---
title: "The \"789\" Operation for Tobacco and Alcohol Stores: Grasping the Three Core Aspects of Development, Sales Momentum, and Management"
description: "Tobacco and alcohol stores surpass restaurants, group buying, supermarkets, and e-commerce in sales value, integrating five functions: group buying, retail, distribution, display, and promotion, making them a must-win channel for baijiu brands. However, challenges in store development, sales momentum, and management remain persistent issues. This article discusses these three core aspects and offers practical strategies for liquor marketers."
author: "朱志明"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2014-11-04"
language: "en"
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# The "789" Operation for Tobacco and Alcohol Stores: Grasping the Three Core Aspects of Development, Sales Momentum, and Management

> Tobacco and alcohol stores surpass restaurants, group buying, supermarkets, and e-commerce in sales value, integrating five functions: group buying, retail, distribution, display, and promotion, making them a must-win channel for baijiu brands. However, challenges in store development, sales momentum, and management remain persistent issues. This article discusses these three core aspects and offers practical strategies for liquor marketers.

**Friendly Reminder: Click the blue text above, "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting," to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.**

In terms of sales value, tobacco and alcohol stores surpass the contribution of any single channel, including restaurants, group buying, supermarkets, e-commerce, and similar outlets. They combine five functions—group buying, retail, distribution, display, and promotion—making them a must-win channel for baijiu brands. However, issues in store development, sales momentum, and management have long been major headaches for many liquor brands. Below, we discuss the three core issues of tobacco and alcohol store development, sales momentum, and management, providing some technical solutions for liquor marketers.

**I. Seven Strategies for Developing Tobacco and Alcohol Stores**

**1. Display-Based Store Entry**
Display-based development not only solves the problem of rapid product entry but also enhances the product sales atmosphere and increases sales opportunities. There are four practical methods for display-based store entry.

**First, using the purchase amount as display fees for store entry.**
The terminal store pays cash for goods, and the company returns the cash as display fees in stages, but the store must ensure product placement, quantity, and position meet the manufacturer's requirements. Once the displayed products are sold, the store must restock to maintain the display's integrity. The display fee amount, display duration, and purchase amount should be designed by the manufacturer based on local competition to create competitive activities and display policies that encourage the store to accept the goods.

For example, a product series combination (typically three products) with a one-time purchase of 2,000 yuan, each single product ensuring four display faces, with the fee returned over six months, the first month's fee paid upfront, and the rest paid in subsequent months. This entry method is generally used for brands with some recognition but not bestsellers in the local market, where stores are not very enthusiastic about cash purchases. The manufacturer or distributor wants to use cash sales to increase the store's attention to the product, hence the cash-back display entry behavior.

**Second, using products as display fees for store entry.**
When the store is unwilling to accept goods with cash, and the company is unwilling to sell on credit, but the outlet cannot stop development, the company chooses a compromise: design a product combination where the store only needs to ensure the display quantity and position meet the manufacturer's chosen and required standards. Not only do the products become the store's property after the display period ends, but the store also enjoys additional display fees from the manufacturer.

For example, a brand, to quickly distribute products, sets a product combination of three varieties with four bottles each. As long as the store displays the combination in the designated position and quantity, the products become the store's property after six months. If the store also maintains an outside-the-store combined box display, an additional bottle is given monthly as a display fee. This entry method is generally a last resort for new brands with no influence in the local market when developing the market.

**Third, the "display as much as you get" entry method.**
For terminals with large sales volumes, significant influence, and no issues with product movement, the company adopts a method of "display as much as you get" to occupy more shelf space and better positions, gaining larger display space. This typically allows the company to occupy all shelves of a dedicated counter or more. This method usually has a display period of one year. On the surface, the display fee seems high, but when broken down monthly or converted to cash, the cost is low because good terminal positions are extremely valuable and limited.

For example, a terminal displaying 36 bottles in a large display, broken down monthly, is only a display fee of 3 bottles per month, differing only in whether the fee is paid monthly or upfront. The only drawback of such large displays is that the manufacturer lacks leverage to control the terminal; the terminal may later fail to follow the manufacturer's display requirements or terminate cooperation, leaving the manufacturer helpless, relying mainly on customer relationships and the client's trustworthiness to ensure display quality. Therefore, many manufacturers adopt a credit sales approach for displayed products, with the terminal issuing an IOU, and the manufacturer paying display fees monthly or quarterly to control the terminal's compliance with the display agreement.

**2. Combining Display Fees with Promotional Policies for Store Entry**
New products often have relatively high terminal supply prices, and a product series combination occupies a relatively large amount of terminal funds. Additionally, product movement is uncertain, making terminals feel risky and less enthusiastic about stocking. To solve this, many companies, especially distributors, combine display fees with promotional policies for store entry, which not only increases the terminal's enthusiasm for stocking but also allows the manufacturer or distributor to profit.

For example, if the terminal makes an initial purchase of 10,000 yuan, the display fee is 6,000 yuan (paid monthly). The terminal feels the display fee surpasses any competitor's, and that they only spent 4,000 yuan for 10,000 yuan worth of goods, with not much capital tied up, so their enthusiasm for stocking is relatively high. For the manufacturer or distributor, the display fee must be paid as long as the product is displayed, and the promotional policy must be given as long as the terminal stocks. The only difference is that the terminal spends money to buy their display fee (products) at once, and the company returns it monthly.

The drawbacks of this method are twofold: First, because the display fee is converted into a promotional policy, the gap between the product's supply price and the suggested retail price is large. If a terminal has difficulty moving the product, it will inevitably be sold at a discount, causing price chaos. Second, for the terminal's second purchase, the channel promotional policy must be greater than the initial distribution policy; otherwise, the terminal will feel the intensity is too low, affecting their enthusiasm. Therefore, when a manufacturer or distributor wants to use this strategy for store entry, they must adopt a "high list price, low actual price" approach, deliberately raising the terminal supply price and suggested retail price for the initial purchase to leave enough room for channel promotions, ensuring the terminal's enthusiasm for second purchases after product movement. Even if the terminal's actual retail price drops, it remains within the company's controllable range.

**3. Tasting Event-Based Development**
Tasting event development methods generally fall into three categories.

**First, new product launch conferences:** Through business invitations, customers are invited to the venue to experience the grandeur of the new product launch, hear the company's marketing ideas and promotion strategies, and participate in lucky draws, tastings, and gift receiving. Through the launch conference, expert analysis, and the participation of key political and business figures, the company guides customers' understanding of the new product and recognition of the manufacturer's strength, ideas, and boldness, reducing the difficulty of the new product launch and increasing its speed.

**Second, small-scale promotional meetings for tobacco and alcohol stores:** Regional managers invite the owners or key personnel of core tobacco and alcohol stores in the area. The distributor or company leaders organize a one-table new product tasting or exchange meeting to hear customers' opinions on the new product launch, increase their sense of ownership and recognition of the company, and establish or deepen customer relationships, laying a foundation for cooperation and increasing the probability of follow-up transactions. Holding these meetings in rotation and frequently is a short, quick, and effective method for new product launches, with a high success rate. It not only helps market development but also encourages customers to actively promote the new product, making it easier to start the market. Of course, small-scale promotional meetings also require prior visits and product tasting gifts, and importantly, the regional manager should personally invite.

**Third, circle-based tasting events:** Many tobacco and alcohol store owners have their own circles, where they exchange information, support each other, and unite externally. In such circles, there are influential and charismatic figures, commonly known as "leading brothers." If you can win over the leading brother, who then rallies the group for a tasting event and is moved or promises to actively promote, the market launch effect will be very good, not only with cash purchases (of course, the company must provide strong support) but also with active promotion.

**4. Factory Tour and Travel-Based Development**
Organizing visits to the distillery for tours and benchmarking market studies for core tobacco and alcohol store owners or key personnel before a new product launch has become one of the most effective means of developing tobacco and alcohol store customers. In the current poor business environment, store owners place more importance on the company's strength, future trends, development opportunities, and learning opportunities. Only by personally visiting and experiencing the company can store owners feel its strength and development prospects, thereby building their enthusiasm for the business. Benchmark regions or successful stores' operating methods are relatively stable; using well-performing regions or individual stores as models and bases for other stores to visit and learn from. Through the establishment and visits of benchmark bases, cooperation with tobacco and alcohol stores is promoted. This customer development model of visits, learning, and tourism emphasizes experience, exchange, feeling, and learning—it should never become a mere pleasure trip.

**5. Leveraging Sales Personnel Resources**
Why do many companies emphasize work experience and customer resources when recruiting sales personnel? Sales personnel with tobacco and alcohol store customer resources often have established relationships with customers, which can speed up store development. Especially for sales personnel from lesser-known brands, this can be particularly effective. Because these manufacturers have weaker brand power, their sales personnel tend to put more effort into service and customer relationships, making them most suitable for newly developed tobacco and alcohol stores.

**6. Using Acquaintance Referrals**
Introducing customers through acquaintances is also a very good way to develop tobacco and alcohol stores. For some store owners, no matter what methods sales personnel use, they remain difficult to win over. At this point, if an important person can introduce or recommend, it is easier to build rapport and solve the problem of product entry.

**7. Frequent Visits to Win Over Customers**
Generally, through persistent visits and thoughtful service, sales personnel can win the recognition of store owners, thereby achieving customer development success. This method is laborious, time-consuming, and not very effective for core store development, and it can easily dampen sales staff's enthusiasm. For companies without brand influence, in the initial market development stage, it is not recommended to rely solely on hard work and visits to achieve customer development success; this method is inefficient and wasteful.

**II. Eight Strategies for Driving Sales Momentum in Tobacco and Alcohol Stores**
Sales momentum is always the most critical issue for any brand; with momentum comes sales, and with sales comes the future. Let's look at the eight strategies for driving sales momentum in tobacco and alcohol stores.

**1. Creating a Terminal Store Atmosphere**
Creating a sales atmosphere in the terminal store easily induces consumers' purchase desire and trust. Atmosphere creation generally involves two levels. First, product display: maximize product display; the methods and approaches for display have been detailed in the article on sales momentum, so I won't repeat them here. Second, in-store and out-of-store atmosphere creation: storefront signs, window or wall advertisements, lightbox ads, cabinet eyebrows, pillar wraps, price tags, promotional signs, floor displays, and stacked boxes.

**2. Terminal Store Recommendations**
In the initial stage of new product momentum, it mainly relies on terminal store recommendations. Through terminal recommendations, consumers gradually develop the habit and awareness of active purchase. The enthusiasm of terminal stores for recommendations is mainly driven by profit incentives, customer relationships, and stimulation from promotional activities that encourage active selling. The product's profit should be at least 1.5 times that of best-selling products at the same price, plus additional support for rent, utilities, employee wages, and display fees. However, many companies have sales volume requirements. Customer relationships rely on the service value of sales personnel and the company's attention. Promotional activities must be explosive enough to elicit a positive response from terminal stores.

For example, a company's sales momentum lottery activity. To stimulate terminal recommendation enthusiasm, when the terminal restocks, in addition to regular purchase policies, they can also receive lottery cards with the chance to win big prizes. With a 100% winning rate, initially there are relatively many big prizes, directly stimulating terminal enthusiasm, participation, and word-of-mouth. Although few participate at first, the lottery results quickly spread, gradually mobilizing terminal enthusiasm, with good results.

For example, a company organized a "200 tobacco and alcohol stores drink for free, empty bottle for wine" activity, which was very effective. The method was as follows: select 200 stores for free supply, not for quick distribution or building customer relationships, but crucially, the company required these 200 stores to finish the free wine within one month! Clearly, the free wine was to increase product visibility, but high visibility does not mean product movement; the key to product movement is letting consumers taste the quality and enjoy the service. This requirement inevitably leads to the product being opened in the market. Think about it: stores cannot drink all the wine themselves; they will inevitably recommend it to loyal customers as a service, and customers enjoy the service, achieving a win-win-win. Once the wine is consumed, they can exchange empty bottles for more wine, creating momentum and profit, so stores naturally side with the brand.

**3. Terminal Consumer Promotions**
To stimulate terminal store momentum, in-store promotions can include: buy wine get cigarettes, buy two get one free, limited-time discounts, limited-quantity discounts, limited-time gifts, limited-person gifts (e.g., first X buyers get a gift, not necessarily this product), on-site tasting experiences, lucky draws, and activities like smashing golden eggs or other entertainment with purchase. Of course, some activities require company personnel to participate on-site.

**4. In-Box Prize Promotions**
For new products, in-box prizes must follow one principle: initially, there should be many big prizes and a high winning rate; this is key. As for the prizes, choose attractive ones based on local consumer preferences. For example, some companies set simple in-box prizes: every bottle has a prize, such as "one more bottle"; others use big prizes as a draw, like winning a computer, gold ring, iPhone, or 100 yuan cash, to stimulate consumer purchases. These in-box consumer promotions must be fully communicated to consumers, and terminals should proactively inform and recommend, for very good results.

**5. Core Consumer Tasting Events at Terminal Stores**
Every tobacco and alcohol store survives on its regular customers, who are the core customers and need long-term maintenance and relationship management. When a store recommends a new product, it first recommends it to its regulars, who, due to strong relationships, do not reject the recommendation. For a new product to move quickly in a terminal store, it is generally necessary to assist the store owner in winning over the core consumers' palates. The usual approach is for the store to organize a core consumer tasting event, gathering, or group activity, where they taste and are given some wine, with costs and wine covered by the manufacturer.

**6. Tasting Wine Gifts**
To help terminal stores sell products, companies often engage in public relations by giving wine to core consumers, making them core consumers of the brand. For example, some companies provide small bottle tasting wine support based on purchase volume, allowing stores to let consumers taste or use it as a promotion or direct gift. Some companies give a certain number of tasting cards, which store owners distribute to key customers, who can redeem them for a specified quantity of product. Some companies regularly provide a certain amount of wine for customer appreciation banquets.

**7. Deploying Promoters**
Based on the store's sales capability, seasonal sales needs, and customer requirements, companies may deploy promotional staff in tobacco and alcohol stores to assist, serve, and manage the store, and to actively promote the product.

**8. Wedding Banquet Promotions**
To encourage store owners to actively promote the product for wedding banquets, accelerate product momentum, and allow more consumers to taste the new product, companies not only provide strong promotions for wedding banquet buyers but also offer substantial recommendation rewards to terminal owners.

For example, in the Anhui market, Gujing Gongjiu Nianfen Yuanshi 5-year, with an opening price of 158 yuan per bottle and a wedding banquet price of 188 yuan per bottle, each table receives a free bottle of plain wine, with the requirement that the consumer's purchase quantity not be less than the free quantity. The terminal is responsible for recommending to consumers; after successful recommendation, they contact the distributor or salesperson to confirm the banquet date and location. The distributor delivers to the venue and confirms the final wine quantity. Based on the final quantity, the terminal receives a rebate of 30 yuan per bottle, and the intermediary receives a referral fee of 20 yuan per bottle. For more than ten tables, the terminal receives an additional 150 yuan cash reward.

**III. Nine Strategies for Managing Tobacco and Alcohol Stores**
The essence of management is to produce performance, not to execute rigidly according to procedures. The key is to let sales personnel know what they should do.

**1. Focus on Core Customers:** In every regional market or salesperson's territory, there are high-quality terminals with large sales volumes, significant influence, and good reputations. For such terminals, whether in terms of customer relationship investment, profit investment, or relationship depth, they should be the top priority. Ensure these terminals play a benchmark role in display, atmosphere, inventory pressure, active promotion, sales volume, and price stability. Such regions are not only healthy but also have stable sales and sustained growth. Building core customers is a long-term process, including special customer relationship services for the owner.

**2. Tiered Management:** Based on the core location of the store (e.g., restaurant street stores, tobacco and alcohol wholesale centers, commercial areas), main price points (e.g., mid-range and mid-to-high range 60-300 yuan), business reputation, and sales momentum, stores are generally divided into three tiers. Through tiered management strategies, profit distribution and cooperation management are achieved. For example, Tier 1: Broad customer cooperation, as long as they have the characteristics of a tobacco and alcohol store, with no limit on customer numbers. Tier 2: Select customers with initial advantages who can meet and cooperate with some company requirements. Tier 3: Key selection, all-round cooperation, able to meet and achieve the company's personalized cooperation requirements, with limited high-quality customers. Below is a look at the three-tier profit distribution for tobacco and alcohol store customers.

| Cooperation Level | Material Configuration | Policy Support Management |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: Display Cooperation | Display shelf 5 layers * 6 bottles, table card, activity poster or KT board | Regular monthly rebate |
| Tier 2: Communication Cooperation | Display shelf 5 layers * 6 bottles, table card, activity poster or KT board, plus: product image display rack, regular floor display, terminal blank wall image communication | Monthly rebate, seasonal rewards |
| Tier 3: Joint Venture Strategic Cooperation | Display shelf 5 layers * 6 bottles; table card, activity poster or KT board; product image display rack, regular floor display, terminal blank wall image communication; plus: make the company's products the main push products at various price points, complete monthly sales tasks. Conduct group buying for the company's products, cooperate with the office for product tasting marketing. Exclusive promotions. Exclusive packaging cost support | Monthly rebate, seasonal rewards. Annual task completion rewards, long-term promoter support, group buying development cost support, exclusive packaging cost support |

**3. Frequent Visits:** Although terminal visits are the lowest-tech action, if you visit with goals and problems, the quality of visits improves. For example, adhere to the six basic work requirements during visits: "discover product issues, find competitor changes, understand product movement bottlenecks, focus on display, emphasize atmosphere, and remind frequently." Also, achieve effective communication with store owners, standardize the communication of product selling points, promotional information, and price strategies, gradually cultivating the owner's habit of active promotion. Customer relationships are always built in daily interactions!

**4. Understand Investment:** How to use resources effectively is a skill for sales personnel. Every company has resource usage standards and application standards, but many sales personnel still fail to grasp the efficiency and sales value of resource use. For example, when the company launches a large display activity, many salespeople focus on quantity over quality, concentrating large display customers on small and medium customers, while those relatively difficult large customers are not signed up—this is a typical waste of resources. For example, when the company organizes a one-table tasting meeting and requires salespeople to invite customers, because large customers are difficult to invite, they end up inviting many small customers, reducing the effectiveness of resource use. For example, when using tasting wine, many salespeople invest more in customers with good relationships, while those with poor relationships or who are relatively arrogant are ignored, not realizing this is a good opportunity to build relationships. A principle: resources should be invested more in developing new customers and maintaining old customers who can continuously contribute to sales.

**5. Emphasize Sales Momentum:** Terminal sales momentum is always the core work of sales personnel. Customer recommendation rate and product movement rate are always the core weapons in business visits. By increasing terminal active promotion enthusiasm, solving terminal sales doubts, and providing customer sales methods, the terminal recommendation rate is improved; by increasing customer recommendation rate, providing activity support, and providing core customer public relations, the product movement rate is improved, achieving sales growth.

**6. Skillful Public Relations:** True public relations stems from relationships beyond business. Many excellent salespeople have relationships with customers that are not just business cooperation, not just through material means like small gifts, dinners, or tasting wine, but by discovering the customer's hobbies and becoming friends with common interests, discovering the customer's needs, and providing valuable and meaningful assistance. For example, some customers like fishing, some like photography, some like calligraphy and painting, some like sports, etc. Planning group activities with a circle nature not only deepens customer relationships but also forms promotion and dissemination, achieving multiple benefits, with deeper value returns than simply treating to dinner or giving wine.

**7. Give Face:** Vanity exists in almost everyone; the bigger the customer, the higher the status, the stronger the vanity. Seize the customer's face-loving psychology, create events or statements that make the customer feel valued, and make ordinary things more meaningful and valuable.

For example, when inviting a customer to dinner, many salespeople might say, "Boss XX, are you free? Let's get together?" Smart salespeople find a reason to invite, perhaps saying, "Boss XX, because your store's atmosphere is so good, the company rewarded me 200 yuan. To show my gratitude, I must treat you to dinner." Or, "Boss XX, thanks to your strong support, I exceeded my task. To show my gratitude, I must treat you to dinner."

For example, when the company has some public relations gift wine signed by the general manager, many salespeople directly choose customers and send it over. Smart salespeople organize a gathering of target customers to thank them for their support, and the participating leaders personally present the gifts, elevating the value and meaning.

**8. Control Prices:** Tobacco and alcohol stores are typical price killers, making price management a very important task in store management. Many companies use sales subsidies, fixed monthly, quarterly, and annual rebates, fuzzy rebates, and promotional policies to maintain control over the price system. Even so, it cannot stop stores from selling at low prices to grab customers. This requires sales personnel to tirelessly communicate the benefits of maintaining prices during visits. For customers who engage in malicious price chaos or excessive low pricing, they must be warned, and even if it means sacrificing sales, supply should be controlled.

**9. Pressure Sales Volume:** Pressuring inventory is the most common behavior in tobacco and alcohol store sales, such as volume-based sales, excess purchase rewards, resource-for-sales (e.g., storefront, shop decoration), and purchase-with-travel or big prizes. In baijiu marketing, pressuring inventory has become a key indicator of a salesperson's ability. To successfully pressure inventory, salespeople, regardless of customer type, actual sales capability, or sales habits, use coaxing and deception to maximize inventory pressure on customers. As a result, customers with weak actual sales capabilities complain and sell at reduced prices; customers accustomed to cross-regional selling, having received big policies, scatter goods everywhere; and large customers who follow sales rules, seeing market chaos, give up active promotion, leading to sales decline. This is why many markets, just as they begin to improve, fall into passivity again, and why markets die one after another, unable to develop healthily and sustainably. Pressuring inventory is not wrong; the mistake is excess. The right way is to continuously pressure inventory in a measured, methodical manner based on customer type, digestion capacity, active promotion level, and business habits.

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