At a sales meeting, an excellent salesperson was asked the following questions: Q: Who is the most core and outstanding distributor boss in your area? A: It's distributor boss XXX from XX region. (All salespeople can easily answer this question.) Q: What is this distributor boss's birthday? A: (Somewhat bewildered) I don't know. Q: What is the birthday of this distributor boss's wife? A: (Scratching head) I don't know. Q: What is the wedding anniversary of this distributor couple? A: How would I know that? Q: What is the birthday of this distributor boss's child? A: (Head already shaking like a rattle drum) I don't know. Q: What health problems does this distributor boss have? A: (Completely deflated) I don't know. This typical scenario of "one question, five unknowns" can happen to any salesperson, no matter how excellent, when asked at meetings of manufacturers whose main channel is distributors. The awkward scene above is likely to repeat itself. Many salespeople, especially some excellent ones, think that after a few years in the business, they have become proficient and know distributors very well. But when asked these simple questions, they find that they are both familiar and unfamiliar with their distributors. Now manufacturers talk about moving sales through emotion, not only convincing distributors but more importantly moving them. If you don't even know the basic information about your distributors, how can you move them? Why do these seemingly simple questions stump most salespeople? It is most appropriate to describe this phenomenon using the title of the world's best-selling book on gender relations, "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus." This global bestseller explains the huge differences between the sexes, why men and women who are married still have so many conflicts and misunderstandings, why growing old together has become a luxury for most modern people, and why many who once vowed eternal love end up parting in sorrow and pain. Because men and women are "animals" from two completely different planets. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Men always expect women to think and react in their way, while women expect men to feel and act in their way. They completely forget the differences between men and women. Even couples who share a bed and live together may not understand each other, let alone salespeople and distributors who spend little time together each year. Salespeople are from Mars, distributors are from Venus! Let's take a concrete look at the differences between these two "animals" on their respective planets.

  1. Differences in age. Most salespeople are between 22 and 30 years old; those over 30 are rare. Those over 30 are mostly senior marketing management, such as regional managers or above. If someone over 30 is still a grassroots salesperson, they basically have no face to continue. In short, most salespeople are young lads, and to some extent, they are eating "youth rice." In contrast, most distributors in China are between 30 and 50 years old, with the majority in their 30s and 40s. They are a group that has passed the age of thirty, middle-aged, mostly born in the 1960s and 1970s. Their way of thinking and behaving is completely different from the young lads born in the 1980s.
  2. Differences in family status. Most salespeople are the type who are "full when one person is fed, and the whole family doesn't worry." Distributors, on the other hand, are mostly the "strong laborers" of families with "old above and young below," the "cash cows" of the entire family. Many distributors jokingly call themselves ATMs: a "human" cash machine that must dispense cash when family members press a button. If a distributor's business or health collapses, it could have a fatal impact on the entire family. At this stage, distributors face enormous mental and economic pressure. And among these distributors, almost none over 30 have bodies without "parts" malfunctioning. This is also the origin of the last question at the beginning of this article: asking what illness the distributor has.
  3. Differences in social experience. Most salespeople have received higher education; at the very least, they are technical secondary school or junior college graduates. In contrast, most distributors in China have attended "the university of society," with many being high school or junior high graduates, and many have been in business for over a decade. Compared to the "green hands" among salespeople, these distributors are mostly "old hands" who have experienced the ups and downs of business for many years.
  4. Differences in status and responsibility. Most salespeople see themselves as employees, "if not working for this boss, then for another," and they are not responsible for the company's final business results. Most have little loyalty or responsibility to the company. Distributors are completely different; they are bosses, big or small, and are fully responsible for their business results. Some even stake their entire lives and fortunes; if the business fails, they may lose everything. This risk and pressure are something salespeople cannot truly understand.
  5. Differences in operating mechanisms. No matter how small a company is, to its distributors, it is a "big" company stronger than themselves. The companies that salespeople work for mostly operate as corporate organizations; companies that don't operate corporately cannot grow big. Salespeople surviving in such corporate systems have thinking and behavior patterns with obvious corporate characteristics. In contrast, most distributors in China are unapologetically "mom-and-pop shops," only differing in size. This is clearly different from the operating mechanism of the salesperson's company, and many salespeople don't understand the mystery, mechanically applying corporate practices, with predictable results.
  6. Differences in business philosophy. Salespeople are often confused; they tout how much money a business can make, but distributors are often unmoved and hard to "fool." Salespeople don't realize that distributors think in terms of "subtraction" rather than "addition" in business, i.e., how much money they might lose if the business fails, and whether they can afford that loss. This is the business mindset of most distributors when investing in a project or product. And this is not understood by salespeople. The differences between salespeople and distributors are far more than those mentioned above, and I won't elaborate further. For salespeople, knowing these differences is crucial. Only by knowing and respecting each other's differences can they truly understand distributors, know how to move them, and manage them well. Because 98% of conflicts between manufacturers and distributors come from mutual misunderstanding. Salespeople, always remember: Salespeople are from Mars, distributors are from Venus! Editor's PS: The editor has selected 1,067 articles from nearly 1,900 published on this official account, categorized into 14 major categories and 57 knowledge points, systematically compiling frontline marketing management content into a library for your learning. From market to customers, covering practical combat and management, all are valuable. After following the official account, reply with the number "1" to browse the following content: Sales Volume Improvement Tips (73 articles), Sales Supervisor Skills (74 articles), Terminal Visit Management (82 articles), Distributor Market Operations (118 articles), Distributor Development (91 articles), Distributor Internal Operations Management (89 articles), Team Management (53 articles), First Lesson for New Salespeople (96 articles), Efficient Distribution Skills (117 articles), Sales Manager's Eighteen Skills (90 articles), Managing Distributors (47 articles), KA Operations (35 articles), Internet and Brand (47 articles).