The FMCG industry today can be aptly described as 'turbulent times.' In this chaos, it's no easy task for us distributors to carve out a 'path to survival.' But regardless of the outcome, I believe our distributors will resolutely choose to join this war; because not joining means 'waiting for death,' while joining offers a glimmer of hope—after all, 'courting death' is better than 'waiting for death.' However, since we've chosen to join this war, how do we emerge victorious? As everyone knows, winning a war requires a good strategy (goals), suitable tactics (planning), and precise combat methods (approaches); of course, beyond these, you also need ample provisions (resources), elite troops (team), and advanced weapons (products), among others. So, as distributors, what is your company's goal right now? On what basis is it set? How do you plan your company's goals? If your goal is very ambitious and cannot be achieved in the short term, have you thought about what to do? What methods have you used in the process of achieving your goals? How have these methods been standardized? In fact, no matter how ambitious your goal, you must break it down into countless smaller goals, then list these as projects that must be completed in the short term. This 'short term' must be tied to specific completion times and responsible individuals. For example: Your company's goal is to exceed 100 million in sales within five years, but your current sales are less than 20 million. The first step is to break down the goal, as shown in the table below (for reference only): Time (Year) | Goal | Current Configuration | Additional Configuration Needed Vehicles | Personnel | Outlets | Other | Vehicles | Personnel | Outlets | Other 2018 | 30 million | 2019 | 50 million | 2020 | 60 million | 2021 | 80 million | 2022 | 100 million | Then, you need to break down the first year's goal into monthly targets and assign them to each salesperson and channel, as shown below: Time (Month) | KA Channel | BC Channel | Circulation & Other Channels Zhang xx | Li xx | Wang xx | Zhao xx | Qian xx | Sun xx | Wu xx | Tang xx | Lin xx | Huang xx January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Total | You can even break it down further, dividing each employee's monthly task into daily tasks, as shown below: Time (Day) | KA Channel | BC Channel | Circulation & Other Channels Zhang xx | Li xx | Wang xx | Zhao xx | Qian xx | Sun xx | Wu xx | Tang xx | Lin xx | Huang xx Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total | At this point, your overall goal has been broken down in great detail. But each salesperson must reasonably allocate their working time to achieve daily goals, eliminating wasted and redundant effort. In reality, salespeople at every distributor are doing a lot of wasted and redundant work every day, and if work efficiency doesn't improve, no matter how detailed the goal breakdown, it's useless. To make each salesperson realize their work value, our management mechanisms must come into play. This requires establishing a set of daily management mechanisms, such as on-site management, kanban management, order-taking management, form management, time management, project management, etc. To use this mechanism well, it's recommended to have a morning meeting of about an hour each day to summarize yesterday's gains and losses and assign today's tasks. The morning meeting serves to exchange experiences and boost morale, letting salespeople know they're not fighting alone—they have a strong team behind them. Note that during the morning meeting, someone must take notes, organize the experiences (methods) summarized by salespeople, and turn these methods into standards. For example: Salesperson Zhang XX yesterday created a creative display at Supermarket A, which created a great sales atmosphere. This creative display can then be replicated in other similar stores. This requires documenting the operational process Zhang XX used and the amount of display materials (data-driven). This operational process and data are what we call standards. Over time, we'll accumulate many various standards, and with these, our efficiency will greatly improve, avoiding the possibility of wasted and redundant work mentioned earlier, enabling salespeople (including new employees) to achieve twice the results with half the effort. Additionally, how do you allocate and use your provisions (resources)? How do you mobilize your troops (team)? How do you use your weapons (products)? Many distributors treat the funds provided by manufacturers as direct profit, sell the free gifts as sales, and leave promotional items and display materials in the warehouse, eventually selling them as scrap or throwing them away. This is like destroying your own provisions in the middle of a war. Ask yourself: with insufficient provisions, can you still win? How long can you last? I suggest you go to the warehouse right now and check if there are any of these provisions (resources). If there are, use them in the battlefield (market) immediately. Visionary distributors often use these manufacturer-provided resources where they matter most, continuously supplementing them, and even reusing them. By now, they've avoided this war and are reaping rewards in the blue ocean they've created. Regarding mobilizing troops (team), many distributors still complain they can't recruit, retain, manage, or even utilize people. Ask yourself: if your team is in this state, how can you fight? Since you're joining this war, you need elite troops. To make your team elite, you must first learn to trust people—'he who employs people without doubt, and doubts not those he employs.' Second, you must learn to divide work, placing the right people in suitable positions so they can realize their value. Third, you must learn to delegate authority—give capable employees opportunities to lead projects. Remember, don't micromanage; judge by results. Finally, you must learn to share profits, understanding that 'money makes the mare go.' Employees come to work for money. Finally, how should you use your weapons (products)? I believe every distributor has many such weapons. But can you use all of them? Are they handy? I suspect there are always some in the corners of your warehouse that you can't use. If so, decisively discard them. I also suggest you abandon those 'chicken rib' weapons (products) you consider mediocre. Remember, on the battlefield, these weapons add to your baggage and drag you down. Remember, weapons (products) that you can use and find handy are the ones that suit you. I believe the products you can use and find handy are the ones that bring you sales or profits! Sometimes, it's wise to have some 'cannon fodder' products to snipe at enemies or scout the path. When we've prepared all this, are you still afraid of the so-called war? At least, you can have a clear picture in the war. There are many more details you'll need to discover on the battlefield yourself. Remember, every injury helps you grow—the key is whether you reflect on it. And stay vigilant after every victory, because your opponents are reflecting too.