---
title: "The Unstoppable Sales Vanguard: A Breakdown of 42 Actions in the Professional Store Visit Process"
description: "This article details the 42 specific actions that make up a professional store visit process for FMCG sales representatives, from preparation and self-introduction to in-store observation, shelf management, presenting objectives, and administrative follow-up. It emphasizes the importance of disciplined execution of these basic actions to achieve sales success and outperform competitors."
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published: "2014-12-12"
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# The Unstoppable Sales Vanguard: A Breakdown of 42 Actions in the Professional Store Visit Process

> This article details the 42 specific actions that make up a professional store visit process for FMCG sales representatives, from preparation and self-introduction to in-store observation, shelf management, presenting objectives, and administrative follow-up. It emphasizes the importance of disciplined execution of these basic actions to achieve sales success and outperform competitors.

**Reminder: Click the blue text above to follow "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting" for more marketing and distributor internal management insights.**

From the day I entered the industry, my boss told me, "Distribution, display, sales, and collection" – this is the innate mission of a Sales professional, the "eight-character policy" that a Sales person should be able to recite even in their dreams.

I have seen many people who loudly proclaim slogans like "Iron Army" or "Commando Team," but behind their slogans, I see no evidence of their "iron" resolve or their "commando" capabilities. Sales indeed requires some motivational slogans, but what it needs even more is persistence and focus at every step. Only then can you thoroughly defeat your competitors and build a top-tier sales team.

Store visits and management are the most routine tasks for a sales representative, and they are also the most productive. This article breaks down these tasks into 41 specific actions. By executing these actions in a standardized manner, you can maximize your skills in the consumer goods sales field.

** (I) Preparation**

If you think sales work starts at the store, you are greatly mistaken. A soldier checks their weapons and ammunition before going into battle, and a sales representative should do the same. You need to make thorough preparations before setting out.

**1) Fixed Route: Visit customers according to a fixed route.**

**The tools typically used for this task are the "Store Visit Route Schedule" and the "Geographical Map."** The Store Visit Route Schedule is used to plan the fixed weekly visit routes, while the Geographical Map shows the locations of various stores. The benefit of visiting customers on a fixed route is that it allows customers to get used to seeing the sales representative at a fixed time, which is also beneficial for maintaining safety stock.

(Attachment 1: Sales Representative Store Visit Route Schedule)

**2) Reasonable Arrangement: Consider geographical location and store manager's time.**

The geographical map in Action 1 is designed to help you plan your route efficiently. Additionally, you need to consider the working hours of the store manager. If the store has in-store promotional staff, their working hours should also be taken into account. If you have new products to distribute or display improvements to make, these need to be negotiated with the store manager during their working hours. Knowing their working hours is an important part of designing your visit route.

**3) Phone Appointment: Use the phone to improve visit efficiency and avoid the manager being absent.**

Simple shelf stocking and display work may not require the manager's presence, but if you are negotiating a promotional activity with the store, you must ensure the manager is available. It is not enough to just know the manager's working hours (because unexpected situations like shift changes or sick leave can occur); you also need to make a phone appointment in advance. **This action serves two purposes: first, to confirm the time, and second, to show respect for the other party.**

**4) Set Visit Objectives**

Having a purpose for each store visit is a sign of a good sales representative's work habits. We are not "shopping" in stores; we are working there. So, before the visit, you should bring your last visit records and display progress charts (these are reflected in the customer visit card discussed later), and clarify your objectives for this visit. Are you aiming to distribute new SKUs? Or to increase display space? These must be clear before the visit.

Objective setting also requires defining the highest and lowest goals. Negotiation is a bargaining process; what you get is always lower than what you ask for. But if you don't set goals, you cannot evaluate whether you made a successful or failed negotiation.

After clarifying the visit route and objectives, the next step is to prepare your sales tools.

**5) Objective Preparation: Prepare appropriate tools and data based on objectives.**

Based on your visit objectives, you should bring the necessary tools and data. If it's a new promotional activity, check whether you have enough POP and display props for the promotion. Did you forget the promotional items that the promo girl asked you to bring to the store? If you are distributing new products, do you have samples, product introductions, or leaflets?

If your goal is to expand display space, you need to bring your sales data. Typically, strong brands expand display space – for fixed shelves, this means squeezing out competitors' space – by calculating the profit that increased display space brings to the store. Weak brands often do the opposite, using methods like providing display fees or shelf fees to counter strong brands. The store, in turn, weighs sales volume × gross margin against display fees to decide whether to expand or shrink a brand's display space.

**6) Bring Complete Sales Materials**

Now, you need to check your sales bag. The outside of your sales bag is printed with the company logo, which is a company honor that every sales representative should cherish. We fight for this brand. Check if your sales bag is clean. Remember, the image of your sales bag is part of your personal image and represents the company's image.

Now, check the contents inside your sales bag.

**"Sales Representative Store Visit Route Schedule":** Check whether you are following the planned route today.

**Price List and Suggested Order Form:** The price list is for the store; never give the distributor price list to the store. The suggested order form is the store's order record.

**Customer Visit Card:** See Attachment 2 for details. The customer visit card is a sales representative's weapon. For detailed usage, refer to the article "Customer Card: The Soul of Terminal Operations." This form records information about the store's inventory, sales, display, and promotional activities.

**Company Inventory:** Before leaving, don't forget to bring the company's inventory list or the inventory list of the distributor you are responsible for. If some products are out of stock, you need to explain this to the store. Without knowing the company's inventory, you may easily place random orders, leading to a lower order fulfillment rate for the store.

**Order Forms:** Of course, as a salesperson, you must ensure you have enough order forms.

**Invoices:** If you need to settle accounts with the store this time, you must bring invoices and sales lists.

**POP:** Sales representatives should note that POP in stores needs to be updated promptly because each promotion cycle or new product launch has different promotional and marketing focuses, and POP should match these changes. Therefore, the POP in your sales bag should be the latest to facilitate timely updates in stores.

**Various Stationery:** Check again if you have enough double-sided tape for posting POP or special price labels, and a clean cloth for wiping products and shelves. **Also, don't forget to bring your pen, notebook, business cards, scissors, and calculator. Not one can be missing!**

Alright, you are now well-prepared. Now, cheer up and set off!

(Attachment 2: Customer Visit Card)

** (II) Self-Introduction**

**7) Grooming and Appearance**

Sales representatives on the road typically don't wear suits, but your grooming must be neat and tidy. If the company has a uniform for business attire, wear it; if not, you still cannot lower your standards for cleanliness.

Remember, neat attire is only one aspect; you also need to smile and show your approachability. A smile can bring you closer to customers and leave a better impression.

**8) Find the Key Person**

If your work objective today involves dealing with store personnel, you need to first find those who can truly make decisions. Remember, show your confidence; your confidence will infect your customers.

**9) Introduce Yourself**

If it's a new store, or if you are just starting your sales business, you need to proactively introduce yourself to the manager, introduce the company, and exchange business cards. Remember, the store manager may not remember your name, but the minimum requirement for an excellent sales representative is that others can remember the brand of the company you work for. I emphasize this again: **The brand is the honor of a sales representative. Every excellent sales representative's name is the brand they work for.**

**We must defend our brand as we defend our own honor!**

Now, let's officially begin the various operations inside the store.

** (III) Observing the Store**

**10) In-Store Observation**

I suggest you walk from the main aisle gradually toward your product display area. Of course, you can take shortcuts, but unfortunately, most consumers do not.

First, you need to understand the store's operating condition. In the past year and a half, at least 150 large supermarket chains in China have closed down. The credit safety issue of supermarkets has become a topic that must be put on the agenda, and credit control for stores must start with sales representatives. Although some supermarkets close overnight, most show signs before closing: sparse displays, out-of-stock strong brands, fresh food counters almost empty (fresh products usually require cash payment), and in the hot summer, instead of beverages, health products are placed on the floor stack. These are all signs of a failing supermarket.

But if competitors' displays are full and your distributor tells you the supermarket has credit problems, you need to question whether it's because they lack funds to supply the supermarket or because their salesperson has poor collection ability.

**11) Watch Competitors**

See what competitors have been up to recently? Have they done themed floor stacks? Bought display shelves? Featured in mailers? Have their display spaces expanded or shrunk? Record all these and report to your supervisor so you can respond immediately and seize opportunities to attack them.

**12) Check Your Own Products**

Now, start checking our own products.

Have all our product series met the company's distribution standards? If not, plan your distribution strategy.

Is our display up to standard? If not, make a display improvement plan.

Have we achieved regional display? Remember, regional display maximizes the effectiveness of shopping guides, and just regional display alone can increase our sales.

How is our display position? Is it in the area with the highest foot traffic, or on the golden shelf?

Check the price tags: Are the supermarket prices in line with company requirements? Are they cheaper or more expensive? Are promotional prices in place? Or have promised price changes been implemented?

Also, observe whether our POP, leaflets, cards, or danglers in the store are outdated or damaged by competitors.

Don't get angry about competitors damaging these items; we just need to redo them. The store is a war without gunpowder among brands. Constantly repeating these basic sales actions is the life of a sales representative, and it is your own choice.

**13) FIFO**

How many of our products have become expired in stores because we didn't do First-In, First-Out (FIFO)? Remember, both out-of-stock and not doing FIFO are crimes for a sales representative and the greatest insult to our glorious title of "sales representative"!

Develop the habit of placing older products in front and fresher products in the back. FIFO!!!

You should also check the shelves and warehouse for products that are near expiry or expired. For these, remember to remove them from the shelves promptly, or run promotions on near-expiry items to clear inventory.

**14) Record Inventory**

Use the Customer Visit Card to record the inventory of each SKU and note their freshness.

**15) Calculate Order Quantity**

Use the safety stock principle to calculate order quantities. This can also be found in the article "Customer Card: The Soul of Terminal Operations." No need to repeat here.

**16) Check Storage Conditions**

Are the storage conditions in the store or warehouse up to company standards? Some products requiring refrigeration or insulation are different from ordinary products; if not, correct it immediately.

After observing all these, now move to the next step –

** (IV) Shelf Management**

**17) Obtain Prior Consent from the Store**

The store manager certainly has the right to adjust displays, but don't underestimate the "little people" in the store – the shelf stocking team leader, the shift supervisor – these people often have a say in your display position. So, maintaining good relationships is crucial. But are good relationships built through meals and drinks? Completely wrong! These people are often the ones who pay for others and are called "suckers"; they are used to pay for the store staff.

Good relationships require frequent visits and emotional communication. Inventory day and shelf adjustment day are usually the best times to change shelf positions. The Chinese say "meeting face to face creates a bond," and moreover, inventory and shelf adjustments are usually done late at night, sometimes until dawn. All excellent sales representatives have participated in these tasks. Have you? Do you know why your lavish meals and drinks can't compare to others' good relationships?

Giving gifts is also necessary, but don't cross the moral line. Commercial bribery never ends well and won't earn you respect in the industry.

**18) Position**

High foot traffic and prominent positions are definitely good positions.

Attachments 3 and 4 show the best shelf positions based on width and height, respectively, with several sales indicators.

Best shelf position – shelf width:

Best shelf position – shelf height:

**19) Maintain Shelf Share**

You not only need a good position but also need to ensure your shelf share. The minimum level is that you cannot be lower than your sales share in the store. As a strong brand, you need to occupy the largest shelf space; as a weak brand, your display principle should be to stick close to competitors and follow their display, because their product shelves usually have the highest foot traffic. This sticky-tape approach is called "follow the leader" tactics.

**20) Good Shelf Management**

Remember, the best positions must be for the best-selling products, or for seasonal promotions or main push products. Also, you must keep the shelves fully stocked. Experience shows that even without out-of-stock, a full shelf display sells more than a sparse one.

**21) Regional Display**

Products in each series should be placed together as much as possible.

Put our brand together!

Put our flavors together!

Put our sizes together!

Only in this way can we maximize sales efficiency. **The display space for fast-moving items should be 2-3 times that of ordinary products.** Assuming one display face sells 100 units, two faces sell 123, three faces sell 140, and four faces sell 154!

**22) In-Store Price Management**

If you change the placement position during shelf stocking, remember to adjust the price tags accordingly. All products must have corresponding price tags, which should reflect accurate prices and be clear and prominent.

For stores with internal codes on price tags, record this information. You generally cannot order using product barcodes in stores; the effective ordering symbol is the store's internal code.

**23) Proper Use of Promotional Materials**

What promotional materials do you use daily?

**Posters, hanging flags, stickers, insert cards, KT boards, danglers, special display cabinets, special stack boxes, checkout counters, hot spot shelves, in-store promo tables**... These are all your promotional materials. **The effect of promotional materials + display is 1.8 times the sales of display alone.**

You should use the latest promotional materials, choose corresponding materials for different brands, and update them regularly. Place promotional materials where they can best attract consumers' attention.

**24) Promotional Displays**

Earlier we talked about regular shelf displays. If possible, try to do more promotional displays in the store. Promotional displays bring us the following benefits:

**Floor display: sales increase 42%**

**Floor display + poster: sales increase 60%**

**Floor display + poster + special price card (special price only): sales increase 83%**

**Floor display + poster + special price card (original and special price): sales increase 125%**

**25) Do FIFO Again**

Don't forget at any time: as long as you touch the display, you must place products according to the FIFO principle.

**26) Clean Products**

Now, take out the cloth from your sales bag and clean the products and shelves. The cleanliness of products directly affects consumers' choices; no one wants to buy dirty products, no matter how fresh the date.

**27) Replenish Products**

After arranging the display, you may need to replenish some products. Remember the FIFO principle and expand the display space as much as possible.

**28) Returns and Exchanges**

If there are products with unsuitable dates or damaged products, remove them from the shelf promptly and replace them with good products.

**29) Introduce Benefits**

It's not enough to just do it yourself; you also need to communicate to the store staff the benefits of the display. You need to make them believe that our work will bring them sales growth. Finally, don't forget to tell them to maintain our display, and also tell them that maintaining such a display will bring them benefits.

**30) Communicate with Promo Girls**

If the store has promo girls, don't forget to ask about their recent sales – including your own and competitors' sales and promotional activities – and check their sales reports. If the company has information to convey, tell them immediately, and tell them what the recent work focus is, and ask if they need any help from you.

Is there anything you brought for them? Is there anything to bring back to the company? Go do it quickly.

Alright, the display and shelf stocking work is done. But the work doesn't end here. Do you have any new work objectives for today's visit?

Now, enter the fifth work step –

** (V) Presenting Objectives**

**31) Reconfirm Work Objectives**

Based on the work just done in the store, you need to reconfirm your work objectives. **These objectives include: selling in new SKUs, expanding display space, stocking up, running promotional activities, collecting payments, price changes, etc.**

**32) Use Your Sales Tools**

Using your customer visit card, you can show the store that safety stock is insufficient and they need to order.

Use new product promotional materials to sell new SKUs to the store.

Use the suggested order form to tell the store we have more product series and increase their order quantity.

**33) Assist Store Staff in Ordering**

New products usually require the purchaser to approve entry before ordering. Existing products can be ordered directly by the store. Some stores allow in-store staff to place orders directly, while others have complex purchasing processes.

The table below shows the ordering process of a certain chain supermarket:

Here, the process can have up to 9 steps, making it very easy to make mistakes at some point. Sales representatives should not only assist store staff in placing orders but also thoroughly understand the entire ordering process and track each step to avoid out-of-stock due to process issues.

**34) Use Your Sales Skills to Persuade Key People**

Achieving your sales goals – such as running a promotion or distributing new products – is never easy. Here, you need to use your sales skills to negotiate with the store. Don't take customer rejection as the final answer; an excellent sales representative always discovers the problem behind the rejection.

**Use open-ended questions to find the customer's needs!**

**Stay calm when the customer raises objections.**

**Listen carefully to the customer's issues and understand them clearly.**

**Say to the customer, "I understand you mean..." to show agreement.**

**Repeat the customer's problem and ask if they have any other objections; this is to limit their issues.**

**State our benefits and overcome objections. Also, promptly identify the customer's buying signals and close the deal in time.**

Sales skills are the basic skills of a sales representative, but they are not the focus of this article. The table below shows the general sales process:

Alright, after these steps, your sales objectives are achieved.

So, is there any work left undone?

** (VI) Administrative Work**

Don't forget to check the administrative tasks you need to do in the store.

**35) Check if Each Customer Visit Card is Accurately and Completely Filled**

Have you recorded every product series and every display method on the customer visit card? Remember, this card is the source of all internal company data; it is the weapon of every sales representative!

**36) Payment Collection**

If your work today includes collecting payments, carefully keep the checks you receive and put them in a check folder to avoid losing them.

Following your store visit route map and the steps I mentioned above, you have completed a day's visit work. But is your work done? Don't forget, back at the office, you still have some final tasks!

**37) Process Orders**

After returning to the office, based on today's work, process your orders immediately, send them to the distributor, or give them to the internal order entry clerk.

**38) Submit Collected Payments**

Immediately hand over your collected payments to the company and record them carefully. Payments must never be kept overnight.

**39) Organize Customer Visit Cards**

Take today's customer visit cards. If any are filled out sloppily, rewrite them on a new form and store them in a fixed place. The storage place for customer visit cards should not be locked; they must be available for inspection by supervisors or the company at any time. This is our professionalism.

**40) Fill in Sales/Collection Reports**

Carefully fill in today's sales and collection records, and store them in a fixed place for archiving, also not locked.

**41) Fill in Work Plan**

If today is Friday, carefully fill in next week's work plan. Although you may follow the same fixed route as this week, has your supervisor arranged new tasks, new promotions, or new product launches for next week?

**42) Finally, Prepare for the Next Day's Work**

Now, the busy day is coming to an end. Before that, prepare the things you need for tomorrow's store visits, and ask your supervisor if there are any other work instructions for tomorrow. Take out your notebook and write them down. This workday is over.

Above, we have detailed the 41 action points of the professional store visit process, which are the basic work standards and requirements commonly used by leading consumer goods companies. Sales itself is actually a very simple job, but the key to success is to repeat simple actions continuously. It is the unswerving repetition of these seemingly easy but tedious tasks that truly sets us apart from our competitors.

**This is you, a tireless and glorious sales representative, an unstoppable sales vanguard!**

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