Introduction: "Build the market in the off-season, sell in the peak season." I've heard this phrase too many times. I now deeply realize that those who casually repeat it are mostly outsiders, because insiders have no interest in chewing over such a cliché. Simply put, building the market in the off-season is to boost sales in the peak season; there should be no doubt about that. So, what factors affect peak-season sales volume?

  1. How many outlets are there?
  2. How many core outlets are there?
  3. How many outlets are willing to sell for you?
  4. How many people are willing to buy? In industry terms, these translate to distribution rate, number of core outlets, outlet push rate, and consumer awareness. Therefore, during the off-season, you need to complete preparations in these areas: improve distribution rate, build core outlets, cultivate consumers, and strengthen team execution.

I. Distribution to Achieve Distribution Rate: Over 70% of Key Outlets for Same-Price Competitors

  1. How to improve distribution rate? Divide the existing team into groups and conduct concentrated distribution activities. Focus on three months, split into three phases, and run a distribution competition. The first phase targets urban outlets, the second phase targets surrounding areas and urban-rural fringes, and the third phase fills gaps and deepens development. During this time, KPI assessment should focus on distribution, increasing the weight of outlet development numbers in the KPI. Also, set up development awards, with cash prizes for the development champion in each phase. The overall champion receives a higher reward. Track daily outlet development numbers and successful methods, summarize results, and learn from each other. For particularly difficult outlets, provide multi-on-one guidance and on-site drills.
  2. Distribution precautions: Use small-batch, high-frequency distribution or replenishment. This ensures store owners don't take too much stock and aren't afraid to accept it. As long as they can sell a little, they'll feel it's fast-moving, and sales reps should follow up promptly to replenish quickly.

II. Core Outlet Cultivation: Reach Over 20% of Stocking Outlets

  1. Roles of core outlets: Role 1: Drive high volume in peak season. Core outlets have large throughput. Once they believe your product can sell, they'll stock up heavily when the peak season arrives. Role 2: Influence ordinary outlets. Core outlets typically have significant influence over surrounding or well-connected outlets. These outlets watch the core outlets' product movement, and their sales often set an example, driving others to stock up. Role 3: Set price benchmarks. Core outlets are often the main force in maintaining prices. They focus on long-term stable returns, so they protect prices well, which in turn influences consumer and ordinary outlet perceptions. Role 4: Boost market confidence. Core outlets are usually opinion leaders in the market. Products sold in core outlets are trusted by both consumers and ordinary outlets.
  2. Conditions for selecting core outlets: Condition 1: High retail sales volume, i.e., major volume outlets. Condition 2: Influence over surrounding outlets and appeal among similar outlets, i.e., some wholesale nature. Condition 3: Strong recognition of the company's operating model and good willingness to cooperate. Condition 4: Good reputation in the industry, without negative impact on the product. Condition 5: The product fills a gap in their product mix or has clear advantages over best-sellers.
  3. Methods for cultivating core outlets: Create a hot-selling atmosphere: Continuously enhance outlet visibility, provide uninterrupted and varied promotional support, frequent small-batch replenishment, and timely prize redemption. Maintain ongoing customer relationships: Plan visit routes and conduct periodic visits, ensuring core outlets are visited at least twice a week. Analyze and identify customer relationship maintenance points, develop a monthly customer relationship improvement plan, and strictly execute it. For example, note birthdays of owners or family members, how many dinners are needed, what small gifts to give, which clients need assistance in developing their business, whether there are travel arrangements, or any special hobbies of the owners.

III. Cultivating Consumer Awareness Consumer awareness cultivation mainly focuses on changing consumer perceptions.

  1. Tell consumers who is using our product to satisfy their vanity.
  2. Create an atmosphere at the outlet and city level to make consumers feel the product is about to become hot or is already hot.
  3. Run consumer promotions to create a buzz, using benefits and fun to entice purchases and maintain good sell-through momentum. For group-buy promotions, aim for those who see it to buy, and buyers to get deals; for outlet promotions, those entering the store see it, those who see it try it, and those who buy get discounts; for restaurant promotions, diners can taste it, those who taste it are willing to participate, and participants get purchase discounts.
  4. Conduct tasting events to let consumers try and accept the product's quality and taste.
  5. Carry out PR activities, especially interactive events with core consumers, to bring the brand closer to consumers and increase their identification with the brand. Note that PR activities should follow the principle of using core groups to drive target consumer groups.

IV. Team Development Team development refers to the following three aspects:

  1. Standardization Standardize outlet actions: standardize visit routes and visit actions. Standardize outlet visibility: standardize items, specifications, quantities, norms, and compliance requirements. Standardize customer relationship management: set goals, items, implementation plans, and result checks. Standardize daily management: define daily management items, compliance standards, and reward/punishment measures.
  2. Improve individual salesperson combat capability Method 1: Training and drills. These are two steps. Training instills professional ethics, skills, and habits in sales staff, and can be internal or external, with internal training recommended. Drills are more important; they determine whether training becomes mere formality. Always conduct on-site drills with role-playing, one-on-one and one-to-many, to develop personal techniques and methods, making them effective in real combat. Drills also boost salespeople's confidence and prepare them for various objections. Method 2: Mentoring (old hand with new hand). I won't elaborate much, but here's a tip: pair capable, hardworking veterans with promising newcomers; pair capable but slow veterans with diligent newcomers; pair hardworking but average veterans with average newcomers. The rationale is for you to ponder. Method 3: Establish good daily habits. No need to elaborate; good habits and a good atmosphere lead to good performance.
  3. Maintain sales staff confidence and morale Method 1: Healthy personnel rotation. Establish an internal elimination mechanism, eliminating the bottom performers in each phase and continuously bringing in new people. This keeps the team dynamic, and veterans gain confidence and motivation when facing newcomers. Method 2: Internal competitions. Around the stage's key work, hold large-scale internal competitions. The scale should be large, but goals should be broken down as small as possible. For example, for a monthly outlet development activity, break down the goal to weekly or even daily development numbers. A high-profile activity easily mobilizes the atmosphere, while small, specific goals are easier to achieve, continuously boosting salespeople's confidence. Method 3: Create heroes. In each phase, highlight outstanding performers through bonuses, prizes, certificates, honor boards, recognition meetings, and sharing reports. Note that heroes aren't just sales champions; they also include champions in outlet development, visibility, and customer relationships. Method 4: Refine and strengthen KPI assessment. This is very important. Many companies focus on results and ignore the process, thinking that as long as salespeople complete tasks, it's fine, regardless of how they do it. This is a big mistake. It leads to slackness, low morale, lack of communication and mutual improvement among teams, and unfairness—those assigned good territories can get good sales without effort. So, define the core work for each phase, further break it down, and include it in the assessment.

Conclusion: In summary, building momentum before the peak season is key. What is momentum? It's channel confidence, store owner confidence, salesperson confidence, and consumer confidence. Through the above activities and methods, you can gather all this confidence, and then it's hard not to achieve volume in the peak season. -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focuses on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Dedicated to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the full knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Outlet Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Boost Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's 18 Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brands | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]