---
title: "Fearless of hardship and fatigue, top sales representatives visit retail outlets like this!"
description: "From the day I entered the industry, my boss told me that 'distribution, display, sales, and collection' are the sacred mission of a salesperson, the 'eight-character guideline' that a salesperson must memorize even in dreams. I have seen many people who loudly proclaim slogans like 'Iron Army' or 'Assault Team,' but behind their slogans, I see no evidence of their 'iron' quality or 'assault' capability. Sales indeed requires some slogan motivation, but more importantly, it requires persistence and focus in every link. Only in this way can we thoroughly defeat competitors and build a top-tier sales team."
author: "俞雷"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-12-10"
language: "en"
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---

# Fearless of hardship and fatigue, top sales representatives visit retail outlets like this!

> From the day I entered the industry, my boss told me that 'distribution, display, sales, and collection' are the sacred mission of a salesperson, the 'eight-character guideline' that a salesperson must memorize even in dreams. I have seen many people who loudly proclaim slogans like 'Iron Army' or 'Assault Team,' but behind their slogans, I see no evidence of their 'iron' quality or 'assault' capability. Sales indeed requires some slogan motivation, but more importantly, it requires persistence and focus in every link. Only in this way can we thoroughly defeat competitors and build a top-tier sales team.

From the day I entered the industry, my boss told me that 'distribution, display, sales, and collection' are the sacred mission of a salesperson, the 'eight-character guideline' that a salesperson must memorize even in dreams.
I have seen many people who loudly proclaim slogans like 'Iron Army' or 'Assault Team,' but behind their slogans, I see no evidence of their 'iron' quality or 'assault' capability. Sales indeed requires some slogan motivation, but more importantly, it requires persistence and focus in every link. Only in this way can we thoroughly defeat competitors and build a top-tier sales team.
Store visits and management are the most routine work for a sales representative, and also the most productive. This article breaks down this work into 41 actions. By executing these actions properly, your skills in the consumer goods sales field will be maximally improved.
**◆ (1) Preparation**
If you think sales work starts at the store, you are completely wrong. Soldiers check their weapons and ammunition before going into battle, and sales representatives are the same. You must make thorough preparations before setting out.
1) Fixed route: Visit customers according to a fixed route.
The tools typically used for this are the 'Store Visit Route Schedule' and the 'Geographical Map.' The 'Store Visit Route Schedule' is used to fill in the fixed visit routes for the week, while the 'Geographical Map' shows the geographical locations of each store. The benefit of visiting customers on a fixed route is that it makes it a habit for customers to see the sales representative at a fixed time, which is also beneficial for the store's safety stock preparation.
(Attachment 1: 'Sales Representative Store Visit Route Schedule')
2) Reasonable arrangement: Consider the geographical location and the store manager's time.
The geographical map in Action 1 is for reasonably arranging the store visit route. In addition, we need to consider the working hours of the store manager. If the store has in-store promotional staff, we also need to consider their working hours. If we have new products to distribute or displays to improve, these need to be negotiated with the store manager during their working hours. Understanding their working hours is also an important task when designing the visit route.
3) Phone appointment: Use the phone to improve visit efficiency and avoid the manager being absent.
Simple shelf restocking and display work may not require the manager's presence, but if you are negotiating a promotional activity with the store, you must ensure the manager is present. It is not enough to just know the manager's working hours (because unexpected situations like shift changes or sick leave may occur); you also need to make a phone appointment in advance. This action confirms the time and also shows respect for the other party.
4) Set visit goals
Having a purpose when visiting stores is a sign of a good work habit for a sales representative. We are not 'strolling' through stores; we are working in them. Therefore, before the visit, you should bring your previous visit records and display progress charts (these are reflected in the customer visit card mentioned later), and clarify the goals of this visit. Are your goals to distribute new SKUs? Or to increase display space? These must be clarified before the visit.
Goal setting also requires clarifying the highest and lowest goals. Negotiation is a bargaining process; what you get is always lower than what you ask for. But if you don't know how to set goals, you cannot evaluate whether you made a successful or failed negotiation.
After clarifying the visit route and goals, the next thing to do is prepare your sales tools.
5) Goal preparation: Prepare appropriate tools and data according to the goals.
Based on the visit goals, you should bring the necessary tools and data. If it is a new promotional activity, check whether you have brought enough POP and display props for the activity. Did you forget the promotional items that the promotion girl asked you to bring to the store? If it is for distributing new products, have you brought samples, new product introductions, or leaflets?
If your goal is to expand display space, you need to bring your sales data. Usually, strong brands expand display space – for fixed shelves, this means squeezing competitors' space – by calculating the profit that the growth of their own display space brings to the store. Weak brands often do the opposite, using methods like providing display fees or shelf fees to counter strong brands. The store, in turn, weighs between sales volume × gross margin and display fees to decide whether to expand or shrink a brand's display space.
6) Bring all sales materials
Now, you need to check your sales bag. The outside of your sales bag is printed with the company logo, which is the company honor that every sales representative should cherish. We fight for this brand. Check whether your sales bag is clean. Remember, the image of the sales bag is part of your personal image and also represents the company's image.
Now start checking the contents of the sales bag.
'Store Visit Route Schedule': Check whether you have followed the planned route today.
Price list and suggested order form: The price list is for the store; never give the distributor price list to the store. The suggested order form is the store's order record.
Customer visit card: See Attachment 2. The customer visit card is a sales representative's weapon. For detailed usage, refer to the article 'Customer Card: The Soul of Terminal Operations.' This form covers information such as the store's inventory, sales, display, and promotional activities.
Company inventory: Before leaving, don't forget to bring the company's inventory list or the inventory list of the distributor you are responsible for. If some products are out of stock, you need to explain to the store. If you don't understand the company's inventory, it is easy to place random orders, leading to a lower order fulfillment rate for the store.
Orders: Of course, as a salesperson, you must ensure you have enough order forms.
Invoices: If you need to settle accounts with the store this time, you must bring invoices and sales lists.
POP: Sales representatives should note that POP in stores needs to be updated promptly because each promotional cycle or new product launch has different promotion and focus points, and POP must match these changes. Therefore, the POP in your sales bag should be the latest so that stores can update promptly.
Various stationery: Check again whether you have enough double-sided tape for posting POP or special price labels. Do you have a clean cloth for wiping products and shelves? Also, don't forget to bring your pen, notebook, business cards, scissors, and calculator. Not one can be missing!
Alright, you are now sufficiently prepared. Now, cheer up and set off!
Attachment 2: Customer Visit Card
**◆ (2) Self-Introduction**
7) Appearance
Sales representatives who visit stores usually do not wear suits, but your appearance must be neat. If the company has a uniform business attire, wear it; if not, you still cannot lower the standard of neatness.
Remember, neat attire is only one aspect; you must also smile and show your approachability. A smile can bring you closer to customers and leave a better impression.
8) Find the key person
If your work goal today involves dealing with store personnel, you must first find those who truly make decisions. Remember, show your confidence; your confidence will infect your customers.
9) Introduce yourself
If it is a new store, or if you are just starting your sales business, you need to proactively introduce yourself to the manager, introduce the company, and exchange business cards. Remember, the store manager may not remember your name, but the minimum requirement for an excellent sales representative is that others can remember the brand of the company you work for. I emphasize again: the brand is the honor of a sales representative. Every excellent sales representative's name is the brand they work for.
We must defend our brand as we defend our own honor!
Alright, now let's officially begin the operations inside the store.
**◆ (3) Observing the Store**
10) In-store observation
I suggest you walk from the main aisle gradually to your product display area. Of course, you can take a shortcut, but unfortunately, most consumers do not.
First, you need to understand the store's operating conditions. In the past year and a half, at least 150 large supermarket chains in China have closed down. The credit safety issue of supermarkets has become a topic that must be put on the agenda, and credit control of stores must start with the sales representative. Although some supermarkets close overnight, most show signs before closing: sparse displays, out-of-stock of strong brands, fresh food counters almost empty (fresh products almost always require cash payment), and on hot summer days, the floor displays are not beverages but health products. These are all signs of a supermarket's decline.
But if competitors' displays are full, and your distributor tells you that the supermarket has credit problems, you need to question whether it is because they lack funds to serve the supermarket, or is it simply that their salesperson's collection ability is problematic?
11) Pay attention to competitors
See what competitors have been up to recently? Have they done themed floor displays? Bought dedicated shelves? Published flyers? Have their display spaces expanded or shrunk? Record all of these and report to your supervisor so you can respond immediately and seize opportunities to attack them.
12) Check your own products
Now start checking our own products.
Have all our product series met the company's distribution standards? If not, plan your distribution plan.
Is our display up to standard? If not, make a display improvement plan.
Have we achieved regional display? Remember, regional display can maximize the effectiveness of shopping guides, and even regional display alone can increase our sales.
What is our display position? Is it in the highest traffic area, or on the golden display shelf?
Check the price tags: Has the supermarket's price been implemented according to company requirements? Is it cheaper or more expensive? Has the promotional price been implemented? Or has the promised price change been executed?
Also observe whether our POP, leaflets, cards, or hanging cards, or insert cards in the store are expired or damaged by competitors?
Don't be angry about competitors damaging these items; we just redo them. The store is a war without gunpowder for brands. Constantly repeating these basic sales actions is the life of a sales representative, and it is your own choice.
13) FIFO
How many of our products become expired in stores because we did not do First-In, First-Out (FIFO)? Remember, out-of-stock and not doing FIFO are both criminal acts for a sales representative, and the greatest insult to our glorious title of 'sales representative'!
Develop the habit of placing older products in front and fresher products in the back. FIFO!!!
You also need to check whether products on the shelves and in the warehouse are near expiry or expired. For these, remember to remove them from the shelves promptly, or do promotions for near-expiry products to clear inventory.
14) Record inventory
Use the 'Customer Visit Card' to record the inventory of each SKU and their freshness.
15) Calculate orders
Use the safety stock principle to calculate orders. This can also be seen in the article 'Customer Card: The Soul of Terminal Operations.' No need to repeat.
16) Check storage conditions
Are the storage conditions in the store or warehouse up to company requirements? Some products requiring refrigeration or insulation are different from ordinary products. If not, correct immediately.
After observing these, now move to the next step –
**◆ (4) Organizing Shelves**
17) Obtain store consent in advance
The store manager certainly has the right to adjust displays, but don't underestimate the 'small figures' in the store – the shelf restocking team leader, the shift supervisor. These people often have decision-making power over your display position. Therefore, maintaining good relationships is quite important. But are good relationships cultivated through meals and drinks? Completely wrong! These people are often the ones who pay for meals and are called 'fools' by others; they are used to pay for the store's people.
Good relationships require frequent visits and emotional communication. Inventory day and shelf adjustment day are usually the best times to change shelf positions. Chinese people say 'meeting in person creates affection,' and moreover, inventory and shelf adjustments are usually done late at night, sometimes until dawn. All excellent sales representatives have participated in these store tasks. Have you done it? Do you know why your meals and drinks cannot compare to others' relationships?
Giving gifts is also necessary, but do not cross the moral bottom line. Commercial bribery will never have a good outcome, nor will it earn you industry respect.
18) Position
High traffic and prominent positions are definitely good positions.
(Attachments 3 and 4 show the best shelf positions based on width and height as references, with several sales indicators)
Best shelf position – shelf width:
Best shelf position – shelf height:
19) Maintain shelf share
You not only need a good position, but also need to ensure your shelf share. The minimum level is that you cannot be lower than your sales share in the store. As a strong brand, you need to occupy the largest shelf space; as a weak brand, your display principle should be to closely follow competitors, displaying next to them, because the traffic in front of their products is usually the highest. This sticky-tape approach is called 'follow tactics.'
20) Manage shelves well
Remember, the best position must be for the best-selling products, or for seasonal promotions or main push products. Also, you must keep the shelves full and maintain sufficient stock. Experience shows that even without out-of-stock, a full shelf display sells more than a sparse display.
21) Regional display
Products of each series should be placed together as much as possible.
Put our brand together!
Put our flavors together!
Put our specifications together!
Only in this way can we maximize sales efficiency. The display space for fast-moving items should be 2-3 times that of ordinary products. Assuming 1 display space sells 100, 2 display spaces sell 123, 3 display spaces sell 140, and 4 display spaces sell 154!
22) In-store price management
If you change the placement position during shelf restocking, remember to adjust the price tags accordingly. All products must have corresponding price tags, and the price tags must reflect accurate prices and be clear and prominent.
For stores with internal codes on price tags, record this information. You generally cannot order using product barcodes in the store; the effective order symbol is the store's internal code.
23) Use promotional materials wisely
What promotional materials do you use daily?
Posters, hanging flags, stickers, insert cards, KT boards, hanging decorations, dedicated display cabinets, dedicated display boxes, checkout counters, hot spot shelves, in-store promotion tables... These are all your promotional materials. The effect of promotional materials + display is 1.8 times the sales of display alone.
You should use the latest promotional materials, choose corresponding materials for different brands, and update them regularly. Place promotional materials where they can attract consumers the most to draw attention.
24) Do promotional displays
Earlier we talked about ordinary shelf displays. If possible, do more promotional displays in the store. Promotional displays bring us the following benefits:
Floor display: sales increase by 42%
Floor display + poster: sales increase by 60%
Floor display + poster + special price card (special price only): sales increase by 83%
Floor display + poster + special price card (original and special price): sales increase by 125%
25) Do FIFO again
Don't forget at any time: as long as you touch the display, you must place products according to the FIFO principle.
26) Clean products
Now, take out the cloth from your sales bag and clean the products and shelves. The cleanliness of products directly affects consumers' choices; no one wants to buy dirty products, no matter how fresh the date.
27) Replenish products
After some display work, you may need to replenish products. Remember the FIFO principle and expand the display space as much as possible.
28) Returns and exchanges
If there are products with unsuitable dates or damaged products, remove them from the shelves promptly and replace them with good products.
29) Introduce benefits
It is not enough to just do it yourself; you also need to communicate to the store staff the benefits that the display will bring them. You must make them believe that our work will bring them sales growth. Finally, don't forget to tell them to maintain our display, and also tell them that maintaining such a display will bring them benefits.
30) Communicate with promotion girls
If the store has promotion girls, don't forget to ask about their recent sales – including your own and competitors' sales and promotional activities – and check their sales reports. If the company has information to convey, tell them immediately, and tell them the recent work focus, and ask if they need your help with anything.
Is there anything you brought for them? Is there anything to bring back to the company? Go do it quickly.
Alright, the display and shelf restocking work is done. But the work does not end here. Do you have any new work goals for today's visit?
Now enter the fifth work step –
**◆ (5) Presenting Goals**
31) Reconfirm work goals
Based on the work just done in the store, you need to reconfirm your work goals. These goals include: selling in new SKUs, expanding display space, stocking up, conducting promotional activities, collecting payments, price changes, etc.
32) Use your sales tools
Using your customer visit card, you can show the store that safety stock is insufficient and they need to order.
Use new product promotional materials to sell new SKUs to the store.
Use the suggested order form to tell the store that we have more product series and increase their order quantity.
33) Assist store personnel in ordering
New products usually require procurement confirmation before ordering. Existing products can be ordered directly by the store. In some stores, in-store staff can place orders directly; in others, there is a complex procurement process.
The table below shows the ordering process of a certain chain supermarket:
Here, there can be up to 9 steps, and it is very easy to make mistakes at any step. Sales representatives must not only assist store personnel in placing orders but also thoroughly understand the entire order process and track each step to avoid out-of-stock due to process issues.
34) Use your sales skills to persuade key people
Achieving your sales goals – such as running a promotion, distributing new products, etc. – is not always easy. Here, you need to use the sales skills you have learned to negotiate with the store. Do not take customer rejection as the final answer; an excellent sales representative always discovers the problem behind the rejection.
Use open-ended questions to find the customer's needs!
Stay calm when the customer has objections.
Listen carefully to the customer's problems and understand them clearly.
Say to the customer, 'I understand you mean...' to show agreement.
Repeat the customer's problem and ask if there are other objections. This is to limit their issues.
State our benefits and overcome objections. Also, promptly identify the customer's buying signals and close the deal in time.
Sales skills are the basic skills of a sales representative, but they are not the focus of this article. The table below shows the general sales process:
Alright, after these tasks, your sales goals are achieved.
So, is there any work left undone?
**◆ (6) Administrative Work**
Don't forget to check again the administrative tasks you need to do in the store.
35) Check whether each customer visit card is filled out accurately and completely
Have you recorded each product series and each display method on the customer visit card? Remember, this card is the source of all internal company data; it is the weapon of every sales representative!
36) Collection work
If your work today includes collection, please carefully store the checks you receive in a check folder to avoid loss.
Following your store visit route map and the steps I mentioned above, you have completed a day of visits. But is your work done? Don't forget, back at the office, you still have some final tasks!
37) Process orders
After returning to the office, based on today's work, immediately process your orders, send them to the distributor, or to your company's order entry clerk.
38) Submit collections
Immediately submit your collections to the company and record them carefully. Collections must never be kept overnight.
39) Organize customer visit cards
Organize today's customer visit cards. If any are written sloppily, rewrite them on a new form and store them in a fixed place. The storage place for customer visit cards must not be locked; they must be available for inspection by supervisors or the company at any time. This is our professionalism.
40) Fill out sales/collection reports
Carefully fill out today's sales and collection records, and store them in a fixed place for archiving, also not locked.
41) Fill out work plan
If today is Friday, carefully fill out next week's work plan. Although you may follow the same fixed route as this week, has your supervisor arranged new tasks, new promotions, or new product launches for next week?
42) Finally, prepare for the next day's work
Now, the busy day is about to end. Before that, prepare some things for tomorrow's store visits, and ask your supervisor if there are any other work instructions for tomorrow. Take out your notebook and record them. This workday is over.
Above, we have detailed the 41 action points of the professional store visit process. This is the basic common work standard and requirement for leading consumer goods companies worldwide. Sales itself is actually a very simple job, but the key to success is to repeat simple actions continuously. These tasks, which are easy to say but tedious to do, must be executed repeatedly without compromise. This is the real key to widening the gap between us and our competitors.
This is you, a tireless and glorious sales representative, an unstoppable sales vanguard!
Source: Internet
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