During the pandemic, consumption has slowed, and distributors who had hoped to profit from the Spring Festival peak season are now under enormous pressure. How to get through this difficult time? What should they do? To this end, New Distribution invited Mr. Li Hongquan, a marketing executive at an FMCG group, to discuss what frontline distributors should do and what to pay attention to during the pandemic. First, frontline distributors, especially those in alcoholic beverages and dairy, are certainly greatly affected. Consumers staying at home is the greatest contribution to the country, and as a result, our distributors are panicking, looking at their full warehouses and beating their chests. Here I want to emphasize a few points: 1. (Hope - Face) Courageously face reality During the pandemic, we must firmly believe in the Party and the state. The epidemic will certainly be contained, and soon everyone can return to normal life. I experienced the SARS outbreak in 2003. After the epidemic, demand will rebound and exceed everyone's imagination! 2. Losing morale before battle leads to defeat As a frontline distributor, you are also the head of a company, the boss of a trading firm. If you lose confidence, what will your subordinates do? Losing morale before battle is a sign of defeat. First, boost your confidence. Throughout human history, there has never been an insurmountable obstacle. This is just an epidemic; it has happened before in history. Moreover, with today's advanced technology, we must firmly believe that recovery will come soon! What specifically should you do and what should you pay attention to? I think many distributor friends will first think of calling the manufacturer to implement joint self-rescue, asking for more support for losses and damages. I only say this idea is good but unrealistic. As long as we calm down and think, we will have the answer. A major brand has 500-2000 distributors nationwide. If every distributor asks the manufacturer for help, the manufacturer would probably go bankrupt many times over. Jia Guolong of Xibei put it clearly: even the leading catering company only has enough cash to pay three months of wages. If you are in Hubei, you can raise this request, and I believe most companies will support your idea. If you are in other provinces, don't have this idea. What manufacturers hope for is sharing hardships and striving together. So as a distributor, you must dare to face reality, accept reality, and abandon unrealistic fantasies. If you do this, the manufacturer will also look at you differently. After all, which manufacturer is willing to support a distributor who asks for help at the first sign of difficulty? Believe that giving will be rewarded; what you sacrifice most today is what you will gain most in the future! 1. Timely inventory check and summarize sales trends

  1. The Spring Festival campaign is basically over. Be sure to take inventory in a timely manner to see what products are left in the warehouse. This is a key point for determining the future product structure.
  2. What about dates? Dates are critical. If they are still from last year's batch, mark them prominently. We will discuss how to handle them later.
  3. Are there any products sold on credit? Products sold on credit but not moving should also be recorded. This is also why I have repeatedly said that good products should never be sold on credit. Because with credit sales, terminal sales motivation is low, and even if they remain, they are still your products. The more this time calls for teamwork and resource integration, credit sales only mean one more inventory item you need to consider!
  4. How many promotional items are left in the warehouse? Most of our distributor friends started as family workshops, and there will be surplus promotional items from various manufacturers. I'm not talking about withholding; I mean surplus. Well, now is the time to take stock, because they will be put to use. 2. Establish terminal files and categorize them
  5. If stores are not open, you can communicate by phone, but you must also grasp the actual sales data at the terminal. This is also the time to understand the terminal's plans for 2020. A good salesperson will know through phone calls whether this outlet will continue to operate or transform. If you do this work, you will seize the initiative, first reducing losses, and also integrating resources to increase sales!
  6. If you have a system, take this opportunity to reorganize the terminal network: which are core outlets, which are key outlets, which are ordinary outlets? I know our distributor friends usually have no time to look at the system, even if it is free from the manufacturer and has mandatory assessments? At this time, you have plenty of time to pay attention to the system, review 3-6 months of sales data, and you will have many eye-opening discoveries. As a distributor, we fear that the manufacturer will take away the terminals. Don't think that way in 2020. In the era of big data, there are no secrets under the sun. Just actively cooperate and use it.

The salesperson you trusted most often only visits a few points, and they are all near home? The daily workload never exceeded 3 hours; The core store you thought had the best sales turned out to be just a wholesaler? The best policy you thought was just the result of salespeople breaking it down into pieces? There is gold in the system, management comes from the system, and the system reveals the truth.

  1. Based on channel type, outlet category, and combining data from previous years and this Spring Festival, sort out various outlets and re-establish precise files. 3. Personnel review
  2. This is also the best time to review your team. Select more suitable personnel, and combined with the annual work plan, it is recommended to reduce staff and have one person do the work of three, because salary reductions in 2020 are impossible; only elite soldiers and strong generals will do.
  3. I have always believed that all problems are management problems. Manage whom? People. Yes, if you manage people well, you will get twice the result with half the effort, and sales will increase. If not managed well, too many chickens won't lay eggs, and chaos means no sales. The key is that in 2020 your funds will be tighter, so in 2020, personnel should be lean, not numerous. 4. Handling old-date products For products from 2019, the quality is fine, but they affect sales. Visionary distributors can use such products as gifts or directly donate them to relevant departments, which will enhance the distributor's reputation. 5. Use promotional items where they matter most After this Spring Festival campaign, there must be some stores that were originally good but did not sell well due to the epidemic. For such stores, be sure to bundle promotional items in a timely manner to give them sales confidence. Terminal customers must be treated differently by category. 6. Precautions are as follows:
  4. Adjust the product structure in a timely manner. After this epidemic, consumers' awareness of health will strengthen. In the future, best-selling products will definitely be those that conform to health and green trends. Of course, taste is still the foundation. Cut off some chicken-rib products that do not fit the trend;
  5. The value of big brands is becoming more price-oriented. For example, Maotai, Wuliangye, Jiannanchun, Yanghe will continue to launch high-quality, low-priced products, which will have an obvious impact on the original second- and third-tier baijiu. Similarly, beverages and food are the same. The value-price orientation of big brands will become the mainstream in 2020;
  6. Pay close attention to the rise of new categories and new brands. Of course, as I said, 2020 is also a time when various beverage and snack brands are scrambling. You just need to watch quietly, hold on to what you have, and pay attention to future developments;
  7. Plan ahead, build channels in a timely manner, and start community group buying and online sales. If conditions permit, establish terminal maintenance groups, use service to boost sales, and scale to increase profits! Finally, I want to give distributor friends a sentence: Everything is the best arrangement, but luck always favors those who are prepared!