Sales directors have been under pressure in recent weeks, with bosses urging them to submit sales plans for the period around Chinese New Year—plans that must be well-reasoned, practical, and executable. Before rushing to type, let's examine the unique aspects of Chinese New Year consumption. Unlike artificial festivals that rely on heavy spending to create a shopping atmosphere, Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival. With New Year's Eve as the pivotal point, the 30 days before the lunar year's final day constitute the traditional peak sales season, and the Lantern Festival marks the campaign's conclusion. Pre-festival shopping for goods and post-festival visiting of relatives and friends naturally amplify consumer demand during this period, when consumers are least price-sensitive and average transaction values often double. For companies, every minute from Christmas to the Lantern Festival requires ensuring ample supply across channels and stores; for distributors, it means mobilizing all personnel to secure sales. In this 45-day campaign, success can lay the foundation for the entire year's sales performance. Can companies and distributors, who have been "buried" by economic downturn and sluggish physical store consumption, turn the tide? Can they start 2017 with a bang? It all hinges on this battle! How to seize the consumption opportunity and win the Chinese New Year battle? How should companies deploy their forces, and how should distributor bosses command their troops? Sales A has compiled an action guide for channel sales during the Spring Festival. By passing these 8 checkpoints, companies and distributors can not only enjoy the New Year with ease but also forge a formidable sales team. First Checkpoint: Establish the Battlefield—Set Key Outlet Type Standards and Specific Store Lists. Keywords: Outlet Labeling, Outlet Screening During the golden 30 days before the festival, KA large and medium-sized supermarkets, comprehensive department stores, and even New Year goods markets are key battlefields. It's worth noting that with consumption upgrading and the proliferation of large supermarkets in lower-tier cities, migrant workers no longer carry large bags home because well-known FMCG brands are widely available. This allows the returning crowd to conveniently purchase New Year goods in their destination cities. For example, in Fuyang, Anhui, over 7 million workers return during the 40-plus days around Chinese New Year, causing local Hualian and RT-Mart stores to be packed, with sales of various goods skyrocketing. Therefore, for FMCG sales teams, quickly identifying outlets suitable for Spring Festival shopping from the terminal outlet ledger controlled by the company/distributor and providing key support becomes a guarantee of success in the Spring Festival battle. Second Checkpoint: Determine Powerful Weapons—Key Product SKUs. Keywords: Key SKU Appearance, SKU Pricing, SKU New Product Design For consumers, purchasing in their departure city is often to bring back local specialties (i.e., products not available in their hometown, making gifts more prestigious). Companies can turn a popular product into a blockbuster single item, even at a loss, to quickly drive store traffic. Temporarily launch several large-pack gift box SKUs, cleverly combining sizes and contents to meet gifting needs. Note: When pricing gift boxes, specifically reference similar products from core competitors to "disrupt" consumers' price evaluation coordinates—that is, avoid direct competition on the same type/specification, but create a new combination that feels more cost-effective through different specifications/contents. During Spring Festival daily consumption, buying better and fresher products is also a notable consumer behavior. For example, with tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), besides the blockbuster "black sesame filling," supplement with other flavors (such as colorful series) for combined sales to stimulate impulse buying. This requires pre-stocking in channels, even overstocking, preferring post-festival returns over stockouts at points of sale. A noteworthy issue is that companies or channels must prepare targeted gift packaging. Facts prove that gift bags during Spring Festival can easily convert "scattered" sales into "whole bag" sales, turning items usually sold individually into bagged sales in no time. Besides planning key products, securing prominent display positions for popular items is also crucial for success. If funds are insufficient to afford the most popular display spots, design compelling POP posters, or even arrange in-store promoters to watch the shelves and attract consumers with shouts. Third Checkpoint: Battlefield Supply—Channel and Terminal Inventory and Order Management Keywords: Channel Terminal Inventory, Order Management, Sales Rep Scheduling Once key channels and stores are determined, terminal inventory and order flow become critical; their smoothness and stability will be key to campaign success. The purpose of early personnel arrangement is to ensure orderly replenishment before and after the festival. Pre-festival staffing must be precise—display areas, pickup zones, and replenishment warehouses. These three key nodes must have dedicated personnel, with specific responsible persons. If a display area runs out of an item, the sales rep monitoring it immediately notifies the warehouse to deliver, ensuring the store doesn't fail at critical sales moments. Another key technique is to plan warehouse entry locations and remember storage positions. Even with inventory surges, adhere to the first-in, first-out principle to avoid products "rotting" in the warehouse. Fourth Checkpoint: Clarify Tactics—Focus on Key Routes, Uninterrupted Before and After the Festival Keywords: Visit Routes, Temporary Tasks, Stocking, Replenishment Clearly plan visit routes for the 30 days before and after Chinese New Year, and add temporary displays to increase consumer contact. Specifically for KA stores, main products should include bundle gifts to increase sell-through frequency. The importance of frontline sales reps diligently inspecting terminals before Chinese New Year is well known. Post-festival replenishment after the fifth day of the New Year must be arranged in advance. This is because consumers are spending less time in their hometowns, with return trips or outings becoming more common, leading to earlier store openings; also, terminal owners are holding cash and need to quickly refill shelves emptied before the festival. Therefore, for companies or distributors, speed is key to surviving the post-festival period. Fifth Checkpoint: Boost Morale—A Single Burst of Energy is the Spiritual Guarantee for Victory. Keywords: Sales Rep Incentives, Assessment Rewards At this point, mobilize elite forces, add personnel and vehicles, ensure responsible persons for each link, with clear division of labor and persistence. Complement this with commission rewards. The earlier reward methods are announced, the better employee morale. As Spring Festival approaches, annual bonuses become the focus of the sales team. By announcing work arrangements and incentive plans alongside bonus distribution, you can further motivate all sales personnel, ensuring Spring Festival work arrangements are implemented smoothly, achieving maximum effect with minimal effort. Sixth Checkpoint: Create a Hot Sales Atmosphere—Full-Sensory Merchandising, Leveraging Herd Mentality. Keywords: Terminal Merchandising Consumers, after a year of hard work, want to compensate their families and reward themselves during Spring Festival. Correspondingly, companies should seize special display areas, combine price tactics, and appeal to consumers emotionally. During Spring Festival, the most effective terminal promotion is in-store promoters' live introductions (shouting), paired with practical small gifts and explosive promotional prices, fully satisfying consumers' face and igniting herd mentality. At this point, the fear is not of not selling, but of insufficient stock. Seventh Checkpoint: Timely Monitoring of Battle Results—Supervisors Check Execution Keywords: Targeted Inspection Without tracking sales, everything is in vain; without checking execution, systems remain on the wall. Therefore, during the peak return period, especially from December 29 to January 27, within less than 30 days, conduct daily checks on display, pricing, and terminal inventory, resolving issues promptly. Eighth Checkpoint: Post-Battle Maintenance—Supervisors Arrange Post-Festival Work Keywords: Targeted Inspection, Return and Exchange Handling As the "war" progresses and nears its end, ensure personnel remain in place, as the Spring Festival battle is still ongoing. This avoids fatigue and prevents competitors from "stealing the camp" and losing ground. After the fifth day of the New Year, companies or distributors should begin contacting for product returns and provide terminal services. Preparation ensures success. Now, arrange sales work before and after the New Year, following the above 8 work plans, implementing each step to ensure that within just 45 days, you lay the foundation for the entire 2017 sales victory. With sound management, sales will rise steadily, making it hard not to profit. -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Boost Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's Eighteen Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brands | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]