---
title: "The Last Five Days of 2017, Where Do You Want to Go?"
description: "A new trend has emerged as internet companies like Alibaba's Retail Link are recruiting ground promotion elites on a large scale. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the City Partner role, comparing it with brand sales representatives using five key parameters: mindset, income, growth, skills, and prospects."
author: "袁来"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-12-26"
language: "en"
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# The Last Five Days of 2017, Where Do You Want to Go?

> A new trend has emerged as internet companies like Alibaba's Retail Link are recruiting ground promotion elites on a large scale. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the City Partner role, comparing it with brand sales representatives using five key parameters: mindset, income, growth, skills, and prospects.

Recently, a "trend" has emerged, with internet companies represented by Alibaba's Retail Link (零售通) calling for the large-scale recruitment of ground promotion elites.
On this topic, the editor has received many inquiries from old friends in the background: What is the City Partner (城市拍档) really like? Is it reliable?
So today, New Distribution (新经销) will give you a complete interpretation of the City Partner.
To be more objective, we will compare the City Partner under Alibaba's Retail Link with brand sales representatives (品牌业代) using a "phone configuration parameters" comparison format.
Five parameter indicators to analyze the differences between the two:
1. Mindset comparison
2. Income comparison
3. Growth comparison
4. Skill indicators
5. Prospect indicators

1. Mindset Comparison
**Brand Sales Rep** | **City Partner**
Employee mindset: "do the job" – focus on completing assigned tasks | Entrepreneurial mindset: "fight" – build a personal career
**Interpretation:**
First, look at the official introduction of the City Partner: The City Partner is a partner of Alibaba's Retail Link, responsible for developing and maintaining local offline retail stores.
From this introduction, it is clear that the City Partner is entrepreneurial in nature, not an employee or worker.
Working for someone else and being an entrepreneur are completely different mindsets. If your dream is to start a business, why not try it now? Or, if you don't want to make a big change, then just wait and see.

2. Income Comparison
**Brand Sales Rep** | **City Partner**
Standard brand sales rep base salary: 3000 yuan/month; KPI achievement: 1000 yuan/month; other income: 1000 yuan/month | Based on interviews with ten City Partners: base salary: 0 yuan; commission and rewards: 5000-10000 yuan (varies); other income: 0-1000 yuan (varies)
**Interpretation:**
Income is a key measure.
The income figures for brand sales reps are based on a standard for those with 3 years of experience. A monthly salary of 5000 yuan is considered high; beyond that, income may not match the position, and there is an upper limit to income potential.
The income figures for City Partners were obtained through interviews and surveys. Regardless of the proportion of each income bracket, some City Partners earn over 10,000 yuan per month, and compared to sales reps, there is no cap on income potential. As long as you are willing to put in the effort and energy, earning over 10,000 yuan is achievable.
Such a gap in income indicators clearly makes the City Partner more attractive.

3. Growth Comparison
**Brand Sales Rep** | **City Partner**
Promotion path: Sales Rep → Area Supervisor → City Manager | Growth path: 1-5 star certification → establish a small micro-enterprise
**Interpretation:**
The above is the standard promotion path; let's further interpret its practicality.
For a brand sales rep to be promoted to area supervisor, it generally takes about 3 years (assuming you are excellent). Additionally, you need to "outperform" about 6-7 people around you. From area supervisor to city manager, it takes about 4 years, and you need to "outperform" about 6-7 area supervisors around you or in nearby areas. Besides that, you also face other factors such as connections and opportunities: first, upward relationships; second, vacant positions.
Although the City Partner is entrepreneurial, there is still room for growth. The step-by-step growth from 1-star to 5-star is similar to Taobao store levels (diamond, blue crown, gold crown), with different stars enjoying different rights and benefits. According to an insider from the Retail Link business unit, outstanding City Partners can also register companies in their service areas to expand business and cultivate deeper.
In summary, the promotion of a brand sales rep requires years, excellence, connections, and opportunities – four aspects. In contrast, the growth of a City Partner only requires excellence; opportunities also exist, but generally, the earlier you join, the more opportunities you have!

4. Skill Indicators
**Brand Sales Rep** | **City Partner**
Store business communication skills; standard "eight steps" of visits; brand visual merchandising skills | Store business communication skills; retail skills for full-category business; retail store operation experience
**Interpretation:**
Skill indicators are the core survival skills.
The core skill of a brand sales rep is transactional business negotiation for a single category, while the City Partner is a retail operation guide for full categories. The skills of brand sales reps come from standardized skills passed down over decades, while City Partners rely on Alibaba's big data tools for scientific and professional retail operation skills.
Perhaps in the near future, brand sales reps and City Partners will present two different scenes in small stores: Brand sales rep: "Boss Wang, I see you've sold quite a bit of this, let's order some more." City Partner: "Boss Wang, look at what's on my phone. There are over 100 pet owners in your neighborhood. I recommend you stock some..."

5. Prospect Indicators
**Brand Sales Rep** | **City Partner**
Well-known group/brand entered mainland in the 1990s, 30 years of history, currently in "stability maintenance," sales declining significantly | Alibaba Retail Link established in 2015, Alibaba ranks among the top 10 globally by market value, currently in "fast growth," sales increasing significantly
**Interpretation:**
Prospect indicators: First, look at the company; second, look at the position.
Retail Link was established recently and is in the rising phase of the FMCG B2B industry trend; traditional FMCG brands have a long history and are in the declining phase of era and industry transformation.
As the saying goes, position determines the starting point. In traditional FMCG brands, the role and importance of brand sales reps are gradually weakening. For first- and second-tier brands, channel cultivation is well-developed, and the core work for sales reps has been completed; currently, they mainly maintain customer relationships. For non-first- and second-tier brands, channel cultivation is still ongoing, but overall, in the context of abundant goods, the thresholds and conditions for small retail stores to accept brands are rising year by year.
In contrast, City Partners are in the era of "expanding territory" in the FMCG B2B field, and their position's importance is self-evident. Conquering a territory definitely offers more room for development and growth than defending one.

**The above is the comparison of the "five parameter indicators" between brand sales reps and City Partners.**
Returning to the earlier point, there are less than five days left until 2018. When we start to think about our future path or face choices, it is advisable to list the above five indicators, combine them with our own situation, and weigh them comprehensively.
Finally, to summarize the difference between brand sales reps and City Partners:
**Brand sales reps are engaged in single-product sales transactions with small retail stores.**
**City Partners are advisors providing full-category retail guidance to small retail stores.**
In the era of the rise of FMCG B2B and the decline of traditional FMCG brands, stop and think about how to walk the road ahead.
Alibaba Retail Link's City Partner might be a good choice for you!
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