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Author: Liu Chunxiong
Source: Teacher Liu's New Marketing For an ordinary salesperson, doing the job well is enough; for one who aspires to rapid advancement, the ability to handle "paperwork" is indispensable. How to Write a Policy Application Report That Gets Signed ⦿Reasons Why Policy Applications Are Rejected •Common Phenomenon 1: At every sales meeting, salespeople complain about too few POP materials. Yet, when the boss visits the market, he never sees POP; instead, he finds the walls of the distributor's warehouse plastered with POP. Imagine: if the boss discovers that policy resources are always wasted like this, will he approve your next policy application? ◎Advice: If you let the boss discover that policy resources are wasted, it will be even harder to get policies approved next time. •Common Phenomenon 2: Every time a salesperson applies for a sales policy, sales increase rapidly in the short term. But at year-end, total sales show no change. Will the boss approve future applications? ◎Advice: As long as sales policies do not lead to an increase in total sales, the boss will become increasingly cautious in approving policies. •Common Phenomenon 3: Sales policies are often "intercepted" by distributors. For example, distributors treat promotional policies as profit, so sales don't increase but profits do. Or distributors inflate advertising expenses and pocket the money. ◎Advice: As long as it is discovered that sales policies are intercepted by distributors, future applications will be more difficult. •Common Phenomenon 4: Some salespeople think the boss is afraid of "spending big money," so they use a "fishing" tactic, breaking the application into small amounts that are easily approved. But once the boss sees through this trick, future applications become difficult. ◎Advice: Salespeople should not underestimate the boss and should avoid playing petty tricks. ⦿The Boss's Mindset Ordinary salespeople think the boss is most reluctant to spend money. They see the boss "cutting applications in half" as proof. This is a classic case of "measuring the boss's heart by one's own." The boss's mindset is: it's not that he's reluctant to spend money, but that he's afraid the money won't be spent effectively. As long as spending a little can earn a lot, he dares to spend more. Therefore, the boss cares more about the "input-output ratio." •Common Misconception 1: Salespeople often apply for policies with reasons like: "Our competitor's policy is very aggressive; we must follow." or "Sales in this market are declining; it's dangerous without a policy." This threatening approach might scare a few inexperienced bosses, but it's useless with most. Remember, bosses see such words all the time and are used to them. Moreover, company policy resources are limited; if a market is risky, let it go, since investment may not yield returns. •Common Misconception 2: Most policy application reports explain why money is needed but rarely state the expected results. The boss sees no output and may think it's a "bottomless pit." ⦿How to Get Policy Applications Approved Quickly •Recommended Practice 1: When applying for a policy, give the boss a bright future. Talking about opportunities is more effective than talking about difficulties. Opportunities excite the boss, and he thinks about "how much to give." Difficulties give him a headache, and he thinks about "whether to give." •Recommended Practice 2: When applying, clearly tell the boss: "Everything is ready except the east wind—the policy is that east wind." If the east wind isn't provided, then "everything is wasted." This implies: "I've done my part; now it's your turn." The boss sometimes fears responsibility, so this is the time to approve. •Recommended Practice 3: When applying, tell the boss that "the distributor is prepared to cooperate with the policy." Bosses worry about distributors intercepting policies. Many think: "If the distributor dares to contribute 20% of the cost, the company dares to contribute 80%." Also, if the distributor is willing to cooperate, it shows confidence, because distributors are even more frugal than manufacturers in using policies. •Recommended Practice 4: Tell the boss about the results of previous policies. Salespeople often "show the head but not the tail"—they rarely report the results after using policies, or they "dare not report." Some salespeople get policies approved "on sight" because they've earned the boss's trust; their spending has results and evaluations. •Recommended Practice 5: Apply for policies for a small, promising market. The boss's approach is "water the seedlings that show growth." This is the "Matthew effect" in policy use: the better the market, the more willing the boss is to give policies generously. Therefore, doing a small good market is better than doing a large poor one. If the market shows promise, policies will follow. ⦿Better to Rely on Yourself Than on Others Companies are not banks, and policies are not money printers. Policy resources are always limited; most applications are rejected, and even if approved, they are often "cut in half," possibly missing the best timing. Where do policies come from? They come from "price space," or policies are an integral part of price. Since that's the case, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. Salespeople can "create policies" by working with distributors to "repackage" the price of new products, leaving enough policy space. Thus, while others worry about getting policies, you may have a steady stream to invest in the market. How to Write a Sales Plan That Reassures Your Boss Most salespeople see writing sales plans as a chore or as the leader "making work." So they write plans perfunctorily. Most sales managers also treat plans as a routine, optional task. If they don't do it, management seems incomplete; if they do, it seems useless. •Typical Phenomenon 1: When asked about their sales plan, the classic answer is: "I gave it to the manager." As if the plan is just for submission. Or: "It's in my diary." Plans are plans; actions are actions. •Typical Phenomenon 2: When asked about each salesperson's plan, sales managers often say: "It's in the drawer." •Typical Phenomenon 3: Most sales plans contain only two items: First, a sales breakdown plan, often detailed by time, region, customer, and product. But salespeople know that in China's real marketing environment, the more detailed the breakdown, the more it's a trick. Second, a promotion or policy application plan. It seems that if the policy isn't in place, the salesperson isn't responsible for missing targets. •Typical Phenomenon 4: Some plans are very detailed, down to daily itineraries and tasks. But this is also a meaningless fake plan, because a small unexpected event can invalidate such a rigid plan. **◎Concept 1:****Good salespeople are good at making plans and executing them effectively.**Good managers are good at making plans for others and supervising their implementation. ◎Concept 2: Having no plan but good performance is possible, but it's not universal, replicable, or promotable. ☛Recommended Practice 1: Without a qualified sales plan, never let a salesperson go to the market. They might not create value but only generate costs. Sales management must revolve around the sales plan. Process management mainly checks whether the process matches the plan. ❑Case: A food company's monthly planning meeting once lasted over 10 days. When the company set sales targets, salespeople quickly produced plans. As usual, they were just sales breakdowns and promotion plans, with no work plans. We required: "A monthly work plan must be detailed enough that anyone can see that if executed faithfully, the month's task is guaranteed. Only then is it qualified, and only then can you go to the market." So, each salesperson's plan had to be "interrogated" in front of all managers. The best salesperson revised his plan 3 times; the most revised 6 times. ☛Recommended Practice 2: Break the sales plan into "existing volume" and "incremental volume," and require separate work plans for "maintaining existing volume" and "achieving incremental volume." Breaking down the "nature of sales" is more important than breaking down the "quantity of sales." Sales work is determined by the nature of sales, not the quantity. To maintain existing volume, focus on old customers, channels, outlets, and products, using promotions and price cuts. To achieve incremental volume, focus on new customers, channels, outlets, and products. For example, "help the distributor develop 10 secondary dealers," "help the distributor develop 30 retail outlets," "assist the distributor in promoting new products." These are the tasks that achieve incremental volume. ☛Recommended Practice 3: A sales plan should have two goals: one is the "sales target," the other is the "work target," and the "work target" is more important than the "sales target." If you don't meet the "sales target," you fail the monthly assessment, affecting your "hat" (position) and "ticket" (income). If you don't meet the "work target," you'll have to "push sales" every month. The "work target" involves improving market fundamentals and continuously increasing sales, including new market development, new product promotion, shifting market focus downward, developing secondary dealers and end customers, and terminal promotion. Although important, it's often diluted or forgotten due to the more urgent "sales target." Without improving market fundamentals, salespeople resort to frequent promotions and price cuts to meet the "sales target." Therefore, frontline managers should focus on achieving the "work target" to then achieve the "sales target." Marketing management should arrange work based on the "work target," not the "sales target." Process management mainly monitors the execution of the "work target." Result management mainly assesses the completion of the "sales target." How to Write a Summary That Earns You Recognition ⦿Manager's Mindset ❖Common Phenomenon: Some salespeople are indignant: why aren't top performers praised, while average performers are appreciated? They conclude that leaders like flatterers. This is a classic case of "measuring the superior's heart by the subordinate's," due to not understanding the manager's mindset. •Manager's Mindset 1: Many salespeople think leaders care most about sales performance, but that's an illusion. Leaders are most interested in work achievements—what valuable things you've done. For outstanding sales performance, leaders give routine rewards. For outstanding work achievements, leaders give exceptional encouragement. Routine rewards are required by company policy; exceptional encouragement comes from the heart. •Manager's Mindset 2: For those with merit, give material rewards, called "compensation." For those with ability, also give rewards, called "empowerment." More simply: don't use power to reward meritorious people. Leaders always reward those with performance, but they promote those who are good at summarizing and refining, because such people can turn others' experience into their own, and individual experience into collective experience. A leader may not have great personal performance but can lead others to achieve. •Manager's Mindset 3: Achieving sales targets is just the "baseline," just as one shouldn't boast about "not breaking the law." Meeting sales targets usually only keeps your "hat" (position), not enough to earn recognition. To be appreciated, you must understand the company's "strategic intent," which is what the company "cares most about" and "worries most about." •Manager's Mindset 4: Leaders praise "obedient" salespeople in public, but praise "disobedient" ones in private. Because leaders need many "obedient" salespeople to help achieve goals, but they need a few "disobedient" ones to help break through goals. ⦿What Kind of Summary Does a Leader Need? ❖Common Phenomenon: Most summaries emphasize "how to execute company policy," "how to work hard and smart," and "how to overfulfill tasks." This is a summary that satisfies the leader, not one that moves him. •Recommended Practice 1: Summaries should be written from the company's perspective, not the individual's. For ordinary salespeople, summaries are routine. For leaders, summaries are for finding ways to the future. For those who summarize from a personal perspective, if they do well, the leader may show superficial recognition. For those who summarize from the company's perspective, the leader may promote them. From a personal perspective, the leader sees you as a good salesperson. From the company's perspective, the leader may see you as leadership material. ❑Case: When an agricultural company entered the Guangdong market, 10 salespeople only completed 2 million yuan in sales that year, less than one salesperson in another region. But the boss was satisfied because they found a way to solve the problem that "you can't do business in Guangdong without credit sales." If they had summarized from a personal perspective, the sales volume wouldn't interest the leader. From the company's perspective, solving the credit sales problem meant finding the golden key to the Guangdong market. •Recommended Practice 2: If you have any innovative approach, even a small spark, be sure to summarize it. For leaders, people with execution ability are easy to find, but those with innovation are rare. •Recommended Practice 3: Excellent salespeople not only achieve results but also turn their methods into a system or model. Leaders care more about models than sales performance, because models can be widely promoted, which is what leaders care about. •Recommended Practice 4: If a leader's approach is widely criticized, adding fuel to the fire won't solve anything. If you think the leader is right, prove it with action, and when the leader is criticized, use your summary to provide "timely help." How to Write an Insightful Research Report ❖Common Phenomenon 1: Many salespeople complain that leaders don't understand or support their work. Often, the fault isn't the leader's but the salesperson's. If the leader has no overall understanding of your market, why should he support you? Ask yourself: "What measures have I taken to help the leader understand the market situation? What measures have I taken to help the leader understand my situation?" Ordinary salespeople may know their market well; excellent salespeople make sure the leader knows the market well. Remember, the leader learns about the market through you. The information you convey determines the support you get. ❖Common Phenomenon 2: A company's boss sent two salespeople to develop the southern market. They were unsure and asked me for advice. I asked, "What are you planning to do?" They said, "Of course, find some customers and ship goods first." I told them, "Do you really think the boss is foolish enough to send just the two of you to develop the entire southern market? He's uncertain, so he's testing the waters. If you do well, he'll send more troops. So your task is to thoroughly investigate the market through actual sales and explore a new model for developing the southern market." Go to market with a task → find some distributors → ship goods → deal with endless problems — this is the process many salespeople follow when entering a market. ❖Common Phenomenon 3: Most research reports only state the market situation without analysis, and conclusions are like "sheep don't eat meat, tigers don't eat grass," which are meaningless for marketing. The primary task when entering a market is market research. The purpose is not to survey the market but to "gain insight"—to see the essence behind the surface. •Recommended Practice 1: Whenever you enter a new market (even if it's new to you), send a report to your leader as soon as possible, giving your overall understanding. When you get a new leader, also provide a report on the market situation so the new leader can accurately understand your work. •Recommended Practice 2: An insightful research report doesn't just tell what the market is; it provides three conclusions: **First, is it worth doing—the market's value;****Second, can it be done—where are the opportunities;**Third, how to do it—where is the breakthrough. How to Write a Marketing Diary That Records Your Growth Ten years ago, when a young salesperson who had just graduated six months earlier showed me his diary, I found it full of questions and ideas. Many were naive and impractical, but some were feasible. I thought then that this salesperson would go far. Indeed, a year later he achieved a market breakthrough and drove the whole company to a breakthrough. Now he's a general manager. There is a strong positive correlation between keeping a diary and becoming a hero. When marketing heroes voluntarily keep marketing diaries, diaries are becoming the "public enemy" of many salespeople. "It's a sign of distrust." "I'd rather visit more customers than waste time on useless diaries." These are the excuses—how high-sounding! Some say marketing diaries have "original sin" because they assume salespeople are untrustworthy and need supervision. In fact, a marketing diary is a tool for salespeople to record their growth. A well-designed diary is also a practical work manual, teaching you how to plan, summarize, and capture fleeting creative inspirations. A marketing diary is a tool for self-reflection. We once surveyed and found that salespeople couldn't accurately recall what they did a week ago. The diary provides a tool for systematic reflection and summary. Whether or not the company requires it, develop the habit of keeping a marketing diary.