2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 326 "First Anniversary Celebration"

The sweltering July has passed, and the equally sweltering August has arrived.

The peak season promotional activities initiated by FlashCar are becoming increasingly popular, and the competition is becoming more and more intense.

"Boss, Luyuan held a press conference in Hangzhou, and they made a big splash," Zeng Jixiang reported.

"what did you say?"

"They promised the public that the battery of the Luyuan electric vehicle would be guaranteed for 2 years and the motor for 5 years, plus 20 free lifetime items, which is their main service offering."

Luyuan, which has been constantly squeezed by Shanchi in the Zhejiang market, finally couldn't sit still. For the first time, they, who have always been an industry leader, announced high-quality service, which is the first of its kind in the country.

What's free is often the most expensive. These 20 free services are basically just things like changing fuses, mudguards, and light bulbs. To be honest, they're not very useful, and the added cost isn't high. They're more of a gimmick.

No one is so bored as to go all the way to the Luyuan service center just to change a fuse; time also comes at a cost.

However, this tactic does work. The word "free" is attractive enough, and "free for life" is even more attractive. In addition, Green Source is a well-known and established brand, which is more trusted by consumers in terms of quality.

The news could be found online. Tan Jincheng turned on his computer, entered the keywords into Baidu, and was quickly redirected to the specific news page of the event. Although Baidu is now full of ads, keywords are still very useful.

"This can be considered a different approach for Lü Yuan."

This is a pretty ruthless move. While Green Source may not have an advantage in advertising, it can excel in service. Its quality is already superior to other competitors, making it the first choice for consumers who value quality. With this added strategy, it's bound to be effective.

"What should we do?" Zeng Jixiang asked.

This summer was the first summer for FlashCenter to seize market share, targeting all the leading manufacturers. Therefore, the entire company paid special attention to the actions of these leading manufacturers. When Chip Day launched a major promotion in the Jiangnan region, FlashCenter immediately launched a price war.

Now that Greenland is focusing on service, it will definitely need to come up with a countermeasure for FlashCheer, which aspires to be a leader in the industry.

"Follow up, what else can we do? In addition, we'll add another point: encourage our distributors to recycle used batteries at our electric vehicle sales points, on the grounds of environmental protection. Let the marketing department come up with a promotional plan."

"Aren't there any hidden dangers in having the marketing department make the plans?" Zeng Jixiang knew that the company was facing poaching recently, and the focus of the poaching was the marketing department.

"Do what needs to be done. Poaching employees shouldn't affect the company's normal operations. Leave it to Zhou Ao and let him handle it."

Zhou Ao had already called to inform him that Aima's plan to poach Zhou Ao's staff had failed. As for the other staff in the marketing department, some of them would definitely be poached; there was nothing that could be done about it.

Let Zhou Ao handle it.

For other departments, pay attention to Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping, as well as Wang Chao and others in the R&D department.

Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping control Flash's domestic and international market channels, while Wang Chao is involved in Flash's subsequent research and development. These three are actually more important than Zhou Ao, but because of Tan Jincheng, Flash's marketing department has been too prominent.

The market attributes Flash's success to its excellent marketing strategy, which is undeniable, but even the best marketing is useless if other departments underperform.

Tan Jincheng only worked on establishing market channels and supply chain systems for the first few months. After that, he handed it over to Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping, who were constantly on business trips and had a very demanding job.

Lin Yumin is currently on a business trip in Jiangsu Province, and the information from the Changzhou government was relayed to Tan Jincheng through him.

The R&D department is even more important. Wang Chao was poached from Xinri by Tan Jincheng. Before being poached, he did not hold a particularly high position at Xinri, but he was very capable. He was technically competent and also knew some management skills.

Talented individuals who are both technically proficient and capable of management are truly rare, even scarce.

Unbeknownst to many, FlashTech's electric vehicle business has already established a fairly complete team. The finance department is headed by Liu Meilin, so there shouldn't be any problems there. Traditional entrepreneurs don't have the habit of poaching other companies' finances.

It's unlikely that Chen Jinwen from the Human Resources department will be poached. Like the Finance department, any sizable company has its own trusted talent. As for the Production department, a long-established bicycle company like Aima definitely has its own set of processes for production, so there's no need to poach anyone.

There's no need to worry about finance, human resources, or production. The only things to watch out for are the market, marketing, and R&D. As for the purchasing department, Zhao Xinyi has only just taken office; Sha Diao just poached her. The core supply chain is also under our control, so there's even less to worry about.

As for the branch office, Tianjin had just sent Sun Yuming there, and he had just taken charge of a region. He was full of ambition and high aspirations, so there was no need for him to think too much about how to choose.

As for Zhang Xuhui of Hangxin, given his current status and treatment, as well as his relationship with Zhang Xupeng and Tan Jincheng, if he has to worry about being poached, then the company might as well not exist.

After reviewing the situation, Tan Jincheng realized that he had done a pretty good job with Flashway. He had control over all the core departments. Unless he poached all the senior executives in the marketing, R&D, and sales departments, losing one or two people wouldn't seem to be a big problem.

However, we still need to take appropriate measures. It is currently the peak sales season, and the company cannot afford to be thrown into turmoil by competitors poaching employees.

"Go and call Zhou Ao over, and then call over the heads of each department one by one."

"Okay." The boss is about to make a move.

Five minutes later, Zhou Ao entered Tan Jincheng's office with a nervous heart. He knew that his boss must want to talk to him about poaching him.

He didn't know why, even though he hadn't done anything wrong and had even pledged his loyalty, he was still feeling uneasy.

Seeing Zhou Ao's nervous expression, Tan Jincheng teased, "You're here, Director Zhou, please have a seat."

"Boss, please stop joking with me," Zhou Ao said with a wry smile. "Haha, don't be nervous. Actually, I want to thank you. The fact that you called me so quickly shows that you truly respect me as your boss. It's my honor."

After Tan Jincheng made a joke, Zhou Ao's mood improved a lot: "The boss taught me a lot. In my heart, I even regard the boss as my mentor. Making phone calls is just a subconscious action."

"So, how did you feel when you were offered 50 a year?" Tan Jincheng asked curiously.

In both his previous and present lives, Tan Jincheng had never worked for anyone else. He used the money he earned from selling boxed lunches to start his own business, so he was naturally not very generous. He often heard his employees complaining behind his back that he was stingy. It was only in this life that his attitude changed somewhat.

To be honest, Tan Jincheng didn't quite understand the mentality of working people. If it were him, he would find it hard not to be tempted by the prospect of an annual salary of 50 yuan. He would at least wait a few days to see what happens instead of calling his boss directly to report the matter.

Zhou Ao glanced at his boss, who looked curious but had no other intentions. He then nodded and said, "To be honest, I'm quite tempted. That's 50! You can buy a house in a year. Before I walked into Starbucks, I never even dared to imagine that I would be worth so much money."

"Then why did you refuse? Changing jobs is actually a very normal thing. Even if we signed a non-compete agreement, as long as the other party is willing to handle the breach of contract penalty for you, these are not problems."

You've set up such a large factory in Tianjin, don't you know your own power? I'm just afraid of your retaliation, but Zhou Ao didn't dare say that out loud.

"I may be interested, but if you asked me to manage the marketing department of a startup right now, I don't think I'm capable enough. I know exactly what they value in me."

Tan Jincheng nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad. It's already very good that you're aware of these things and not letting your desires cloud your judgment."

Before Zhou Ao could reply, Tan Jincheng continued, "I certainly can't give you an annual salary of 50 right now, but don't worry, you'll have it soon."

"I understand, thank you, boss."

"No need to thank me, but if I said I wouldn't add anything, that would be underestimating you and myself. So what if Aima has money? We at Flash have plenty too. You take care of these two things."

"Boss, please speak."

"First, you should have seen the press conference of Green Source, right? If you didn't, go back and watch it, and then we will follow up on the whole thing, and add a waste battery recycling plan to it, and write a proposal."

"Secondly, the company has been officially operating for a year and has made money again. You will work in finance and HR to cooperate in creating a company-wide salary increase promotion plan. All management will receive a 15% salary increase, and all frontline employees will receive a 20% salary increase. In addition, the company will provide a few cars for you."

Those who are reborn should have some vision. They've made so much money in the physical business, so it's only right to raise their employees' salaries. Should companies like Chiprise, Yadi, and Green Field follow suit? If so, it will also increase Aima's poaching costs.

You're so rich and powerful, with an annual salary of 50 every day, then let's make you bleed a little more.

"Okay, then I'll thank you in advance, boss," Zhou Ao replied with a smile.

As always, the boss was very generous, giving a 15% raise, which further increased the already good income of Flash Motors employees. The benefits of company cars for management were also excellent.

In addition, this also makes the company's first anniversary publicity plan more comprehensive.

It also thwarted the competitors' attempts to poach its talent, making it a perfect move.

"Don't reveal the second point yet. You department heads can discuss it privately."

"Understood." Zhou Ao nodded.

"Go get busy, do your job well, don't overthink it. You'll get what's yours. I drive an Audi, and you'll at least be driving an Alto."

Zhou Ao chuckled: "Then we'll have to get you a Ferrari as soon as possible, boss."
-
As a headhunting manager, Xu Qihua realized that she had made a big mistake on her trip to Ningbo. It was not wrong to set her sights on Zhou Ao first, but as Zhou Ao said, she underestimated him.

Take the choice of Starbucks as the meeting place, for example. Xu Qihua didn't really know much about Zhou Ao's lifestyle. She just relied on her past experience and Tan Jincheng's habit of drinking coffee.

After reviewing the situation, Xu Qihua realized that she hadn't taken Zhou Ao's abilities seriously enough, or rather, she hadn't taken Tan Jincheng's abilities seriously enough. She thought that the kind of person who could gain Tan Jincheng's trust was the kind of person who knew how to please him.

Subconsciously believing that subordinates should like whatever Tan Jincheng likes is a rather biased idea.

Yes, how could a young person who can grow a company to such a scale in a year be so simple? It's just a habit; he doesn't care whether his subordinates are willing to cater to his preferences.

And Zhou Ao, a subordinate who was neither related to him nor related to him, could not have been an ordinary person if he was chosen and promoted by him.

"Tsk tsk, 50 yuan, and they just refused like that."

Xu Qihua clearly saw the attraction in Zhou Ao's eyes, but he rejected her without hesitation. Even Xu Qihua had to admire his determination.

As headhunters, they are very sensitive to salary and benefits. Even she was tempted by the figure of 50. Very few people could decisively refuse. No matter how much they hesitated, they would say, "Let me think about it."

But it's okay, as long as you're interested, you'll have another chance to try.

Besides Zhou Ao, FlashDrive has several other targets in Xu Qihua's plans, including Wang Chao, Lin Yumin, and Wu Zhenping from the R&D department.

However, considering the relationship between Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping and Tan Jincheng, the chances of these two winning are slim, so they are placed last to avoid premature exposure.

Xu Qihua was unaware that she had been exposed.

(End of this chapter)