Click the image for details. Shen Zhiqiang's Dongguan Lüchen is a large team of 1,000 people. Why would a maternal and infant distributor need 1,000 people? Many distributors covering a whole province only have a dozen or so salespeople. In fact, most of Lüchen's 1,000 people are sales assistants. Why would a distributor support so many sales assistants? Just thinking about the monthly payroll is daunting. For Shen Zhiqiang, this is not just about employing people; this team of nearly 1,000 sales assistants is his most powerful weapon for controlling the regional market! How powerful is it? Why adopt this development approach? We'll set that aside for now and first discuss how a distributor leads a team of nearly 1,000 sales assistants. Shen Zhiqiang, Chairman of Dongguan Lüchen Trading Co., Ltd. 1 A Good Cook Knows How to Pick Ingredients When it comes to management, Shen Zhiqiang is always talkative: "Management is an art, and there's always more to discuss." The first and hardest step is selecting people. A good cook knows how to pick ingredients; otherwise, they're not a good chef. A good manager knows how to select people; otherwise, how can they be a good manager? There are two ways to select excellent employees: internal training and external recruitment. Shen Zhiqiang has deep insights into both. External recruitment tests the manager's eye for talent. Shen Zhiqiang is always on the lookout for talent wherever he goes. In his eyes, if he can see someone's capable side, he will pay attention to that person. For example, one of Lüchen's current sales leaders was once an obscure after-sales staff member. She was deemed unsuitable for sales at her original company and had never done similar work, only earning a modest salary in after-sales. But she had a strong desire for success, and Shen Zhiqiang noticed it. Through observation, he found she had good language skills and a tenacious spirit, making her a promising sales candidate. After she transferred to Lüchen, Shen Zhiqiang personally mentored her. Starting from the most basic sales position, they would communicate whenever they had time, and Shen Zhiqiang would offer guidance. As it turned out, with her drive, she continuously absorbed sales and management skills and grew rapidly. Within four years, she became one of Lüchen's core regional managers, with a salary more than ten times her previous one. In fact, everyone is only suited for certain jobs; when they do the right job and are in an environment with opportunities, they can grow very quickly. Another example is Lüchen's current administrative director, who originally worked at a media company and later applied to Lüchen. During the interview, Shen Zhiqiang discovered she was interested in and very good at hosting, often doing it as a side gig. Lüchen has many events, so this could be put to good use. So he signed her immediately and allowed her to continue hosting on the side, preserving her interest, with no conditions other than informing the company when she went out. During her probation, Shen Zhiqiang found she was suitable for training, so he talked to her again and asked if she would like to try it. She accepted the challenge, and after trying it, everyone approved of her training, and she enjoyed it herself. During her work, she showed strong interest in brand operations, so she took on multiple roles and became the brand director for one of Lüchen's own cosmetics brands. In addition to annual dividends, her base salary doubled within just three months compared to her previous company. This is Lüchen's talent philosophy: career planning and salary increases are prepared, and what can be done tonight is never put off until tomorrow. Boldly and without restraint, they promote talent, maximizing their strengths while preserving their interests, which is Lüchen's unique competitive advantage in talent. Shen Zhiqiang believes: "Use people for their strengths." That's why Shen Zhiqiang confidently says: "An employee at Lüchen can perform at 100%-120% of their potential, but after leaving, they might only perform at 60%-70%." Lüchen Team 2 120% Performance The reason an employee can perform beyond expectations after joining Lüchen is also due to Lüchen's internal training mechanism. Bosses often make two mistakes in managing sales assistant teams: One is mercenary-style management. Such bosses treat sales assistants as temporary workers, with a simple piece-rate labor relationship: you sell goods, I give commission; if you don't sell in three days, you're out, like mercenaries. In this case, sales assistants generally have a mindset of working day by day, with no sense of belonging, and it's hard for them to identify with or be loyal to the company, leading to high turnover. And the boss might say, "See, I knew they wouldn't last long." So they invest even less in sales assistants and make no long-term plans, further reinforcing mercenary-style management, treating sales assistants like thieves, falling into a vicious cycle. Another mistake is high-pressure management. Such bosses only focus on task completion, pushing hard, while ignoring the working environment, promotional tools, and problems during sales. Bosses often do this because of their own sales experience in the early days of their business. At that time, their stores were just starting, and they personally served as sales assistants. If they didn't make a sale in a day, they didn't eat, so they worked desperately, thinking about sales techniques even off duty, and dreaming at night about how to make up for today's missed sales. Naturally, after the company grows, the boss projects their own experience onto the sales assistants, demanding they be as motivated and resilient. But they don't realize that you were starting a business with no retreat, while they are employees; if this place doesn't work, they can go elsewhere. The mindsets and psychological incentives are completely different. Blindly applying pressure without systematic support will only drive sales assistants away. Shen Zhiqiang recognized this early: "The essence of management is understanding human nature." Whoever you manage, you must understand their psychology. If a company wants a strong and stable sales assistant team, it must think from the sales assistant's perspective to develop management techniques and methods. Therefore, Lüchen places great importance on internal training. At Lüchen, 80% to 90% of managers have risen through the internal training system. Only by showing this commitment will new hires feel at ease—realizing this is a company where they can stay long-term, not a guerrilla team that might disband anytime. At Lüchen, a new hire starts as a sales assistant, with a training period of 2-3 days, then learns on the job. During this process, those who love learning and want high salaries are selected for further training, and those with potential are given ample time to learn. Lüchen has a good "mentoring" learning mechanism, a standardized process where after unified training, veterans guide newcomers step by step to familiarize them with the work. Although the growth environment is the same, everyone's interests, abilities, and learning efficiency differ. Lüchen also provides differentiated training based on individual circumstances, focusing on developing each person's strengths. A talent should be used for their strengths. Correspondingly, besides a good training mechanism, Lüchen maintains a good internal management balance. A manager's position typically has 7-8 people ready to step in at any time, so the team can function well even if someone leaves. This not only maintains the manager's motivation but also promotes healthy competition within the team. At Lüchen, sharing and communication among employees is encouraged. Successful cases are shared, and during each activity, high-value bonuses are set. Outstanding employees who receive bonuses then share their successful experiences with more people, promoting progress for all. Lüchen's internal environment is also good: none of the senior executives are Shen Zhiqiang's relatives, promotion is fair, and personal ability is most important. The environment can shape and cultivate people. Lüchen is committed to maximizing the value of every employee and continuously increasing it. Training is never cost-conscious; last year alone, excluding prizes, training expenses reached 3 million yuan. "The essence of management is understanding human nature," Shen Zhiqiang often says, and he applies this principle perfectly. Source: Zhongtong Observation (chinabaobbei) Click the image for details. The 3rd (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in October 2017. The conference will closely focus on the theme "New Forces, New Ecology," inviting 1,000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to explore a new chapter of cross-industry integration! Core topics of this conference:
How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B to achieve new growth opportunities
How to build the new supply chain behind new retail
How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development
Highlights of this conference:
The industry's first "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper"
Case sharing of excellent transforming distributors
Upgraded conference + exhibition, Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition strengthens connections
Alibaba Retail Link, Puhua Financial, Eternal Asia Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, Yijiu Pai, Unilever, Haiding Technology, Yunmei Shares—leaders from various fields will deliver speeches and share pioneering views.
November 8-9, 2017 Chongqing International Expo Center Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Early bird tickets before September 15 enjoy a 30% discount! Add friend and note "Conference Registration" Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum 2017 (2nd) China FMCG + Internet Conference Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum -END-