Case: A Wenzhou beverage distributor, though recently established, has grown rapidly. General Manager Li, formerly a regional manager for a wine brand, managed the Wenzhou-Taizhou market for several years before feeling the time was ripe to start his own company. His company primarily deals in Great Wall wine, Yilite, and other brands, selling through local supermarket channels, food stalls, restaurants, and secondary distributors. From a few hundred thousand yuan at inception, the company now achieves annual sales of nearly 10 million yuan. In the early days, Li handled the main business personally, with a few delivery and sales staff, making management straightforward. However, as the company approached 10 million yuan in sales, staff grew from 3 to 18, the territory expanded, and customers increased, making management less easy. Li wanted to segment the market, with each small area having a dedicated person, hoping to increase market share through meticulous channel work. The company hired batch after batch of salespeople, but turnover was high, with new hires almost every month and experienced staff leaving. Only three original employees remained. Li lamented, "We're like a marketing training school. Many distributors in Wenzhou have benefited from us because we train people who know nothing about sales into skilled professionals over months. Just when they can manage clients independently, they choose to leave. How can that not break my heart? Even now, I handle the main business myself. Being a boss like this is exhausting." He said this with self-deprecating humor. Regarding employee incentives, Li's company does have them. Li worked in brand companies and marketing roles, led teams as a regional manager, and understands team management. He adapted previous company assessments to create his incentive plan. The assessment system is essentially: Base salary plus commission model. Commission is based on monthly task completion. Those meeting targets receive a certain percentage; those not meeting targets have different schemes: if completion rate ≥90%, they get the corresponding commission; if 80% ≤ completion rate < 90%, they get 90% of the commission; if below 80%, no bonus; for exceeding targets, an excess bonus is given. Li's idea is that salespeople must achieve results to earn commissions, with more work yielding more pay, reflecting the principle of distribution according to work and fully motivating employees. Case Analysis: While Li's assessment system may not be highly scientific, compared to many distributors I've encountered who have no assessment mechanism and pay based on the boss's impression, it is progressive. Li's company is new, not transformed from an old distributor, but founded by a professional manager with marketing experience, so it lacks the family-run characteristics of traditional distributors. Li led teams before and has experience in team building and management. Why does he face such difficulties managing his own company? This problem puzzles not only traditional distributors but also those who have transitioned and have a certain scale. Distributors' Employment Difficulties:

  1. Distributors cannot compete with brand manufacturers in recruitment. Distributors are often seen as small enterprises with no future or social background, so they struggle to attract top talent. Even if they find someone good, that person often doesn't stay long, or feels too big for the small pond, refuses to follow management, and creates difficulties.
  2. Lack of a scientific salary assessment system. This is common in many distributor companies. Without a scientific incentive mechanism, assessments often rely on the boss's impression. Employees who make a good impression get higher pay, and vice versa. Even if some distributors claim to have assessment mechanisms, they often have little effect. Some do have assessments, but they are often solely based on sales volume, which is too simplistic and can lead to luck: if you get good clients with high sales, your performance is high; what about those without such clients?
  3. Corporate culture construction is almost nonexistent. According to my survey of distributor employees, over 90% do not know the company's future development or philosophy. Employee loyalty is very low; they think, "I'll work here for now and jump if something better comes along." This is the mentality of most distributor employees. If employees don't know their future or the company's direction, culture, or employment policies, they won't identify with the company. How can they cooperate long-term if they don't even share the philosophy?
  4. No career planning for employees. Distributor bosses should not only think about making money and cutting costs but also consider the employees who work hard with them. They need to plan careers for employees, give them clear goals and ideals, so they don't just work to get by but strive with purpose. Of course, this doesn't mean just painting a rosy picture; it must be practical. Building a Strong Distributor Team: I. Establish a Scientific Incentive and Assessment Mechanism Employee assessment should be based on your industry characteristics. The general principle is that multi-level and multi-angle assessment coefficients are better than a single sales-based assessment. For example, if your company primarily uses supermarkets as the main channel, you can include display, customer relations, sales, payment collection, and terminal construction in the assessment. The proportion of each parameter depends on your current goals. For instance, if you want to quickly push new products to market, you can increase the weight for new terminal development, display, and terminal construction. If your main channels are specialty stores or counters, you can include sales, terminal display construction, customer complaints, and inventory management in the assessment. If you only use sales as the standard, salespeople might force sales, disrespect customers, and push only fast-moving items, potentially causing inventory pile-ups. Additionally, money should not be the only incentive. Combine it with training, travel, further education, holiday gifts, birthday gifts, and public praise for better results. II. Corporate Culture Construction For distributors, corporate culture doesn't need to be complex; it should be simple and easy to implement, not just slogans. It must be practical. Here are some simple ways:
  5. Morning meetings: Use time before work to communicate company values.
  6. Thought summaries: Regularly have employees compare their behavior against corporate culture and self-evaluate.
  7. Post slogans: Put core values on posters in prominent places.
  8. Set examples: Use typical employees to illustrate what "active work," "initiative," "dedication," "cost consciousness," and "efficiency" mean, making abstract concepts concrete.
  9. Authoritative speeches: Invite external experts to speak about corporate culture.
  10. External visits: Visiting other companies shows employees that management's requirements are reasonable because others have achieved them, implying we need to improve.
  11. Stories: Sharing company stories internally helps build culture.
  12. Exhibition room of entrepreneurial history.
  13. Recreational activities: Singing, dancing, sports competitions, National Day parties, New Year parties, etc., can incorporate corporate values.
  14. Introduce new people and new culture: New employees bring new culture, which merges with old to form a new one.
  15. Mutual evaluation: Employees publicly evaluate colleagues' work against corporate culture, and also self-evaluate, with colleagues evaluating them. This clarifies contradictions, resolves differences, corrects shortcomings, and promotes strengths.
  16. Leadership example: Leaders' behavior greatly influences culture formation. Many distributor bosses overlook this, thinking the company is theirs and they can be lax. But your words and actions greatly impact subordinates. To implement systems effectively, you must lead by example. III. Employee Career Planning Career planning achieves a win-win situation. It is a channel for companies to develop employees' careers throughout their working life, matching organizational needs, so both benefit. Helping employees plan their careers has altruistic tendencies, but as a management model, it also has utilitarian motives—to gain employee commitment. Companies can help employees identify their career interests, strengths, future opportunities, and development space within the company, increasing their passion for work so everyone can work proudly in their position. Managing Old Employees I must address the management of veteran employees. These employees either have seniority or are relatives of the boss, and bosses often give them leeway, exempting them from many rules. I believe such employees cannot be left unchecked. For the company to develop, it must establish a fair and open incentive system where everyone is equal; the system is not targeted at anyone. However, these employees are a headache for distributor bosses. They helped greatly in the early days and are meritorious, but as the market evolves, the company must also develop. These people may be complacent, use outdated methods, and fail to keep up with market competition. Either the market eliminates the company, or the company changes their thinking. This is almost impossible. What to do? There are two ways to properly place such people: First, based on their expertise, let them co-invest in other industries and manage them, satisfying their desire to be a boss and letting them experience the hardships. Second, transfer them to other departments like warehouse or logistics for support work. For those who are capable but arrogant, think they are outstanding, and are the boss's favorites, ignoring company rules, you can satisfy their vanity by making them corporate trainers. This way, they stand on the podium daily, respected as teachers, and can pass on skills to other employees—killing two birds with one stone. Introducing Professional Managers Although this topic has been raised in various settings, I believe distributors currently lack the mechanisms to introduce professional managers, but I don't oppose it. Distributors need to clarify several issues before introducing professional managers: Do you want someone to do things or someone to handle things? For distributor bosses, do you want a manager who follows your intentions or one you can delegate to? I often hear bosses say, "I paid a high price to bring him in, but he doesn't seem to help; sometimes I'd rather do it myself." If that's the case, there's no need to introduce a professional manager. Bosses, do you want someone who does things (with independent thinking) or someone who handles things (just executing orders)? This must be clear before hiring. Are you focused on long-term or short-term interests? Professional managers are not miracle workers; they can't solve all problems or bottlenecks immediately. The question is whether you focus on long-term or short-term interests. How to manage such people? You hire them at high salaries to make a difference. How to let them play their role and create value? Do they only care about salary? To retain talent, you need corresponding incentive measures. Editor's Note: From nearly 1,900 articles published on this public account, we selected 1,067 and categorized them into 14 major categories and 57 knowledge points, systematically creating a library of frontline marketing management content for learning. From market to customers, covering practical combat and management, all are valuable. Follow the public account and reply with the number "1" to browse the following: Sales improvement techniques (73 articles), Sales supervisor skills (74), Terminal visit management (82), Distributor market operations (118), Distributor development (91), Distributor internal operations management (89), Team management (53), First lesson for new salespeople (96), Efficient distribution techniques (117), Sales manager's eighteen skills (90), Managing distributors (47), KA operations (35), Internet and branding (47).