Whether in traditional marketing or the Internet era, distribution is an essential skill for anyone deeply engaged in offline markets and a key means to achieve sales performance. A foot of bamboo contains a thousand feet of momentum; in my heart, there is a spirit of wonder. —Epigraph This is an inscription on a painting by Zheng Banqiao, one of the famous "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" in the Qing Dynasty. Using it as an opening is to tell frontline salespeople or regional managers working in the FMCG market that in our market operations, we must first continuously cultivate the core practical skills and inner mental methods related to our work, accumulate practical experience, and then not be burdened by experience. When encountering situations, we should be confident and perceptive, enabling relatively easy and sustained sales growth. This article starts from a practical perspective, discarding unnecessary theoretical analysis and lists of various practical techniques, striving to share the most timely "dry goods" with frontline FMCG salespeople. It is now late autumn 2019. Perhaps you are already familiar with the most basic "Eight Steps of Visits" and "Three-Step Negotiation," or you are familiar with Master Kong's "Channel Intensive Cultivation" from twenty years ago, or Tsingtao Beer's "Micro Operations" from ten years ago, and even recent "Internet Marketing" and "New Retail." Yet none of these seem to have made you feel at ease in frontline practice. Why? Of course, this is just an opening. Today, I want to talk about "the matters of terminal distribution"! Paying attention to channel distribution is actually paying attention to the future of a product, a market, and a distributor. The type of distribution and the type of distribution personnel often determine the type of distributor and market. The importance of channel distribution is undeniable. First, look at your troubles:
When a new product is about to launch, a product with good market prospects may see slow sales growth or even be forced to withdraw from the market due to a lack of planning or strategic mistakes in launch distribution.
Is distribution easy? You might say it's a basic skill for salespeople, but can you distribute well and thoroughly? Can you make the product sell well and then achieve continuous repeat distribution?
What preparations are needed for distribution? Why do good products not have good distribution performance? With the same distribution product, why do some salespeople distribute successfully while others struggle and perform poorly?
Why does some distribution start vigorously, but the second, third, and subsequent rounds are unsatisfactory, with distribution volumes shrinking and eventually exiting the market? There may be many more specific problems for individuals, but have you thought that once you have the basic qualities of a salesperson, the most important thing is to cultivate your inner mental methods? If you cultivate them well, the above problems will naturally be solved. Of course, as many martial arts masters say, "To practice this skill, you must first practice the basics." Don't get it wrong—it's not "you must first castrate yourself"! First, let's talk about the basics: two items, six characters. One: Be good at research Be good at research to systematically and comprehensively understand the regional market. You need to thoroughly understand competitors: their core positioning, selling points, advantages, disadvantages, distribution rate, terminal supply price, retail price, and promotional activities. It is important to emphasize that understanding competitors must be targeted. For example, if the product is positioned for the grassroots level, focus on the 15-50 yuan retail price band for liquor, and pay more attention to the strategies of competitors in this price band and the market performance of core C or D class dining terminals. If positioned for the well-off family level, focus on the 100-200 yuan retail price band, and understand the market performance of competitors in B or C class dining terminals for mid-to-high-end consumption. You need to thoroughly understand terminals: the characteristics of the business district, consumption features, profitability, business direction, the personality of the terminal manager, and existing competing brands and sales situations. You need to thoroughly understand your own product: be proficient in leveraging the product's competitive advantages and disadvantages, avoiding weaknesses and highlighting strengths during the sales process, to better advance distribution. Broaden your knowledge, especially by researching and understanding news and trends related to the liquor industry from various online and offline media platforms. Always have topics to discuss with customers. For example, recently the youth liquor brand "Jiangxiaobai" "hooked up" with "Sprite" and jointly launched a mixed-drink gift box like "Baijiu Lemon Flavored Soda." If you chat with a liquor store owner about cross-industry topics, wouldn't that be more interesting? Two: Be good at calculating Be good at calculating to accurately grasp the true needs of the entire terminal area and individual terminals. Profit is the foundation of all terminal daily operations; their purpose is to make money. When a terminal owner chooses a new product to enter the store, the first consideration is whether this new product can bring benefits. Mainly look at several points: whether the profit margin is higher than similar products; if profits are similar, is the known market sales volume much larger than similar products? Promotional expense support, promotional item support, bottle cap and packaging return fees, display rewards, sales rebates, and whether the product has unique selling points or strong brand appeal, even if it doesn't make money but can attract customers. Be able to accurately help store owners calculate basic accounts such as return on investment, turnover rate, and profit per customer. For example, a bottle of liquor costs 40 yuan to purchase and sells for 50 yuan; another bottle costs 7 yuan and sells for 10 yuan. Which has a higher return on investment? In the current environment, choosing products with higher return on investment is clearly more advantageous. These are simple, but the key is to calculate clearly and use it to your advantage, grasp the input-output of the entire regional market, and understand the true needs of each store. These needs are hidden in the account data, and that is the basic skill for effective distribution. Now, let's talk about the inner mental method: one item, eight characters: Insight into the owner's business psychology When you are familiar with the business process and prescribed actions of selling products, and have basically practiced the two basic skills above, on this basis, observe carefully, use insight into the terminal, grasp the various psychological aspects of the owner's business, eliminate concerns, and impress the owner. Why worry about difficult distribution? Insight is not simple observation. Observation is for cognition, which is practicing "basic skills"; insight is for seeing the essence. On the basis of cognition, you can thoroughly understand every detail of the owner's business, that is, attacking the heart is the top priority. Once psychological barriers are broken, many distribution problems can be easily solved. How to remove the "resistance" of terminal store owners, eliminate their concerns, and after calculating the accounts and offering the maximum relative benefit, the terminal owner's main consideration is sales risk. What is the product quality like? Is it produced by a legitimate enterprise? It's unknown if it will sell well; what if it becomes slow-moving? Is the supply stable? Can market maintenance keep up? What is the supplier's reputation? Will promises be fulfilled? This requires the salesperson to do a good job of "attacking the heart" of the terminal store owner as a guarantee. The guarantee is basically divided into hardware and software aspects. Hardware includes all the management forms, sales tools, displays, gifts, etc., that you use in your work. I won't analyze this in detail here. Focus on the software aspect: continuously practice responding to the owner's various questions (passive speech practice) and understanding the owner's inner thoughts (actively proposing core speech and giving appropriate answers), and continuously verify passive and active promises in practice to form a virtuous cycle. Speech is not simply about how to speak, respond, or deal with terminal store owners. My speech here is not simple "technique," but "say what you do, do what you say." Only then can you cultivate this inner mental method. Now let's select some core questions to illustrate, and see how to say and do this? (Using GT traditional channels as an example) 1. Owner says: The store is small, business is poor, can't take too many products Psychological concern: Business is not good, few customers, afraid of overstocking if too much is purchased. What to say and do: Compliment the owner for having their own business; compare yourself, a hard-working salesperson; explain the core selling points of your product, filling a consumption gap. A gap means an opportunity, and indeed, products with high homogeneity should not be overstocked. On the second visit, conduct a more detailed survey of the surrounding people and their purchasing habits. Based on the reasons, give confidence by increasing variety, customer sources, and sales guarantees. Clarify to the owner that adding products increases consumer choice, thereby driving customers to buy this type of product. 2. Owner says: I've never heard of your brand; it's a generic brand, so it won't sell well Psychological concern: My place is a weak sales area for your product, or even a blank market. Why should I do market development for you? What to say and do: Use the company's service quality to eliminate concerns about slow sales. Introduce the company's currently well-selling and well-known products to create positive associations. Observe the products in the store and the sales environment outside, and recommend appropriate product combinations. Inform the owner of all online and offline advertising and promotional efforts the company can support locally, and use attractive offers. Then, get familiar with the actual situation of competing products in this store and calculate the profit advantage of operating your product. 3. Owner says: I'm busy now, no time, wait a few days Owner's concern: Another salesperson wasting my time (or the owner is really busy) What to say and do: Stop your urge to speak immediately. After greeting, listen only or speak little. When the owner's mood eases, take the opportunity to start selling or politely exit, and emphasize the next visit time. Or, find opportunities to help the owner with their busy work—organizing products, cleaning shelves, etc., to find a moment to integrate. Keep your eyes and ears open, see what the owner is busy with, and if appropriate, use it as an entry point. For example, if they're looking at stocks, chat about the current market trends. 4. Owner says: Your liquor has so many varieties, and the prices are similar to my current brand. All liquors are the same; one kind is enough Owner's concern: The customer already has a certain variety of your product (or a competitor's), doesn't want to accept other varieties of your product, and lacks the concept of full distribution. Or they simply think your product is less profitable than the main competitor. What to say and do: If it's a cooperative terminal and you're pushing new products, use relatively real sales reports to show the customer the actual sales of multiple varieties and specifications in neighboring or similar stores in the same city. Analyze the loss of customers caused by a single variety, specification, or price, and its impact on their business. Interpret consumer demand accurately and recommend products accordingly. 5. Owner says: I just stocked other products; my inventory is high Owner's concern: They indeed just stocked products from other manufacturers, and effective space is occupied. Taking your goods would be asking for trouble. What to say and do: Actively serve, wipe products, work for the owner, and organize effective space. Depending on the customer's attitude change, recommend product selling points and promotional policies. In terms of order quantity, try to close the deal with the minimum order unit for the main product line. You can use helping the customer move inventory as an attraction point. For example, say to the owner: "How about this? You take 2 cases first, and I'll come to your store every day to help train the staff to sell. On weekends, I'll arrange temporary promoters to help you sell. We'll easily sell it for you." 6. Owner says: I have so many customers, but none have ever specifically asked for your product Owner's concern: The customer hasn't sold or is selling a small amount of your product. Compared to other brands, it's definitely not profitable, so they don't want to sell your products anymore. What to say and do: Inform the customer that the company's product is in the promotion stage in this area, but in other places, sales and reorders are good (give examples). Tell them about the company's determination to operate the market and the service methods provided. Inform them of the company's advertising investment and induce the customer to recall the ad content. Suggest the customer increase product variety so consumers can buy after seeing the ad. Analyze the nearby tobacco and liquor store, how much they stocked last month, how much they've sold now, and that consumers are very receptive. Fully analyze the core reasons for slow sales and carry out targeted promotional activities. The above are just a few typical routine questions. In fact, during the distribution process, the company headquarters may have already prepared "Hundred Questions and Hundred Answers" for you. These are just the knowledge base. You must find ways in these Q&As to dig out the true business needs of the customer, grasp their psychological dynamics, and problems will generally be solved. Finally, let's talk about management: Distribution is a continuous dynamic behavior. An enterprise cannot achieve full store entry at all target outlets overnight. The improvement of distribution rate requires repeated cycles! For terminals where products have already entered, the enterprise should pay attention to product display, sales movement, promotion rhythm, and after-sales service. For those not yet entered, continue distribution efforts. Both points require the enterprise to establish a complete dynamic distribution management system to ensure steady improvement in distribution rate, avoid losing old stores while gaining new ones, and prevent "rain wetting the ground surface"—not truly constituting market distribution results. Under a continuous, dynamic, and effective distribution management system, regional managers only need to cultivate these two basic skills and one inner mental method. Whether you sell any type of liquor, whether you distribute to star hotels, bars, clubs, or C-class dining and GT traditional stores, the principle is the same: "A foot of bamboo contains a thousand feet of momentum." I believe you will be able to confidently dominate the liquor channel distribution arena, achieve your performance, and reach your goals! Source: FMCG Elite Club (ID: FMCG-CLUB) Payment of 400-2000 yuan will be made for tips once adopted.