Years ago, I met an old friend, Niu, at a trade show. He was the procurement director at a project-based company, handling large orders worth millions—a truly lucrative position. After some reminiscing, Niu suddenly said, "You salespeople are beyond words. If I say you're stupid, you think you're the most sophisticated people in society; if I say you're smart, you're really hopeless fools." I quickly asked, "Why do you say that? That's a sweeping statement." "You spend all day studying how to 'sell,' but you never study how to 'buy,'" he said, shaking his head. "Nonsense, we're here to sell, so what else would we study?" I humbly explained. "Don't you get it? Sales is not about selling; it's about buying together with the customer! You sell in a muddle, yet you want us to buy clearly. You're like the blind leading the blind! You think you can manipulate customers, but we're in the dark while you're in the light. We can see how stupid your every move is," Niu said indignantly. I was sweating a bit but still unconvinced, so I asked, "What do you think we do that's stupid?" "There are many stupid things. You always tout 'quality and low price,' but you don't know what we really want; you always say 'customer-centric,' but you never know how we buy; you always talk about building relationships, but you never know how to help customers. Simply put, you never care why our demand department buys something, nor do you care about the process our procurement department follows, nor the pressures on our procurement staff and demand department. As for the impact of a major purchase on people at all levels, you turn a deaf ear. Tell me, aren't you stupid?" I was sweating cold, but I still shamelessly asked, "Old friend, as the god of us salespeople, can you, from a procurement perspective, explain in detail where we go wrong?" "See, you're wrong again. Customers are not gods. Gods only help people, they don't need help. We are the opposite; we are people who need your help. If we didn't need help, why would we buy anything?" Niu caught me again. "But since you're sincere and still salvageable, I'll give you a free lesson."

Stupid Thing 1: Believing Procurement's Excuses, Never Reaching the Real Decision-Maker Almost every salesperson has faced this problem: you spend ages but can't see the boss. The reasons vary: the boss is busy, I (middle-level staff) can decide, the boss is often away, etc. So, many salespeople either believe the customer's lies or pretend the boss has no influence and can be ignored. Some even barge into the boss's office and end up hurt. But have you thought: why doesn't the boss see you? Niu's analysis: The boss doesn't see you because someone doesn't want you to! In most cases, it's not that the boss is busy, but that the middle-level procurement staff never intended for you to meet. The main reasons are:

  1. They don't feel your product can solve the problems they must solve. Note: it's the problems they must solve, not the problems your product can solve. Why would they help you with something unrelated to them?
  2. They never planned to choose you. If they didn't plan to choose you, why take you to the boss? That would be asking for trouble, and the boss would scold them.
  3. They don't see your value. Even if they took you to the boss, you're insignificant, and they don't know what you can do for them in front of the boss (like helping coordinate resources, building their image, praising their work, etc.). If they don't see any benefit, why help you?
  4. You're too poor. During contact, they feel you're really bad, and taking you to the boss would embarrass them; the boss would blame them for incompetence. In the end, it's simple: this person never intended to buy from you. Of course, even if they take you, they might not buy, but if they don't take you, it's almost certain they don't want to buy. So wake up, don't believe those strange excuses from procurement.

Stupid Thing 2: Mistaking Fault-Finding for Needs The project is progressing smoothly, and you think everything is fine. But suddenly, the customer calls and asks: "How would your product solve this XX problem?" You're stunned, realizing it's indeed hard to solve. What to do? You rack your brains to find a solution with the product department or find a workaround. You think once you solve this, the project will move forward smoothly. Don't be stupid. After solving this, there will be a pile of problems waiting. Niu's analysis: This is procurement finding fault, not finding problems. Procurement has a habit: early on, they focus on needs; mid-term, on products and solutions; late, on risks. At the end of a purchase, few consider needs anymore. Think about buying a house or car—don't you focus on maintenance and property management at the end? Besides risks, there's another thing to consider: how to make the supplier accept elimination. Procurement doesn't want to offend suppliers or owe them favors. For this, customers usually consult the supplier they plan to choose, asking for advice on finding faults. Do you understand? This problem is most likely a trap set by the competitor and the customer together. Traps are not scary; what's scary is someone helping your competitor. That person is naturally someone who influences the purchase. Worse, the customer might have already decided not to buy from you and is just using this to prove how wise it is not to choose you! (We salespeople are really pitiful!)

Stupid Thing 3: Happily Jumping into the Fire, Never Asking Where You Stand I once met a salesperson nicknamed "Eternal Second"—no matter how difficult the deal, no matter how many competitors, he would fight to the end, but in the end, the customer never chose him. He was proud of this, thinking it was just luck, not ability, and that he would eventually become first. Niu's analysis: You're second because someone wants you to be second. The luckiest salesperson is the one who wins, the next luckiest is the first to be eliminated—early death, early rebirth, not wasting costs on us. The most unfortunate is the eternal second: they do everything, spend all the money, but get nothing. Being second is usually not about lack of ability, but about being far from enough. Why do procurement people want you to participate actively even when they know you have no chance? Here are the reasons:

  1. Due diligence. Procurement must select many suppliers and constantly screen them. They also fear being cheated, so they leave room or speak bureaucratically. That's human nature. As a salesperson, learn to distinguish truth from falsehood; don't take a stick for a needle.
  2. A tool for price negotiation. When are salespeople most likely to lower prices? Isn't it when competition is fierce? Procurement knows this, so they keep a poor guy to help push down the price of the chosen supplier.
  3. You're a backup. Procurement isn't fully confident in their chosen target, fearing mishaps, so they keep you as a backup (this is merciful). If something unexpected happens, you get a chance. But since it's a "what if," you basically have no chance. In sales, there's usually only first, no second.
  4. Procurement needs others to see they work hard, and you salespeople are props to prove their diligence.
  5. They need to confirm their decision is right. How? By using your mistakes and stupidity to prove their wisdom. So, they usually keep the stupidest one to accompany the "queen" to the end.
  6. Regulations don't allow dealing with only one supplier. Many companies have this hard rule, so they bring you in to make up the numbers.

Stupid Thing 4: Following All Customer Arrangements Many salespeople have a habit of treating customer requirements as imperial edicts: whatever the customer says, they do; wherever the customer points, they go. If the customer asks for research, they bring the best technical staff for a week; if they want a proposal, they stay up nights writing; if they want a presentation, they bring the best talker; if they want a quote, they give the lowest price immediately. Their reasoning: if we listen to the customer, they'll like us; if they like us, they'll choose us. But in reality, when they ask for the contract, the customer says the boss has decided to sign with someone else. Niu's analysis: The only problem is that these things weren't planned together with the customer. Of course, the result won't be what you want. You salespeople must firmly believe a basic rule: without a driving force behind, things won't move forward naturally. Either you push, or your competitor pushes. The criterion for "push or not" is who benefits. So, if your competitor is pushing, it must be beneficial to them, meaning it's bad for you. Why join the fun? Though pies might fall from the sky, the probability is very low; you can't rely on that. When things are uncertain, the principle is: better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip. What you think doesn't matter; what the customer does matters. You salespeople must learn to create an unfair advantage. If you do whatever they say, what are you for? The front desk girl can replace you. Don't be stupid! Why can't you follow the customer's requirements step by step? From a procurement perspective, the reasons are:

  1. For complex purchases, we often buy only once in a lifetime, or once every few years, like buying a house. So, procurement people don't know how to buy; they have money but feel dizzy. If they know exactly how to buy, think about who taught them? (This doesn't apply to daily consumables.) If the customer knows everything, it often means you're a substitute. If you still follow step by step, where will you gain an advantage? Without advantage, why choose you?
  2. You think your product fully meets our tender requirements, even better than written. But have you thought: who knows your product better, you salespeople or us procurement? It's you, right? How could we write such an excellent tender? Do you know who wrote it for us? That "who" will push you into the fire.
  3. As procurement, we are often questioned about fairness. But procurement decisions are often emotional; you can't define what's fair or unfair. What to do? Find someone to prove it. See, we did everything step by step, right? Ask that unfortunate salesperson.

Stupid Thing 5: Not Knowing How to Get Support We salespeople love to say: "Win the person!" But it's frustrating. Sometimes you think you've won them, but at the critical moment, they don't help—either they flee or get beaten by the competitor's supporters—leaving you anxious, lamenting that you trusted the wrong person. Why does this happen? Niu's analysis: This is common. From my understanding, in most cases, it's not that you trusted the wrong person, but that you don't know how to get support! Your goal is to have them speak well of you. But have you thought: the person you trust might want to speak well, but often doesn't know how, because they don't understand your product, or even if they do, they don't know how to say it for you. How to say it is a big art. They must speak forcefully yet subtly, or they'll be exposed. But such a difficult task, you salespeople didn't teach them in advance. How can they support you at the critical moment? By the way, for your ally to help you, the best way is to tell everyone how your product helps their own business. Because talking about their business is justified; they know it best, and others can't refute. More importantly, it easily masks their true intentions. Even if others see through it, it's useless: "I'm all for work!"

Stupid Thing 6: Hanging from One Tree I've seen and experienced many projects where salespeople had very close relationships with certain roles in the customer's procurement, and they absolutely supported us, but we lost the deal. For example, we won over the procurement department, but the demand department stood up and killed us, or vice versa. But if we win over both, the cost and effort are too high. What to do? Niu's analysis: Don't expect to hang from one tree; try several. This is very common. In the end, it's caused by internal games within the buying side. You must understand the following:

  1. Never believe that we buyers are rational in choosing a product. On the contrary, the bigger the project, the more we use our emotions and impulses. If you attend our evaluation process, you'll see it's full of subjectivity, irrationality, and personal factors. This is inevitable because the more people, the more it's a multi-party game. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and this worsens in later stages.
  2. Not all votes weigh the same. Many projects involve many people, a selection team, or even a committee. Not only that, but there's often a set of scoring rules, with a bunch of so-called authorities like university teachers, external experts, each with evaluation rights. If you believe everyone is equal, you're stupid. You must believe: no matter how large the procurement organization, usually only one person makes the final decision. So, you must know who the real decision-maker is and who is just a rubber stamp.
  3. In a multi-person procurement organization, many people can decide not to buy. That is, if one person opposes, you might lose the deal. Making something happen is hard, but messing it up is easy.

Stupid Thing 7: Only Meeting Needs, Not Shaping Them You procurement people have it easy: when you plan to buy, you send out a tender, and a bunch of suppliers come knocking. You just watch us salespeople fight, and you reap the benefits. But we salespeople have it hard: we fight desperately, only one gets the bone, the others are bitten all over but get nothing. Why are we so unlucky? Niu's analysis: You don't get the bone because you always go for the bone, but there's meat you don't eat. Let me give you an example. If we start a new project, like building a new factory, there will be a lot of procurement. Do you know what the hardest thing for our procurement department is? I'll tell you: endless battles with the project construction department. Think about it: for new projects, most of us in procurement don't understand, so we have to follow the construction department's advice. This effectively strips us of our procurement rights. Because if you buy according to their suggestions, you'll find only one supplier in the world fits—the one with a deep connection to someone in the construction department. But if you don't follow their advice, they'll say, "If something goes wrong, it's not my responsibility; it's yours." We can't afford that! Do you understand? Salespeople shouldn't wait until the tender is issued to start working; you need to get involved during the design phase. In your words, learn to shape needs, not just meet them. It takes longer, but you can truly swallow the meat. You think the ones who can bite to death are the masters, but in our view, the real masters are those who snatch the meat before others even see it.

Stupid Thing 8: Treating Products as Solutions We salespeople sometimes think procurement is stupid too. We know a product is great, with top-notch features and quality, and not expensive, but you refuse to choose it, and you pick something crappy. At first, we thought someone had won you over, but later we found out it wasn't; it's just that your professional level is too low. We're helpless against such easily fooled procurement. Why is that? Niu's analysis: Wrong! The reason isn't on our side; it's on yours. Don't forget, buying and selling happens between people. We don't buy from proposals, bids, manuals, ads, or other such things; we buy from a living person. We want salespeople to truly help solve our problems, not just sell us a product. Whoever cares about our needs, our problems, our interests—we feel they're human, and we're willing to do business with them, even if their product doesn't fully solve our problems. You can't expect the product to speak for itself and understand us. In most cases, we don't know much about your product or your competitor's, but we know our problems and needs. Whoever maps their product's features to our problems, we think their product is good. Don't expect us to do that mapping; we won't, and we're too lazy. That's your job as salespeople. You provide a product; your competitor provides a solution. We prefer those who provide results over those who provide tools, and we're willing to pay more for results.

Niu's words hit the nail on the head, and I felt enlightened. In summary, the core is just one sentence: not selling, but buying together with the customer! That is: Forget the product, truly be customer-centric, understand the customer's thoughts, and solve needs; Understand the customer's purchasing logic and process; sell the way they buy; Truly care about the customer's interests, and clarify the project structure. If you do these well, the product will sell itself, and you won't do so many stupid things. Unfortunately, we're too eager to sell, too rushed to sell, so we can't sell! This seems like the paradox of sales, but it's also the truth of sales. -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Committed 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 the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operations | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement 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 eighteen skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new salespeople | 015 Internet, brands | 016 Distributor B2B transformation | [Long press to follow QR code]