---
title: "The Year's Plan Begins at the 'Water Head': Seven Keys and Five 'Must-Nots' for Mastering the Water Head Inventory Push"
description: "The 'Water Head' (wholesale ordering meeting) is the flashpoint and commanding height of the annual beverage war. Seizing the 'Water Head' is not only the core task for beverage companies to capture channels but also the foundational move to gain sales initiative, market leverage, and channel voice. Many beverage companies have set up special task forces for this, as evidenced by the ordering policy sheets on the tables of second-tier distributors. The year-start inventory push is increasingly valued by manufacturers for three main reasons: first, to lay the foundation for the peak season (late April to early October) and even the whole year's sales; second, to estimate annual production tasks based on distributor payments and orders, avoiding blind production; third, to occupy distributors' capital and warehouse space through substantial discounts, thereby reducing their attention to other brands."
author: "宁晓伟"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-12-18"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/0H-mwAznp9qfIArVbR_E8w"
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# The Year's Plan Begins at the 'Water Head': Seven Keys and Five 'Must-Nots' for Mastering the Water Head Inventory Push

> The 'Water Head' (wholesale ordering meeting) is the flashpoint and commanding height of the annual beverage war. Seizing the 'Water Head' is not only the core task for beverage companies to capture channels but also the foundational move to gain sales initiative, market leverage, and channel voice. Many beverage companies have set up special task forces for this, as evidenced by the ordering policy sheets on the tables of second-tier distributors. The year-start inventory push is increasingly valued by manufacturers for three main reasons: first, to lay the foundation for the peak season (late April to early October) and even the whole year's sales; second, to estimate annual production tasks based on distributor payments and orders, avoiding blind production; third, to occupy distributors' capital and warehouse space through substantial discounts, thereby reducing their attention to other brands.

The 'Water Head' (wholesale ordering meeting) is the flashpoint and commanding height of the annual beverage war. Seizing the 'Water Head' is not only the core task for beverage companies to capture channels but also the foundational move to gain sales initiative, market leverage, and channel voice. Many beverage companies have set up special task forces for this, as evidenced by the ordering policy sheets on the tables of second-tier distributors.

The year-start inventory push is increasingly valued by manufacturers for three main reasons:

**First, it lays the foundation for the peak season (late April to early October) and even the whole year's sales. A successful year-start push means larger distributor orders and payments, which inevitably raises the product's market share and tightly binds the interests of the manufacturer and distributor, strengthening market momentum.**

**Second, manufacturers can reasonably estimate annual production tasks based on distributor payments and order quantities, avoiding blind production.**

**Third, through substantial discounts and concessions, manufacturers aim to occupy as much of the distributor's capital and warehouse space as possible, thereby reducing their attention to other brands.**

Seven Keys to a Successful Ordering Meeting:

**Key 1: Choose the Right Time**
1. Avoid peak days for ordering meetings as much as possible.
At year-end, many manufacturers hold ordering meetings. Those scheduling during this period must choose the date carefully, especially weaker brands. Don't just pick auspicious dates like the 6th, 8th, 16th, or 18th, as these overlap with other manufacturers' meetings. If you encounter a smaller brand, it's manageable, but if a strong brand is present, it can be very uncomfortable.
2. Understand customer psychology and exploit time differences.
During the peak season, there are too many meetings, and customers get tired of running around. So, we should consider their feelings, minimize travel time, and choose a day before or after a strong brand's meeting.

**Key 2: Invitations Should Be Clever**
A distribution meeting is a large-scale promotional event. A successful promotion must have a compelling theme to attract customers. Without customers, even the best promotional content is meaningless. So, when inviting customers, pay attention to this.

**Key 3: Choose the Right Venue**
1. Choose a high-end local venue.
2. The meeting room should not be too large.
This depends on the actual number of attendees. Avoid having an empty room with spare seats, as this gives customers a negative impression. Instead, a full room creates a sense of excitement.

**Key 4: Rich Content**
1. Manufacturer leaders should keep speeches brief and to the point, clearly conveying the company's main theme.
2. If the manufacturer has training instructors, it's best to offer a training session so customers gain both material and spiritual benefits. Content must be fresh and helpful to their business, avoiding monotony.
3. Product presentations must be thorough, highlighting the product's advantages at the terminal to boost customer confidence in ordering.

**Key 5: Lively Atmosphere**
Speakers get tired, but listeners get even more tired. Especially for customers who attend many meetings, every manufacturer's speech sounds similar. After hearing them multiple times, who wouldn't be annoyed? So, we must find ways to liven up the atmosphere, such as small games, auctions, impromptu raffles, and other activities to engage customers. If the manufacturer can turn the distribution meeting into a themed concert, that's also a good move.

**Key 6: Policies Must Be Effective**
The purpose of the ordering meeting is to stimulate orders through policies, so the policy design must be spot-on. If the discount is too large, the distributor's profit is low; if too small, it won't effectively stimulate orders. So, based on our actual situation and comparison with competitors, we need to offer a reasonable policy—this is the most critical and what customers care about most.
If the meeting policy fails to stimulate customers on the spot, we must immediately announce new preferential policies to avoid a cold scene with no orders, which would be a loss.

**Key 7: Clarify After-Sales Service**
After-sales issues must be clearly explained at the meeting. This is key to whether customers feel confident ordering. The more you hesitate to discuss it, the more customers suspect problems and hesitate to order. After all, which consumer doesn't care about after-sales when buying a product? The same goes for businesses; it's an indispensable part of distribution.

It is suggested that manufacturers, when they lack control over distributors, should avoid large-scale discounting to push inventory, as this will inevitably lead to cross-regional selling and the collapse of their market structure.

**Five 'Must-Nots' for Mastering the Water Head**

**(1) Must-Nots: Set Policies by All Means**
"Policy is the key; once the key is turned, everything follows." The success of a distribution meeting hinges on policy factors such as order thresholds, discount margins, and the novelty and practicality of prizes. Here are three policy packages for reference:

Package A: Physical Reward-Oriented Distribution Policy. This can be set per product or based on payment amount. Minimum payment starts at 3,000 yuan.
a. Payment ≥3,000 yuan: reward a Joyoung soy milk maker worth 280 yuan.
b. Payment ≥5,000 yuan: reward a Little Swan washing machine worth 680 yuan.
c. Payment ≥10,000 yuan: reward a Haier freezer worth 1,380 yuan.
d. "Fa fa fa! Order 18,800, ride home an electric scooter!" Payment ≥18,800 yuan: reward an electric scooter worth 3,200 yuan.
e. "Niu niu niu! Pay 29,900, take home a LCD computer!" Payment ≥29,900 yuan: reward an LCD computer worth 5,800 yuan.

Package B: Product Bonus-Oriented Distribution Policy. This policy suits mature markets; for weak market foundations, prioritize physical rewards.
a. Payment ≥3,000 yuan: reward 10 boxes of 500ml Zhen series or 20 cases (1*24) of purified water.
b. Payment ≥5,000 yuan: reward 20 boxes of 500ml series or 40 cases (1*24) of purified water.
c. Payment ≥10,000 yuan: reward 45 boxes of 500ml series or 90 cases (1*24) of purified water.
d. Payment ≥20,000 yuan: reward 100 boxes of 500ml series or 200 cases (1*24) of purified water.
e. Payment ≥30,000 yuan: reward 155 boxes of 500ml series or 310 cases (1*24) of purified water.

Package C: Purchase Rebate-Oriented Distribution Policy. Rebates directly reflect the discount space and suit second-tier distribution, special channels, or large retail terminals.
a. Payment ≥5,000 yuan: 10% rebate.
b. Payment ≥10,000 yuan: 15% rebate.
c. Payment ≥20,000 yuan: 18% rebate.
d. Payment ≥50,000 yuan: 20% rebate.

**(2) Must-Nots: Invite Customers from Every Household**
After setting policies, the priority is to invite second-tier distributors and terminal merchants. Without a crowd, there's no business opportunity or wealth.

**First, create exquisite invitations.** Hire a professional design company to craft invitations and letters with the ordering policy, printing at least 3,000 copies. Then, have sales staff visit each customer to deliver invitations and letters.

**Second, identify core customers.** According to the 80/20 rule, the top 20% of second-tier distributors and large retailers account for 80% of orders. For wholesale market and township distributors, the dealer should personally visit, discuss the ordering policy in advance, and preliminarily confirm orders.

**Third, confirm the number of attendees.** The night before the meeting, sales staff should call each customer to confirm attendance, finalizing the headcount and scale. This prevents booking too many tables (cold scene) or too few (chaos).

**(3) Must-Nots: Pay Attention to Every Detail**
Details determine success or failure. Holding a distribution meeting is a massive systematic project. From policy setting, customer invitations, hotel booking, product display, meeting hosting, song and dance performances, to interspersed raffles—every link is interconnected and indispensable.

**First, adopt an outsourcing mindset.** Outsource hotel reception, image production, meeting hosting, and song and dance performances to professional companies. Assign a meticulous contact person within the team. Complete hotel booking and image production at least one day in advance, test audio-visual and projection equipment in advance, and rehearse hosting, performances, and raffles to ensure everything is foolproof.

**Second, divide internal responsibilities clearly.** For vehicle pickup, customer check-in, front desk guidance, policy explanation, financial collection, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, customer gifts, and raffle prizes, follow the principle of "clear responsibility to person, goals to person, performance assessment to person, rewards and penalties to person" to ensure meeting effectiveness.

**Third, publish the remittance account.** Since some township second-tier distributors order large amounts and may not carry cash, publish a remittance account and inquiry method in advance so customers can transfer funds via bank.

**(4) Must-Nots: Mobilize All Forces**
The spring ordering meeting must be conducted on a team basis, strictly following the principles of professionalization, standardization, and differentiation.

**First, rally all personnel.** Each region should deploy all sales staff and dealers to the first ordering meeting in the region to help, learn, and exchange. If necessary, request personnel support from the larger region.

**Second, ensure a successful first shot.** Regional managers should integrate all resources, exert maximum effort, and ensure the first ordering meeting in the region is a resounding success, inspiring and setting an example for the entire region.

**(5) Must-Nots: Pull Orders with Every Word**
Chinese people generally follow the crowd, so the on-site ordering atmosphere is decisive for overall order results.

**First, full personnel follow-up.** Prepare printed ordering policies and order forms in advance, distribute them on-site, and conduct "face-to-face communication, one-on-one order pulling" with all attendees to maximize orders.

**Second, announce large orders.** When many attendees are present, have the host continuously announce large orders to stimulate customers' competitive ordering psychology.

**Third, reward the top three orderers.** To liven up the atmosphere and encourage more payments and orders, add an "Best Order Award" on the spot. Reward the top three customers with additional prizes beyond the meeting policy. For example, the first customer with orders over 30,000 yuan receives 100 boxes of 500ml Zhen series, the second 60 boxes, and the third 40 boxes.

**Fourth, extend payment deadlines.** For customers with insufficient cash on hand, allow them to sign an IOU and pay within three days to still enjoy the ordering policy.

-END-

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