How Can Agents Improve Themselves?

Over the years, manufacturing enterprises have been making great efforts to improve the marketing and management level of agents. However, the results are not very effective, because the solution to this problem is largely dependent on the fact that agents still do not know how to pform themselves, which direction to raise, or even feel that there is nothing wrong with maintaining the status quo, and that the risk of changing the status quo is also one of their concerns.

But in the near future, agents must face at least three problems:

1. is selected in two business situations.

The demand of strong brands for channels will be higher and higher, and more autonomy will be given to the choice of agents. The existing agents can take the initiative to follow up, grow bigger or stronger, or be eliminated and become disadvantaged (relative) brand agents, and even return to simple retail and batch business status.

The future of a non strong brand agent is a common loss to the agency brand.

2., challenged by new channel strategies.

The first challenge comes from the reduction of the operating area of agents. This narrowing will force agents to change their traditional extensive management mode and turn them into intensive cultivation of limited areas.

The changes from extensive operation to intensive operation will clearly expose the deficiencies of these agents.

The second challenge comes from the enterprise marketing mode.

Some enterprises (such as some liquor, cosmetics, health care products) adopt collation marketing mode. They have marketing organizations in the regional market, directly operate the market (or part of the market), and also have agents to undertake the work of distributing or operating part of the market. Usually, agents are the main body, and marketing organizations are set up as auxiliary marketing.

This mode requires agents to have higher participation ability and coordination ability, as well as the accuracy of local market grasped by geopolitical advantages, so as to ensure correct decision-making and consistent business ideas.

3. the rise of new business groups.

The expansion of chain businesses will also pose a threat to agents of traditional roles.

Chain business has challenged some agents in some industries for its strong purchasing power, price advantage, distribution ability and chain brand reputation.

After entering WTO, the entry of multinational distribution groups will exacerbate this crisis and spread to more industries.

The best way to solve these problems is to be ready to take part in the future competition and get the ability to match it.

Choose your own supplement -- professional manager

At present, most agents have risen to a specific era. The accumulation of primitive capital has been preliminarily completed, and there is a common sense of being modest and easy to get ahead. Even if we are prepared for danger in times of peace, we have to accept the limited educational level and lack the awareness and ability to accept new knowledge.

After years of ups and downs, most agents have rich experience, keen market sense and strong business relationship.

These advantages help them to judge the market direction more accurately, but they choose the right direction, but often fail to achieve the expected results. The main reason lies in the lack of technical operation and management in the process of operation.

To compensate for this defect, the most economical way is to hire professional managers.

Some older agents are tired of their jobs. The entry of professional managers helps to improve the working atmosphere of the company.

The professional managers chosen by agents should have the following basic qualities:

1. sound social personality and good professional ethics.

2. good marketing skills.

Including research, planning, operation, management and other capabilities, but also has the ability to learn and certain financial knowledge.

Learning ability makes it possible to make up for the shortage of agents with new knowledge and promote the improvement of ordinary employees.

3. good communication skills.

It includes communication skills of upper and lower levels, communication ability with manufacturers, communication ability with business units, etc.

This ability is sometimes even more important than the specific marketing capability.

4. a strong spirit of innovation.

The basic qualities of professional managers can be reduced to three words: "virtuous", excellent moral cultivation, "Hui", excellent communication level, "able" and pragmatic management ability.

How can we get such a qualified person?

1. through conversation, valuable information can be obtained.

Of course, this kind of conversation is not arbitrary. Plan ahead.

If the agent is not sure of himself, he can assist the excellent salesman to finish the work.

2. look at the post.

For example, the delivery of a research plan can initially judge its working attitude, analytical ability, communication ability and summarizing ability.

With the rich content of the work, he can further understand his character, value orientation and attitude towards the company and his expectations.

By "careful proof", if everything is satisfactory, it should be used step by step. The remaining problem is to find ways to keep him, so that he can devote himself and create.

In addition, it is a way to excavate talents and cultivate employees from the side.

Planning agent brand

When it comes to brand planning, many people think that it is a matter of production enterprises.

In fact, for example, in Beijing, when people talk about buying appliances, they will think of going to Gome.

Gome is a brand, while Gome is a distributor.

Therefore, agents carry out their own brand planning, that is, their company as a brand to operate.

The significance of this work has been demonstrated in Gome and Suning in WAL-MART and Carrefour.

Before buying a product, most customers choose to buy it.

The brand planning of the agent is to provide the reason for the downstream customers to cooperate with you, so as to achieve the goal of barrier free distribution of the agent products.

Agent brand planning is a systematic project. It can start from the simplest part and emphasize from the most important points.

1. plan the products that are operated.

What products the agents operate is the most important, which is related to the overall image of the agent brand, and the success or failure of the business depends to some extent on the products it represents.

Products of vulnerable brands are difficult to operate successfully.

Failure is the first thing that affects the brand of agents to fight down the trust and confidence of downstream customers.

But there are too few strong brands. The sole choice of many agents is to represent potential brands.

Potential brands are characterized by strong strength, healthy business development, advanced marketing concepts, profound market awareness, strong market awareness and appropriate strategy. Agents can make comprehensive assessments through in-depth discussions, exchanges and inspections with manufacturers, combined with other market related information.

Of course, the choice of agent brands should be in their familiar areas.

More often, agents generally operate multiple brands, and even the entire store looks like a department store.

Some agents are agents of one or two brands and distributors of other agents.

The author recommends abandoning the latter, paying attention and expertise to make the cake.

Product planning requires the integration of agency brand at this time.

The basis for integration is:

1) product relevance: for example, there is no correlation between alcoholic products and cosmetics; they should be abandoned; however, alcoholic products are strongly related to beverages and can be operated at the same time.

2) channel correlation: we can make use of the main brand channels to carry out joint marketing products, dredge channels and strengthen beneficial products, which are called channel related strong, such as beer for liquor, pastry food for sugar and so on.

Through product planning, it helps agents locate themselves, define the main direction, objectives, characteristics and guiding ideology, avoid the limited resources being dispersed blindly, and appear the situation of "blossom everywhere without result".

2. build brand reputation and reputation.

The brand reputation and reputation of agents are based on the successful opening up of the market, which comes from commitment and service.

Although many agents have acquired a considerable share of the market, they can not get the praise from the downstream customers. The brand of the agent is overwhelmed by the product brand, and many of them are ruined by themselves. If the product is not available, the business of the agent may have been rejected.

The reason is nothing more than two points:

1) promise with eloquence, cling to your pocket and cash it.

They are not convinced, tempting, or even embezzling the profits of downstream customers.

2) rely on no fear and act like a tyrant.

The downstream customers are very angry and even bribe.

The agents who are attacking the market will not appear in the above two situations, but they usually make mistakes in marketing decisions. For example, agents do not dare to leave the promotion cost space, promise the downstream customers conditional promise, but distribute them wholesale to the customers at a wholesale price.

The result is that the products are competitively priced, but customers feel unattractive, so that products can lie in the corner, which can neither generate sales nor have a good impression on the brand of agents.

No promises and credibility.

How can fame be without market?

3., move towards regularization.

This is a meticulous work.

Small to the salesperson's dress, manners, business card format, to the company's public image, business philosophy, values and so on, if agents just cooperate with a good brand, then you can learn from the agent brand; if not, you should learn from others, explore and summarize their own set.

The most difficult part of this work is to keep the salesmen and management and training, and they are constantly getting in and out. This needs to be overcome as far as possible. The reason is obvious.

What is important is the training of the existing staff. They are not clear about what is marketing and what is the difference between marketing and sales. They may not affect their basic work, but this will make their contribution to the brand building of the agent unable to break through their limitations, and the risk of damaging the brand is very large.