Click the image to register for participation.
- During the 2008 financial crisis, I discovered a sales opportunity during the Chinese New Year period.
This is something I experienced personally, and it dates back to 2008.
In 2008, wasn't everyone shouting about the "financial crisis"? They shouted so much that they started believing it themselves.
Before the New Year, we couldn't push inventory! Salespeople and distributors all said, "Financial crisis," "Bad environment, can't sell," "People have no money," "Factories are closed"...
On the third day of the New Year, I went to visit relatives. To save trouble, I didn't bring gifts and bought something locally after getting off the car. At the supermarket, I saw: "52-degree Wuliangye" was out of stock! "Moutai Feitian" was out of stock! "Want Want Big Gift Pack" was out of stock!
Wow, during the New Year, even products like "Want Want Big Gift Pack" were out of stock? That's not scientific!
I visited a few more supermarkets and found that best-selling products were severely out of stock. It seemed business wasn't bad at all.
Being in this industry, I have friends everywhere. I quickly called several peers in other places: "Hey, where are you? Go out for a walk and do some research for me. Check how products are selling in your local supermarkets and whether inventory is sufficient." The feedback I got was similar to what I saw!
Something was up!
That evening, I called my company colleagues: Assembly call—this year we start work early. Report to the company on the fourth day of the New Year. Immediately notify the client company's sales staff to officially start work on the fifth day. Go out, sell goods, and there will be red envelopes...
Looking back, that time, I forcibly pulled employees back from their holidays of "gold-stuck red envelopes, endless meat and wine, boundless blessings, and brilliant fireworks." Many probably wanted to hit me.
Salespeople had some complaints. No problem. First, treat everyone to a meal, then give out New Year red envelopes. Then the sales director, regional managers, and Teacher Wei Qing all led by example, personally taking charge, leading teams to accompany trucks for inventory pushing, and personally putting up posters and arranging displays. If daily performance targets were met, everyone would go for skewers and singing in the evening... Those in the industry who have experienced such things know that young people, especially in sales, understand that as long as they go out and sell well, the atmosphere quickly becomes lively again.
- During the New Year, if you're not out selling goods but instead shut the door for meetings and idle talk, you must have boiling water in your head.
From that year on, gathering on the fourth day of the New Year for a reunion meal and starting work on the fifth day (with distributors' staff also required to open on the fifth day) became the new normal for my sales team.
Because this is the key to a good start for the year's sales. It's also the golden time for annual sales.
Why?
Most companies are on holiday until the seventh day of the New Year.
What do they do when they return to work on the seventh? Most companies mainly engage in idle talk—wishing you a belated New Year, wishing you happiness in your later years.
- New Year greetings—various group拜年 activities, department dinners...
- Meetings—annual meetings, distributing annual tasks...
- Planning—some companies only now hold meetings to formulate "New Year plans"...
- Training—outdoor team building, motivational talks...
- Ceremonies—signing military pledges, taking oaths...
And so on... In short, all kinds of idle talk. The unspoken consensus is "The whole first month is still New Year" and "Set off after the Lantern Festival."
Some companies do send salespeople directly to the market, but that's useless because distributors haven't finished their New Year yet: "Oh, Manager Wang, you're here so early. Come, come, have a drink. No rush. My warehouse keeper and driver haven't all arrived yet. Drink, drink."
The joyful, lazy holiday atmosphere usually doesn't end until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th.
This is not scientific!
In the north, there's a tradition: "Open for business on the fifth day." Many terminal stores and restaurants set off firecrackers and open for business on the fifth day of the New Year.
On the fifth day, do terminal store and restaurant owners have money? Yes, they have lots of cash from selling New Year goods.
On the fifth day, do terminal store and restaurant owners have inventory? No, everything was sold out during the New Year.
At this time, do they dare to stock up? Of course, because before the Lantern Festival, it's still a consumption peak!
At this time, have competitor companies started work? Even if they have, they're just going through the motions. Are they still idling?
Terminals have money, stores are empty, owners want to stock up, and competitor salespeople haven't started work. For salespeople, this is a golden opportunity to "pick up leaks"—like gold bricks falling on your head!
If you're not out selling goods at this time but instead shut the door for meetings and idle talk, you must have boiling water in your head!
Even now, I can still recall in 2008, on the fifth day of the New Year, I and the company's senior sales executives personally led teams to distribute goods. It was exhilarating! It wasn't selling; it was unloading. Small shops that usually took one or two boxes now dared to order ten or twenty boxes! Cash on delivery! Posters could be put up anywhere, and even the urban management officers weren't working!
That year, our monthly performance increased by more than 60% compared to the same period last year, and we didn't spend an extra cent on promotions.
In fact, it was just being a bit more diligent and exploiting a time difference!
This is still a replicable method. Because nine years have passed, and there are still plenty of companies that idle away on the seventh day of the New Year, just like before.
The specific work model and checklist are as follows:
| Item | Key Work Content | Management Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel Coordination | Reach consensus before the New Year that both distributors and their teams will start work on the fifth day of the New Year. Form a memorandum signed by both parties. | * Headquarters spot-checks the "manufacturer-distributor memorandum" |
- Manufacturer managers intervene in distributors' employee "year-end bonus distribution policies" to prevent distributor employees from leaving after receiving bonuses, causing post-holiday staffing gaps. Have contingency plans for problematic distributors. Policy Preparation | Before the New Year, regional heads negotiate with distributors on post-holiday terminal distribution package policies. After the New Year, go directly to the market to sell without delay... Form a memorandum signed by both parties. | Attendance Management | On the fifth day of the New Year, all manufacturer sales staff and distributor sales staff must appear in their respective market areas and report their positions. | * Audit department spot-checks mobile phone locations. Those who leave their posts without authorization are announced and punished on the same day. Process Management | From the sixth day of the New Year to the Lantern Festival, all cadres—from directors and regional managers down to sales supervisors and office directors—must set aside all other work and go to the front line to accompany grassroots salespeople and distributors in distribution. | * WeChat groups report daily "number of successful distribution transactions," "sales volume," "task completion rate," "number of new product transactions," "new product sales volume," "new product task completion rate"... Performance rankings with rewards and penalties.
- Audit department focuses on spot-checking three key indicators: "personnel leaving posts at all levels," "terminal stockouts," and "insufficient distributor safety stock." Catch typical cases and reward or punish heavily. Promotion Policy | * Distributors who pay and pick up goods in the first week after the New Year receive rewards...
- Distributors who complete the full month's task in the first half of the month after the New Year receive rewards...
- Distributors who pay and pick up goods in the second half of the month after the New Year receive no rewards, and promotional intensity is reduced... Performance Assessment | * Zero-shipment assessment: Within one week after the New Year, all distributors must pay and ship the first batch of goods (allowing joint trucking). If the target is met, regional managers' overtime wages and bonuses are doubled. If not met, from the second week, regional managers are fined 100 yuan per distributor per day.
- Example: A regional manager has 12 distributors in his area. One week after the holiday, three distributors haven't shipped. From that day, the regional manager is fined 300 yuan per day, paid directly, until the distributors ship.
- Note: This assessment is to ensure all salespeople immediately enter work mode after the New Year, follow up and urge all distributors to ship, and force distributors to act (this is a beer industry rule; adjust specific numbers and assessment cycles as appropriate for other industries).
Source: Wei Qing Teacher (ID: weiqinglaoshigongsi)