---
title: "Terminals Not Active, Distribution in Vain! 7 Strategies and 15 Tips to Boost Terminal Sales Enthusiasm!"
description: "The enthusiasm of small terminals significantly affects product sales in their stores. How to improve it? First, dispel concerns: small terminals have limited capital and are cautious, so manufacturers can promise product exchanges or unconditional returns. Second, ensure reasonable profits: profit is the primary need, so new products should have ample retail margins, and channel levels should be shortened. Third, provide interest incentives: use methods like free gifts with orders, allocation rewards, rebates, occasional draws, and store support. Fourth, maintain price stability: monitor prices and prevent large customers from undercutting. Fifth, offer promotional support: conduct joint promotions for consumers and terminals. Sixth, engage in emotional communication: build relationships with store owners. Seventh, provide professional guidance: offer sales training and manuals."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-07-17"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/terminals-not-active-distribution-in-vain-7-strategies-and-15-tips-to-bo-903b5165/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/terminals-not-active-distribution-in-vain-7-strategies-and-15-tips-to-bo-903b5165.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9O6qFuXusZqJgaV6ugP49A"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E7%BB%88%E7%AB%AF%E4%B8%8D%E7%A7%AF%E6%9E%81-%E9%93%BA%E8%B4%A7%E7%99%BD%E8%B4%B9%E5%8A%9B-7%E7%AD%9615%E6%8B%9B%E6%8F%90%E9%AB%98%E7%BB%88%E7%AB%AF%E9%94%80%E5%94%AE%E7%A7%AF%E6%9E%81%E6%80%A7-903b5165.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/terminals-not-active-distribution-in-vain-7-strategies-and-15-tips-to-bo-903b5165/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Terminals Not Active, Distribution in Vain! 7 Strategies and 15 Tips to Boost Terminal Sales Enthusiasm!

> The enthusiasm of small terminals significantly affects product sales in their stores. How to improve it? First, dispel concerns: small terminals have limited capital and are cautious, so manufacturers can promise product exchanges or unconditional returns. Second, ensure reasonable profits: profit is the primary need, so new products should have ample retail margins, and channel levels should be shortened. Third, provide interest incentives: use methods like free gifts with orders, allocation rewards, rebates, occasional draws, and store support. Fourth, maintain price stability: monitor prices and prevent large customers from undercutting. Fifth, offer promotional support: conduct joint promotions for consumers and terminals. Sixth, engage in emotional communication: build relationships with store owners. Seventh, provide professional guidance: offer sales training and manuals.

The enthusiasm of small terminals significantly affects product sales in their stores. How can we improve the sales enthusiasm of small terminals?

1. Dispel Concerns
Small terminals have limited capital, order small quantities per time, and order frequently; they have poor risk resistance, are cautious in business, and often hold a skeptical attitude toward new or unsold products.
Manufacturers can take appropriate measures to dispel the concerns of small retail terminals and mobilize their enthusiasm for stocking.
1. Promise them that if sales are poor, they can exchange for other best-selling products from the company;
2. Promise unconditional returns. When manufacturers are confident in the sales prospects of their products in certain small terminals, they can promise unconditional returns, eliminating the worries of small terminals and reducing the risk of unsold inventory.

2. Reasonable Profits
1. Profit is the primary need of small terminals.
Small terminal owners are very "realistic"; if selling the product doesn't make money, no matter how well the salesperson speaks, they won't help the manufacturer sell the product. It can be said that small terminals are very "profit-driven." Compared with distributors, small terminals rarely get rebate opportunities from manufacturers, let alone big promotional support or extra red envelope incentives. Their annual hard work only yields a thin price difference profit. Therefore, if a new product promises high price difference profits, small terminals will prioritize it for key recommendation.
The size of the product's profit margin is the primary factor influencing small terminals' stocking decisions and directly affects their sales enthusiasm. Only when there is sufficient profit space in the product will small terminals consider whether the product is best-selling and easy to sell.
2. New products should have ample retail profit space.
Ignoring the profit space of small terminals and causing product promotion setbacks is a common phenomenon.
When setting pricing strategies for new product launches, it is essential to make a big deal about pricing, leaving ample retail profit space in the retail link to maintain the high-profit advantage of new product sales.
For new products, the price difference profit must be higher than that of similar products from competitors in local small terminals; even famous brands should be close to the average price difference profit.
Generally speaking, the profit threshold that triggers small terminals' sales interest should not be less than 30% for new products, and mature products should maintain above 15%.
3. Shorten channel levels to increase small terminals' price difference profits.
Traditional sales channels consist of manufacturers setting up distributors, second-tier wholesalers, or more levels of distributors. By the time products reach small terminals, they have been transferred through many hands, resulting in high purchase prices and naturally small price difference profits. Manufacturers can shorten channels and flatten structures to increase small terminals' price difference profits.

3. Interest Incentives
Manufacturers often favor key accounts and are indifferent to small terminals.
Many manufacturers' sales incentive plans are specially designed for distributors, second-tier wholesalers, and large terminals, with high thresholds. Small terminals, no matter how hard they try or jump higher, find it difficult to enjoy such sales incentives.
In fact, small terminals are diverse, and their business performance varies greatly. Many small terminals, with the right products, also perform strongly in sales. Manufacturers should also introduce suitable products and set appropriate incentive policies for terminals, giving them the chance to taste the "sweetness" of large sales, thereby mobilizing their sales enthusiasm.
A single price discount is not enough to arouse sufficient interest from small terminals. Therefore, manufacturers should extend the preferential policies given to distributors and wholesalers to small terminals as well, allowing them to share some profits. This is also a need for manufacturers to adapt to fierce market competition.
Specific operations for interest incentives for small terminals are as follows:
1. Free gifts with orders.
Provide physical gifts, beverage rewards, point cards, lottery tickets, etc., with full-box orders to stimulate small retail terminals to order by the box, effectively encouraging bulk purchases.
2. Allocation rewards.
To stimulate small terminals' enthusiasm for stocking and promote product sales, allocation reward measures can be implemented for some products based on different situations. For example, buy bottled wine and get boxed best-sellers, or buy low-price wine and get high-price wine as a reward. This is mainly because small terminals are unwilling to order boxed or higher-priced wine separately. Through allocation rewards, not only can small terminals display boxed or higher-priced wine, but also increase the profit margin of low-price wine, making small terminals feel the policy is substantial. Allocation rewards are fulfilled at the time of ordering.
3. Rebate rewards.
Based on the monthly or quarterly cumulative sales payment total of small terminal stores, formulate rebate reward policies and fulfill them promptly. For example, if monthly cumulative payment reaches 1000 yuan, an additional 5% to 10% rebate reward is given; if quarterly cumulative reaches 5000 yuan, another 5% is rewarded. Rebate rewards are fulfilled after a certain period when the reward standard is met; they are post-event rewards.
When determining the starting point and different tiers of cumulative discounts, manufacturers should consider off-peak and peak seasons, market growth, sales changes of similar products and their own products. The reward method should not be cash; it should mainly be rewards of the company's products or other gifts.
Many manufacturers adopt a laissez-faire attitude toward small terminals. One liquor company, however, used interest bundling to tie small terminals, making thousands of local small terminals almost exclusive outlets for its brand. This company signed sales contracts with small terminals, settling rebates once every three months. If small terminals exceeded sales tasks, additional rewards were given. Additionally, at year-end, rewards were given based on sales volume and payment collection.
4. Occasional draws.
Occasional draws can increase goodwill with small terminals without inducing them to cut prices. Small terminals often reduce prices to get higher rebates or rewards. If manufacturers use occasional draws, small terminals won't know the exact extra benefits and naturally won't easily reduce prices.
5. Store support.
Manufacturers can convert rewards for small terminals into other forms of feedback, such as providing store signs, decorating stores, and providing sales equipment. These interest incentive methods can differentiate from competitors. While providing interest incentives, they also do terminal publicity, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of products in small terminals. This support is most likely to increase customer loyalty and emotional connection.

4. Price Maintenance
While leaving enough profit space for small terminals, manufacturers must strengthen sales channel management to keep prices at specified levels, allowing small terminals to enjoy reasonable profits long-term.
1. Strengthen price monitoring to maintain terminal price stability.
Strengthen price monitoring to keep prices stable, which not only ensures the profits of small terminals but also maintains their enthusiasm.
Through regular inspections and visits by salespeople, while doing good merchandising, urge small terminals to comply with regional retail price standards. Maintain the retail price system through penalties such as canceling sales rewards and support.
2. Prevent low-price impact from large customers.
Large customers have stronger advantages in resources, policies, and sales volume. If manufacturers don't control prices well, the retail prices (group purchase or wholesale prices) of these large customers may be lower than the purchase prices of small terminals, making small terminals unprofitable and leading them to refuse to sell the product.
(1) Product differentiation sales
Separate the product varieties or series sold by large customers and small terminals, with each selling different product varieties or series. This avoids major conflicts. The varieties sold by small terminals should not be too high-priced, mainly medium and low-end products with simpler packaging.
(2) Provide differentiated promotional items as compensation
Manufacturers can provide a certain quantity of differentiated promotional items to small terminals to differentiate from large customers, so that small terminals have promotional items or promotional packaging to offset the impact of large customers' high policy strength, giving small terminals a psychological balance and preventing resistance.
3. Appropriately reduce distribution density to avoid vicious competition.
While not affecting product market share, appropriately reduce distribution density to indirectly divide sales areas for small terminals. For example, select 1 out of every 3 adjacent small terminals to avoid vicious competition.

5. Promotional Support
Regularly conduct promotional activities in some well-cooperating small retail stores. This has a very good effect on motivating store owners to stock up and promoting local consumers to buy products.
After each small terminal store promotion, the store tends to have a hot sales period for a while, making the owner very satisfied, and subsequently, the order quantity increases.
It should be noted that while conducting consumer promotions in small terminals, channel promotions should also be conducted for small terminals. If only consumer promotions are done, the enthusiasm of small terminals will greatly decrease, after all, small terminals are also very "realistic."
To achieve success in product promotion, both consumers and small terminals must benefit, so as to mobilize the enthusiasm of small terminals. In consumer promotional activities, take into account the interests of small terminal stores.

6. Emotional Communication
Salespeople should regularly visit small terminals to understand their business conditions and the specific needs of store owners, and register the interests, hobbies, birthdays, etc., of owners and their families for personalized emotional communication. Manufacturers should do a good job in owner relationship management, establish good relationships with small terminals, and make them proactively recommend products to customers.

7. Professional Guidance
Many small terminals are mom-and-pop stores that lack professional sales knowledge and have many blind spots and misunderstandings in business. They need external help to improve their business level. Therefore, manufacturers providing professional guidance to small terminals can greatly enhance store owners' trust and dependence on the manufacturer, which can long-term secure sales support from small terminals.
1. Guide small terminals' sales work.
Manufacturers guide small terminals' sales work, including introducing product selling points, sales techniques, product display, POP advertising support, and handling customer complaints.
After products are distributed to small terminals, they may not sell well temporarily. This requires sales personnel to use their brains, discover existing problems, and then find solutions based on that, assisting small retail terminals in doing business well.
2. Provide a "Terminal Business Guidance Manual."
Manufacturers can compile a "Terminal Business Guidance Manual," preferably published in installments, providing professional answers to various problems encountered by terminals.
In guiding small terminals' sales, P&G in FMCG has done a distinctive job. They specially compiled a newspaper for small terminals—"Store Know-How"—distributed free of charge. The newspaper has beautiful pages and practical content, welcomed by small retail terminals.
The content of the "Terminal Business Guidance Manual" generally includes: store location selection, store decoration, product procurement, product display visualization, store promotion methods, methods to promote product sales, ways to build good relationships with community consumers, how to recommend new products to new and old customers, and inventory management.

Source: Liquor Distributor Academy
Long press the QR code below and follow, then reply with number 1 to browse related articles by category.


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671