Click to read the original text for details. Many marketing executives in companies often use the following two stories for employee training: first, "How to sell combs to monks"; second, "Selling crutches, cars, and stretchers". It is easy to see the current desire of marketers for marketing techniques, but this is precisely the misconception in Chinese marketing thought: emphasizing techniques over thinking. China has never lacked advanced marketing techniques but rather excellent marketers. So, in FMCG companies, what kind of marketing talent is considered excellent? Julius Caesar once mentioned four essential qualities that a person must possess: wisdom, integrity, professionalism, and self-discipline. The author believes that only after passing through these four realms can a marketer "attain enlightenment".
First Realm: Great Wisdom Great wisdom is not petty cleverness; wisdom is intelligence at a certain height. An excellent salesperson must first be a person full of wisdom. Since it is great wisdom, in marketing work one must learn to "cast a long line to catch a big fish" and not drink poison to quench thirst, or be overly concerned with the gains and losses of one city or one pond. Imagine, can the "big忽悠" (big talker) skills of "selling crutches and wheelchairs" or the short-term behavior of "selling combs to monks" be considered great wisdom? Such antics might work for guerrilla tactics, but they are useless for building long-term harmonious customer relationships. Perhaps in marketing techniques one can "innovate", but at best it is only "tactics". Marketing needs "strategy", requires planning, and a sense of the big picture: those who do not plan for the long term cannot plan for the short term. Therefore, a wise marketer can see the overall situation, weigh gains and losses, and prevent problems before they occur, achieving great success in marketing. The wisdom of a marketer generally passes through three levels:
1. Primary marketing level: "Only the magistrate can set fires, but the common people cannot light lamps." More often than not, they only consider the interests of their own small plot of land, without considering the actual difficulties of customers. This is especially evident in alcohol marketing: the daily work focus is to urge customers to increase volume, volume, and more volume, without considering what work we should do for customers to increase their sales. This kind of marketing is called "push-mill marketing".
2. Intermediate marketing level: "Seeing flowers in fog, viewing the moon in water." In communication with customers, they know how to hide themselves. Although they also visit the market, it is often superficial, formalistic, and going through the motions. The main manifestations of this type of marketer are: making many promises to customers but fulfilling few; after the market is developed, they "remove the firewood from under the pot" (undermine) and cause customers to suffer losses; they give "policies" to the market more than planning, lacking effective guidance and planning for the market. This kind of marketing is called "jianghu-style marketing" (itinerant, unreliable).
3. Superior marketing level: "No move beats all moves." Through marketing thinking and sincere actions to help customers succeed, starting from the customer's interests, considering the customer while not violating the company's interests and position, helping customers gain benefits, being professional, dedicated, and upright, winning the customer's heartfelt respect. Even if sales face difficulties in the short term, customers will not abandon the company, and may even sacrifice their own interests to help the enterprise through difficult times together.
Second Realm: Professionalism Professionalism is the foundation of a marketer. Many people summarize the work of marketers as "three axes": drinking, sauna, and building relationships. In fact, rapid economic development has brought earth-shaking changes to the marketing environment. The changes in the marketing environment and elements have put forward many new requirements for marketers. At this time, "professionalism" becomes the key for salespeople. If you cannot explain the market in detail, have no deep understanding of the market, and cannot effectively guide and assist customers in developing the market, no matter how good your relationship with customers is, or how deep your feelings are, it will ultimately not work. Just like Ah Q's old man's concept that "all nuns have illicit relations with monks", many people think that anyone in sales must pass three tests: smoking, drinking, and playing cards to build relationships, otherwise, they should not do it. This is only a superficial appearance. Perhaps it was acceptable several years ago, but now the days of "chatting for half a day over a cigarette, becoming brothers in three sentences" are getting harder and harder. Modern marketing requires professional skills. Through years of observation and sales practice, the author summarizes the following points:
1. Market layout: Marketing is no longer the primary stage of urging customers to remit payments and ship goods. Society is developing, and marketing also needs to upgrade. A marketer must use professional vision to reasonably adjust and lay out the product structure, price structure, and customer structure in the market, and effectively integrate conventional marketing means such as promotions and publicity, laying a solid foundation for the steady progress of marketing work.
2. Market planning: The market is first thought out, then made. Many marketing ideas and explorations need us to help the company and customers refine them. Markets are highly differentiated, and customers' own experiences are strongly exclusive. This requires us to strengthen our own charm, win the trust of the company and customers through several "beautiful battles" of planning, and gain an advantage for future marketing work. At the same time, we should pay attention to the product and market life cycle, and through effective communication with channels and consumers, promote the harmonious and healthy development of the market.
Third Realm: Integrity An excellent marketer is first an upright person. "Flies do not attack seamless eggs." Upright people earn the respect of customers and others. If one always harbors evil thoughts, there will be hidden dangers for others to exploit, and customers may also harbor evil thoughts, leading to a series of hidden dangers and troubles, which is not conducive to our marketing work, and may even be looked down upon by customers and colleagues.
To be upright, one needs to grasp the following two points:
1. Adhere to principles without losing flexibility: Principle issues are not open to discussion, such as the company's product prices and promotional policies. However, we can, without harming the company's interests and the market, offer advice and strategies to customers to sell more products and seek benefits for distributors. Learn to be flexible.
2. Dare to struggle: Many customers always praise our marketers for being upright, but this is actually a "sugar-coated bullet" in marketing. Never collude with customers, exaggerate market difficulties to ask for policies from the company; this is also dishonest and not upright. For unreasonable demands from customers, one should use methods and strategies to deal with them, and when necessary, argue on the basis of reason.
Fourth Realm: Self-discipline For achieving an excellent marketer, if wisdom is the foundation, professionalism is the prerequisite, and integrity is the guarantee, then self-discipline is the key. Self-discipline is not about being frugal, but in the face of various temptations, no matter how wise or professional you are, if you do not know self-discipline, hidden dangers will remain. Salespeople are nomads who are away from home all year round. The external environment keeps them away from family and friends, enduring loneliness for a long time. Without company constraints, marketers learn to "snatch leisure from busyness", and their desire for learning significantly decreases; they learn to exchange various interests with customers.
Facing the temptations of wine and women, and the so-called "golden opportunities to make money" that can lead to "a single misstep causing eternal regret", a slight carelessness will make it difficult to "achieve a perfect body".
The growth of a marketer requires a process, continuous persistence, and effort. After the purgatory-like baptism of the "four realms", marketers will be reborn like a phoenix, naturally "cultivating the right fruit".
Source: Food Board -END-