Chapter 2 1. Stumbling in unfamiliar territory

In the early 1990s, China's economic system was in the transition from a planned economy to a market economy. In the near future, many new industries will spring up amidst all kinds of hardships, and the marketing industry will also lose no time. broke ground.For those with ideals and ambitions, they will face a storm of opportunities and challenges. In 1990, a Nanjing woman quit her job and came to Shenzhen like many migrant workers. She was 36 years old that year.At this time, she was just an unknown working woman, but many years later, this working woman became a legendary woman who dominated Shang Hai!This woman is called Dong Mingzhu.Her life is shining like a pearl in the Chinese sales circle.Dong Mingzhu was born in 1954 in Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties with rich cultural heritage. There are seven brothers and sisters in her family, and she is the youngest.She used to work as a technician in a chemical research institute and lived a relatively stable and warm life.

1990 is definitely a memorable year. Dong Mingzhu was 36 years old this year, which happened to be her third birth year.For many women of this age, it is the time to take care of their husbands and children, enjoy a happy life, have a relatively stable job, and chat with their colleagues every day.However, her fate was ill-fated. Just as the happy life she was longing for was just beginning, her husband unfortunately passed away from illness.That year, she was 30 years old and her son was two years old.Facing the sudden blow, she gritted her teeth and silently endured the heavy pressure of life.

One day six years later, at the age of 36, she suddenly left Nanjing and went south to manage a chemical product company in Shenzhen. She left her 8-year-old son in the care of her elderly mother, and she turned around and plunged into her future working career. It was also from this year that Dong Mingzhu officially started her business game.The decision to leave home was rightly questioned by the family.Generally speaking, making a living is what men should do, and women often lack the courage and confidence to take risks.Dong Mingzhu's strong personality determines her life development trajectory.Stubborn, she is unwilling to rely on others, unwilling to let others give charity and sympathy, and would rather rely on her own efforts to achieve success.

Before entering the sea, Dong Mingzhu was engaged in management work in the enterprise. According to her words, it was doing personnel work, specifically doing labor insurance benefits and wage reform in some units. Such administrative work is cumbersome and simple. For Dong Mingzhu, she hopes to do a more challenging job.During her part-time job in Shenzhen, Dong Mingzhu still started her old business and worked as a manager in a chemical company.She doesn't have a clear idea about the future, and she doesn't even think that she will be famous in the home appliance industry.She is an extremely responsible person. Although she only does an ordinary job with a low salary, she is dedicated to her duties and has never had any complaints.At that time, Dong Mingzhu seemed unknown, but her heart was full of passion and strength.As she herself said: "I am more easy-going and don't fight with others for anything, but I have been thinking that it may be because I have a kind of tenacity in my bones. At that time, I was just an ordinary employee and had no conditions to release."

During an accidental encounter with Zhuhai, she was gradually attracted by the beautiful environment of Zhuhai. Although the prosperity of Shenzhen was exciting, the tranquility of Zhuhai fascinated her even more.Zhuhai is located on the west side of the estuary of the Pearl River and is connected to Macau. It is one of the first four special economic zones in China along with Shenzhen, Shantou and Xiamen.Here the sea and the sky are connected, the environment is pleasant, and it is regarded as a city of quality life.Compared with the hustle and bustle of Shenzhen, the pace here is a bit slower, and the characteristics of the state-owned economy are more prominent.

Regarding the choice of the marketing industry, Dong Mingzhu considered it relatively simply at the time. It was to challenge himself and try a new job. The salesman can go all over the world and represent the image of a company, so Dong Mingzhu chose this infinite challenge. sexual occupation.With a strong nature, she applied to Gree Electric Appliances, which was called Haili Air Conditioning Factory at the time. She resolutely declined the old job arranged by Haili's personnel department and asked to be a grassroots salesperson.It never occurred to her that her step into Gree established the earth-shaking changes in Gree and her glorious life.Gree was still in its infancy at that time. It was a small and unknown state-owned air-conditioning factory with an annual production capacity of about 20,000 units.Gree was doing assembly at that time, and its annual sales were only 20 to 30 million yuan. There were 20 salesmen in total, and the tasks were assigned according to the company's annual sales, which meant that each person had to complete the sales task of 1 million yuan a year. The commission is about 20,000 yuan, and wages, travel expenses and public relations fees are all included in it. For the commission of 10,000 yuan, almost all the salesmen tried their best to sell the air conditioner.In the air-conditioning industry in the enlightenment period, sales are a very tricky thing, not only limited by the consumption capacity of the market, but also to solve the problem of consumers' consumption awareness.At that time, for ordinary people, air conditioners belonged to high-end consumer goods, which were out of reach.

Dong Mingzhu, who has just arrived, looks honest and responsible, elegant and gentle, obviously lacking in the style of a seasoned salesman.Regarding the sales industry, Dong Mingzhu, who just joined Gree, didn’t even know whether the air-conditioning industry had a future. He just heard that the global climate has been rising at a rate of 0.1 to 0.2 degrees every year since the mid-1980s, and the weather has become more and more serious. The hotter it gets, the sooner or later air conditioners will enter the homes of ordinary people. She intuitively believes that the air conditioner industry has a bright future.Dong Mingzhu is a new salesman, and a female salesman at that.Marketing was still a new profession in China at that time. Under the impact of the market economy, enterprises left the infancy of the planned economy one after another. All product marketing had to be done by their own marketing personnel, and the profession of salesman came into being.

Generally speaking, there are requirements for companies to select salesmen. Men who run business must be able to eat, drink and talk, and be able to make relationships with all kinds of skills; women must be young and beautiful, and good at "public relations".Seeing that Dong Mingzhu doesn't drink alcohol, only drinks water at the dinner table, and loves to dig into the horns of the dead, with a very principled appearance, not only some customers are not optimistic about her, but some kind old salesmen can't help but feel sorry for her. Worry. Considering that Dong Mingzhu was not familiar with the business, the factory arranged for her to go to Beijing and Northeast China with an old salesman for a period of time to get familiar with the business as soon as possible.Dong Mingzhu, who is new to the industry, is both strong and timid. She is eager to get familiar with the new business and adapt to the new environment as soon as possible.In order to get acquainted with the market situation, Dong Mingzhu, who is strong and studious, follows the old salesmen like a "follower", running around together, visiting merchants and going to the warehouse.Marketing work requires salesmen not only to have solid business knowledge, but also to have the ability to be eloquent and eloquent, and the most important thing is to be able to fool around.But Dong Mingzhu is a gentle Jiangnan woman, honest and quiet, she will blush when she meets strangers, let alone fooling people.

For Dong Mingzhu, marketing is a completely unfamiliar industry. There is neither theory for her to learn nor experience for her to learn from. This is doomed for her to advance while groping.Dong Mingzhu is a person who likes to compete with herself, and she must do everything well.She has always believed in human effort, and she either does not do the work of marketing or does it to the end. She really has no experience, but she has sufficient confidence. In the summer of 1991, Dong Mingzhu went on a business trip alone for the first time. This time she truly experienced the hardships of marketing work.It was July at that time, and because the train compartment was extremely hot and hungry for a whole day, Dong Mingzhu suffered from heatstroke after getting off the train, her head was dizzy, staring at her eyes, and she was sweating, and she passed out in the hotel , fell out and broke a bone.But Dong Mingzhu was Dong Mingzhu. This tough woman still insisted on walking. Despite the severe pain, she still limped around, and she was still tirelessly promoting Gree air conditioners, which were not yet well-known at the time, in Beijing and Northeast China. "Sometimes, when we encounter some difficulties, we will shrink back or feel helpless. I think it is just a momentary thing. You should think more about how to face it and how to compete with it." This sentence Behind the scenes, what we feel is a sensual and persevering Dong Mingzhu.Dong Mingzhu is a very caring person.At that time, there was a large refrigeration exhibition hall in Beijing, which mainly exhibited and sold air conditioners, and they stayed there for two days.As everyone knows, this stay has become famous.While listening to the old salesman and the manager of the showroom talking about business, she observed carefully.At that time, the exhibition hall brought together many well-known domestic and foreign brands.The old salesman repeatedly asked the manager to sign more orders, but the manager said: "You Gree is average, but there is no problem. You can sell it here, and you can sell it here as a consignment?" There is definitely a big market for Gree air conditioners.During the hard work of half a year, under the leadership of the veteran salesman and her own efforts, Dong Mingzhu managed a business of more than 3 million yuan, and became familiar with the knowledge about the installation, configuration, use and maintenance of air conditioners, and more importantly, It is she who knows how to deal with distributors from different regions, different personalities, and different brands.The practice of the past six months has gradually built up her self-confidence. "There is nothing difficult in the world, as long as there is a heart." Although the saying is clichéd, it is the truth.

The marketing market is no longer a stranger to her. In this field, her pace is no longer faltering, but is about to walk like flying. "A person's gait when he is a toddler is clumsy, and it is easy to be forgotten; but the footsteps of a beginner in business are unforgettable. For me later, this kind of effort is hard , It is also worth it, it determines the way I will go my own way in the future." -Dong Mingzhu said.