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As a sales representative, I was always a top performer, and I often wondered why supervisors, who didn't do the hands-on work, were so busy. Why did so many people say management is a profound discipline? Then one day, I became a supervisor myself and suddenly felt I was no longer in control, even a bit flustered. After years of hard work, learning, exploration, and experience, I began to understand the intricacies and realized that management is indeed a profound discipline. Managers must possess certain high-level qualities and subtle skills to be competent and to lead others effectively. I'd like to try a new approach: putting my years of practical management experience into actionable steps—written for those new to management, hoping it will be helpful.

Issue 1: Understanding of management.

Analysis: Management is a science; it has a complete set of theories and certain patterns to follow. It is also an art, as its content is entirely about dealing with people. Management is about achieving organizational goals through managing people, by mobilizing the team's strength. The core of management is to mobilize the strength of others. New supervisors often fail to break through this bottleneck; they are diligent but lack strategy.

Solution: Quickly build up your theoretical foundation, verify it in practice, continuously explore and summarize, and transform theory into your own management skills and art. Quickly shift your role to focus on mobilizing others, and improve your management ability through learning, exploration, and experimentation.

Issue 2: New employees have shallow experience but are full of energy and ideas, while old employees and even supervisors, though experienced, tend to follow rules, lack creativity, and show little initiative.

Analysis: After a period of training, learning, and practice, old employees form their own "standardized thinking." The fixed nature of their work content and environment reinforces this track effect. Although they are experienced, they lose new ideas, "their fighting spirit declines, and they become old-fashioned." Newcomers, with their existing knowledge and experience from other fields, face a new work content and environment, and with their enthusiasm, they naturally spark many new ideas.

Solution: Use the "catfish effect" to stimulate team combat effectiveness. Guide new employees well, stimulate their thinking, promptly affirm and commend good ideas, and protect their desire to suggest. Use the "catfish effect" to stimulate old employees' willingness to think and their drive. At the same time, prevent new employees from "getting carried away," warn them about their lack of knowledge and experience, and prevent conflicts between new and old employees.

Issue 3: Sales reps often "disagree" with orders from supervisors or promotional plans from the planning department, or they lack confidence or complain a lot, and are unwilling to execute them diligently or proactively.

Analysis: Sales reps are the ones closest to the market and understand it best; they are also the executors of all strategies. The tasks and strategies assigned by superiors have a higher perspective, but in terms of thoroughness, feasibility, and alignment with market reality, sales reps are always the teachers. If sales reps can participate in strategy formulation, it will not only make the plan more complete but also stimulate their sense of achievement and responsibility. When sales reps execute "strategies they formulated themselves," they naturally have fewer excuses and more initiative.

Solution: Pool wisdom, practice全员管理 (all-staff management), and encourage everyone to "participate in politics." Establish channels for market information collection to grasp market intelligence in a timely manner; cultivate sales reps' planning and business skills, improve their thinking ability, and create an atmosphere of all-staff management; encourage sales reps to boldly propose ideas. For any market strategy formulation, the supervisor should first have a clear idea and draft, then hold a discussion meeting where sales reps can speak freely, revise shortcomings, and reach a consensus.

Issue 4: When supervisors give orders, sales reps don't know where to start, lack confidence, or act blindly, resulting in half the effort with twice the results, and the effect is greatly diminished.

Analysis: Strategies must be accomplished through detailed action descriptions and task decomposition. The reason sales reps are confused is due to limitations in ability and experience; they cannot deeply understand the strategy, and they find it hard to spontaneously generate clear ideas about execution methods and steps, lacking a sense of direction.

Solution: Communicate precisely, following the SMART criteria (S: specific; M: measurable; A: achievable; R: relevant; T: time-bound). When conveying strategies or assigning tasks, consider the following factors:

  1. Task description: task purpose, task content, task objectives (quantified);
  2. Resource description: human resources, equipment investment, data support, start and end times;
  3. Process description: task breakdown and the task description and resource description for each subtask;
  4. Inspection: Refer to the objectives set for each subtask in the process description, formulate inspection standards (quantified) for each subtask, clarify the inspection responsible person, executor, inspection time, method, results (quantified), and reporting channels.
  5. Rewards and penalties: Establish quantified reward and penalty standards based on the inspection results of each subtask.

Issue 5: The team lacks a sound system, discipline is loose, and efficiency is low.

Analysis: Everyone has laziness. When employees make mistakes, lie, or slack off, the first thing to reflect on is the supervisor; it is the system that gives employees the opportunity to make mistakes.

Solution: Use systems to constrain people, so that every word and action of employees has rules to follow and standards to measure. This way, supervisors can extricate themselves from "trivialities."

  1. First, establish basic systems such as attendance, hygiene, office and meeting room discipline.
  2. Establish daily business management systems: (1) Supervisors should be fully familiar with each sales rep's work content and potential loopholes, forming initial ideas for daily business management systems; (2) Gather business backbone to propose a framework for daily business management systems; (3) Convene all personnel to determine the draft content of the management system, including norms for sales reps' daily work, and details for supervision, reporting, inspection, and rewards/penalties; (4) Continuously revise in practice.

Issue 6: In some teams, sales reps seem to lack initiative and responsibility; they move only when pushed, always looking for loopholes in the supervisor's inspection to slack off. Supervisors are bogged down with trivial matters, while sales reps are carefree, and work is full of loopholes.

Analysis: When supervisors interfere in every detail and check up on every step, leaving no room for autonomy, sales reps gradually develop dependence. They won't proactively do things that are not explicitly instructed or inspected. Especially for capable and ambitious sales reps, this kind of restrictive management makes them feel oppressed and bored, so they play a game of "cat and mouse" with the supervisor, and morale declines. A wise manager will assess subordinates' abilities and personality traits, grant them appropriate autonomy, and demand results rather than micromanaging the details of execution. At the same time, promote some ambitious and capable sales reps and give them certain authority to handle a large number of trivial management tasks (such as retail route inspections, order verification, etc.). This not only reduces the supervisor's burden but also makes sales reps feel valued and respected, giving them a sense of achievement. With this mindset, sales reps will think and try to do their work better proactively, responsibly, and with initiative.

Solution: Appropriate delegation can enhance sales reps' sense of responsibility and stimulate human resources.

  1. Get to know sales reps, analyze each person's personality traits, abilities, and potential, and consider the direction of delegation for different sales reps;
  2. Based on each person's potential, create job descriptions for each sales rep. For those with initiative and ability, promote them to grassroots supervisors, appropriately increase bonuses, and grant them certain management authority to complete relatively detailed management (especially inspection) work; for those without initiative but with ability, communicate more, motivate their ambition, assign them difficult and challenging tasks, and have them report directly to the supervisor; for those with initiative but without ability, affirm their achievements while informing them of their skill deficiencies, stimulate their desire to learn, provide necessary training, assign them relatively specific work, and encourage more while scolding less; for those without initiative and without ability, use commands primarily, and promptly inspect, supervise, reward, and penalize to see the results.
  3. Individually communicate and explain the necessity of delegation, be sure to clarify the expected results, inspection system, and reward/penalty standards, and clearly define the scope of each person's authority to avoid hierarchy confusion and loss of control.
  4. Ask for opinions, revise instructions, and express timely support.
  5. Delegate authority and let subordinates perform their duties, while increasing training efforts, closely monitoring development, and focusing on communication, review, and training to give them enough autonomy, thereby truly stimulating their sense of responsibility, initiative, and achievement.
  6. Adjust the scope of delegation based on results.
  7. Implement the inspection, supervision, reporting, reward, and penalty systems meticulously.

Issue 7: Sales reps' execution ability is too poor; the results of implementing superiors' instructions are often unsatisfactory.

Analysis: Improving sales reps' work skills quickly is the way to enhance the team's overall combat effectiveness. Supervisors have their own valuable experience; they should replicate these experiences and skills to their subordinates. Training is always the investment with the highest return for a company.

Solution: Strengthen training and create a positive learning atmosphere.

  1. First, supervisors should cultivate good habits of learning and summarizing. On one hand, learn theoretical knowledge to enrich themselves; on the other hand, think diligently and write down their practical operational experience. Accumulate these writings, and reorganize them into practical training materials.
  2. Training should become part of daily work, not something done only when business is slow. Training time should be institutionalized, and supervisors should be fully prepared before training.
  3. Training content should focus on practical experience, avoid empty theoretical preaching, and encourage sales reps to share their experiences with everyone. During training, pay attention to a discussion atmosphere and avoid cramming-style one-way communication.
  4. There should be assessment methods for training content, supplemented by reward measures.

Issue 8: Morale is low, employees have no desire to learn, no confidence, no initiative, no sense of responsibility, and complain a lot about work and supervisors, even preparing to jump ship at any time.

Analysis: Perhaps they are dissatisfied with work, cannot accept the supervisor's work style, or are unhappy with compensation. Many factors affect sales reps' moods. When sales reps are in a good mood, their work performance improves. Supervisors must take effective incentive measures to stimulate sales reps' enthusiasm and potential.

Solution: 1. Through accurate job descriptions, rigorous execution rules, reasonably quantified work objectives, and supervision, inspection, reward, and penalty systems, make sales reps clear about which indicators they should strive to achieve, how to strive, and what actions will lead to what results. 2. Through a reasonable distribution mechanism, make outstanding sales reps feel valued and rewarded; make laggards see the gap, pressure, and room for improvement. This gives everyone motivation and also facilitates hierarchical management. 3. Let sales reps participate in decision-making processes to increase their sense of achievement. 4. Through training systems, make sales reps feel continuous self-improvement and self-enhancement during work. 5. Anyone under pressure will work harder; set slightly higher work goals to stimulate sales reps' potential. 6. Timely commend every achievement in sales reps' work, and tell each sales rep that you appreciate their strengths. 7. Care about sales reps' lives, be honest, and communicate frequently. The supervisor's personal charisma is the most powerful incentive tool.

Issue 9: Sales reps do not obey instructions; they either passively resist or openly defy.

Analysis: Sales reps' obedience to supervisors comes partly from fear of reward and punishment measures, and partly from respect and admiration for the supervisor personally. If supervisors are overly humble and unclear in rewards and punishments, sales reps will become fearless, breeding unreasonable expectations and habits. If supervisors are overly autocratic and strict, sales reps often feel unfairly treated but dare not appeal; forced obedience leads to passive resistance and higher turnover.

Solution: Leadership targets the team, not individuals. For supervisors to have their orders followed, they must build their own authority and master the art of command.

Building supervisor authority:

  1. Hierarchy: Supervisors should not be overly low-key; they must be respected by sales reps for management efficiency. Maintain proper boundaries with sales reps, especially during working hours; the sense of hierarchy should be evident. For example, sales reps must knock before entering the supervisor's office, and stand when the supervisor speaks. Such small constraints can subtly enhance the supervisor's authority. In this context, occasionally "being with the people" outside working hours makes sales reps appreciate the supervisor's "lack of airs."
  2. Personal charisma: Factors like authority, knowledge, and work ability are less influential than personal charisma in affecting sales reps. Lack of dedication, unwillingness to take responsibility, untrustworthiness, and coldness can seriously damage the supervisor's image. A supervisor who is open, honest, and hardworking can at least earn the respect and trust of subordinates.
  3. Being a role model: Supervisors should strive to improve their overall quality, aiming to reach a level where they can teach others in knowledge, communication skills, and work thinking, thereby earning sales reps' admiration.

The art of command:

  1. Think before speaking: Instructions must be reasonable. Before giving orders, seek opinions and think carefully to make instructions more feasible. Absolutely avoid hasty decisions, rushed orders, and then frequent changes.
  2. State the consequences upfront: Clearly express the additional content of instructions, such as inspection, reporting, and reward/penalty rules.
  3. Be firm: Once an order is given, it must be followed strictly, without favoritism.
  4. Fear complaints, not grievances: Punishment is a management tool and must not carry any subjective bias. As long as the supervisor is open and fair, executing reward and penalty policies based on facts, sales reps' grievances will eventually dissipate. An unfair punishment can destroy the long-accumulated enthusiasm of sales reps and even lose their loyalty. Therefore, punishment must be correct; understand the cause of the mistake.
  5. Strictly combat "red-eye disease" (jealousy) and create a positive, competitive learning atmosphere.

Supervisor qualities

I. Successful thinking patterns What is a successful thinking pattern? It's abstract, but can be understood through the following examples. In daily work mentality, successful people proactively look for areas to improve, work tirelessly for perfection, while failures prefer to do as little as possible and only rush to cover up or shift blame when superiors check. When work encounters objective difficulties, successful people ignore the objective difficulties, find what can be done now, and make every effort to improve the situation, while failures use objective factors as excuses and complain. When work errors occur, successful people first control the negative impact, inform superiors, and take responsibility, while failures first find a scapegoat, cover up, emphasize objective factors, and shirk responsibility. In interactions with colleagues and superiors, successful people treat them as customers, try to "satisfy the customer," and create a good work environment, while failures are full of complaints. When subordinates make mistakes, successful people first reflect on whether it was due to poorly designed systems, imprecise communication, or inadequate training; failures say it's not their business.

II. Time management The biggest taboo in management is falling into the trap of being bogged down with trivial matters and neglecting important work like training, inspection, communication with sales reps, and self-improvement, leading to a vicious cycle of being perpetually flustered and full of loopholes. Use necessary time management to constrain yourself: "force" yourself to keep a diary to review whether your daily time allocation is reasonable, "force" yourself to make a work plan for the next day, "force" yourself to "do important things." Over time, a virtuous cycle forms, and only then can a supervisor be considered mature.

III. Analytical and distillation ability Sales supervisors especially need this ability: to identify key points from complex market phenomena and derive market strategies; to find gaps in systems from sales reps' performance reports and daily behavior, and further improve systems. This analytical ability for matters helps supervisors clarify their work thinking. Sales reps' emotions always revolve around three factors: sense of achievement, work environment, and personal development. Employee work performance = ability level × skill level × task understanding × determination × confidence × effort × sense of achievement and responsibility × uncontrollable factors. The ability to analyze people can further enhance management efficiency. Through contact with sales reps, you can quickly identify the main driving factors for improving their performance, and then prescribe the right remedy—that is the way of management.

IV. Ability to coordinate various relationships To do their work well, sales supervisors need cooperation from all sides: trust from superiors, respect from subordinates, help from colleagues. Interpersonal relationship handling plays a leading role. There are already many books on this topic, so I won't elaborate here. One thing to remember: gaining trust through tricks is always temporary; honesty, optimism, helpfulness, and rational personal charisma are the true magic weapons for handling interpersonal relationships.

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