Article Introduction: Manufacturers and dealer bosses all want to sell new products, but why do new products always fail to sell? This article systematically analyzes the reasons behind "new products can't sell" and provides specific action steps for "new products that sell."

1 Reason New Products Don't Sell: Most Dealer Bosses Are "Sitting at the Station, Not Going Out" Do dealer bosses like selling new products? Of course they do, because new products have higher profit margins. But who actually sells the goods? Not the dealer boss, but the dealer's delivery drivers and salespeople. Most dealer bosses have already "sat at the station and stopped going out." Back when dealers started their businesses, they were poor and struggling. But back then, dealer bosses were "proactively going out," going deep into the front lines, braving the elements, walking the streets, enduring cold looks and bullying... Now that business has grown a bit, with warehouses, finance, sales staff, and drivers... and basic needs are met. Just as a hostess who works long enough develops a madam's demeanor, many dealer bosses have started "sitting at the station, not going out." They get entangled in dinner parties, offices, and foot massage parlors, entertaining factory leaders and retail buyers, drinking tea and chatting in the office... but they don't go to the front lines. Selling new products is such a difficult task; if dealer bosses don't do frontline management, there's no hope. Better to "go out"—that's where the money is.

2 Reason New Products Don't Sell: Dealer's Salespeople Definitely Don't Like Selling New Products Many dealers assess employees based on "sales commission"—from my observation, at least half of dealers do this. Under this "sales commission" assessment system, new products may never sell well. Why? Think about it: I'm a dealer's salesperson. The boss assesses me with "0.3% commission on sales; sell 1,000 yuan, get 3 yuan commission"... Am I stupid? Would I sell new products for you? I'd sell whatever moves fast. Have you ever shadowed a dealer's salesperson selling goods? They're not really selling; they're just unloading. They do whatever is convenient and maximizes volume. They visit big stores, not small ones; they sell old products, not new ones...

What is unloading: Boss, do you want Coke?—Unload 10 cases. Sprite?—Unload 10 cases. New product? No? Forget it, next store.

What is selling: Boss, this is our new product, 24 bottles per case, a mixed case with six flavors. Your cost is X, retail price is Y, your profit margin per case is Z. You'll recoup the cost of the case after selling so many bottles. Plus, we have display rewards and cumulative sales rewards, bringing you extra profit. Widow Wang's store at the village entrance sells this well; if you don't believe me, check the purchase records... How many dealer delivery salespeople have you seen seriously promote new products like that in a store? They'd probably not even finish before turning around to find the tow truck taking their vehicle. When I go to the front lines with salespeople, I see dealer delivery salespeople selling like this: Salesperson at first store: Boss, want new product? No? Damn!

Salesperson at second store: Boss, want new product? A little? No? Damn!

Salesperson at third store: Boss, new product, you don't want it, right?

... In the afternoon, the salesperson returns and tells the dealer boss, "Boss, this damn thing just can't be sold"... Then the dealer boss turns to the factory manager and says, "It's not that I don't want to sell; your damn thing just won't move." Yes, that's how new products die.

3 Method to Make New Products Sell: When Employees Say "New Products Can't Sell" at the Morning Meeting, Respond Like This The dealer buys new products from the factory, holds meetings, sets incentive policies, and hypes it up. But three days later, at the morning meeting, an employee says, "Boss, I asked all my customers; none want it. The factory made another pile of crap. The packaging is ugly, the taste is bad, and the price is high... This thing just can't be sold." Will dealer bosses encounter this scenario? Almost 100% will. How to respond? How to answer? In class, I ask this question, and answers vary. Once a dealer boss answered sincerely: "Be honest with employees. I'd say, 'Brother, I know this is hard to sell. But you have to sell it because... I bought the stock.'" What do you think? Is that answer honest? He's a truly honest man. Can that answer be used? If you dare say that, tomorrow no one will sell the new product! Why? Because employees hear, "The boss also says new products are hard to sell." When employees complain at meetings that "new products can't sell," I recommend the following answer: Shut up! Work always has problems. If there were no problems, then the work itself would be the problem! If it were easy to sell, we wouldn't ask you to sell it! We ask you to sell what's hard to sell! If it were easy, I'd sell it myself! The factory launched a new product, called all national managers and dealers back, and spent a day explaining the company's new product strategy—we must launch new products. They talked about the selling points, price, profit, reward system, promotion policies... And everyone had targets; every manager and dealer had a quota, and there was a special new product sales competition with big prizes... At the dinner, the president toasted everyone, asking them to sell more new products... The finance department set up special market funds for the new product... The factory sales manager gave us special new product sales training... When I came back, I set up special new product sales rewards and a daily ranking of new product sales heroes and zeros... Everyone up and down is paying so much attention to this new product! But in this small department, this small company, there are people who are psychologically dark and talk nonsense. They don't understand reality and spout nonsense. Evil winds rise, undercurrents flow, they can't accomplish anything but can ruin everything! Today, as an older brother and as a boss, I give you some advice. As an employee, they don't punish the diligent or the lazy, but they punish the one who doesn't see the writing on the wall. Remember: offer suggestions, not complaints! What is a suggestion? When you raise a problem, also include your idea for solving it, and let's discuss how to solve it. That's a suggestion. What is a suggestion? "This new product is priced higher than competing products of the same specification, so it's not competitive in wholesale. I suggest going directly to retail, starting with 24-hour convenience stores where price sensitivity is low..." Also, I suggest distributing on college campuses. "Freshmen arriving for orientation have the most money and the strongest spending power (they bring a year's living expenses)... We can give them discount coupons at the registration desk. If they don't use them, they're just waste paper. With the coupon, they can get a discount on our new product..." That's a suggestion! What is a complaint? "Boss, this damn thing can't be sold!" Some people are just cheap. They compare my product's price to generic brands and its advertising to JDB... If the price were lower than generics and advertising more than JDB, what would we need you for? When the company launches a new product, if there are problems with price, packaging, or promotion, can you speak up? Yes, but please watch your tone and expression. What do we do? We're in sales, we execute, we fight with bayonets. Until the company announces the product's withdrawal, once the gun fires, everyone should offer suggestions and charge forward with bayonets! Stop cursing and quitting, stop complaining and retreating! On the battlefield, if anyone dares to spread rumors, it's execution without mercy! New product sales is a political task. It's about which side you stand on, what kind of person you are. It's your chance to score points with leadership, to show your ability, to demonstrate your contribution and loyalty to the company. If conditions allow, go. If conditions don't allow, create conditions and go! During new product sales, on the battlefield, if anyone dares to defy orders and disrupt morale, I'll kill your whole family! (End) Don't laugh. What do you think of my answer? During new product sales, should we unify thinking like this? Absolutely! Remember, employees prefer selling old products over new ones, visiting big established stores over new small ones—they take the path of least resistance. It's human nature. When a few old employees openly sneer, "The company made another pile of crap; this thing is doomed." Is it harmful? Huge! Because many other employees are indecisive and will echo, "Yes, yes, I also think this thing is doomed." Then the new product is truly doomed. To sell new products, you must first unify thinking internally, making everyone understand that new product sales is a political task...! Go back and practice on someone— Even if no employee says it, you should "find an unlucky one to scold," proactively bait them at the morning meeting, and ask— "Is the new product selling well? No? Shut up...!"

4 Method to Make New Products Sell: Employee Assessment During New Product Sales "Brothers, selling new products makes you heroes; selling old products makes you cowards. Please sell new products, not just old ones..." If the dealer boss repeats this like a mantra ten thousand times, does it work? No! The boss says, "From today, there's commission on new products, but no commission on old products." Does that work? Immediate effect. Employees always do what you assess, never what you hope. For a dealer boss to sell new products, first, of course, they must "go out" and see for themselves: what are your employees doing? Are they selling new products? Are they unloading or selling? What problems are they encountering with new product sales... Second, you must modify the assessment for new product sales. Below are the simplest principles:

  1. Basic knowledge: Item-specific commission: If you haven't yet given employees item-specific commission and still use total sales commission, slap yourself. Old products: 1 yuan per case commission; new products: 3 yuan per case. Now do employees like selling new products? Of course. But is it possible that employees go out and find, "Damn, new products don't sell; that 3 yuan is hard to earn. I'll just sell old products and earn 1 yuan"...? Would that happen? Absolutely! So, add to the assessment—
  2. Negative incentive for new products: Set a fixed task of 150 cases for new products. If the new product task is not completed, deduct old product commission (or cancel old product commission)! Employees look forward: selling new products has positive incentives. They look backward: if they don't complete the new product task, they lose old product commission. They have to sell. Combining positive and negative incentives is what works.
  3. Principle of shortening assessment settlement cycles: Is it better to have a longer or shorter assessment cycle for rewards and penalties? Think about how we wrote our winter vacation homework—on the last day before school, and specifically the last night! To prevent us from cramming homework before school, teachers wouldn't let elementary students have a whole month off. What did they do during winter vacation? They had a mid-vacation return to school! Right, they made you come back halfway through. What's the purpose? To check the first half's homework. If it's done, fine. If not, your dad beats you. The return to school shortens the supervision and assessment cycle, forcing you to at least cram every half month instead of at the end. Imagine if a teacher were "harsh" enough to make you return thirty times during vacation—would your homework be unfinished? That would be no vacation! Only two possibilities: either you finish your homework every day, or your dad beats you to death.
  4. Sales assessment cycle shortened to weekly: Monthly sales task: 1,000 cases, bonus 2,000 yuan. Also require: first week complete 400+ cases, second week 650+, third week 850+, final week reach 1,000. Miss a weekly target, deduct 400 yuan. Suppose someone completes the monthly 1,000 cases, but in the first three weeks they shipped very little, and in the fourth week they crammed. That's unfortunate: final bonus = 2,000 - 400 - 400 - 400 = 800 yuan. They completed the task but didn't get the money. Work without reward, just deserts. The glass slipper is yours, but midnight belongs to him. At least this assessment makes employees go from cramming at month-end to cramming weekly, at least four times a month.
  5. Process assessment cycle shortened to weekly: New product sales includes process assessment in addition to sales assessment: for example, require employees to distribute new products to 200 stores in the month, with first week at least 80 stores, second week 120, third week 160, fourth week 200. Settle weekly: if the weekly target is met, reward 20 yuan per store above target. Conversely, if below target, penalize 20 yuan per store short.
  6. Sales assessment cycle shortened to daily: Can you set daily new product sales tasks for employees? Seems a bit difficult. Rain, cloudy, windy—daily sales penalties seem harsh, and daily sales targets are hard to set. But you can do daily rewards. On the premise that the employee meets the weekly target, if daily new product shipments exceed 60 cases, give a cash reward of 50 yuan that day.
  7. Process assessment cycle shortened to daily: For example, require employees to distribute new products to 10 stores per day. If daily new product distribution exceeds 10 stores, settle that evening, reward 10 yuan per extra store. If below 7 stores, settle that evening, penalize 10 yuan per missing store. If below 5 stores, "kill the whole family" that evening (various penalties).
  8. New product sales model, promotion special case: Smart dealer bosses will create job levels for their salespeople, supervisors, and managers (junior, mid-level, senior salesperson...). This gives employees room for advancement without hoping for a leader's death to get promoted. Especially in dealer trading companies with small teams, few positions, and limited promotion space, this job-level advancement is essential to alleviate employees' negative feelings of "no hope." For employees, promotion is a bigger temptation: higher base salary, better benefits... That's political treatment. For such a major task as new product sales, announce a special promotion rule: If the new product sales task is completed for three consecutive months, and new product sales account for more than 40% of the region (indicating good product mix), maintained for three months, the regional salesperson gets promoted directly!
  9. Example of new product sales assessment template: Positive incentives| Item-specific commission| New product A commission rate| 3 yuan/case Old product B commission rate| 1 yuan/case Negative incentives| New product fixed task penalty| New product A fixed basic task| 150 cases Penalty for not completing new product A fixed basic task| Calculate new product commission and old product commission based on task completion rate; if task completion below 70%, cancel all new product commission and proportionally deduct old product commission Period management| | First week| Second week| Third week| Fourth week Weekly sales period missed, penalty 400 yuan/week| 400 cases| 650 cases| 800 cases| 1,000 cases Weekly distribution store count completion, reward/penalty 20 yuan/store| 80 stores| 120 stores| 160 stores| 200 stores Daily period management| Sales daily period| On the premise that the employee meets the weekly target, if daily new product shipments exceed 60 cases, cash reward 50 yuan that day New product distribution daily period| If daily new product distribution exceeds 10 stores, settle that evening, reward 10 yuan per extra store. If below 7 stores, settle that evening, penalize 10 yuan per missing store. If below 5 stores, "kill the whole family" that evening (various penalties) New product promotion special case| If the new product sales task is completed for three consecutive months, and new product sales account for more than 40% of the region (indicating good product mix), maintained for three months, the regional salesperson gets promoted directly.

New Distribution brings you a benefit: Do you have any good methods or opinions on new product distribution? Welcome friends to leave your thoughts in the comments section to discuss with everyone! By April 30th at midnight, we will give away a copy of Teacher Wei Qing's classic work "Dealer Management Action Breakdown Training" to the top five friends with the most likes in the comments section! -END-