Distributors care most about profits, and every distributor is thinking about how to make their business sustainable, growing, and profitable. But reality is harsh, and most distributors face the challenge of stagnant sales growth. Currently, distributors' sales growth faces several thresholds: the first is 10 million yuan, which some distributors have struggled for years to break through. Then comes 30 million, 50 million, and finally 100 million yuan, which many distributors never achieve in their lifetime. So why is sales growth slow, hard to break through, and why do many fail to reach 100 million? "Management loopholes, poor team execution, lack of good brands, and bad sales models." Perhaps every distributor has a different answer. When we don't do well, we must reflect: Why am I not doing well? What factors are hindering me? Below, I will analyze the reasons from four aspects: Human Factors: The Ceiling of Bosses and Executives Many distributors fail to grow and strengthen, not because of products, teams, or market expansion, but because of the company's boss. The boss determines the company's character, and the boss's capability determines the scale of the business. The boss is like a ceiling; the height of the ceiling determines the scale of your business and the height of your employees. The speed at which the boss learns and changes determines the scale of the company's development. If sales haven't reached 100 million, the problem likely lies with the boss. Another important reason is the ceiling of the executive team. In China, there are two prominent phenomena in business: the first is using "family soldiers" (relatives). For the boss, family members have three advantages: they are trustworthy, unlikely to leave, and cost less. Currently, half of distributors still use family management systems, which is detrimental to future development. The second is "old faces." In many distributors' core management teams, there are only familiar faces, with no new members joining for 3-5 years. Interestingly, when problems arise, these old faces tend to identify problems, while new people discover innovative and change-oriented methods. Old faces always point out problems, making you anxious, and they spread too much negativity. Newcomers, on the other hand, are different; to prove themselves, they constantly seek methods and opportunities to drive sales growth. Therefore, when hiring, bosses should bring in more talent, avoid absolute family management, and let fresh blood become the driving force for the company's development. Product Factors: How to Find Gold Among Old Products? "With the same people, different products lead to different outcomes," and "Choice is greater than effort; make a deliberate choice, not a random one followed by effort." Distributors should remember these sayings. All successful and large distributors have their core weapon: good products. So, how to select good products and find gold among many? Let me introduce a method called the "Featured Product Determination Method." We all know that products selling well in the market follow two rules: the first is "first," and the second is "unique." "First" refers to the brand; the top brand in each category usually has the largest market sales. Almost all distributors with sales over 100 million yuan own first-tier brands. Brands are the distributor's weapon, and the weapon determines your future. In a county-level city in Henan, a distributor of Wahaha achieved annual sales of 220 million yuan, showcasing the advantage of big brands. "Unique" means that even if the product is not a brand, its distinctive features still attract consumers. Every consumer has consumption beliefs, which stem from "first" and "unique." When selecting products, distributors must ask themselves two questions: First, "Does the product have unique features?" Second, "Can it make consumers remember you among many?" The so-called product features can be summarized into four characteristics: First, uniqueness in raw materials and functions; second, uniqueness in core technology; third, distinct packaging standards; fourth, distinct product shape. To stand out and be remembered and recognized by consumers, a product must possess at least one of these. Therefore, most manufacturers should also upgrade and innovate from these aspects. When selecting featured products, distributors often fall into several misconceptions: The first misconception is "fake selling points." A tractor with a BMW logo is still a tractor. There was a "walnut milk" drink on the market with the slogan "Smart choice, wise choice," priced at 18 yuan per box of 20 cans. Given that walnuts cost about 30 yuan per jin, this drink likely contains almost no walnuts. Despite the "smart, wise" slogan, the product itself lacks this selling point, so the brand never succeeded. The second misconception is that "the selling point doesn't connect with the product." No matter how well the product is promoted, if the slogan doesn't make consumers think of the product, it's a failure. In most cases, consumers buy not the product itself but the selling point and the feeling. The third misconception is "copying the selling points of first-tier brands." Many companies produce pickled cabbage noodles, all claiming authentic and tangy flavors. But since Master Kong's brand is already deeply rooted, other products find it hard to break through in the market. The fourth misconception is "quality doesn't support the selling point." There are almost no high-quality, low-priced products. You can't expect BMW quality at a QQ price. Market Capacity and Competitive Landscape: Category Space Determines Development Scale What is market capacity? I once met a distributor in Henan who started with two small brands and saw little progress. This year, he took on a well-known brand of vermicelli. In the first month, he shipped a truckload and quickly exceeded 100,000 yuan. Thanks to the brand's influence, the product was quickly accepted. He confidently said, "At this rate, I'll break 1 million in a year." But in the following months, product turnover slowed, and sales became difficult. As we know, the vermicelli category is very small. When choosing products, distributors must consider whether to select a large or small category. In recent years, you'll notice that many distributors of functional drinks, water, and milk have sales reaching tens of millions. Thus, category space determines your market scale. The second point is the competitive landscape. As mentioned, small market capacity means sales can't grow. But even with large capacity, sales may not increase. Take plant-based protein drinks, for example. This category has been very hot recently, but competition is fierce. Fewer and fewer companies survive and grow, as most face severe growth bottlenecks due to imitation. Additionally, consider whether the category aligns with current trends. For instance, carbonated drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are large categories, but their growth has been slowing. Taking on carbonated drinks still faces difficult sales growth. If the category is declining, individual efforts can't change it. But there are exceptions: while the whole category declines, one product rises. For example, instant noodles have seen slowing growth as consumers label them junk food. However, one product has done exceptionally well in recent years: Master Kong's pickled cabbage noodles. This product introduced a new major flavor, deeply influencing the competitive landscape, with sales reaching 5.7 billion yuan last year. Mechanism Factors: The More Employees Believe in You, the More Successful You Are A distributor once told me, "In my company, there are 8 employees, but they can't do as well as I can alone." The reason is a problem with the company's mechanism. Many distributors complain daily that business is stagnant, employees lack motivation, and labor costs are rising while output decreases. Here's an interesting example: In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong defeated all the heavenly soldiers in the Heavenly Palace, but during the journey to the West, he faced great difficulties defeating many demons and often sought help from the heavens. Strangely, these demons were pets of the heavenly soldiers, and the gods had to come down to subdue them. It seems contradictory: Sun Wukong could beat the gods but not the demons, and the gods ultimately had to subdue the demons. Why? The heavenly soldiers are like employees working for the Jade Emperor, while the demons are like entrepreneurs, being their own bosses. Naturally, they differ from employees. In distributorships that don't grow, employees think they're working for the boss. After ten years of struggle and starting the business together, the boss drives a BMW and lives in a villa, while employees still earn a base salary of 2,000 yuan, wondering if it's worth it. Conversely, some distributors make employees feel they're starting their own business, working for themselves. For example, in Xinxiang, Henan, a distributor achieved sales of 120 million yuan last year. As the business grew, he made significant changes: he publicly disclosed his accounts monthly, including purchase prices, product margins, and profits, and divided the business into departments with employee shareholding, rewarding employees with a portion of profits. Now, his company is no longer his sole concern; employees treat it as their own, and sales growth has accelerated. Thus, good mechanisms create good employees and ultimately build good companies. -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Dedicated to 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 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 Skills | 013 KA Operations Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet and Brands | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]