Click to read the original text for details. Diligence is not efficiency; only effective work that drives sales growth is high efficiency. I systematically discussed the topic of work that contributes to sales growth in an article published in Sales and Marketing magazine in 2005, which was also included in the book Sales is King. Times have changed, and the specific tasks that contribute to sales growth have evolved significantly. However, the principle of focusing on work that drives sales growth remains unchanged. The daily work of frontline sales representatives should first be categorized: First, work that contributes to sales growth; Second, work that maintains existing volume without decline, such as customer relationship management; Third, work that is harmful to sales growth, such as channel stuffing. Defining work means assessing its nature and whether it has "incremental value." Always prioritize work with "incremental value." Do not let being "busy" mask the low value of your work. It is almost certain that tasks that once had "incremental value" have now become "maintenance" tasks. This is the dilemma many face: they do a lot of work, yet sales remain poor. For example, B2B customer relationship management once had incremental value, but now it only maintains existing volume. Another example is distribution coverage, which was once a key driver of growth, but not necessarily now. Similarly, in-store displays and merchandising were once powerful growth tools, but compared to terminal scenario-based experiences, their incremental value has diminished. In any competitive field, if everyone is doing the same thing, you are just on an equal footing; it does not create competitive advantage. The same applies to work with "incremental value." In 2005, "work contributing to growth" referred to the foundational tasks under the deep distribution model. The incremental work in the deep distribution era was primarily B2B-focused. Although some manufacturers, such as Uni-President and Arawana, also conducted C-end promotions in the later stages of deep distribution, it did not become a widespread marketing trend. Now we have entered a new marketing phase, combining marketing with the internet. Someone once asked me, "What is new marketing for frontline sales personnel?" My answer was simple: Air Force and Ground Forces. So, what work contributes to sales growth now? "Air Force and Ground Forces" has multiple interpretations. The Ground Forces refer to channel construction, i.e., B2B work; the Air Force refers to communication, i.e., C-end work. Air Force and Ground Forces together mean BC integration. Deep distribution has almost perfected channel construction (B2B). The tasks that drove growth in the deep distribution era have now degraded into "maintenance" tasks. What can drive growth now is C-end work, i.e., the Air Force's communication and promotion functions. Without internet tools, the terminal was truly the endpoint. With internet tools, the terminal becomes the starting point for connecting with the C-end. Work that contributes to sales growth leverages the terminal as a starting point. Since C-end work is what generates incremental growth, connecting with more C-end consumers, engaging in more interactions, and conducting more promotions and communications become the primary tasks for growth. "Contributing to growth" is, of course, more important than "maintaining volume." However, do not forget that C-end work that "contributes to growth" is initiated through the B2B "maintenance" work. Without B2B maintenance, C-end work would be difficult to carry out. In the internet era, C-end work can be centralized, handled by headquarters, such as IP communication; or decentralized, initiated through B2B. For example, community group buying leveraging B2B networks is a C-end promotion based on B2B. However, the current logic is more about "C-end pulling B2B," because C-end can bring incremental growth, which benefits both the brand and the retail store. If B2B can gain incremental growth, why wouldn't they cooperate with C-end initiatives? If the growth in the deep distribution era was ultimately just "redistribution of terminal volume," terminals have now realized they should sell traffic. Current terminal displays and merchandising are traffic fees. Now, brand manufacturers' C-end work through terminals can also bring incremental growth to the terminals, essentially "redistributing traffic at the terminal," with C-end work serving a traffic-driving function. Therefore, the value of C-end pulling B2B becomes evident. Link: Defining Sales Work and Sales Volume Sales representatives are busy: distributing, delivering, maintaining relationships, promoting... Sales managers are busy: inspecting markets, supervising subordinates, solving problems, communicating upward and downward... Headquarters staff are busy: making plans, designing programs, checking execution, urging reports... How much of this "busyness" truly contributes to sustained sales growth? Time, energy, and money are limited resources. To achieve sustained sales growth and make work more effective, you must concentrate limited resources on tasks that genuinely drive sales and contribute to sustained growth. Do Things That Contribute to Sustained Sales Growth Is it good for sales representatives to work diligently and be extremely busy? Certainly. Is rapid sales growth good? Certainly. Marketing managers love to see sales representatives busy all day and sales rising—from the process perspective, they see busy reps; from the results perspective, they see rising sales. So they feel reassured. But wait! Looking only at appearances without substance will lead to mistakes. If a sales representative's busyness only generates "costs" without generating sales, is such busyness worthy of praise? If sales growth is not sustainable and may be the result of overdrawing future sales, is such growth worth celebrating? Marketing management in Chinese enterprises has improved significantly. Managers see from "sales diaries" that sales representatives have full schedules every hour and assume management is effective because they have "managed everyone's (Everyone) work every day (Everyday)." In reality, such management remains at the level of "preventing sales representatives from being lazy." The correct approach is to manage every task (Everything) of everyone (Everyone) every day (Everyday) and define the nature of each task. Sales representatives' work can be categorized into four types: First, work that only generates costs without generating sales, such as "visiting the market rather than working the market," superficial market inspections, and handling distributor inventory caused by promotions; Second, work that only maintains sales without decline but does not generate sustained growth, such as participating in distributor deliveries and maintaining customer relationships; Third, work that generates short-term growth but not long-term growth, such as trade promotions, end-of-month sales pushes, and distributor inventory loading; Fourth, work that supports sustained sales growth, such as developing new channels, distributing new products, terminal activation, terminal promotions, and in-store demonstrations. Sales representatives and managers should reflect daily on the "nature" of their own and their subordinates' work—which tasks contribute to sustained sales growth? From the manufacturer's financial perspective, any product leaving the warehouse counts as sales. Managers typically view sales through statistical reports or financial statements, but such sales figures are only for reference; managers must still "define" the nature of sales. Sales growth can occur in five scenarios: First, growth due to promotions, channel stuffing, or credit sales that increase channel inventory, which usually just overdraws future sales and may require significant costs to dispose of expired inventory; Second, "surge" in sales due to developing new distributors, but most of this is just "bottom-filling" inventory in the channel; Third, local sales growth from gray market distributors diverting products; Fourth, growth due to "hoarding" in anticipation of unfavorable policy changes; Fifth, growth from clearing channels, active terminal performance, and consumer pull. Sales managers should not just look at sales statistics; they must also analyze the flow and velocity of sales through the channel to "define" the nature of sales. Busy work is not necessarily meaningful; only work that continuously increases sales is meaningful. Sales growth is not necessarily valuable; only sustained sales growth is valuable. Sustained Growth vs. Short-term Growth The most common mistake sales managers make is "judging sales representatives by sales figures," where those who meet or exceed targets are easily praised. Such managers do not understand the characteristics of sales work because there is a "time lag effect" between sales and the sales representative's efforts. For channel products, current month sales are at least the result of sales work done 2-3 months ago. The praise should go to the work done 2-3 months ago, not the current month's work. "Judging sales representatives by sales figures" is a serious misdirection, pushing them to think about how to quickly boost short-term sales rather than steadily doing work that contributes to long-term growth. Short-term sales growth typically comes from two paths: First, through policies, promotions, pressure, and customer relationships to increase channel inventory. Such growth is meaningless to the manufacturer but is often justified under the guise of "seizing distributor and terminal warehouse space." Second, through terminal promotions, in-store demonstrations, and terminal marketing to rapidly expand the target consumer base. This type of growth is valuable because when the terminal is opened up, everything flows; when consumers are stable, sales are stable. Source: Teacher Liu's New Marketing