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Based on my consulting experience with multiple companies, I have found that any marketing team with good sales performance is always a team with "sound strategies and thorough execution."

In China's current business environment, many industries are already fully competitive, and numerous small and medium-sized enterprises face intense market competition. In this environment, growth speed becomes a key factor for the survival of SMEs, and the execution capability of the marketing team is undoubtedly the main driver of "speed." Below, based on my experience in marketing consulting for enterprises, combined with a case where a company's sales grew counter-trend by 50%, I summarize the "Four Modernizations Project" as a tool for building marketing team execution, for your reference.

The so-called "Four Modernizations Project" refers to: Goal Visualization, Method Clarification, Process Tracking, and Result Presentation. As shown in the diagram:

First, "Goal Visualization"

Companies typically conduct an "annual marketing strategic plan" at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. In this plan, sales targets are usually broken down by month, by regional market, and more finely by product and by person. As the saying goes, "A thousand-pound burden is carried by all; each head has its own target." During monthly or quarterly reviews, these targets are noted. This is considered a decent practice, but for most SMEs, target management stops there.

However, this method of target management is often not efficient and does not truly touch the nerves of managers. In my view, effective target management should be "visualized," continuously reinforced, thereby entering the "subconscious" of marketing managers and making targets feel more urgent. For example, in some distributors' meeting rooms, we see "sales targets on the wall," which is a good method that many companies fail to implement. In my previous company, we sent weekly regional sales rankings and annual task completion rates to each regional manager's mobile phone, constantly reminding everyone of sales progress, avoiding "blind men feeling the elephant" or "crossing the river by feeling the stones." To summarize, the following "target management tools" can be formed:

First, "Targets on the Wall." This allows all sales personnel, especially sales managers, to constantly perceive sales targets, entering the subconscious of sales managers, creating a sense of urgency, and helping enhance the team's "goal achievement capability."

Second, sign a "Target Responsibility Agreement." It is best to have an oath ceremony, using ritual and a sense of honor and shame to strengthen the sales team's goal awareness and enhance the team's goal achievement capability.

Third, "Sales Target Distribution." The breakdown of sales targets to regions is often more detailed, possibly down to products. Therefore, more detailed sales targets should be distributed to each sales unit in paper or email form.

Fourth, "Target Process Management." Create follow-up tables for sales targets by week, month, or quarter, and send timely notifications to responsible persons via email or SMS to clarify sales progress.

Next, "Method Clarification"

Once goals are set, if methods are unclear, the team will be like "headless flies," at a loss. Therefore, while pointing the team in the right direction, effective methods must be provided, i.e., this year's marketing strategy and subsequent phased marketing plans. The marketing team's efforts must be used on the cutting edge, and the team must follow the correct path. I clearly remember the "Xiangjiang Battle" after the Red Army's fifth counter-encirclement campaign. Due to the erroneous leadership of left-leaning leaders, the Red Army was reduced from over 80,000 to just over 30,000. This is the consequence of wrong methods! Method clarification involves three key actions:

First, strategic guidance. Determine an effective marketing model for the enterprise's marketing activities; this is the company's "marketing outline." But an outline alone is not enough; there must also be "phased marketing plans" to guide specific marketing actions at each stage. The company I served mainly sold mid-to-low-end products. We determined a tailor-made "*** model," i.e., the "three-dimensional development model" for *** products, and in the first and second quarter off-season, we launched the "Spring Plowing Action" targeting channels and the "Ice Cool Activity" targeting consumers. These spring and summer offensives will lay a solid sales foundation for the peak season.

Second, team PK. After methods are determined, it is necessary to ignite the team's "fighting passion" through some means. At this time, healthy team PK is a good method. Divide the team into several groups, set simple evaluation criteria and reward/punishment rules for team PK, mainly rewards, with minor or no punishment, mainly using team honor to stimulate goal achievement awareness. The company I served once carried out an atmosphere-building activity called "Citywide Blockade of Nicholas Tse" (Dongpeng Special Drink), dividing the sales team into four groups for PK on atmosphere creation. A week later, the city was covered with large posters of the brand.

Third, phased training. After a large-scale phased marketing plan is introduced, it is best to gather the business team, even distributors and their business teams, to study together, answer questions on the spot, eliminate policy blind spots, and ensure that before action, strategies are clear, thinking is unified, scripts are consistent, and actions are efficient. At the same time, on-site training is also a "motivational meeting," allowing the marketing team to enter "full-blooded work mode" before action.

Then, "Process Tracking"

As the saying goes, "If sales are not tracked, everything is in vain." Process management is also an important part of marketing management, especially follow-up on key marketing nodes. A good creative plan, if well followed up, can achieve more than 90% of its effect; if generally followed up, more than 70%; if not followed up, less than 50%. This is the difference in execution for a single activity. If scaled up to the whole year, the difference in overall activity execution effects becomes significant, i.e., "A miss is as good as a mile!"

Therefore, in the process management process, pay attention to the following two points:

First, supervision and follow-up. When the marketing plan is executed, arrange the rhythm of supervision and follow-up, supervision standards, supervision routes, and supervision operation systems, and promptly feedback results.

Second, phased summary. Based on the execution of the marketing plan, make timely phased summaries, rather than waiting until the end to "make a final judgment." Summarize in a timely manner during the process to facilitate timely optimization and adjustment.

Finally, "Result Presentation"

The marketing team belongs to the operational and execution level of corporate strategy. For marketing results, broadly speaking, they need to be known by the decision-making layer, the board of directors, and relevant employees. Narrowly speaking, even for a regional marketing activity, your superiors and other relevant personnel need to know the results. Result presentation itself is also a "benign communication method." In enterprises, there are often people who "only do, not speak." Such people often have unsatisfactory development, may feel resentful, and lament unrecognized talent. In fact, "speaking" is also an art, and result presentation is a way of "speaking." There is a "subtle internal relationship" between the marketing team and the decision-making layer or board. The board needs to know the marketing team's actions and results, and the marketing team also needs to gain sustained trust through good performance presentation. In plain terms, the company must know what the marketing team has done and how well, so that the marketing team can win the reason to continue or exist. These are subtle and realistic objective facts. The essence of "result presentation" is to create a continuous guarantee for the marketing team's execution environment. Therefore, to do well in result presentation, the following three points must be achieved:

First, present to superiors. Report the results of marketing activities to superiors in written form in a timely manner: regional markets report to regional heads, regional heads report to the marketing center, and the marketing center reports to the general manager or board.

Second, broad sharing. According to the enterprise's internal management system and communication processes, use appropriate methods to transmit results to relevant personnel through online channels such as corporate email, Weibo, WeChat, SMS, and broadcast platforms, as well as offline channels such as bulletin boards and corporate newspapers. This is also a one-way communication method between the marketing team and relevant functional departments.

Third, build confidence. Through the presentation of marketing results, morale can be further boosted, allowing the marketing team to enjoy the fruits and honors brought by hard work, building sustained confidence and maintaining high fighting spirit!

In summary, if marketing team execution is compared to a journey, "goal visualization" is like the direction, "method clarification" is like the map, "process tracking" is like rest and regrouping, and "result presentation" is like victory. This is a dynamic process with internal logic. Using the "Four Modernizations Project" tool to activate the four execution elements of "goal, method, process, and result" can adjust the marketing team's execution to the best state, thereby forging a "wolf-like" marketing team with "unified thinking, consistent pace, powerful execution, and invincible spirit"!

Source: Zhengyitang

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