Long press the QR code or click "Read Original" to register. 30+ industry experts, 100+ B2B platform founders, 800+ manufacturer and distributor friends, gather in Fuzhou to jointly explore the path of internet transformation for the FMCG industry. Is there a magic rule in sales that guarantees success? The answer is both yes and no. Because the brawl between guerrilla fighter Wang Tiedan and bandit soldier Zhang Ergou is completely different from the duel between Rommel and Montgomery; the same tactics cannot apply to both. Sales master Lao Cai went from a blank slate to a regional leader, and eventually became a legend. His mental and physical journey may offer different insights to you, depending on your sales level. Last time, we mentioned that sales rep Xiao Cai, with a manual he summarized from experience, was promoted to supervisor and led a team of efficient brothers, earning him the title Manager Cai. However, it seems hard to write another "Manager Cai's Manual" because the customer issues he now faces are more complex and cannot be explained in one sentence... One day, Manager Cai visited the purchasing manager of Walmart Niu. After routine pleasantries, the other party suddenly produced a sales list and pointed to the ten products at the bottom, saying, "These products have poor sales; we plan to eliminate them. Please have your team handle it." Instantly, ten thousand alpacas ran through his mind... Fortunately, after years of experience, Manager Cai could remain calm despite the alpacas, so he smiled and said, "If these products truly cannot create value in your store, then it is indeed worth considering an adjustment. Let us go back and study a plan, and we can discuss it with you this Thursday, if that works?" Note the wisdom of a veteran:

  1. Never immediately reject the customer, but also never directly agree to a proposal that is unfavorable to you.
  2. Substitute concepts, subtly changing the logic from "poor sales should be eliminated" to "no value should be eliminated."
  3. Leave an open ending, giving yourself a few days to maneuver. Back at the office, Manager Cai quickly convened a brainstorming meeting with relevant colleagues. After heated discussions among Manager Cai and his team, they developed the following plan to present to the buyer:
  4. Three of the ten products are unique niche products. Through profit calculations, they can tell the buyer that these products are significant contributors to his gross margin KPIs, and their net profit margins are also clearly better than most similar products. Cutting them would affect the buyer's KPI results.
  5. Two products have just launched a comprehensive advertising campaign with extensive consumer activities. If we wait another month, sales are bound to rise.
  6. Two other products are high-end and relatively expensive. However, for a small group of consumers who frequent international circles, they understand how great these products are. What they buy is understated status. Moreover, they are the type of consumers who buy without looking at the price—without looking at the price, without looking at the price, without looking at the price! (Important things said three times.) If these two products disappear, they will definitely go to other stores, and the other items they buy without checking prices, such as those expensive imported paper towels and imported beer, will also go with them...
  7. As for the other three products, they are not important to the company anyway, so they can be used to prove that the buyer is right... After such heated discussion, everyone seemed to see the buyer nodding frequently. But Manager Cai suddenly realized a problem: who will refine these communication plans and then negotiate with the buyer? Because:
  8. This person must understand sales and customers. Before defending, they must first confirm that these ten products indeed have problems, perform worse than competitors, and that no execution issues on the customer's side can be found, so they are truly problems. Then, from the company's perspective, they must judge what can be conceded and what cannot.
  9. This person must have certain financial accounting skills. How exactly is the gross profit calculated? Is it attractive? If we also calculate net profit, would the story be more compelling? Which costs should be included in net profit and which can be excluded? How to explain fixed costs so that these products, which are meant to tell a high-profit story, are not burdened?
  10. This person must have a foundation in brand management. Although the company's advertising and activity support is clear, how to explain each activity in terms of measurable brand effects, traffic effects, sales effects, preference effects, market share effects... this requires skill.
  11. This person must have a certain vision and knowledge base, so that when talking about those who buy without looking at prices, they can confidently explain who they are, where they usually shop, and what they buy... After Manager Cai's analysis, looking at the admiring eyes of his subordinates, he sadly realized that this person might only be himself. So, Manager Cai made a firm resolution:
  • He needed to assess his own knowledge structure, fill the gaps, and seriously attend company training courses. Because for larger customers, their purchasing managers are also well-traveled. When masters compete, it's not about who has the longer board, but who has fewer short boards. The fewer the shortcomings, the greater the chance of winning.
  • Selling goods and sales volume are certainly important, but he still needed to pick two promising sales talents to fill the gaps. Otherwise, before Manager Cai becomes Master Cai, he might not necessarily be beaten to death, but he will definitely be exhausted to death. Just as he was confidently selecting talents, a young woman he had been eyeing walked in almost in tears, saying she had encountered an unreasonable foreign purchasing director. So, Manager Cai had to quickly jot down his just-inspired ideas, ask someone to schedule a meeting with the other party, and comfort the young woman: "Come, sit down and tell me slowly, what happened?" What happened to the young woman? Stay tuned for the next installment! Disclaimer: This article is sourced from New Era · New Distribution —— 2016 China "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum —— This is a grand event focused on how the FMCG industry's channels will transform under the trend of Internet+ transformation Conference Agenda 09:00-09:30 Registration 09:30-09:35 Host opening 09:35-10:05 2016 China FMCG Industry Trend Analysis Report — Zhao Bo 10:05-10:25 FMCG Enterprise Transformation Strategy and Path — Liu Chunxiong 10:25-10:45 Opportunities and Challenges Brought by FMCG Channel Reform — Field 365 CEO Liu Zhao 10:45-11:25 Alibaba Retail Link All-round Empowerment — Alibaba Retail Link Guo Kunkun 11:25-12:00 Roundtable Forum — Brand Transformation: Improvement vs. Reconstruction? (Guests TBD) 12:00-13:30 Lunch 13:30-14:00 Dealer Transformation: City Distribution Trends — Weijie City Distribution CEO Wang Qi 14:00-14:30 Roundtable Forum — Why Should Dealers Transform into Logistics? 14:30-15:00 Detailed Explanation of Zhongshang Huimin's "One Machine, Two Wings" Strategy — Zhongshang Huimin Vice President Su Xiaoxin 15:00-15:30 Detailed Explanation of Zhanghe Cloud Factory Strategy — Zhanghe Tianxia Yang Lixiang (Content TBD) 15:30-16:00 Supply Chain Finance as a Lubricant for B2B to Drive Traditional Business — 51 Order CEO Chen Xian 16:00-16:30 2B Investment Principles and Ideas — ZhenFund Founder Xu Xiaoping (Guest TBD) 16:30-17:00 Small Retail, Big Business Opportunities: China's Retail Transformation and Upgrade — Yurun Group E-commerce GM Wang Jianfeng 17:00-17:30 Roundtable Forum — Who is the King of FMCG B2B Models? (Guests TBD) 18:00-20:00 Dinner For manufacturers and distributors looking to transform, this event is a must-attend. Interested friends can long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Registration: Long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" ↓↓↓ Click "Read Original" [Register]