Nowadays, manufacturers and suppliers basically all have to deal with hypermarkets and supermarkets, especially FMCG companies, whether large or small, unless your company is an OEM. Dealing with hypermarkets and supermarkets is the main job of salespeople. From annual negotiations, introducing new products, holiday displays, promotions, and other negotiations, salespeople have to deal with hypermarket and supermarket buyers. But for salespeople, "to sell products, first sell yourself." If you are someone the buyer likes, I estimate your work will be much easier in the future. What conditions do buyers actually like in a salesperson?
High Integrity "Integrity" has not yet been given high importance by Chinese people or Chinese companies. Why? Because our society and life have not yet established an integrity system and supervision mechanism. But for enterprises or societies operating on market principles, integrity is paramount; without integrity, it means losing business; without integrity, a company has no foundation. Without integrity, society would descend into chaos. As a supplier, integrity means you must provide high-quality products to hypermarkets and supermarkets on time and according to orders, ensuring no stockouts; provide good after-sales service, whether to consumers or the store. Always consider from the consumer's and store's perspective what their needs are and how to meet them. For example, what is Walmart's goal? What are Walmart's basic needs? What are the underlying needs of customers or consumers? For a salesperson, integrity means keeping your word and being true to your promises. Even in small matters and details, you should not be careless. For example, if you agree to meet a buyer at 2 PM, you should not arrive after 2. If you can't even be punctual, I doubt you can be trusted with money; it will be harder to fulfill promises to buyers. As a normal person's thinking, this is not wrong; the fault is yours. With foreign enterprises or buyers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, you should be even more trustworthy; they value reputation more than money. I once worked at a company where the CEO and I had arranged to meet a buyer from ParknShop (Hong Kong) at a hotel at 2:30 PM. When we were about to board the ferry, the CEO realized he had forgotten his ID card and called his driver to bring it. But we had missed a ferry, and we arrived 15 minutes late. Because of that 15-minute delay, the buyer still met us, but the deal fell through. Later we learned: they thought that if senior management was so untrustworthy, what about the subordinates?
Nine Parts Professional Typically, hypermarket buyers deal with dozens to hundreds of products and manufacturers, responsible for about 1,000 to 3,000 items. Because they are very busy, they are not experts in various industries. Especially in your own industry, buyers are certainly not as professional as you. But buyers are eager to learn about your industry from you. For example: the ranking of companies in the industry, product features of various manufacturers, advantages and disadvantages of each manufacturer, the roles of different product categories and how to evaluate them. How products perform in other hypermarkets, sales conditions in various regions, how to judge product quality, and what aspects customers consider when buying. They want you to provide this information. They also want to know about promotional activities; you can further suggest which promotion methods work best for your products. Make them feel that negotiating with you is not a negotiation but a learning experience, where they get what they want. Give them the impression that you are the most professional. As long as you are more professional than the buyer, you have a good chance of winning at the negotiation table. Of course, it's even better if you are also more professional than your competitors. Professionalism is very important in modern society. With the fine division of labor, it's impossible to excel in every field. Only by focusing wholeheartedly on your industry and becoming specialized can you have a strong chance of winning. Everyone wants to make friends with high-end professionals who are more specialized than themselves, to learn more at a high level. Buyers are the same; they want to get help, benefits, and valuable professional knowledge from you.
Eight Parts Planning The ancients said: "In all things, success lies in previous preparation, and there will be failure without previous preparation." All supermarkets and hypermarkets operate according to plans; they cannot randomly buy and sell goods. They have data analysis for each category and buy and sell according to plan. Suppliers are required to meet customer needs within the plan, not to run out of stock, not to delay shipments, and not to supply without a plan. For example: if a supermarket is running a promotion and has already told consumers in their DM, and you then tell the store that you can't supply due to insufficient capacity, how can the store explain to consumers? Do you think your business can continue? Would they dare to cooperate with you? Plans usually include annual plans, monthly plans; profit plans, sales plans; product shelving plans, promotion plans; display plans, advertising plans; visit plans, negotiation plans. For a salesperson, planning means work organization, rigorous thinking, and can bring effectiveness and efficiency. Planning not only improves your own efficiency but also makes those around you more efficient. How to make plans and act according to them is taught in special courses in many companies. Because planning is a method for modern people to do things, and also a way of life. Planning can prevent people from falling into the "farmer's story."
Seven Parts Method Method is also important when dealing with key accounts. For example, buyers are very busy; you need to contact them by phone in advance to arrange meeting times. Meetings should be as short as possible, generally within 30 minutes, and never more than an hour. Do not chat during meetings; only discuss business points. Such as: new products, market trends, competitive overview, industry updates, capacity, delivery times, quality, price, packaging, brand, promotion, discounts, advertising, after-sales service, incentives, trading terms, etc. Besides controlling time, pay attention to etiquette, the rhythm of conversation, tone, and intonation. Have a good attitude; as the old saying goes, "A friendly atmosphere brings wealth." Do not lose your temper at buyer's criticisms; listen patiently to their explanations, and use softness to overcome hardness. Listen more and speak less; speak only after understanding; learn to be a listener for the buyer. Buyers sometimes need a listener who understands them. Many salespeople rush to speak, afraid they can't explain the issue in time. Actually, the buyer already knows your problem; they just repeat it during negotiation. During meetings, divide roles among the people you bring; who plays the good cop and who the bad cop; what to discuss first and what later. There are many methods, but they are all grasped on the spot; the key is flexible application.
Six Parts Emotion Buyers are human, and humans have emotions. Excellent salespeople build personal relationships with buyers, which can double the effectiveness of work. Many excellent salespeople can invite buyers out for meals, chats, KTV, and travel. When I was regional manager in Beijing, I established a good relationship with a buyer from an international hypermarket through a small gift. That buyer was a woman, and I learned she had a child over one year old. On my second visit, I said, "Miss XX, I heard you have a lovely child over one year old? I have something I think you'll find useful." She immediately became alert and said, "No, no, we can't accept gifts!" I calmly said, "The gift is valuable, but it only costs about 20 yuan." She asked curiously what it was. I told her it was a book by my teacher, Mr. Zhao Zhongxin, a pioneer in modern Chinese family education, titled "Family Education." On my third visit, I actually brought the book, and she didn't refuse. Later, we established a personal relationship beyond business, and we are still good friends. As for work, you can imagine. Salespeople who follow the above five principles are probably not far from being liked by buyers; but those who don't follow them won't be much better! I firmly believe that.
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