---
title: "Practical Tips | Six Elements of New Product Distribution: Time, Place, People; Cause, Process, Result"
description: "This article uses the six elements of narrative writing to explain how to successfully distribute new products. It covers timing, target market, team execution, reasons, process, and results, providing practical advice for FMCG distributors."
author: "海游"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2019-12-11"
categories: "Brand Marketing, Distribution & Channels"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/practical-tips-six-elements-of-new-product-distribution-time-place-peopl-27abcc22/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/practical-tips-six-elements-of-new-product-distribution-time-place-peopl-27abcc22.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TTTJpTughudmj_3m4k-LXg"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E5%AE%9E%E6%88%98-%E6%96%B0%E5%93%81%E9%93%BA%E8%B4%A7%E5%85%AD%E8%A6%81%E7%B4%A0-%E6%97%B6%E9%97%B4-%E5%9C%B0%E7%82%B9-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9-%E8%B5%B7%E5%9B%A0-%E7%BB%8F%E8%BF%87-%E7%BB%93%E6%9E%9C-27abcc22.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/practical-tips-six-elements-of-new-product-distribution-time-place-peopl-27abcc22/"
citation: "海游. “Practical Tips | Six Elements of New Product Distribution: Time, Place, People; Cause, Process, Result.” New Distribution, 2019-12-11. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/practical-tips-six-elements-of-new-product-distribution-time-place-peopl-27abcc22/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Practical Tips | Six Elements of New Product Distribution: Time, Place, People; Cause, Process, Result

> This article uses the six elements of narrative writing to explain how to successfully distribute new products. It covers timing, target market, team execution, reasons, process, and results, providing practical advice for FMCG distributors.

I have always wanted to find a simple and easy-to-remember method to organize sales work, making it easy for personnel at all levels to understand and implement. I remember in the third grade of elementary school, my Chinese teacher taught us how to write narrative essays and mentioned the six elements of narrative writing: **time, place, people, cause, process, and result.**

Today, I will use these six elements to help you understand how to do new product distribution well.

**-01-**
**Time: The Best Timing for New Product Distribution**

New product distribution has two definitions: one is distribution in blank areas (this topic will be analyzed later), and the other is introducing new products based on existing old products.

I once saw a trading company that mainly sold 3-yuan bottled water and had a certain market share. However, they started introducing a new bottled water product from June to August, investing heavily in personnel rewards, media support, promotional activities, etc. The layout was comprehensive, but the results were very unsatisfactory. Not only did they lose the share of the old product, but the new product also became a half-baked effort.

So when should new products be introduced? Under what background is it most suitable? What should be noted?

**1. The timing of new product introduction should not coincide with the peak sales season of old products.**

Simply put, during the peak season, market competition is fierce, and the sales team needs to spend a lot of energy on old products, making it impossible to focus on new product introduction. Moreover, it goes against human nature: salespeople work to earn money, and the peak season is the time of highest annual income. Unless the new product offers greater rewards, they are subjectively unwilling to promote it.

**2. New product introduction should be done during the off-season when there is relatively less work.**

First, the off-season is not a time of idleness. For example, major water companies are busy during this period, organizing water head orders, seizing distributor warehouse space and funds, laying the foundation for the next year's business. At this time, do not engage in new product distribution.

For beverages, **the best time to introduce new products is after the Spring Festival each year, specifically in March.** There is ample time for outlet layout, market pull, consumer communication, etc. Leveraging the peak season, sell-through accelerates, new products gain a foothold, and the survival rate is high.

**3. New product introduction should consider the market stage of the old product.**

We all know that a product can be divided into four stages: **introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.** The best time to introduce a new product is during the growth and maturity stages of the old product. Using the old product to drive traffic is twice the result with half the effort, and it avoids neglecting one for the other, making it more efficient.

**-02-**
**Place: Target Market for New Product Distribution**

Which markets are most suitable for new product distribution? A scattershot approach won't work. You need to select points based on the new product's attributes. Of course, you can also be more precise: **a market can choose a specific area or channel for pilot distribution.**

1. The target market should ensure that the old product has a good reputation. The new product is just a derivative under the brand. For terminal stores and consumers, it's still brand recognition. The stronger the regional brand power, the higher the acceptance of the new product.

2. What is the status of competitors that rival the new product in the target market? It's easy to understand: if you plan to launch a new soda water in a certain market and find that major competitors are heavily promoting with gifts and displays, it's advisable not to fight head-on during that period.

3. Analyze the team situation in the target market. The quality of any market is determined by human operation, especially for new products. The combat effectiveness of the target market team is paramount. Only in areas with elite teams (including active cooperation from distributors) will the survival rate of new products be high.

**-03-**
**People: Team Execution for New Product Distribution**

1. Unify thinking. The biggest resistance to new product distribution comes from old products and old teams. During the promotion period, new products are simply thankless: you work hard selling but income doesn't increase much, and after-sales issues are troublesome. The sales team doesn't like distributing new products from the bottom of their hearts. At this time, unifying thinking is crucial. A new product distribution mobilization meeting must be held. The purpose is to eliminate the team's concerns, such as:

> a. What if the product doesn't sell? As long as you follow the company's requirements for distribution and display, we will take back all unsold stock without penalty;
> b. Will there be any assessment for later stock transfers? No;
> c. Are commissions and rewards linked to stock transfers? Not at all;
> d. What other support is there? The company fully supports everyone, etc. As long as the mobilization meeting helps everyone shed their burdens, new product distribution will advance quickly.

2. Find ways to reduce the difficulty of the team's work. As a team manager, you should fully analyze the new product situation and do thorough research before distribution.

For example: **First, consider consumer pull**, i.e., who are the target consumers? Where are they? Is the retail price in the mainstream price band? How to operate?

**Second, consider terminal pull**, i.e., are the profit margins for each sales unit reasonable? How do they compare with competitors? Which terminals should be distributed first? What are the distribution standards? How to do displays? How do costs compare with competitors? Are supporting materials like visual merchandising in place? Are market activities and media publicity ready? Etc.

You must explore experience in advance, conduct thorough research, and provide grassroots personnel with step-by-step action methods. It's best to standardize the process and write it into a "Distribution Bible."

**The big taboo of new product distribution: starting without research, just following feelings, and adjusting along the way. This leads to a slim chance of success.**

3. Supporting assessment measures. Employees and bosses seem to be in a game of chess. Employees only do what the company assesses, not what the boss hopes. So assessment for new product distribution is essential. What to assess?

**First, do not assess new product sales volume; even set a cap on distribution per store, with penalties for exceeding it. Second, assess the number of target outlets distributed.**

Note: it's target outlets. Distributing to non-target outlets should be penalized. Target outlets should be clearly defined before distribution. Then, focus on assessing the visual merchandising of target outlets. No display, no sales. Arrange inspectors to track and check continuously. Finally, set up individual and team PK competitions, rewarding good and punishing bad, ensuring fairness and justice. Severe penalties for fraud, with direct managers also heavily penalized.

4. Emphasize the morning meetings during new product distribution. New product distribution must achieve daily ranking, weekly assessment, and monthly rewards and penalties, with data tracked to time periods. These should be announced in morning meetings. Also, problems encountered during distribution should be solved through role-playing in meetings. Summarize simple, easy-to-understand, replicable, common methods that are easy to understand and operate, and promote them in practice.

**-04-**
**Cause: Why Distribute New Products?**

This should have been explained at the beginning of the article, but to follow the six elements of narrative writing, I'll put it here. There are many reasons for new product distribution, summarized as follows:

1. Any single product, like a person, goes through birth, aging, sickness, and death, eventually disappearing from the market. The more mature a product, the lower the price band, and the worse the profitability for brand owners and distributors. Therefore, new products are necessary to sustain brand power and profit.

2. New products generally supplement the existing product structure, enrich the product range, increase SKUs per store, maintain steady overall sales growth, and are also a means to open new markets and capture market share.

3. They effectively resist competitors and are an effective way to differentiate from them.

4. They temper the team, increasing execution and combat effectiveness.

5. They reach consumers and expand channels to create a new sales environment. There are many reasons to distribute new products, but the reason must never be—old products are selling slowly, so distribute new ones.

**-05-**
**Process: Strictly Manage the Distribution Process**

1. Even the wisest can make mistakes. No matter how thorough the layout, there will be loopholes in the market. So, visit target terminal stores that have been distributing the new product for more than a week.

What is a target terminal store? That is, **the store with the highest sales volume.**

The method is simple: take company gifts to chat with the store owner and understand the following:

> a. Why does this store sell fast? The owner's mindset;
> b. Who are these products sold to? Who buys them often? Men, women, old, young? Poor or rich?
> c. How are these products sold? At what price? What promotional plans? Where are they placed?
> d. What consumer complaints are there? Do they like the packaging? The taste? The capacity? Visit dozens of such stores, chat for half an hour each, and the problems will be solved.

**2. Summarize the commonalities and patterns of fast-selling stores (from the perspective of the 4Ps of marketing):**

> a. Which channels sell fast? How is visual merchandising set up?
> b. At what price does it sell fast?
> c. What promotions sell fast? Including channel promotions and consumer promotions;
> d. What is the competitor situation at fast-selling points?
> e. Timeliness of delivery: new product reorder orders and new communication orders must not be delayed overnight. Establish strict delivery assessment plans;
> f. Finally, note the store's business area, display position, and consumer purchase purpose. Data-ize and tabulate the patterns, and formulate follow-up plans.

**3. Focus resources, amplify, and replicate.**

> 1. Lock onto target outlets, concentrate firepower, and ensure no one is missed;
> 2. Deploy troops, with managers and salespeople on the same front, to achieve precise strikes, optimize route visits, and visit key stores 2-3 times a week;
> 3. Provide special policy support, such as placing display cabinets, special display shelves, practical promotional items, and promotional staff for locked outlets;
> 4. Strengthen and optimize target stores. After giving sufficient support, store owners earn more money, and at this time, you can make demands on the store.

> For example: you can require exclusive sales, minimum inventory levels, sign product range transfer agreements, and expand sales results. You can require better display positions, create model stores, model streets, model areas, and expand brand influence.

**-06-**
**Result: Be Responsible to the Market, Terminal Stores, and Salespeople**

**1. Reorder rewards**

This reward must be set up promptly. It includes rewards for the number of reordering stores and the proportion of reordering customers among total distributed customers. Announce it during new product distribution. This serves two purposes: it reminds the team to choose target outlets and not blindly distribute, and it increases attention to already distributed outlets at all levels.

**2. Return rewards**

Why reward returns? We are not gods; no one can predict the sell-through of new products. So returns are inevitable and unavoidable. If returns are penalized, there will be no returns, and unsold products will become legacy issues if not handled. Not only will the new product have no hope, but the old product will also face crisis.

My suggestion is:

**Calculate the historical return rate of new products, calculate the profit loss after returns, and set a reasonable return ratio. If the return rate exceeds this ratio, the salesperson bears responsibility; if it's below, the profit saved from returns belongs entirely to the salesperson. This way, everyone is united and highly focused.** Of course, this ratio should be set well, with room to maneuver. The space should be large first and then small, ensuring that more than 80% of the first batch of distribution personnel receive rewards.

**Finally:** New product distribution is a comprehensive test of the market and the team. Almost all brand owners promote at least one new product each year. The core logic is the six elements of narrative writing. I hope the above sharing is helpful to everyone.

**Extended Reading:**

> ## **Dry Goods | The Standard for Business Elites is Not Idealistic, but Internal Excellent Benchmarks!**
>
> ## **Defensive Battle of Strong Brands | Nongfu Spring's Distributor Reform**
>
> If you wish to communicate with the author
> Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan upon adoption


---

## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 海游
- Published: 2019-12-11
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/practical-tips-six-elements-of-new-product-distribution-time-place-peopl-27abcc22/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TTTJpTughudmj_3m4k-LXg

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671