Source | Sales & Market ID | cnmarket Author | Tian Yitong
In today's FMCG market, we often hear complaints like: "Terminal sell-through is too difficult!" "Distributors are under immense pressure, with high inventory and tight cash flow." When distributors seek support from manufacturers, the typical response is: "Increase your tasks a bit more, raise your targets a bit higher." Manufacturers seem to only "push tasks" without providing genuinely effective empowerment or support.
At many manufacturer-distributor conferences, most senior leaders, in front of all distributors, solemnly declare: "Manufacturers and distributors must achieve win-win cooperation. We will empower distributors and help them make money through our products."
Initially, distributors sit below, feeling inspired, believing they have chosen the right manufacturer, and resolve to sell products well and cultivate the market. But back in the market, when they meet the manufacturer's sales representatives again, they still ignore the distributor's current situation, only pushing for more shipments and payments; then more shipments, more payments.
Later, when distributors attend manufacturer conferences again, no matter how passionately the senior leaders speak on stage, distributors just "watch the show" and no longer believe their words. Some distributors not only stop believing but also resort to "threats and tricks," competing to see who has more "schemes." Thus, a manufacturer-distributor opposition seems to form.
Where exactly does the crux of this problem lie?
We believe the root cause lies in how manufacturers manage their own sales teams. Many manufacturers' sales team management remains in a crude "laissez-faire" state. Companies pay high labor costs, but a large number of frontline salespeople seem to be on "market tours"—their schedules are packed, visiting various distributors, yet the actual value they produce is minimal.
We have asked many distributors: "Do you welcome manufacturer sales representatives to your place?" The answer: most distributors do not welcome them.
When asked why, distributors say directly: "They only come to push shipments. What else can they do? They don't go to the market, don't hold meetings, don't provide training, don't solve problems, and many don't even keep their promises. Why would we need them?"
From this perspective, distributors are "reasonable."
Behind this is actually the lack of management of the manufacturer's sales team.
We all know: busyness without clear goals is the greatest waste of resources.
Our understanding is: to break this deadlock, managers of manufacturer sales teams must shift their focus to results-oriented performance management.
Our core viewpoint is: distributor visits without clear performance indicators are essentially a waste of both the company's and the client's time.
So, what are clear performance indicators?
Empty theory may not convince, so let's compare a few common schedule arrangements to immediately feel the weight of "performance."
- From "Vague Visits" to "Precise Development"
- No performance arrangement: "Visit distributor Mr. Li from the 15th to the 18th of this month."
- With performance arrangement: "Visit distributor Mr. Li from the 15th to the 18th of this month, with the core goal of assisting in developing the distribution network in the southern county area and completing the signing of an initial order of 500,000 yuan."
In the former, the salesperson might just go for tea and chat, then return to write a lukewarm visit report. In the latter, the salesperson must bring maps, product launch plans, and negotiation plans; every action revolves around the specific goals of "development" and "500,000 yuan," making success or failure clear at a glance.
- From "Simple Replenishment" to "Scientific Ordering"
- No performance arrangement: "City manager visits distributor Mr. Wang to assist with ordering and replenish old product inventory."
- With performance arrangement: "City manager visits distributor Mr. Wang, replenishing old products according to safety stock standards based on inventory data, while ensuring successful orders of 300 boxes each for new products A and B."
The former seems to have a goal, but "assist with ordering" is vague; how much and what to order is based on feeling. The latter quantifies and specifies actions: the salesperson must check inventory, calculate safety levels, and strongly recommend new products, with visit results directly linked to order value and product mix.
- From "Market Inspection" to "Strategic Attack"
- No performance arrangement: "Regional manager visits Luoyang market to communicate with distributors."
- With performance arrangement: "Regional manager visits distributor Mr. Niu in Luoyang market, with the core task of assisting the city manager in persuading Mr. Niu to stop operating competing products and switch to exclusively selling our products, and to add 2 delivery vehicles to ensure distribution capability."
The former is a typical leadership inspection, adding reception burden to the distributor without substantial progress. The latter is a precise strategic empowerment: the regional manager needs to mobilize resources, formulate negotiation strategies, and address the distributor's deep concerns, with value far beyond an ordinary visit.
Therefore, clarifying performance management for sales personnel is the essential path for upgrading manufacturer sales team management.
Through the above comparisons, we can clearly see that performance indicators act like a "navigation system" and "dashboard" for every action of the sales team.
For salespeople, clear goals let them know "what they are fighting for," giving direction to actions, focus to efforts, and making work results easier to measure and recognize, thereby stimulating intrinsic motivation.
For managers, performance indicators are the handle for management. By reviewing the completion of these specific indicators, they can accurately assess employee capabilities and market difficulties, and provide targeted coaching and resource support, achieving a scientific shift from "managing people" to "managing tasks."
For the company, strategic plans and goals need to be implemented. Senior leaders set the direction, and managers in each department need to break down and quantify strategic goals during department management, form specific actions, and incorporate these actions into the daily behavior of team members—this is the execution of senior strategy.
For distributors, they welcome "expert-type" salespeople who bring practical solutions, not "mouthpieces" who only convey tasks. Performance-based visits mean every communication may bring new business opportunities, better inventory solutions, or stronger market support—this is the "empowerment" distributors truly crave.
Finally, a few words to share: In today's fiercely competitive FMCG industry, the crude "laissez-faire" management of manufacturer sales teams is outdated. The high labor costs paid by manufacturers must be converted into direct momentum driving market growth. Shift the focus of team management from supervising "whether visits are made" to assessing "what results the visits produce," by setting clear, quantifiable, and challenging performance indicators, ensuring every trip of the sales team is "mission accomplished."
This is not only the key to improving internal management efficiency but also the fundamental way to solve terminal sell-through difficulties and build win-win growth partnerships with distributors.