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In this article, we will plan the year from several aspects. It should be noted that the work plan for sales personnel is mainly reflected in market management, process management, etc. That is, from a macro perspective, focusing on the control and grasp of the entire market. This article mainly highlights key nodes and points.

First, annual work goals and decomposition

Annual work goals are generally issued by the company's sales department based on the overall sales targets. Based on last year's sales completion, natural growth, personnel, expenses, channels, etc., a compound growth rate is formulated. This is mainly reflected in sales targets (sales amount targets and sales volume targets); there are also non-sales targets such as brand targets and channel network coverage. Sales targets must be decomposed from several dimensions: by region, channel, distributor, product, and by month, quarter, half-year, and annual completion. Only then are the targets meaningful.

Channel and terminal network coverage is also part of the target decomposition and refinement process. After decomposition, sales personnel know the source of sales and have a clear picture. A good salesperson is not one who is anxious at the end of each month; a good sales manager is not one who is frantically urging payment collection in the office at the end of each month.

Second, market layout

This includes the following three contents. First, positioning of the regional market. Second, market classification. Third, determining the channel model. For regional market positioning, use STP strategic marketing analysis (from EMKT.com.cn) to segment the region, determine the target market, and position it. In fact, for sales personnel or grassroots sales managers, the most important thing is to classify regional markets, clarify the type of regional market, and formulate different channel models and development plans. Different types of markets have different channel models: some are direct supply, some use distributors to cover terminals, and some assist key customers in distributing to terminals.

Market classification roughly divides markets into four types. The first is the basic market, which has a good market foundation and consumer base. The overall strength in brand, channel, and terminal is clearly superior to competitors, generally with a market share of over 35%. The second is the strategic market, which has a good market foundation and consumer base, large market capacity, and strong development space. It is strategically significant for the development of this product. The third is the development market, which has a certain good market foundation and consumer base. The market capacity is large, with strong development space, and this product has advantages in one or several aspects. The last is the penetration market, where the market foundation and consumer base are poor. The overall strength is clearly at a disadvantage compared to competitors, and penetration is achieved through distributor distribution networks or natural sales.

Channel model determination: According to the nature of the enterprise, industry, and specific market conditions, it can be divided into direct sales, direct supply, and distribution through distributors. Generally, small and medium-sized FMCG enterprises adopt a regional distribution model, specifically: one region (prefecture-level city with 1-2 distributors, divided by area; county-level city with 1 distributor; townships set up special distributors). In prefecture-level urban areas, assist distributors in establishing distribution networks, with some core terminals directly supplied by distributors.

Third, annual overall market strategy

After setting and decomposing goals, we need main strategies to achieve them. The so-called management by objectives is not just having a goal, but forming a complete set of market management strategies and methods around the goal, that is, the resources, organizational structure, team, and assessment and incentive measures needed to achieve the goal. Never let sales goals "run naked."

Each company should be consistent in its major strategies, with adjustments for different regions and market conditions. For example, in a year with many new products, the company's marketing department and sales department can make a unified plan and deployment for theme activities and roadshows, and regions can plan according to time and required resources, apply for approval, and then execute.

Generally, there are several things that should be done in a region each year and can be fixed. For example, the year-end distributor meeting; the beginning-of-year second-tier distributor ordering meeting to assist in building the distribution network of second-tier distributors; assisting distributors in direct supply and development of terminals; before the peak season, conducting consumer activities, etc., need an annual plan; in between, some holiday and consumer promotion activities can be interspersed, such as the theme activities and roadshows mentioned above.

The annual overall strategy can be formulated for different regions and different types of markets. Mature markets focus on brand promotion, channel control, optimization, new product introduction, and strengthening team incentives; development markets focus on channel incentives, optimizing product mix, and cultivating key markets and items; new markets focus on market development, team training, channel construction, terminal coverage, and activity promotion, quickly building awareness, and using channel strength to distribute and drive sales.

Fourth, annual expense budget

The expense budget is also based on goals and goal decomposition. Generally, companies budget expenses as a certain percentage of sales volume. The expenses are limited; how do you allocate them? Generally, market expenses include: channel expenses (distributor purchase incentives, rebates, etc., second-tier distributor activities, rebates, product exchanges, damage, etc.), terminal maintenance expenses (shelf stocking, gifts), consumer activity expenses, promotion expenses, brand publicity, and promotion expenses; also include personnel wages, commissions, and bonuses.

Expenses are the ammunition for business personnel. Without expenses, how can you repel the "enemy's" attack with just your mouth? Expenses are generated from sales, but you must never collude with customers to do things that are detrimental to the company just for sales. Never instigate or listen to customers' instigation to withhold or falsely report expenses for petty gains. Because doing so will only lead to being constrained by customers and losing the ability to monitor them. Remember this.

Fifth, market organizational structure and team management

Regional market organization is the foundation for ensuring efficiency. Good strategies also need organizational guarantees to be efficiently executed by the team. That is, whether the regional market organization is efficient and whether the span is reasonable are issues that sales personnel and managers need to pay attention to. If you want to do well in hypermarkets, you need to set up KA supervisors and business personnel, train them according to the characteristics of hypermarkets, how to display products, how to negotiate with hypermarket buyers for the best conditions and positions, how to do hypermarket promotions, and what the hypermarket promotion strategy for this year's product mix is. If it is mainly ordinary small stores and traditional trade, the structure and personnel requirements are different. You need trade business personnel to assist distributors in building networks or terminals; small store business personnel need to plan routes, visit according to the routes, and have patience and perseverance.

As for team management, three things need to be done well. First, urge or help subordinates make plans. Second, what are the specific work contents? Third, establish standards for regional market assessment.

Sixth, marketing mix management

What do we want to provide to consumers? The marketing mix is just a framework that makes it convenient for us to consider market elements. It is a framework for thinking about the market, and its usefulness to sales personnel is self-evident.

Initially, we can use SWOT for a rough analysis. Then conduct a 4P analysis.

For products, we need to analyze whether the product has "aged," whether it is competitive, whether the product mix is appropriate, whether image products, profit products, volume products, and blocking products are reasonable, and whether they can stabilize the market.

For channels, we must first determine channel policies. Only with policies can distributors be managed well. Whether the regional channel model needs adjustment, whether the distribution network at the second level and below needs improvement and perfection, whether terminal networks need development, whether to enter new channels, etc.

In terms of price, it needs to have relative advantages. Small and medium-sized enterprises or new products need higher profit margins. Without high-altitude support, they must rely on channel and distribution strength to quickly reach market terminals. If sales are average, especially for products that need to be pushed, low profit margins and insufficient channel profits are very dangerous. If unfortunately this situation occurs, use new products, new packaging, or product upgrades to replace them.

Promotion and publicity. Regular activities are definitely needed, such as in hypermarkets: tactical products can be offered at special prices, profit products can be paired with gifts, new products can have promotional guides, volume products can have bundle gifts, etc. Activities must be continuously carried out. In brand publicity, also combine the company's innovative promotion methods to reduce dependence on product price at the brand level. If the product is mainly sold in supermarkets, it is best to conduct some themed promotions in the hypermarket or outside or nearby. The scale can be small, but it must be planned and creative to attract the attention of target consumers.

Seventh, execution and evaluation

Execution is always a hot topic. When talking about execution, it must be combined with goals. Everyone is very hardworking and diligent every day, but they still cannot achieve their goals. Can you say execution is strong?

Execution is related to three elements. First, goals that everyone agrees on. What does that mean? It means clear goals that can be achieved through calculation, effort, and strategy. Second, sound management systems and processes. Many times, management of sales personnel is basically a sales volume assessment. Beyond that, process management and process standardization are rarely done. A good system may not make people better, but a bad system will definitely make good people bad. Therefore, use systems to manage people, not personal likes and dislikes. Third, the overall quality of the team. Having ideas alone is useless; they must be implemented. It is not that one person is strong, but the overall team capability must meet requirements.

Evaluation is also for improvement and to ensure better performance next time. Any plan must have an evaluation report after execution. The key points of the evaluation report are: summarize the execution and impact of the plan; check the achievement of goals, why they were achieved, and analyze the reasons for not achieving them. Summarize the lessons learned from the activity, successful experiences and shortcomings, input and output, number of consumer contacts, number of people influenced. If it is a promotional activity, count sales volume, sales amount, number of customer purchases, people, display, display position, personnel input, on-site atmosphere, etc.

"Preparedness ensures success, unpreparedness ensures failure." This is a well-known saying. If sales personnel can make comprehensive and detailed plans, they are not far from successful sales.

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