---
title: "How Distributors Can Recruit and Retain Talent After Work Resumes"
description: "As of March, due to the pandemic, most distributors' businesses have been intermittent and essentially stalled for two months. Now is the real start of their business, and at this point, distributors need to consider recruitment, followed by management and retention. New Distribution invited Mr. Li Feng, Executive President of Anshan Hongye Hengda Trading, to share how distributors can efficiently recruit, manage, and retain talent, preparing for business growth in 2020."
author: "李锋"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-03-19"
categories: "Dealer Operations, Management & Methods"
language: "en"
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attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-distributors-can-recruit-and-retain-talent-after-work-resumes-5b4d3c19/"
citation: "李锋. “How Distributors Can Recruit and Retain Talent After Work Resumes.” New Distribution, 2020-03-19. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-distributors-can-recruit-and-retain-talent-after-work-resumes-5b4d3c19/"
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---

# How Distributors Can Recruit and Retain Talent After Work Resumes

> As of March, due to the pandemic, most distributors' businesses have been intermittent and essentially stalled for two months. Now is the real start of their business, and at this point, distributors need to consider recruitment, followed by management and retention. New Distribution invited Mr. Li Feng, Executive President of Anshan Hongye Hengda Trading, to share how distributors can efficiently recruit, manage, and retain talent, preparing for business growth in 2020.

As of March, due to the pandemic, most distributors' businesses have been intermittent and essentially stalled for two months. Now is the real start of their business, and at this point, distributors need to consider recruitment, followed by management and retention.
On the topic of recruitment, management, and retention, New Distribution invited Mr. Li Feng, Executive President of Anshan Hongye Hengda Trading, to share how distributors can efficiently recruit, manage, and retain talent, preparing for business growth in 2020.
**-01-****Recruitment: Poaching within the local business circle is most effective**
Frankly, this is the most opportune time to recruit. Why? Because due to the pandemic, many people have been at home for two months, haven't worked for a long time, and are eager to find something to do. Especially ordinary wage earners, who may have had no income for two months.
**Additionally, many factories and enterprises are facing layoffs and bankruptcy, leading to an increase in laid-off workers. There are limited recruitment options currently, and many people urgently need jobs. In the past, many young people went to the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta for work, but due to the pandemic, they may choose to stay in their hometowns this year.**
Overall, the external environment provides objective opportunities for distributors with recruitment needs.
Back to the topic of recruitment: when is it necessary to hire? Many distributors think they only need to hire when business volume grows, but I personally believe that **distributors should have a mindset of "reserving talent in advance." An annual attrition rate of 20% among sales staff is reasonable, and distributors should also dare to use new people.**
Regularly implement a elimination mechanism for sales staff, and eliminate those who commit fraud or steal expenses as soon as they are discovered. **The reason for elimination is not the economic loss to the company, but the impact on the overall business atmosphere; if not severely punished, others will follow suit.**
Once the recruitment goals and numbers are determined, what kind of people should distributors hire?
> **1) Good character**
> **2) Willing to work hard**
> **3) Good communication skills**
Salespeople visit small stores, leaving early and returning late, so they must be willing to work hard; they handle orders and collect payments, so they must have good character; they interact with various terminal stores daily and do sales, so they must be articulate and sociable.
**Distributors should not require excessively high education levels; unlike manufacturers who require at least a college diploma, junior high or high school education is sufficient.**
Knowing the recruitment criteria, where to recruit? **Many distributors recruit through online job sites or local talent markets, but I personally believe these places basically have no talent. Excellent talent is poached; online or talent markets basically have "drifting salespeople."**
Online or talent markets are fine for recruiting logistics or clerical staff, but recruiting sales staff carries higher risk. **You don't know the new hires well, and they might leave after half a month. If an old hand in the area leaves and the new person hasn't caught up, the area will see at least 3 months of negative growth.**
I think distributors don't need to recruit as formally as manufacturers; what suits them is most important. Therefore, distributors generally have three channels for recruiting salespeople:
> **First, recommendations from friends**
> **Second, the sales team poaches within its business circle**
> **Third, befriend competitors' salespeople as reserve candidates**
From practical results, poaching within the business circle is most effective. **In a region, almost every category has a business circle, with groups formed by salespeople in the same industry, such as beverage business groups, grain and oil business groups, etc. In these groups, everything is discussed, and it's clear who performs well.**
Additionally, make friends with competitors; it's both for reserves and poaching. **When a suitable position opens up, offer a salary higher than the industry average, and through communication, bring them over and put them to work immediately.**
Regarding recruiting professional managers or partners, it's recommended to find talent from manufacturers. **They have market operation capabilities and have received good manufacturer training. If recruiting regional heads, it's recommended to promote from within or hold elections.**
**For internal promotion, I want to emphasize that many salespeople have been with distributors for a long time, and often distributors may not see the strengths of their own people, always thinking others are better. But that's not the case. Distributors should dare to promote, give frontline salespeople opportunities, and try them out first; it's much lower risk than external parachutes.**
**-02-****Three Steps for New Hires: Pre-job Training, Mentorship, and Leadership Attention**
Many distributors often overlook this area: new hires come, go straight to work, and are left to sink or swim. Some distributors do some pre-job training, but I think these are wrong examples. Take Hongye Hengda Trading's new hire onboarding as an example to provide some inspiration for distributors.
**1. Job Training:**
**Let new hires feel the company's standardization, a sense of belonging, and clearly understand their job responsibilities and what to do.** Training content includes product manuals, policy manuals, promotion manuals, and brand corporate brochures.
Even if the new hire comes from the same industry, because of different brands, price systems, promotional policies, and product selling points must be thoroughly trained.
For policy training, Hongye Hengda's policies are now very comprehensive. In daily operations, whenever a problem arises, we record it and design corresponding policies to prevent recurrence.
For example, the return and exchange policy: if a new hire is fined for returns after starting, they may feel wronged because the department head didn't explain. If it's clearly communicated during pre-job training, there won't be any disputes.
**2. Mentorship:**
Who should mentor new hires? I think it must be the best salesperson in the company. Never let a "negative energy" old hand mentor, as they usually don't do well. They spread negativity in daily work: "Why did you come? I'm about to leave. The company is bad here and there, new products don't sell, the boss often fines people..."
Let the company's best salesperson mentor, taking the new hire to run their own area for 1-2 weeks. This not only lets the new hire experience the mentor's professionalism but also see what a good market looks like, and they become familiar with product policies while visiting stores.
**3. Leadership Attention:**
After the mentorship, the new hire runs their own area. At this point, the department's general manager should accompany them on market visits at least once a week, providing training and guidance on the go, and solving problems immediately.
After this one-month process, the new hire can basically be retained. Finally, I want to emphasize that before or after onboarding, the boss should personally meet with the new hire once and have a heart-to-heart talk.
**-03-****Retention: Salary at 120%-150% of local peers**
In 2019, Hongye Hengda's salespeople earned an average of over 100,000 yuan, with 50 salespeople. Among them, some earned 50,000 and some 200,000. In Anshan City, the average income in the same industry is 50,000-60,000 yuan. It's a third-tier city with a population of 3.6 million, and Vanke's fine decoration is 4,500 yuan/m2. Whether compared to peers or city housing prices, Hongye Hengda's income is decent.
**When salespeople's income exceeds peers by 130%, it's not a question of whether the distributor dares to manage, but how to demand.**
In 2019, Hongye Hengda's sales grew by 20%. Salespeople worked proactively. The company policy is to get off at 5:30 PM, but salespeople basically leave after 6 PM. I believe without a 130% salary level, you can't recruit good talent, but this 130% salary isn't paid out of the distributor's pocket; it's earned from the market through hard work.
**Many salespeople know how to build relationships, grab terminals, do displays, etc. They know the methods and actions, but sometimes they're unwilling or lack passion to do them. Salespeople only use 50% of their potential. If they unleash their potential and master the methods, their salaries can double, naturally forming a positive cycle.**
How to get salespeople to earn 30% more income? My method: rewards for best-selling single products, selling high-margin products, and daring to share profits. Use best-selling product rewards to boost employee income, increase employee satisfaction, and adjust the product structure accordingly.
In the salesperson's salary structure, the base salary of 2,000 yuan accounts for 25%; commission (dividend) accounts for 45%; best-selling product rewards account for 30%. **Base salary and commission are salary; employees think it's what they deserve for their labor. Best-selling product rewards (KPI performance, assessing new products) are extra income; employees always work hard for extra gains.**
Simply put, giving an extra 3,500 yuan a month is earned by selling high-priced products, not from Hongye Hengda's normal wages. Making new products the key to exceeding peer salary levels by 30-50% is also the direction for distributors to adjust their product structure.
For example, if a box of new products has a profit of 20 yuan/box, offer 10 yuan/box as an incentive. In the early stage, if the distribution rate reaches 10%, reward a corresponding amount; for a certain number of new product displays, reward a corresponding amount. The assessment should provide specific methods.
**-04-****Retention: Promotion Mechanisms, Corporate Culture, and Respect for People**
In addition to the direct high income mentioned above, there are soft considerations:
**1. Promotion Mechanism:**
Small companies may not need a promotion mechanism, but once revenue reaches 20-30 million, distributors can consider designing a simple promotion mechanism, such as: regular salesperson base salary 2,000, excellent salesperson 2,200, gold salesperson 2,400, to achieve both fame and fortune.
**2. Corporate Culture:**
Distributor bosses should lead by example in creating a good company atmosphere. Big companies build culture; small companies build character. The sales team should cultivate a wolf-like team spirit, with internal PK and external market grabbing. Atmosphere is important. At Hongye Hengda, the boss leads by example, never saying "do the market" but "grab the market."
**3. Respect for People:**
**Managers' recognition of the team is important, but respect for people is more important! Managers should encourage the sales team more, criticize less, and have regular heart-to-heart talks.** The boss should avoid scolding people; if you scold one person, the surrounding employees are listening. The entire team's psychology will be affected, and it also reflects the boss's personal quality.
Of course, distributors often overlook one point: the office environment. Many distributors rent warehouses and offices and don't pay attention to these details, but I think, **when conditions allow, try to provide a good working environment for salespeople, at least clean and tidy, which can also improve employee satisfaction. Sometimes when discussing group purchase business, salespeople also have confidence when entertaining.**


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 李锋
- Published: 2020-03-19
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-distributors-can-recruit-and-retain-talent-after-work-resumes-5b4d3c19/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_y9yHT1Fmplw-zczuC87tQ

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