Key Points for Sales Staff Year-End Work Summaries

2015 was a very difficult year for many Chinese companies: exports declined, domestic demand was weak, and business operations faced significant threats and numerous difficulties. There were many challenges, but the harsh year is finally coming to an end, and everything will become history; life must go on.

As the year draws to a close, sales personnel are making their final sprint to achieve year-end sales targets. Many salespeople, especially frontline ones, spend over 200 days a year fighting in the market—this is not an exaggeration. Carrying the fruits of a year's hard work, results, or perhaps "consequences," they are about to welcome 2016. For salespeople, the question is not whether a summary is needed, but how to write it properly!

We often see two types of year-end work summaries. The first type is "flashy but impractical": it presents a grand display, listing a pile of models and data, analyzing everything from international situations and domestic macro environments (not just mentioning them, but writing lengthy paragraphs, probably copied from Baidu) to the company's historical sales data, expenses, and targets over several years. However, these are essentially "window dressing" and are almost useless for actual sales work. Seeing too many sales summary templates is truly uncomfortable and alarming, as I fear others may mislead salespeople; of course, I also worry that my own remarks could cause misunderstanding. The second type is pure formalism and going through the motions—just getting it done to check the box, which is essentially perfunctory and irresponsible. Of course, this is closely related to company management and culture. Comparing the two, the former, though complex and impractical, at least involves effort in analysis; the latter is purely about coping and formality, with no use at all.

Going to extremes is never a good approach. In my opinion, a good work summary should: summarize past achievements, identify the reasons for meeting or missing work targets, propose improvement methods and measures, and finally outline the overall goals and direction for the next year (specific plans depend on the company's marketing strategy from EMKT.com.cn; after the summary comes detailed planning). For salespeople, making an annual work summary seems easy—it can be done on one page—but doing it well and thoroughly is not easy. Here, I will focus on key points and essentials for grassroots salespeople and frontline supervisors to write effective annual summaries, for your reference.

Key Point 1: Goal Completion Status

The goals mentioned here include sales targets, but are not limited to sales targets; they also include brand goals, profit goals, channel goals, management goals, etc. Of course, achieving targets is the first priority for salespeople, measured by both sales volume and sales value. For example: the achievement ratio of sales targets by product, whether basic products, profit products, image products, and blocking products are reasonably distributed; the achievement of goals by market, channel, and distributor—why they were achieved or not, all requiring comprehensive analysis.

Through these analyses, salespeople can see which products were the main drivers over the year; the overall sales situation across regions, channels, and the number of distributors; terminal coverage, the number of effective terminal stores, and gain a fairly comprehensive understanding of the overall market condition. At the same time, they can identify our weaknesses—which channels, regions, and products are our soft spots.

For salespeople, performance is paramount, but besides sales volume, how well are we doing in process management and team management? How much effort have we put into brand cultivation and promotion? In the long run, these are the foundations for a healthy and sustainable market.

If comprehensive goals are met, the pressure for market expansion and maintenance in the next year will naturally be much less; the stability of products, channels, and teams is also the best guarantee for sustained sales growth. More importantly, for a region with rapid sales growth and large market capacity, it is natural to allocate more market expenses and support. Therefore, this is a cyclical system: only by doing the basics well can we achieve a virtuous cycle.

Key Point 2: Expense Allocation and Usage

Achieving sales targets requires investment in various market expenses. Salespeople need to know where money was spent, why it was spent, and what the effect of that spending was. Expenses related to salespeople or that they can directly apply for and execute include channel expenses (distributors and intermediaries), terminal expenses, personnel expenses, promotion expenses, and some brand promotion and consumer PR expenses.

For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), grassroots salespeople can basically understand the flow of expenses and their effects by tracking channel expenses, terminal expenses, personnel expenses, and some activity expenses. Often, we are accustomed to spending money this way without specifically analyzing the input-output ratio, i.e., the return on investment. Furthermore, even if expenses are spent and reasonable, how is the execution? Has it truly been implemented in the market? This deserves attention. No matter how good the plan or how large the budget, if funds are intercepted or diverted, the effect will be greatly diminished.

I have also seen salespeople who did not spend their budget by year-end, claiming they saved costs for the company, but I found that their region only completed about 80% of the sales task. This is intolerable. If you can't even complete the task, how can you talk about reducing or saving expenses? If the budget is exceeded, it depends on the specific situation: if it is a specially approved project expense, it may not be counted in regular marketing expenses; if it exceeds the budget in normal channels and promotions, then bonuses or commissions should be deducted according to financial regulations and a certain percentage.

Key Point 3: Main Tasks Accomplished During the Year

What were the main things done during the year? In fact, salespeople do hundreds of tasks in a year, but the most important ones that truly produce results for the regional market may be just a few. Many tasks are foundational work to accomplish these few things or one thing. For example: completing the replacement of old products, successfully launching new products to replace old ones; large-scale roadshow activities; completing distributor adjustments and regional divisions; helping distributors develop downstream channels; creating model markets; team structure adjustments and training; optimizing assessment and incentive plans.

In a year, a market may encounter several of the above, or even more, but the main work is still just a few items. Once the main difficulties are resolved, other tasks can be easily handled.

Key Point 4: Main Problems in the Market

First, there are the company's own problems. These can be divided into problems that salespeople can solve, problems that need to be reported to superiors, and problems that need to be ignored. Solvable problems include regional planning, market management, process management, and distributor management. Problems that can be solved by reporting and suggesting include product issues, quality issues, organizational structure, and team member issues. Finally, there are problems that cannot be solved, such as brand issues, profit distribution, and communication issues.

I believe that salespeople must be the first responsible person for the market. Given the product and price, they must not only ensure goods reach the channel but also sell products to consumers.

Second is the analysis of major competing brands (products). The existence of competitors, although it brings competitive pressure in the short term and market share may be taken away, is beneficial in the long run as it pushes companies to continuously improve and enhance service levels. Generally, for FMCG, mature industries and markets have 1-3 major competing brands, with one dominant brand. The dominant brand leads in sales and has a stable position. To grow, in the long run, one must take share from it while also expanding the market. JDB and Wong Lo Kat, although seemingly fighting fiercely, are both beneficiaries of the "war"; the other two or so brands may be the first targets for volume. Only by becoming the second can one qualify to compete with the leader.

Mainly analyze product structure, channel structure, model, consumer groups, price system design, profit distribution, organizational structure, team composition, and promotional activities. The most important thing is to first identify your primary competitor—who is your opponent? This is crucial. The simplest criterion is: at least your prices are on the same level. Next, analyze the product line, price system, channels, and profit distribution, and conduct a detailed SWOT analysis to identify problems.

Third is consumer analysis. Who are your target consumers? Their age distribution, purchasing psychology, purchasing methods, when and where they buy—these determine what channels, promotion, and communication methods we should adopt. Regional market communication and publicity are also major brand goals. Consumer purchasing behavior, psychology, and purchase locations will determine our channel model and terminal layout.

For example: JDB's complete victory over Guangzhou Pharmaceutical is because JDB deeply understands the essence of the beverage industry—it's not that advertising and loyalty building are unnecessary, but the real decisive factors are channels and terminals. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical focused on competing with JDB in advertising spending, which was undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse. Facts have proven JDB's strategy successful.

Key Point 5: Implementation Strategy Evaluation

During the year, what was the main strategy for the market? For example, product strategy—if the product's grade perception is insufficient, brand enhancement is needed; if the product mix is too simple to support multi-channel operations, etc., all require comprehensive evaluation. Old products have been on the market for years, prices have bottomed out, and channel push is weak—not because they can't sell, but because channels are unwilling to sell—so new product replacement is needed.

Pricing strategy: Lower prices are not always better, whether for large or small enterprises. Simply put, sufficient profit margins must be left for the channel; otherwise, without channel power, how can a small brand compete with a big one?

Channel strategy: What is the channel model? Is it a key account system, small regional exclusive distribution, or helping distributors directly supply terminals first, then opening up the distribution network? These need to be analyzed and judged based on market conditions and the company's actual situation. Assess whether the current channel model is appropriate, whether it is the optimal choice, and how to optimize it.

Finally, there is publicity, including both promotion and sales promotion. Are the communication targets for consumers precise? Are the promotional activities attractive? Can they achieve the goals of publicity and promotion?

Key Point 6: Next Year's Goals and Main Strategies

Next year's sales targets should be estimated based on the company's current year's target quantity or sales value, combined with market competition, discussed by senior management, and finally form an overall target, such as sales value, sales volume, and brand goals. Then allocate by region. Generally, this target is non-negotiable, but after allocation, it is possible to negotiate for some policy support, such as personnel and materials, which requires multiple communications and efforts.

The main strategy is to formulate targeted market operation strategies under the guidance of the company's overall strategy and policies, striving to align with the company's overall marketing strategy; at the same time, it is best to have some individuality. Every market has its characteristics. The key points determining a regional market are usually just a few. Analyze according to the marketing mix, then look at the regional structure and team composition, and finally examine the current state of competitors and consumers. With careful analysis, a market breakthrough strategy can certainly be found.

The best approach is never static, but a combination of "one policy per region"—both constant and variable.

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