Any company with a bit of foresight knows that cross-regional selling is more ferocious than a tiger. After all the hard work conquering markets and finally launching a brand, just as you're feeling proud and ready to celebrate, a pile of goods falls from the sky, startling you and making you furious. You check—it's your product, and the production date still smells of fresh ink. What do you do? Your customer roars behind you: "We haven't even made a name yet, and you're already placing distributors so densely? You haven't even grown much, and you're already kicking us to the curb? I just wired you 300,000, and this large batch of goods has barely arrived, and then you hand it over to so-and-so, and at such a low price. Now the retail stores below say I'm making too much profit, they want to return goods, and they say they won't cooperate with me anymore. Look at the huge loss this has caused. I don't care—you manufacturers figure it out. You have to compensate me for all my losses and my broken heart." You can only swallow your teeth and accept it. You explain it's goods from another region, but who believes you? Even if you offer cigarettes, pour tea, and apologize to convince them, if the market isn't protected, it's still your capability problem, and you still have to cover their losses. The sky is vast, the fields are boundless, pity the group of sellers, their hard work goes unrewarded, and they offend distributors too. The company's investment goes down the drain, and the cross-regional sellers are utterly despicable. The harm of cross-regional selling can't be borne by any single person. It disrupts the market, and even surviving in the local market becomes a problem. Imported companies or larger enterprises have more mature control mechanisms for regional cross-regional selling, but the hardest hit are small and medium enterprises. They focus only on opening markets and lack market management and protection mechanisms beforehand. Some cross-regional selling is winked at by the company, some is deliberately done by other salespeople. When the market becomes too chaotic to handle, they can only swallow the bitter fruit. Different companies handle cross-regional selling differently. Some say, "You don't owe me money, so your loss is your loss. This is beyond my tolerance, so I'm out—I'm not playing with you anymore." Some try to manage distributor emotions, making them passively accept the reality, then play the sympathy card and passively watch how the market evolves, waiting for a miracle. Some actively coordinate, investing more manpower and money, handling problems in an orderly and proactive manner, with strong crisis PR skills, turning passivity into initiative—this is the best strategy. That year, I was in charge of sales in a southern fruit region. It was pure foliar fertilizer, and in a small county, we managed to achieve annual sales of over 5 million—that's no small miracle. Sales are built on brand, and brand is built on time, money, and wisdom. Distributors and users depend on the brand like fish depend on water. With a branded product in hand, selling is naturally easy. The difference between farmers buying proactively and passively is like heaven and earth. Who doesn't want to make money easily? It seems everyone is willing to do things that bring both fame and fortune. So, the problem arises: some peers see you making easy money and feel unbalanced and envious, and some with a moral bottom line at the tipping point take shortcuts. They think, "You little nun, why can the monk touch but I can't?" So they search everywhere for goods, initially sneaky, but as they sell, they gradually become complacent and open. "I'm selling it, what can you do about it?" At that time, many retail stores wanted to "touch the nun." The company hadn't thought of forming an anti-cross-regional selling team, so the task of catching the cunning ones fell on me. I felt the weight on my shoulders. I couldn't let the company down. Wholesalers and retail stores were watching eagerly, hoping I'd quickly eliminate the demons and clear the air so they could get back to business. As the saying goes, to catch bandits, first catch the leader. I planned to start with a tough nut. Zhang San was a well-known hothead in the local retail circle. He was extremely bold, with a bad temper, short stature, and hair standing straight up at least two inches tall. He often went shirtless, with a fierce wolf tattooed on his left arm and a tiger on his right. One day, a child saw him and asked, "Uncle, those stickers are really nice. I'll ask my mom to buy me some too." Zhang San immediately got angry and slapped the child, making him cry loudly. You're an adult; why pick on a kid? Is it worth it? "Boss Zhang, business is good!" That day, I walked into Zhang San's store, sat casually on a stool, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and greeted him. "You are...?" Zhang San saw I meant trouble and was momentarily confused, pausing. "Here, this product is mine." I reached for a sample from the shelf, tossed it in my hand, and glanced toward his warehouse. "Ah, haha, you're Manager Xiao! Nice to meet you, nice to meet you." He might have felt guilty or feared my reputation, so he quickly smiled and extended both hands to shake mine. I'm not one to brag, and I won't, but in a strange city, what supports your confidence? Friends. Yes, in over three years there, I had friends everywhere—in the agriculture bureau, the industry and commerce bureau, even in society. With my low-key promotion and their high-profile cooperation, I had gained some fame in the local agricultural materials circle. "I heard Brother Jian from the industry and commerce office is your cousin, right?" I asked deliberately. Actually, they were distant relatives, but he liked to show off about it. "Yes, yes, how did you know?" His smile remained. "We had dinner together last night. He's quite annoyed about you selling our goods across regions. You know, we're all friends. I know you're a loyal person, and cross-regional selling isn't your style." I gave him a big hat. "Look, a friend insisted on leaving a few cases here for me to sell. Do I not know you? Would I offend you over a few cases? Of course not. So, brother, here, there are still two cases left. Take them. I haven't paid him anyway. Even if someone on the street was selling them, I wouldn't take them even if they paid me." He was good at finding an excuse. "Forget it. After selling these, don't stock more. Just don't mess up the price. I'll give you some good products in the future. Let's all make money peacefully. Besides, you have a good relationship with my brother on the street, right? If you give me face, I'll treat you to drinks tonight, with Brother Jian accompanying. How about it?" "That's great. As they say, you can't know someone without a fight. I'm definitely making you my brother, hahaha." That's how it was resolved, surprisingly smoothly, and I even made a friend. Later, this story spread effectively in the regional market. Interestingly, I didn't deliberately handle other places, but complaints from network customers gradually decreased.

Of course, that was just one case, a lucky one. I did put in a lot of effort on cross-regional selling.

  1. Coordinate within the company to prevent sales managers from other surrounding markets from deliberately cross-selling. Suggest a penalty mechanism so salespeople actively manage their own customers. My volume is large, so the boss naturally prioritizes protecting me. Loving me is loving himself.
  2. Spend as much time as possible in the market. Every potential customer you get to know reduces a potential cross-regional selling risk.
  3. Handle cross-regional selling promptly when discovered. Most cross-sellers are guilty at heart, and when faced directly, it's not as complicated as imagined. If necessary, you can fight fire with fire. Of course, I don't recommend hiring gangsters—we don't do illegal things. If you cross-sell my products, I'll use my connections to make you remove them voluntarily, making you feel that crossing others is fine, but crossing me is not.
  4. Crisis PR: make an example of one to warn a hundred. Take Zhang San as an example. Taking down that hothead deterred some cross-sellers and potential ones, and gave your network stores a sense of security, thereby increasing their recognition of your brand.
  5. Find the source and never be lenient. Cross-regional selling involves your company's goods, so the cross-seller must have a source. You must find it, just like a leak in a dam—once found, plug it immediately, or it might flood. The source is definitely one of your company's customers. The cross-seller might be unintentional or deliberate. Either way, you must plug it. If they don't listen, visit their warehouse. Most distributors have something questionable in their warehouse. This tests your sharp eyes and insight. I won't go into details; figure it out yourself. I've done all the above. Some might say, "You're bragging; some methods won't work for me." What I want to say is: scholars shouldn't be salespeople. A qualified salesperson must be both civil and martial. China's thick book of "Thick Black Theory" is indeed worth studying. The wisdom of navigating the world is something some people never finish learning in a lifetime. Maybe I got excited writing about cross-regional selling, and my wording might be a bit boastful, but the events are absolutely true. Source: 191 Agricultural Materials (ID: www191cn) -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Improvement Tips | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Skills | 012 Sales Manager's 18 Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brand | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]