore, distributors should establish a complete and smooth operating system to ensure the healthy operation of business activities, strengthen the integrity of the four links of "plan, execute, check, and feedback," especially establishing an objective and effective inspection system to track execution in real time and on site, ensuring implementation is in place and direction is accurate.

**4. Possess the ability to manage the local network, terminals, and market. According to the manufacturer's requirements, do a good job in terminal management, brand promotion, and promotional execution.**
In the traditional "sitting merchant" era, small and medium distributors basically didn't need market management capabilities. Customers picked up goods and paid on the spot, and there was little need to consider customer and market management.

But to carry out terminal distribution and intensively cultivate regional markets, the ability to manage networks, terminals, and markets is what "big trees" emphasize when selecting distributors. This includes managing business personnel, managing second- and third-tier customers, managing the goods of represented products, and managing terminal promotional staff. All of these require small and medium distributors to possess considerable management capabilities.

Secondly, large enterprises have high requirements for distributors' terminal store coverage rate, promotional visual merchandising, inventory management, price stability, brand promotion, and execution of promotional plans. The purpose is to help distributors earn stable and long-term profits. Distributors should not have any thoughts of bargaining on these matters. As long as distributors actively cooperate with the manufacturer and do a good job, establishing a deep distribution terminal network, the manufacturer will definitely provide full support.

**5. Possess certain goods distribution capabilities.**
With the continuous integration of sales channels and the increasing flattening of sales channels, the traditional agency system has been replaced by a new agency system, where agents and distributors more often transform into the production enterprise's local distribution centers. Due to the scattered domestic market, production enterprises generally cannot independently complete such complex logistics. Small and medium distributors with certain distribution capabilities undoubtedly play an irreplaceable role in the market expansion of "big trees," making it easier to win their favor.

**3) Cater to their preferences**: When large manufacturers choose partners, besides requiring customers to have: a certain business scale; sales network; product distribution experience; good credit status; transportation and warehousing capabilities, etc., what they value most is probably the customer's willingness to cooperate with the manufacturer and the boss's business ideas and philosophy. Therefore, distributors in the startup stage should pay attention to the following points to gain the trust of large manufacturers:
1) Show a positive willingness and attitude to cooperate with the manufacturer;
2) Transform from a "sitting merchant" to a "traveling merchant" (i.e., waiting for customers to come; in fact, manufacturers all like "traveling merchants");
3) Have a strong desire to be trained by the manufacturer and actively request training support;
4) Provide the manufacturer with reports on competitors and market dynamics (preferably in writing);
5) Actively promote the manufacturer's full product line and new products;
6) Show brand loyalty. This point is especially important! "Big trees" don't want distributors to be half-hearted about their products or not invest all their energy in market promotion. Although small and medium distributors have limited financial strength, they must have the determination to do the market, strong perseverance, and full commitment to the cause. A distributor of a well-known production enterprise in the East China region, when initially distributing its products, had less than 100,000 yuan in financial strength. It was precisely because of the determination to do things, strong perseverance, and investment of energy in the market that, with the full support of the "big tree," the business grew to several million yuan, becoming a case of rapid growth for small and medium distributors.

**4) Build relationships**: Maintain good relationships with key figures in the manufacturer to ensure that the manufacturer's sunshine and rain occasionally fall on you, allowing your company to grow quickly. But also pay attention to building good relationships with ordinary sales staff. Additionally, pay attention to transforming personal relationships into organizational relationships, so that the departure of an individual doesn't affect your long-term relationship with the manufacturer.

By doing the above four points, if you want to stand out among distributors and successfully attach to a big brand, becoming a leader in the region and industry is truly within reach. You might even grasp strong brands above and control network terminals below, dominating the market!

Case: "Cleverly Obtaining Agency Rights"

Give before taking, cleverly obtain L brand agency rights

Long Ge worked as an individual before, having been the deputy manager of a county agricultural materials company. With this experience, he could see deeper in business than those distributors who only care about a few yuan price differences. His current problem was: just starting out on his own from the county agricultural materials company, he had neither suppliers nor capital. His advantages were that he was very familiar with the agricultural materials wholesale and retail points in the townships of Yanjiang County; he had some friends in the agricultural materials circle; and he accepted new concepts quickly.

Yanjiang County is a large agricultural county in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is only 90 kilometers by water from L City. L City has two large urea manufacturers, L Factory and T Factory, whose L-brand and T-brand urea sell well nationwide. Yanjiang County originally mainly sold L-brand urea. In recent years, T-brand urea entered the market at a low price of 20-30 yuan per ton less than L brand. Because T brand was cheap and good, it quickly occupied more than 60% of the urea market share in Yanjiang County. Yanjiang County's own annual urea consumption is about 5,000 tons, but due to its proximity to the Yangtze River and cheap water transport, neighboring counties and even adjacent counties in Yunnan and Guizhou come to Yanjiang County to purchase urea. Therefore, the annual urea volume radiating from Yanjiang to the surrounding areas is no less than 20,000 tons. As a regional fertilizer distribution hub, Yanjiang County became a battleground for L brand, T brand, Yunnan urea, Guizhou urea, and even Chongqing urea entering Sichuan.

The original agricultural materials company in Yanjiang County had basically collapsed. In the county town, there were mainly 7 large second-tier wholesalers for urea, whose sales networks basically covered all townships and radiated to surrounding counties. Urea distribution is capital-intensive. Due to limited financial strength, the operation mode of several other distributors was mainly to take goods from first-tier wholesalers such as the provincial agricultural company and China Agricultural Means of Production Group (which had direct supply relationships with T Factory and L Factory under the planned economy), and then use their familiarity with township networks for wholesale. Second-tier wholesalers had no supply relationship with urea manufacturers. Distributors mainly competed for customers through price competition.

Long Ge initially thought of connecting with these large companies, or even cooperating with manufacturers. After contact, either they thought he wasn't strong enough or they already had partners. Occasionally, they would send him a boat of urea, but without a price advantage. The several second-tier wholesalers in the county town were fiercely cutting prices to compete for market share. If he didn't join the battle, he would watch customers leave; if he joined, without a price advantage, it would only end in mutual destruction. Just as Long Ge was at a loss, he accidentally learned from a friend that L Factory had produced a new type of large-granule urea. Because farmers were unfamiliar with the new product, sales of large-granule urea were very difficult, and merchants dared not stock it. L Factory's sales branch was preparing to hold a distributor promotion and discussion meeting to vigorously promote large-granule urea. L Factory's sales branch didn't invite Long Ge, and he didn't know them either. But Long Ge saw this as a good opportunity. He attended the meeting at his own expense. Unlike other distributors who complained about the difficulties of selling large-granule urea, Long Ge readily ordered a batch of large-granule urea at the meeting. Manager Zhang and Manager Wang of L Factory's sales branch were racking their brains over the lack of interest in large-granule urea, so they naturally had a deep impression of Long Ge. Even more touching for Manager Zhang and Manager Wang was that Long Ge proactively offered to make 1,000 banners at his own expense to hang in the townships of Yanjiang to promote the large granules. Manager Wang and Manager Zhang thought: a grassroots distributor like Long Ge, who could proactively help the manufacturer solve problems, was the kind of strength L brand should rely on in the future. A few days later, Long Ge invited Managers Zhang and Wang to inspect the 1,000 promotional banners hung in the townships of Yanjiang. Along the way, Long Ge deliberately talked about his ideas for agricultural materials chain operations, which aroused great interest from Managers Zhang and Wang. After these events, Managers Zhang and Wang believed that Long Ge, who was willing to spend his own money to promote the manufacturer and had business ideas aligned with L Factory's strategic goals, was a loyal distributor of L Factory. Partly out of appreciation for Long Ge and partly as a reward for his vigorous promotion of large granules, they readily agreed to Long Ge's request to purchase directly from the sales branch in the future. In fact, Long Ge knew best that he had only made 100 banners, just rotating them among several towns.

Weaving a network to obtain regional general agency

After being able to purchase directly from L Factory, Long Ge immediately gained a significant advantage over the other second-tier wholesalers in the county town in terms of supply and price. However, in the Yanjiang County area, there were still several large distributors who could directly take goods from L Factory, including the provincial agricultural company and China Agricultural Means of Production Group, which had cooperated with L Factory for many years. Long Ge's dream of monopolizing L Factory urea sales in Yanjiang had not yet been realized. Additionally, starting with less than 100,000 yuan in capital, cash flow shortage became a major problem restricting his growth.

However, Long Ge, who had been a deputy manager, thought differently from other distributors. He had already gained huge benefits from relying on L Factory, at least he had now stood out from the several second-tier wholesalers in the county town and become a distributor supported by L Factory.

Now he was thinking about how to get L Factory to hand over the L brand urea distribution in Yanjiang County to him. Through interactions with Managers Zhang and Wang, he learned that L Factory's biggest headache was its lack of a grassroots marketing network. Without loyal grassroots distributors, L Factory was often in a passive position in the interest game with large distributors like the provincial agricultural company and China Agricultural Means of Production Group. Additionally, the rise of T brand and other brands posed a potential threat to L brand. How to quickly establish L brand's own grassroots marketing network became a strategic issue for L Factory's leadership.

Long Ge then proposed his plan to Managers Zhang and Wang: 1. He would organize a grassroots distributor network for L brand urea in Yanjiang County. Members must pay a deposit and sign an agreement. Members would divide sales areas and cultivate them intensively, controlling cross-regional sales and price cutting that affected L brand's selling price in Yanjiang. 2. Network members would commit to selling only L brand urea. Long Ge would collect their deposits and hand them over to L sales branch as a guarantee. Any breach of contract would be penalized by deducting the deposit.

Under Long Ge's continuous lobbying, Managers Zhang and Wang gradually accepted this plan. The reasons they accepted were: First, through this network, they could control most of the sales terminals in Yanjiang County, allowing L sales branch to extend its sales tentacles to the townships. Second, the commitment of grassroots distributors to sell only L brand urea was also attractive. L brand's market share in Yanjiang was being eroded by T brand and other brands at low prices, and they hoped to counter T brand's offensive with this. Third: By mastering the township network, L brand would have a weapon to confront large companies like the provincial agricultural company and China Agricultural Means of Production Group. L brand had suffered enough from being suppressed by large distributors due to its lack of a marketing network. Building terminals in townships by L sales branch itself would be extremely costly to maintain and operate. L brand had long been determined to "reduce the power of vassals," and the key was to support a group of distributors loyal to L Factory at the grassroots level. Long Ge appeared at just the right time. Fourth: After the reform of the urea circulation system, the traditional multi-level distribution method was clearly unsuitable for market development. The call for chain operations was growing louder. How to carry out chain operations in the agricultural materials industry and how to flatten distribution channels were issues L Factory was eager to pilot.

After persuading the supplier with the network, Long Ge used L brand's strong position to persuade township distributors in turn. His terms to the distributors were: First, guarantee exclusive agency in each township, so there would be no competitors in that area. Second, guarantee supply in peak season. Network members' supply price would be 5-10 yuan per ton lower than the market average. As long as distributors didn't violate rules, they would receive rebate settlements every half month. Third, network entry and exit were free, and deposits would be fully refunded upon exit.

Long Ge's moves hit the vital points. For the vast number of township distributors, having a stable base (sales area), avoiding out-of-stock in peak season, and obtaining low-priced supply were their three major problems. These issues were generally easier for large distributors to solve, but most grassroots distributors couldn't solve them. Under the temptation of 10 yuan per ton below market price and Long Ge's persuasion, deposits were collected one after another, and a large number of distributors in Yanjiang and surrounding counties signed up to join.

After securing the downstream, Long Ge began to use the network as leverage to demand resources from L sales branch. His requests seemed reasonable: First, grant him the general agency for L brand urea in Yanjiang County, with L sales branch shipping only to him in Yanjiang. Second, to protect the interests of network members, L sales branch's settlement price to him would be 10 yuan/ton below the market average. This 10 yuan would be passed on by him to network distributors as network operation and maintenance costs. In the process of persuading L sales branch, Long Ge demonstrated good communication and self-packaging skills. His secret weapon was self-made maps. Wherever there were distributors and retail points in the network, he marked flags: red flags represented townships, blue flags represented villages. The map full of flags was his important tool for external communication. Whenever L Factory leaders came to Yanjiang, Long Ge would definitely report on his network. Seeing the flags covering townships and villages and looking at the deposits Long Ge handed over, the leaders felt that the sales channels in Yanjiang were entirely under L brand urea's control. Long Ge's two requests were met without much obstruction.

Counter-control and countering strong brands

After obtaining the general agency and low-priced supply, Long Ge naturally became the "boss" of urea sales in Yanjiang County. At this point, he began to implement the third step of his plan—using the controlled network to counter L brand and solve his own capital shortage problem.

According to the agreement between Long Ge and L sales branch, the 300,000 yuan deposit collected by Long Ge and handed over to L sales branch could only be used to constrain and penalize distributors' breach of contract, not to offset payment for goods. Long Ge's idea was to use this 300,000 yuan as payment for goods. He was well aware that his greatest value to L sales branch lay in his network, in his hundreds of sub-distributors and retailers. As long as he cleverly presented his own demands as the demands of the sub-distributors and retailers, he could achieve his goal. For the terminals, any strong brand would not dare to offend them lightly.

The first step of Long Ge's plan was to cultivate L sales branch's awareness of credit sales. He firmly believed that once any enterprise had its first receivable, it wouldn't be afraid to extend credit in the future. Of course, credit sales needed a proper excuse. Maintaining network operation and resisting competing products were ready-made reasons. Long Ge also analyzed the psychology of Managers Zhang and Wang. He was already the model they had established. If he fell, Managers Zhang and Wang would certainly face criticism from other distributors and the manufacturer. As long as his behavior wasn't too outrageous, the two managers wouldn't make things difficult for him. He judged that the 300,000 yuan deposit should be the bottom line for credit sales.

The opportunity came quickly. During the peak season for spring fertilizer sales, network distributors flocked to Long Ge for goods. In the agricultural materials industry, the settlement practice for first-tier transactions was payment after delivery. Long Ge didn't have much capital, so where would he get the money to stock up? He didn't pay, and Managers Zhang and Wang didn't dare to ship goods against the rules. Long Ge waited until the network merchants below had been out of stock for a few days, and some had even secretly started buying T brand urea, before he asked Managers Zhang and Wang for goods, saying that if they didn't ship, L brand's share would be completely taken by T brand. This immediately touched a nerve for Managers Zhang and Wang, but they still didn't dare to open the door for rule-breaking shipments. So Long Ge took the two managers to see the market. He deliberately brought them to the distributor secretly selling T brand, pretending to scold him: "Why are you selling T urea instead of L urea?" The distributor naturally said, "T brand offers credit, L brand doesn't." So Long Ge took the opportunity to kick the ball to the two managers: "See, if you don't offer credit, others will." Seeing that Managers Zhang and Wang were somewhat tempted, Long Ge said, "I've already extended credit of several hundred thousand yuan, and I have no money to stock up. You've seen the situation. Why not use the deposit as payment for goods for the time being? I'm familiar with these distributors, and I guarantee that after the goods are sold, I'll hand over the payment to you. Otherwise, I can no longer maintain this network." At this point, Managers Zhang and Wang felt pressure internally; they were afraid of what would happen if the network collapsed. Long Ge's tactic of "beating the grass to scare the snake" succeeded. Soon, the first boat of L brand urea with payment after delivery was shipped to him. And, as Long Ge had predicted, once the door to credit sales was opened, it never closed again. The credit limit for L brand urea eventually reached over 1 million yuan. Long Ge fully realized his dream of grasping the manufacturer above, controlling the terminals below, and monopolizing the urea market in Yanjiang.

Summary: Some merchants wouldn't even dare to think of Long Ge's approach, but he thought of it and succeeded. Perhaps his methods aren't worth imitating, but his approach is worth pondering.

Of course, for distributors to truly gain the favor and recognition of big brands, remember that being professional, knowledgeable, honest, and confident are also the top principles of the "leaning on a big tree" rule.

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