Retail visits are a crucial part of marketing activities and are considered fundamental work for sales personnel. They have always been emphasized by manufacturers, who include them prominently in sales performance metrics, training, and daily work requirements. This is because sales promotion, new product launches, customer relationship maintenance, and product display and publicity all depend on them. In short, the success of retail visits directly affects product sales and other sales activities.
After graduating from university, the handsome young man Gong Wei successfully applied to W City Huamei Food Co., Ltd. as a salesperson. Facing a new environment and new work, Gong Wei was full of ambition and enthusiasm, determined to become an excellent salesperson. After a series of trainings, learning about the company, products, and relevant sales knowledge, Gong Wei was assigned to T District of W City as a salesperson. His primary task was to understand his retail outlets. According to the company plan, the experienced salesperson Wang Gang led Gong Wei in business development and provided work guidance. Wang Gang, though only with the company for half a year, knew the retail outlets in T District like the back of his hand and was familiar with the staff at each store. Along the way, Gong Wei envied Wang Gang's good communication with various retail stores and the warm reception from the staff. He wished he could do retail visits as well as Wang Gang. However, Gong Wei was unsure how to do it well. Seeing Gong Wei's eager eyes, Wang Gang smiled and shared his insights on how to do retail work well as they walked and talked...
Wang Gang told Gong Wei that when he first joined the company and did his first retail visit, his situation was even worse than Gong Wei's current one. Because the previous salesperson had left, the district was unmanaged, and he was temporarily assigned to take over. His first retail visit faced two problems: first, he didn't know where the retail points were; second, he didn't know any of the retail staff. The first problem was easy to solve—he could check the customer records left by the previous salesperson. The second problem was more difficult, but where there's a will, there's a way. Wang Gang summarized his experience on how to do retail visits well as follows.
I. Break Psychological Barriers on the First Visit and Make a Good Impression When dealing with strangers, everyone feels nervous and has concerns: fear of not being accepted, not knowing what to say, losing face, being rejected, and so on. In short, it's all about fear. But the problem is not that complicated. The biggest obstacle is your own psychological barriers. In reality, many retail staff are very approachable. As a salesperson, the key on your first visit is to encourage yourself, build confidence, and believe you can do it. Only by breaking through your own psychological barriers can you take the first step in retail visits. Of course, while preparing mentally, you must also pay attention to your appearance, speech, and manners to make a good first impression, laying a solid foundation for future visits.
Tip: The biggest difficulty in dealing with strangers is not achieving results but breaking your own psychological barriers to say "Hello!" first.
II. Avoid Seven Common Problems in Retail Visits Breaking psychological barriers and taking the first step is just the foundation. To do retail visits well, you must also avoid the following seven problems, which are the real reasons why many salespeople fail to achieve the goals of building customer relationships and promoting sales, and why the effectiveness of retail visits is not realized. These problems are:
First, visits without purpose: Salespeople often go through the motions, just to check in, or they chat aimlessly without knowing why they came. This leads to blind work.
Second, visits without regularity: Salespeople visit fixed retail points irregularly—sometimes every two or three days, sometimes every seven or eight days, and sometimes not for ten days or half a month, making the retail point think the salesperson has disappeared.
Third, insufficient preparation: Lack of preparation or inadequate preparation before the visit. They may need to solve problems or discuss matters, but upon arrival, they find they lack materials or don't know how to resolve issues, resulting in wasted trips.
Fourth, lack of methods: Salespeople fail to adapt to different people, times, situations, and locations. Many use only one approach for all points and people, and the results are predictable.
Fifth, too long intervals between visits: Long gaps between visits reduce the retail point's awareness of the salesperson and the product.
Sixth, lack of etiquette: Salespeople are representatives of the company's image. Good manners and appearance can create a positive impression and build rapport, but many neglect their attire, speech, and behavior, damaging the company's image and offending the retail point without knowing why.
Seventh, not solving problems: The purpose of retail visits is to promote sales, strengthen relationships, and solve problems on the spot. However, many salespeople lack product knowledge and cannot answer questions or address objections from the retail point.
To make retail visits effective, salespeople must avoid these problems.
Tip: A distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor—not because they are less close, but because they have less contact; good relationships fade with time.
The county official is not as good as the current manager—often, salespeople have the responsibility and ability to solve problems.
Blind, purposeless work is not work; it's just wasting time.
III. Learn Several Practical Techniques for Retail Visits First, small favors: As the saying goes, "Don't scold a smiling face, don't hit a gift-bringer." During visits, carry small company gifts to give to staff, and surprise them on birthdays or holidays to show you value them. For example, buy ice cream in summer or a pack of gum in other seasons. This technique works well in building rapport.
Second, cater to their interests: Birds of a feather flock together. Shared interests make it easier to connect. By understanding the staff's personality, temperament, and hobbies, you can find common topics and break the ice, bringing you closer.
Third, praise: Everyone likes to be praised, and customers are no exception. Sincerely compliment the staff's clothing or hairstyle, or praise the owner's business, store decor, or product variety. Praise brings you closer and can yield unexpected results.
Fourth, humor: Use humorous language or exaggerated actions to attract attention and break the ice. For example, upon entering a store, you might say, "Wow, boss, your hands must be tired from counting money!" or strike a funny pose. It will have an unexpected effect.
Fifth, direct approach: On the first meeting, since the staff doesn't know you, introduce yourself immediately: who you are, which company you represent, and the purpose of your visit. This seeks their support and avoids being mistaken for a customer.
Sixth, empathy: Put yourself in the staff's shoes. By considering their perspective, you can find more topics and common ground, leading to mutual understanding and effective communication.
Seventh, smile: A smile is the lubricant of interpersonal relationships. No one is attracted to a frowning, worried person. Maintain a smile during visits to infect the staff with your positive mood, making them enjoy dealing with you. This builds a connection and lays a good foundation for future visits.
Eighth, self-deprecation: Some staff may be indifferent or act superior, liking to give orders. For these few, the best method is to satisfy their vanity and sense of superiority by appearing humble, and if necessary, give them a ladder to climb.
In fact, there are many methods for retail visits, and salespeople must continue to summarize and improve through practice.
Tip: Good techniques and methods come from practice. Only by continuous learning and summarizing can you integrate them into your work and solve problems one by one.
IV. Pay Attention to Key Details in Retail Visits Details determine success or failure. Retail visits are a process of interpersonal interaction and relationship building. Small details can make the retail point view you favorably or avoid you. Therefore, paying attention to details is essential.
First, remember the customer's name. Call them by name during visits and greet them to make them feel good.
Second, salespeople should strive to improve their expression and communication skills, and master company information and product knowledge.
Third, understand the retail point's needs, take them seriously, and respond to and resolve objections and issues promptly.
Fourth, keep conversations practical. Be a loyal listener, let the retail point speak, listen more and talk less, and be diligent in thinking and learning.
Fifth, in retail visits, be a good person before doing business. Be less utilitarian and more sincere. It's better to be seen as naive than as cunning.
Finally, to ensure successful retail visits and achieve results, salespeople should do the following on every visit:
- Find an appropriate "opening line" for different retail points;
- Use topics of interest to the other party for communication;
- Find topics and ideas to guide the other party;
- Let the other party describe the problems to be solved;
- Summarize the visit with appropriate praise or a concluding statement and respond positively.
Tip: Details determine success or failure.
Precautions for Retail Visits Master the inventory of retail stores in your area, understand their purchasing channels and retail prices, be aware of market trends in your area, look for market development opportunities, and increase product sales. All this first-hand information comes from retail visits. Retail visits are the core of many companies' business operations and the foundation for rapid growth.
Hu Jun is a young salesperson highly valued by Sales Manager Wang. He is passionate and ambitious, hardworking and diligent. Although Hu Jun has been with the company for a short time, his performance is impressive. Not only has his region seen the fastest sales growth, but he also topped the company's sales terminal inspection and evaluation, achieving first place in multiple metrics such as terminal customer relationships, product display, and product SKU. Manager Wang is very satisfied with Hu Jun's performance and intends to promote him. However, the more important task now is to have Hu Jun share his retail visit experience with other salespeople for learning, and also to pave the way for Hu Jun's future development. Upon receiving the assignment, Hu Jun was excited and decided to prepare well and share his experience without reservation.
Based on his retail visit experience, Hu Jun believes that salespeople should do the following:
I. Prepare Before the Visit Hu Jun believes in not fighting an unprepared battle. Preparation is the foundation for successful retail visits. Specifically, the preparation involves the following:
Preparation 1: Set goals, check plans, and confirm the visit route. The biggest problem and cause of failure in retail visits is irregular visit times, leading to unfamiliarity with the salesperson. If a salesperson visits the same customer at a fixed time each time, they will leave a deep impression and the customer will remember the products. Therefore, salespeople should create a weekly visit schedule in advance.
Weekly Schedule for Sales Representatives Sales Rep Name: Time | Route Arrangement | Customer List Along the Route Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Remarks
The purpose of this table is to first identify target customers and classify them by address; then arrange routes reasonably to visit as many customers as possible in the least time. With this table, salespeople clearly know what routes to take and which customers to visit each day, making work organized and systematic.
Preparation 2: Clarify the goals and purpose of the visit. Visits with clear primary and secondary goals improve efficiency. The purpose of retail visits is to distribute new products, replenish stock, and increase display space. These tasks must be clarified before the visit, and it's best to add a secondary goal. For new salespeople, it's often hard to achieve the expected goal on each visit, so setting a secondary goal is necessary. For example, if you wanted the store owner to stock a new product but they refuse, you can suggest replenishing existing products or increasing display space to achieve your secondary goal. This is also a work method.
Preparation 3: Prepare all tools that may be used during the visit, such as business cards, order forms, POP materials, display props, and cloths. For example, when distributing new products, have you brought samples, product introductions, or flyers? Have you clearly remembered the company's distribution policies?
Preparation 4: Review target customers before entering the store. Before entering the store, review the customer profile card to refresh your memory on key information such as the owner's or staff's name, needs, limitations, opportunities, and even personal preferences. This ensures you are well-prepared before contact.
Tip: Preparation is for better and faster achievement of goals. Cramming at the last minute harms both yourself and others.
II. Contact Stage: Greet Properly During the contact stage, Hu Jun believes that salespeople should differentiate between undeveloped and developed outlets and adopt different visit strategies. There are two main points:
For undeveloped outlets: The goal is to get to know the staff initially. The main tasks are to greet the staff, introduce yourself, establish a friendly relationship, and lay a good foundation for the sales presentation. The specific steps are: after entering the store, greet and say hello to the staff, introduce yourself (a concise self-introduction is usually welcomed); briefly state the purpose of the visit and identify who the decision-maker is.
For developed and familiar outlets: The main goals are to add new products, replenish existing products, and maintain displays. The main tasks are to pay attention to competitors, understand their situation, learn from their strengths, note the space their products occupy on the shelves, and be alert to competitive displays or any special competitive activities.
Tip: Adapt to different times, people, and situations; flexibility is a key feature of terminal work.
Without competitors, it's hard to develop. Understanding and learning from competitors is to better defeat them.
III. Inspection Stage: Understand Terminal Sales and Make Product Recommendations or Suggestions During the inspection stage, Hu Jun's experience is to first understand the sales situation at the terminal and then make appropriate product recommendations and plans. In this process, note the following: when checking sales, record the brands, specifications, and sales of your company's products on the shelves, note which brands and specifications are out of stock, and if there is stock, how many of each specification. This determines the next step's suggested order.
When making product recommendations or suggestions, be sure to find the person in charge or decision-maker at the terminal, and be ready to answer any objections from the staff or the person in charge. This is essential to achieving your goals. If you don't find the right decision-maker, all your work will be in vain.
IV. Sales Stage: Make Suggested Orders Hu Jun's experience with suggested orders is that they must be based on a thorough inspection of the store. Only with a complete understanding of the terminal's sales and inventory, combined with the initial goals of the visit, can you adjust and create a new order plan to present to the owner or person in charge, and request their signature to finalize the order. Without this foundation, the owner or person in charge will not approve the order, and even if they do, they may find reasons to refuse when you deliver.
V. Maintenance Stage: Maintain Product Displays In the maintenance stage, Hu Jun says that vivid displays are a crucial part of retail visits. Good display maintenance not only lets the product speak for itself and boost sales, but also better showcases the company's image, bringing intangible publicity effects. There are four main tasks in this stage:
Task 1: Check shelf arrangement: Evaluate the position, space, and arrangement of your company's products on the shelves according to the company's retail standards.
Task 2: Check point-of-sale promotions: Focus on observing the store's promotional activities and displays to find opportunities to link them with your products.
Task 3: Effective publicity: Pay attention to more display positions and places for posters. Make product displays as large as possible, ensure POP posters are neatly posted, and replace old or dirty POP promptly.
Task 4: Check inventory and out-of-stock situations: When checking inventory, focus on finding products that are in the warehouse but out of stock on the shelves. If found, arrange to put them on the shelf or do it yourself. For products nearing expiration, consider exchanging or transferring them promptly.
VI. Closing Stage: Thank the Customer In the closing stage, Hu Jun's experience is to be grateful. At the end of each visit, he sincerely thanks the customer for their support. If possible, he gives small gifts with the company logo. This helps to build rapport and deepen the customer's impression of you and the company, laying a good foundation for the next visit.
Tip: Learn to be grateful, and you will be moved and supported.
VII. Fill in Reports, Summarize Records, and Write Reports After leaving the store, Hu Jun believes that for salespeople, this is not the end of work but the beginning of new business. This new beginning is a summary of one's work, the final implementation of the follow-up to the retail visit, and an analysis of the market. In this stage, salespeople need to do the following six tasks:
- Record the details of the visit, focusing on product display issues, requests from the owner or person in charge, and product-related information.
- Write down the purpose of the next visit and new information about the terminal in a notebook.
- In the "Work Diary," record the results achieved against your set goals.
- Contact distributors and secondary wholesalers promptly to implement order delivery plans.
- Fill in the competitor price survey form.
Competitor Price Survey Form Survey Location Address: Product Name | Our Similar Product | Specification | Packaging Style | Retail Price | Display Quantity | Display Position Quality: □Excellent □Medium □Poor | Remarks
- Customer file management: Organize visit records into terminal customer files for archiving, and use them for customer relationship management and classification.
VIII. Self-Reflection After the Visit Only with summaries can there be reflection, and through reflection you can gain insights and improve. Reflect on the completed retail visit, ponder what you did well and what you did poorly, so you can continue using good methods and avoid repeating mistakes. This is how you continuously improve your work ability. For example, if you visited a customer today intending to get them to stock a new product but failed, you should reflect deeply, ask yourself why, and think about how to achieve your goal next time. Salespeople can create a table to analyze this, as shown below:
Customer Visit Summary Table Customer Name | Date | Visit Goal | Success or Not | Reason Analysis
- Price too high? 2. Worried it won't sell? 3. Not familiar with the product? 4. Lack of confidence in you? 5. ...
IX. Complete Visit Reports and Performance Reports After returning to the company, report the day's work results to your supervisor. When reporting sales achievements, it's more important to discuss the difficulties you encountered. It's recommended to organize these difficulties into a structured list or outline, and you can also propose your own ideas. This way, you can report in an organized manner, achieve better two-way communication, and ultimately get solutions and ideas from your supervisor.
X. Prepare for the Next Visit Hu Jun says that for salespeople, every ending is a new beginning. Salespeople are always on the road. As a sales representative, you need to be persistent and focused in every aspect, always storing energy, knowledge, and methods for the next visit, and always preparing for the next visit. Only then can you grow quickly and become an excellent salesperson.
Tip: Only with summaries can there be reflection, and through reflection you can gain insights and improve.
Every ending means a new beginning; always be ready for the new beginning.
Source: "The First Book for FMCG Marketers" Introduction: Liu Lei, a new practical marketing young master, founder of Meng Calligraphy, author of "The First Book for FMCG Marketers," and practical marketing consultant for many famous enterprises and private companies. WeChat: supaiyingxiao
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