Order conferences are a common promotional format in the industry, used by manufacturers to boost their sales and recruit more distributors. Distributors also actively imitate this, cooperating with the brands they represent to develop their own secondary wholesalers and terminal sales channels.
Distributor order conferences can be categorized by customer type into those for distribution customers and those for sales outlets, and by venue into on-site and door-to-door conferences. This article focuses on on-site conferences.
Three Objectives and Two Pitfalls of Order Conferences
A successful order conference generally helps distributors achieve the following three objectives:
Boost Sales In a certain region, the distributor organizes the conference with the assistance of company sales staff, inviting secondary wholesalers and large retailers in the area. Through product introductions, policy presentations, and on-site lucky draws, participating representatives are encouraged to place orders, typically starting at over 100 cases per customer. A single conference can generate sales of several million yuan, achieving in one day what would normally take a month.
Develop New Customers For entrepreneurs interested in becoming secondary wholesalers, order conferences are undoubtedly the best way to enter this circle. Distributors can leverage the favorable atmosphere and promotional policies at the conference to directly recruit them as secondary wholesalers.
Transfer Financial Pressure and Enhance Relationship Building It is common for distributors to face sales constraints due to insufficient funds. By holding an order conference, funds from participating businesses can be collected in advance, with goods picked up or delivered days later. This not only temporarily uses secondary wholesalers' funds to ease the distributor's cash flow, but also gradually guides the formation of a regional alliance sharing funds, networks, and warehousing.
Additionally, many distributors have little interaction with local secondary wholesalers and retailers beyond occasional business. Such conferences invite customers with direct or indirect business ties to the distributor and the company, fostering emotional connections and strengthening cooperative relationships.
Due to inadequate execution, insufficient financial strength, or poor attention to detail, distributors often fall into two pitfalls:
Going to Extremes Distributors or sales managers unfamiliar with organizing such events may go to extremes. The "left" extreme is holding a formal meeting with endless speeches, feeling like forced indoctrination. The "right" extreme is briefly mentioning promotional policies and turning the entire event into a feast.
Losing Control Some distributors fail to maintain proper boundaries, resorting to unfair competition to push large volumes of goods, or failing to honor policies after the conference. In such cases, it would be better not to hold the conference at all.
Pre-Conference Research: Finding the Entry Point After understanding the practical significance and potential pitfalls, the first detail distributors should address is pre-conference research.
Survey Customer Relationships The key to an order conference is the distributor's customer relationships. If these are poor, the conference may fall flat and fail to meet attendance targets. Therefore, it is essential to survey customer relationships in advance to avoid a situation where "the food is easy to make, but guests are hard to invite."
Conduct market research to preliminarily understand what policies customers are interested in, and propose initial ideas to test their willingness to attend.
Pay attention to when customers can spare time to attend. Different channels have different peak times: for example, customers in farmers' markets are busiest early morning and evening; those near schools are busiest on Sundays (for primary schools, during drop-off and pick-up times); township customers are busy on market days; residential community customers are busy during commute hours. Also, consider when major customers have important commitments.
Survey Competitor Activities Gather information on competitors: their promotional policies, whether they conflict with this conference's policies, customer complaints about competitors, and how to avoid similar issues. Investigate when other manufacturers and distributors (especially in alcohol, large food, and beverage categories) hold their order conferences to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Define a Good Theme A well-chosen theme for the order conference enhances brand alignment and gives distributors confidence in a win-win market.
Determine Scale Distributors should also determine the number of attendees: how many customers will definitely attend, how many need strong invitations, how many won't attend but will order, and how many might attend only if manufacturer personnel intervene. Confirm the feasibility, set the time, venue, and number of banquet tables, and budget costs—identifying which expenses the manufacturer can bear directly, indirectly, or share.
Put effort into naming expense items and adjust sales staff commissions to ensure the conference yields a surplus.
Use Policies to Entice Customers Developing the conference policies requires significant effort. A novel policy attracts customer participation. Among the series of linked policies, there must be a standout highlight to keep the conference exciting and stimulate ordering desire.
"Come and Get" Customers receive a gift just for attending. The gift should have perceived value, either provided by the manufacturer as a gift box or as a product combination.
"Order and Win" Conference policies should be more generous than usual, making customers feel such support won't be repeated. If there are gifts, they must have value and be relevant to the products customers currently represent.
"Order More, Win More" Policies should have tiers to encourage larger orders. The tier thresholds should consider the order amounts of most customers while also motivating a few large accounts.
"Win Again and Again" Include a lucky draw segment where raffle tickets are given based on order tiers, increasing chances for multiple draws and rewards, thereby boosting enthusiasm for larger orders.
Emphasize that the conference is a cash-only event with no credit, to avoid fake orders and prize fraud. If a customer insists on credit, require a salesperson to guarantee payment within a specified period.
After formulating the policies, communicate with a few loyal customers in advance to secure their support and prevent a cold atmosphere.
On-Site: Keep the Atmosphere Under Control Controlling the pace of the conference is crucial. A smooth rhythm inspires customers' ordering enthusiasm, and a lively atmosphere can elevate expectations to unexpected levels!
Venue Setup: Find the Highlight, Atmosphere Matters The theme must be prominent so all attendees can see it and the host's speeches.
Product displays should be novel and eye-catching. Product brochures, company profiles, and price tags (purchase and sale) should be clear.
Decorate with hanging flags, posters, banners, roll-up banners, X-stands, and players. If possible, use a projector for clearer visibility of products and policies. Outside the venue, hang banners to help customers find it, and consider arches, balloons, and product inflatables.
Arrange seating in advance to avoid seating conflicting customers together or nearby, and to prevent problem customers from leaking negative information or revealing special treatment to those who shouldn't know.
Prepare the cashier area with sufficient receipts, invoicing supplies, and counterfeit detectors. If customers use cards, have POS terminals ready and ensure cash security. Remind customers to keep their receipts and raffle tickets safe.
Combine Pre-Conference and On-Site Invoicing Nowadays, fewer brands actually issue large orders on-site. Typically, funds are collected in advance from network customers, especially large accounts, before the conference. On-site orders come from smaller customers and impulsive buyers influenced by the atmosphere. Pre-conference invoicing also helps control costs, preventing overruns due to unexpected attendance, and avoids a cold scene if brand influence is insufficient.
Create a Lively Atmosphere The more vibrant the atmosphere, the higher the enthusiasm for ordering, and the greater the influence on small and hesitant customers. For example, pre-arrange with loyal distributors to increase their on-site order amounts to spur competitive ordering. Additionally, set awards for the largest on-site order and the highest cash order to encourage participation.
If budget allows, not only decorate the hotel venue but also create a festive atmosphere on main streets. This is particularly effective for township customers and when holding conferences in county towns.
Always Include Raffles and Gifts If gifts are distributed in advance or not provided at all, attendance will drop sharply. Make customers feel they must attend to receive gifts and participate in raffles, discouraging them from expecting gifts without attending, thus ensuring accurate attendance and high energy.
Boost Attendance On the day, check all preparations early. Front desk staff should handle reception, registration, and gift distribution, ensuring each customer receives only one gift to avoid duplicates.
Sales staff should greet customers warmly, staying alert, introducing policies, and handling orders without neglecting anyone. Monitor attendance and call customers to ensure all expected attendees arrive. Arrange orders efficiently, especially for good customers who can lead by example (some orders can be placed before the conference to avoid overcrowding and missed orders).
Control the pace to avoid dragging on and losing patience. Product introductions should be concise, within half an hour, interspersed with order updates to build momentum. Arrange manufacturer speeches to show support.
When introducing products, explain how they will sell through, addressing concerns about slow sales and returns. Pay attention to customers who haven't ordered. During the meal, sales staff should work hard, leveraging customers' reluctance to leave without ordering, and use existing orders to encourage others to place orders.
Post-Conference Follow-Up: Execute Thoroughly After the conference, distributors should quickly summarize, especially apologizing to any neglected or dissatisfied customers, possibly with small gifts as compensation. Thank active customers to strengthen relationships.
Communicate with the manufacturer to arrange stock and deliver orders promptly. For customers who didn't attend, consider offering moderate support. Monitor customers' sales and adjust to prevent overstocking and returns due to poor sales.
If a customer's order is significantly larger than usual (over 5 times), consider not shipping all at once to avoid warehouse congestion and negative impact. Communicate with the manufacturer to reconcile expenses and express gratitude for their support.
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