To enhance terminal control, distributors often visit terminals themselves or dispatch salespeople to grasp the latest changes and adjust product portfolios and strategies accordingly. Terminal inspection sounds simple, but executing it effectively is not easy. Let's look at the case of Manager Chen, a distributor in Zhejiang. Scenario 1: When Chen's salesperson Xiao Liu got home, it was already dark, and the day's fatigue prevented him from watching his favorite football match. Chen's brand had 14 counters in a local hypermarket, and Xiao Liu managed 7 of them. His duties included shipping, assembling, settling payments, daily terminal management, and handling emergencies. He left early in the morning and only visited two terminals in a day, which was already exhausting just going back and forth, let alone handling the above tasks. Scenario 2: Chen's salesperson Xiao Li almost got into an argument with a clerk at a terminal store. Chen had invested heavily in this store, and his products were always placed in a prominent position with a large display. However, due to handling other terminal matters, Xiao Li hadn't visited this store for a week. No wonder Xiao Li was annoyed; the products on the shelf were messy. What made him angrier was that half of his shelf space was occupied by competing products. Finally, Xiao Li suppressed his anger, knowing that he shouldn't offend the sales staff, and he could only blame himself for not inspecting frequently enough. Analysis: These two scenarios indicate that Chen has many problems in his understanding of terminal inspection. First, Chen's terminal inspection lacks a dedicated person in charge and a proper task allocation mechanism. Second, Chen's terminal division is not well-planned; the distance between the two terminals is too far. Third, Chen's salespeople lack skills and purpose during terminal inspection. Fourth, Chen's terminal inspection frequency is not well-controlled, and he doesn't recognize the importance of terminal inspection. The Three Processes of Terminal Inspection Terminal inspection is a crucial part of marketing activities. As a fundamental sales task, it has always been valued by many distributors. It can be said that terminal inspection is invariably listed as a major and prominent item in the assessment indicators, business training, and daily work requirements for salespeople. This is because sales promotion relies on it, new product promotion needs it, customer relationship maintenance cannot do without it, and product display and publicity depend on it. In short, the success of terminal inspection directly affects product sales and distributor development. The degree of attention a distributor pays to terminal inspection reflects their ability to control terminals. The entire terminal inspection process can be divided into three stages: first, preparation before inspection; second, follow-up after inspection; third, efficiency during inspection. Preparation Before Inspection Must Be Thorough Before each terminal inspection, distributors and salespeople should make adequate preparations. These include: time and route schedules, customer information sheets, feedback from the last inspection, some common tools, and the main purpose of this inspection. Additionally, an important step before inspection is to make appointments when visiting key retail terminals. The main purpose of an appointment is not just politeness but to save time for both parties, especially your own. With so many channel outlets to visit daily, time is very tight. Appointments can concentrate both parties' time, avoiding wasted trips, and with thorough preparation, discussions will go more smoothly. Of course, if a distributor boss conducts terminal inspection with a specific purpose to see the real situation, they should keep it strictly confidential beforehand. Follow-up and Summary After Inspection The ultimate goal of inspection is to understand the terminal's development status and the adjustments you should make. The follow-up and summary work after a salesperson completes terminal inspection is very important. If summarized well, the distributor can not only firmly control the terminal but also adjust their operational strategies based on terminal development. After inspection, it is necessary to follow up on results, handle issues, and record information. At the same time, continuously summarize the process and results of each inspection. Timely summaries can deepen understanding and improve abilities. In fact, the skills and methods of terminal inspection are not complicated and can be learned quickly, but to achieve excellent sales results, one must grasp the essence of terminal inspection work, not just imitate it. Efficiency During Inspection During terminal inspection, distributors should instruct salespeople to do in-store inspection, merchandising, payment collection, and order placement. Time is precious, and every action of a salesperson should be conducive to business consolidation and development. During terminal inspection, salespeople should maximize work efficiency, promptly grasp first-hand information, and successfully feed this information back to the distributor boss. The distributor boss should also arrange specific investigations during salespeople's terminal inspections, such as focusing on a terminal where product demand is declining. Such terminal inspections are more valuable. The Five Key Points of Terminal Inspection Distributors rarely inspect terminals themselves; they usually let salespeople do it, which leads to problems: salespeople don't know what to look for, just go and greet casually, wasting time and effort without getting the desired value. Distributors should inform salespeople of the main purpose of terminal inspection and the key content to focus on. Generally, there are five key points in terminal inspection. Focus on Display Display is usually the first thing salespeople check during terminal inspection. Generally, they should check whether the terminal display follows the company's display standards and whether the terminal meets those standards. Sample display includes the scale of sample display, cleanliness of samples, and aesthetic appeal of sample display. The scale of sample display can reflect the manufacturer's momentum and give customers more choices. The cleanliness of samples must be maintained by the sales staff. If many samples are damaged, faulty, or dusty, it gives customers the impression that the manufacturer's products have been neglected. Consumers have a herd mentality; they only buy what others dare to buy. Then customers might think: Is the quality of this manufacturer's products unreliable? If you give customers that impression, can your products still sell? The aesthetic appeal of sample display refers to the size ratio, reasonable space utilization, and fullness of the display, all to make customers feel comfortable. Focus on Competitors As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." To develop your products rapidly, you must grasp competitor dynamics in a timely manner. See what promotions they are running, what new products they have launched, when promotions start and end, how they are executed, where they are executed, and their effects. Additionally, distributors should develop the habit of taking photos for comparative study during inspections. Check Inventory During this visit cycle, how much stock has been shipped, which products sell fast, which sell slowly, and ask for reasons; ask the sales supervisor or the boss/owner, find out the reasons, solve problems, and finally record and report to the company. When checking inventory, you should look at the warehouse product dates, placement positions, and approximate quantities to judge downstream customer situations. We should not only check shelf inventory but also warehouse inventory, mainly looking at the variety, quantity, and age of inventory. Check Prices Common terminal price issues should be noted: no price labels; misplaced price labels; incorrect label content; wrong prices; incorrect specification descriptions; mismatch between regular shelf price labels and promotional display price labels; multiple old and new price tags on products. Price strategy is the most powerful weapon in terminal competition. The key is to check whether all products have clear price tags. Many terminals do not label prices, which makes customers feel the manufacturer is not operating properly. Also check whether the prices of different positioned products match the established strategy. Finally, compare your product prices with competitors. The comparison method is to compare your products by model with competitors, and check if prices are too high or too low according to your strategy. High prices are more common because distributors want to increase profit margins, which prevents us from effectively attacking competitors and may also fail to achieve expected sales. If prices are too low, it can reduce the brand's power. Master Frequency Consistent and efficient terminal inspection will earn you a fair evaluation from customers. The five principles for inspection visits: fixed points and fixed people, executed according to store information cards; fixed periods, times, and frequencies, executed according to fixed schedules; fixed routes, following the geographic map; fixed standards and inspection content, executed according to the display manual; fixed rectification opinions, operated according to the organized inspection cards. No matter how familiar you are with customers, terminal inspection must not be relaxed. Customers respect serious people; only then will they follow our suggestions. Extended Reading: Inspecting terminals is one of the daily tasks for distributors and salespeople, but many distributors visit terminals frequently with little effect. The reason is that salespeople don't know what to look for or what issues to pay attention to. In addition to the above methods, attention should also be paid to details during terminal inspection. Remember customers' names, call them by name during visits, and greet them to make them feel good; salespeople need to improve their expression and communication skills, while mastering market conditions and product knowledge; understand terminal needs, take them seriously, and respond to and resolve objections and issues promptly; during terminal inspection conversations, be practical, be a loyal listener, let the terminal speak, listen more and talk less, understand carefully, and be diligent in thinking and learning; in terminal inspection, be a good person before doing business, less utilitarian and more sincere. - END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and applicable tutorials for enterprises 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 Eighteen Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brand | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]