Salespeople often face difficult questions when dealing with channel customers. For example, during distribution, a customer might ask, "Has the neighboring wholesale department taken it?" If you answer, "Yes, they have," the boss will say, "If they have it, I don't want it." If you answer, "No, they haven't," the boss will say, "I'll take it only after they do." What should you do? This implies a complex channel psychology, so mastering it is key to answering the boss's questions correctly.
In marketing practice, we inevitably deal with a large number of channel customers. Many salespeople return from the market exhausted, both physically and mentally. The channel is too difficult to handle. Some sales managers have said, "After a lifetime in sales, I've never seen the channel satisfied."
This is normal; it's a buyer's world. The channel lacks nothing, especially salespeople—there are more salespeople than customers, so how can they not be annoyed?
Salespeople and the channel are not on equal footing. The channel is superior, picky, and always finds faults. But even in the era of "terminal is king," we need to use the channel to expand the market; we must face it, not avoid it.
Channel members include urban and rural, male and female bosses; some are generous, some stingy; some impulsive, some cunning; some treacherous, some honest; from different customs and ethnicities. Most channel members are highly intelligent. They speak to salespeople with purpose, and the information they convey is processed and filtered.
Many salespeople often say, "The market is calm, why did they suddenly stop selling our products?" or "Competition is fierce; competitors are promoting, and many customers are unwilling to sell our products."
This reflects either that you are insensitive to the market and haven't received the information from customers in time, or that you lack market judgment and can't discern the chaotic information from customers. In a word, you haven't mastered channel psychology.
So what are the channel's psychologies? Let's summarize:
1 The Psychology of Seeking Discounts Merchants pursue profit, and seeking discounts is the most normal and common psychology. However, due to Chinese subtlety, no one will tell you directly. They always convey this signal through clever questions. Salespeople must capture the purpose behind these signals.
For example, a boss who usually ignores you greets you warmly today. Be careful, because she wants to ask for gifts.
A customer tells you, "A terminal is about to open soon with great potential." This is seeking your support. When a customer complains, "Business is hard, no profit," if your product is a market leader, this is a very dangerous signal.
This indicates two things: they might want a promotion, or a competitor is in contact with this customer. You should investigate from the side.
When you deliver goods, a customer who could order five cases only orders two. What does that mean? They want a discount.
If your product's favorable display position is taken by a competitor, don't argue. If you haven't been away long, it's likely the competitor gave the customer more benefits.
When you distribute, regardless of your product's price, customers will say it's too high. They can always name a cheaper product or one with more promotional items.
Customers' pursuit of discounts is endless and never satisfied. As salespeople, what should we do? Here are some techniques:
- When a customer asks for gifts, whether you have them or not, don't be afraid. Stay calm, but appear apologetic, and promise to bring them next time (remember to keep your promise). Since your visits are periodic, you have ample time to prepare. Give gifts "multiple times, small amounts," and give a little every now and then. When you have many gifts, keep them separate and don't expose them. Don't dwell on the gift topic; quickly shift to the issues you care about.
- When a customer asks for support, don't refuse. Propose conditions (e.g., a one-time order quantity or a short-term sales contract). If they can't meet your conditions, they won't ask again. Also, report this to your supervisor and record it within the organization to avoid inconsistent answers if they ask others.
- Pay close attention to major competitors' movements. This can be reflected in customers' language, inventory changes, and display changes. Stay highly sensitive and take decisive action.
- Believe what customers say is true, but don't trust them completely. Verify each piece of information. For doubtful information, don't reject or easily agree; investigate and then reply, and be sure to respond to the customer.
2 The Psychology of Finding Faults Customers often compare your weaknesses with competitors' strengths, saying your price is high, your brand is unknown, you have no promotions, poor quality, or poor service. They always find faults. This is a strategy many customers use against suppliers: to psychologically attack you and suppress your morale.
Every transaction or communication with a customer is a negotiation. If they undermine your confidence, you'll make concessions, and they'll achieve their goal.
It's said Walmart excels at this. Generally, suppliers can't see them in the first two meetings; on the third, they get only a few minutes; on the fourth, they harshly criticize your product and service, forcing you to voluntarily concede and add favorable terms.
For customers' fault-finding, we should be calm, humble, and composed, neither servile nor overbearing.
Never oppose customers' accusations, but state your advantages and selling points, patiently explain, and compare your strengths with competitors' weaknesses. Use the "Yes, you're right... but" sentence pattern. The more thoroughly you understand the market and competitors, the easier it is to handle customers' pickiness.
3 The Psychology of Exclusive Sales Many customers hope for exclusive sales within a certain area, especially in county towns and townships. Because competition among merchants is fierce, exclusive sales can control prices and profits. But unless you adopt a distribution model, suppliers generally won't let one customer exclusively sell the product, unless you have sufficient strength.
For this psychology, first explain the rationale: The market needs everyone to work together to grow. A single player may seem profitable, but without volume, you'll lose customers.
Second, give larger customers more gifts and adopt differentiated policies so multiple customers can sell. Or start distribution with small customers, then use exaggerated promotions to create a hot-selling situation, stimulating other customers to order.
More often, we let some customers sell first, give up some, and achieve a distribution rate of 60-70%. Then slowly look for opportunities to expand share.
4 The Psychology of Following the Crowd Many small and medium customers have a strong herd mentality. They don't dare take risks; if others stock, they do too; if others don't, they don't.
For this psychology, first find influential customers to stock, even if you relax conditions (tell them only they have this treatment, others don't, and ask them to keep it secret). Then, when delivering, make a big show so other customers see it. It's easy then—capture the leader and all will follow.
I once promoted instant noodles in a township. I first approached Boss Zhang, the most influential on the street. Despite all our efforts, he refused. Finally, I said:
"Brother Zhang, can I put 20 cases at your door?"
"No, even if free, there's no space inside."
"Brother Zhang, not for you, just at the door for a while, then I'll take them away."
"Okay, but if they're lost, I'm not responsible."
"Haha, no problem. Who would steal in front of your door?"
So we placed 20 cases at Boss Zhang's door, stacked high and conspicuous. Then we went to other shops on the street and said, "Look, Boss Zhang has ordered. How can it not sell well? Order a few cases." With little effort, almost all ten shops on the street ordered, and over a hundred cases of noodles were distributed quickly, all for cash.
Finally, we returned to Boss Zhang: "Brother Zhang, everyone else has ordered. As the leader, you should give face. How can we take these back?" Seeing others had ordered, he was puzzled and couldn't refuse, so he said, "Alright, keep ten cases."
5 The Psychology of Seeking Market Information Customers have a strong desire to probe market information. Our minds should be full of various information—macro and micro—and we should occasionally reveal "valuable" information to customers to build trust. In return, we get the information we want, but never spread false information.
Sometimes a customer will deliberately ask, "There's a buy-ten-get-one-free policy, right? So-and-so said so." Never verify with that person. This is a trick to see if they can get preferential policies. Sometimes a customer says, "Zhang San's business is great; he delivers hundreds of cases a day." This is actually trying to get information about Zhang San from you; don't take it at face value.
6 The Psychology of Showing Off Many customers like to show off their good sales and fast turnover in front of factory personnel. The goal is to gain attention and more benefits.
If you're familiar, they'll talk about their kids, their dog (or other pets), their car, and other things they're proud of. This is a good time to strengthen the relationship and encourage the customer. Be sure to echo their topics and offer appropriate praise.
This way, you not only sell products but also make friends.
7 The Psychology of Fearing the Opposite Door and Neighbors There's a saying: "A distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor, and a near neighbor is not as good as the opposite door."
But among merchants, it's different. Over 50% of customers can't get along with adjacent or opposite competitors, and 70% are wary and worried about them. This is due to fierce competition.
Therefore, when distributing in densely populated areas, pay attention to customers' subtle psychology and the objective market situation. Be careful when distributing between adjacent customers to avoid inadvertently offending them.
So if a customer asks, "Does the neighboring wholesale department want it?" Don't easily answer "yes" or "no." Judge based on the situation: if the two are equally strong, they're likely to repel each other; if there's a huge gap, the weaker is likely to follow.
If you can't judge the relationship, these two answers are more appropriate:
- "I haven't distributed to them yet; you have priority."
- "They said they want it, but I haven't given it to them yet. I'll give it to you first; you decide how to distribute." Generally, after distributing to a larger customer, don't immediately go to their opposite door.
Of course, this psychology can be used to our advantage. If a customer's demands are too high and you can't get in, distribute to their opposite door or neighbors, and run promotions to divert their customers, forcing them to comply.
8 The Psychology of Wariness We're always told, "Don't talk to strangers." Customers are the same; they're wary of salespeople. They don't know your background and are afraid to deal with you. Their concerns—whether they'll make money, whether it'll sell, what if it doesn't—haven't been answered, so they speak cautiously and won't buy.
For example, if you ask, "Is the boss in?" He usually looks at you and says, "The boss isn't in" (though he is the boss).
So experienced salespeople always say, "Hello, boss" (whether he is or not), instead of "Is the boss in?"
If he answers, "I'm not the boss," You say, "Liar, I can tell you are the boss."
"I'm really not; I'm an employee." "Then you'll be the boss sooner or later. Where is the boss?" At this point, he'll tell you where the boss is. Great. We often encounter this:
"Boss, this is a new product with promotions; it's very profitable." "Never heard of it; no one buys it." "It's a Chinese famous brand; it's being advertised on CCTV; everyone knows it." "The price is too high." "Not high; it's cheaper than Brand X." "People here only recognize Brand X. What if it doesn't sell?" "Our products are returnable and exchangeable." "Where can I find you?" "We're at No. X, Road X." "Okay, come back another day; I still have stock."
Even with such complete answers, he still didn't buy. Why? Because he doesn't trust you. After you leave, he might check on you and verify what you said. Maybe next time you go, he'll buy because the guard is down.
So we should fully introduce our products and company, let customers understand us, and dare to make promises to eliminate wariness. And be sure to visit multiple times; a one-time buy or not doesn't represent true demand.
9 The Psychology of Rejection In this buyer's world, customers basically lack nothing, so their first reaction to sales pitches is rejection (including the wariness mentioned above).
Therefore, marketing says: Sales start with rejection. If customers naturally accept, there's no need to sell; just deliver.
For customers' instinctive rejection, we need to move them with benefits: "good quality, low price, big brand, strong promotions, good service, returnable and exchangeable," etc. There are always several advantages that are also benefit points to move customers. Be sure to introduce all advantages and use benefits to win them over. And always find a reference brand to compare, making it more attractive.
10 The Psychology of Delaying Payment All channel members are the same: they only want to take in money, not pay out. So when delivering goods, collecting payment is troublesome. On the first contact, agree on payment terms upfront.
For regular customers, plan to deliver when the boss is present; otherwise, you won't get paid. Generally, afternoon delivery is best. Sometimes the boss says, "I'm short on cash; come back tomorrow." Then agree on a specific time and place to collect.
Generally, don't let customers write IOUs (especially in the north, where there's an unwritten rule: an IOU means long-term credit, no IOU means temporary credit). Before leaving, repeat the payment time.
Sometimes, to distribute, if customers won't pay cash, set different distribution policies: give different promotions for cash vs. credit to encourage cash purchases.
Sometimes, to achieve distribution, you can let them pay half. Be sure to dispel customers' concerns and promise returns and exchanges; otherwise, they won't part with their money.
Facing various channel members and their myriad problems, we find that "eight-step visits" and "three-step negotiations" don't work well. Actually, it's not that the textbook methods are useless, but that you haven't flexibly applied them with channel psychology, like a mosquito-repellent charm that only works inside a mosquito net.
Channel psychology is the mosquito net. Although the channel is complex and changeable, there are traces to follow. We must understand the psychology of channel members from different backgrounds, personalities, ages, and even environments. Only by mastering their inner thoughts can we respond flexibly.
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