2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 651 A good start
Just like with stocks and real estate, it's all about buying when prices are rising and not buying when prices are falling.

Due to high demand, 5000 Leichi New Energy vehicles, including the "old man's car" (a type of electric vehicle), were sold out instantly even before they officially entered production.

Zhao Xinyi also breathed a sigh of relief.

This was her first time hosting a conference, and it was a very important dealer conference at that. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. Usually, Zhao Xinyi was the client, and the kind who was absolutely dominant, so of course she didn't have to worry.

But now that she wants to sell the goods, if the distributors don't buy them, there's nothing she can do.

A batch of goods costs at least tens of thousands of yuan, and we can't force distributors to take it all; if we did, they might not be willing to cooperate and help with promotion.

"Thank you for your support of Leichi. Given the uncertainty of market acceptance for the first batch of products, our company has decided to offer an additional discount of 200 to 500 yuan per vehicle on top of the existing official price. This will be determined based on the order amount, and a specialist will explain this to you when you sign the contract later."

This was the right the boss gave her. The boss instructed her that if the distributors did not agree, the price could be appropriately reduced, or even the price could be reduced to cost price.

Losing a little money during the market development phase is not unacceptable.

Upon hearing this good news, the dealers' smiles widened even more.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Zhao. Rest assured, we will do our best to promote it."

"Mr. Zhao is generous."

Zhao Xinyi smiled and made a few perfunctory remarks before leaving the meeting room open for everyone to sign contracts. Lei Chi had already prepared the contracts, standard ones, which only needed to be changed in terms of the amounts.

"Mr. Zhao, you have ordered 20 vehicles, totaling 235,000 yuan. In view of your order amount and your consistent credit rating, we will give you a discount of up to 10,000 yuan."

Zhao Chuanbing politely replied, "Thank you very much."

Zhao Chuanbing, now 32, is no longer the same as he used to be and has developed a beer belly.

The young man who had to scrape together a 6.44 yuan down payment back then is now worth millions. He also sells Shanchi tricycles, and they're selling quite well.

He trusts the products manufactured by Flash Motors. He had studied them carefully during the test drive and found that although Flash Motors' electric vehicles have a simple structure, the materials used are quite solid, and the workmanship is not cheap or shoddy.

Others might think taking 20 cars is risky, but he doesn't think so. Yingzhou is a large city with a large population, and he feels that he can easily handle 20 cars.

With 10 top-of-the-line models, he can earn at least 2000 yuan per car, and with the low-end models, he can earn 1000 yuan per car.

In other words, he would make at least 3 yuan in profit from these 20 vehicles, plus the 1 yuan discount, which is a 17% net profit. Add the rebate, and it's almost 20% net profit.

It's a pity, he wanted to get more, but his level wasn't high enough.

If we can acquire 30 to 50 vehicles and sell them all within this year, we can earn at least 100,000 yuan.

The young woman in charge of signing the contracts was very polite: "We should be thanking you for your support of Leichi."

While the contract was being signed, Zhao Xinyi had already left the Leichi factory area. She had to go and report to her boss that the first batch of 5000 vehicles had been ordered, which was a great start for Leichi.

Zhao Xinyi, who had rushed to the headquarters, excitedly reported everything that had just happened at Leichi.

"They're all sold out? Looks like the acceptance rate is pretty high, not bad, not bad."

Tan Jincheng looked at Zhao Xinyi, whose face was flushed, and smiled, "If the distributors can accept it, it means that the product is already half successful. Don't doubt these people's vision and sensitivity. Although these people may not be able to build a huge business, they are definitely shrewd."

They rarely engage in unprofitable ventures when it comes to new things.

"Boss, they're all sold out. Can I ask you for a favor?"

With the boss in a good mood, Zhao Xinyi thought she could take the opportunity to make some requests.

"What do you want from me?"

"Hehe, could you ask Mr. Zhou to help Lei Chi with some marketing plans? Of course, it would be even better if you could do it yourself, boss."

The Mr. Zhou that Zhao Xinyi mentioned is Zhou Ao, the current marketing director of Flash Group. Zhou Ao, who claims to be Tan Jincheng's apprentice, is now in charge of the marketing planning work of the entire group. Although Flash Group does not carry out large-scale publicity, it still needs to do some publicity.

Zhao Xinyi had just arrived, and it was uncertain whether she could command the original group of people. In addition, she did not trust them and was unsure of their work abilities, so she set her sights on Zhou Ao.

Currently, apart from the financial department, Leichi New Energy actually has two teams. The original management team from Zhongtai is still responsible for the OEM business for Zhongtai.

Zhao Xinyi, a new employee, is in charge of the Leichi electric vehicle business. Tan Jincheng gave her an adjustment period.

Gu Qingqing holds the title of president of Leichi only to oversee things; in reality, besides supervising finances, Gu Qingqing is not responsible for any specific business operations. "Heh, you still want me to take action? How much planning fee are you planning to pay me as vice president?"

"Hehe, boss, if you personally handle the transaction, the price will definitely be negotiable, and it will absolutely be worthy of your status."

Mr. Tan rarely does specific marketing planning himself these days, but he is still quite famous in the marketing circle. In fact, the fact that Wei Lai has been able to maintain its popularity for so long is a testament to Mr. Tan's marketing skills.

"Don't even think about me. As for Zhou Ao, you can talk to him yourself. If you can persuade him to help, that's your skill. Of course, I won't object if you can persuade him."

Zhou Ao has also been busy this year. Although the newly emerged Aima doesn't have Jay Chou's endorsement, its offensive is still very fierce. In addition to working on distribution channels, they also have plenty of money to sign three celebrities who became popular this year: Liu Huaqiang, Xiao Shenyang, and My Husband.

If in previous years Flashcar appeared on the market with a disruptive style, stealing the spotlight, then this year the spotlight belongs to Aima, thanks to its years of accumulated bicycle distribution channels.

In addition, Yu Lin, whom they poached from Xinri, played a crucial role this year, and along with the overwhelming advertising, Aima quickly became a dark horse in the electric vehicle market.

The advertising slogan remains the same: "If you love it, take action now." According to data released by the Bicycle Association, Aima Electric Vehicles, despite being a brand new brand, achieved an astonishing sales volume of 29 units in the first half of 2009.

Judging from Aima's publicity, they plan to invest as much as 200 million yuan in advertising this year, which can be described as sparing no expense. However, judging from sales alone, this advertising investment is worthwhile.

In the first half of the year, five electric vehicle companies—Shanchi, Xinri, Yadi, Luyuan, and Aima—accounted for about 30% of the electric vehicle market share. Aima entered the ranks of leading companies in its first year.

Ai Ma's amazing performance inevitably led people to compare him to Flashcart from a few years ago. In addition, Flashcart is now a listed company, which has attracted even more attention. As the person in charge of publicity, Zhou Ao is even busier.

"Focus on advertising in lower-tier markets. There's no need to advertise on city-level or higher TV stations. Pay more attention to wall advertisements along rural roads and then just book advertising slots on county and city-level TV stations."

The customer base is different. Leichi's customer base is not all users. It doesn't seek fame, but only to sell well and make a fortune quietly.

These advertising investments don't cost much; advertising on county-level TV stations is practically free for big spenders like Leichi.

If you could open a factory in a county, it would cost almost nothing. For example, brands like Flash and GXG receive incredibly good treatment at Wangjiang TV Station.

"Okay, thank you boss."

Zhao Xinyi was very happy. The boss's direct subordinates were indeed the direct subordinates. A few words of guidance from the boss could save them a lot of detours: "Does the boss have any other instructions? If not, I will go to find President Zhou."

Tan Jincheng glanced at her and said, "Leichi's business pressure isn't too high. You should focus more on accumulating technical expertise, especially in batteries. In the future, we'll be making real new energy vehicles."

"Also, don't put too much pressure on yourself. This is your first time managing a company independently, so remember to take it one step at a time."

Tan Jincheng would very much like to retain the employees who stay with Zhongtai if they can align with Shanchi's values. The grassroots employees are all mature, the management team is professional, and as for the technical staff, there are still several years to go, so they can definitely be trained.

As they grow and mature, these individuals will become a significant asset to Weilai Automobile in the future.

Speaking of which, Weilai Motors has made quite a few investments in new energy, but they are scattered and not easily noticed by outsiders. However, when the need arises, they can quickly develop by integrating resources.

This is exactly the same approach as when they were making gasoline-powered cars: acquire some in the east, invest in some in the west, and then combine them together to create the current scale of Weilai Automobile.

In terms of valuation, Weilai Auto's current valuation is no lower than Zhongtai's. Although its sales volume is not as high as Zhongtai's, the profits from its pickup trucks and buses are much higher than those of Zhongtai's dilapidated models.

"Ok, I see."

Zhao Xinyi had completely lost the imposing manner she had displayed at Lei Chi, and now she listened attentively like a student.

“I’ve also heard about your work style in the purchasing department. I don’t object to women being assertive; on the contrary, I admire strong women. But being a strong woman is not just about being assertive. You can learn that from your boss’s wife.”

"Your boss seems very gentle, but she has a lot of prestige at Orange Technology. You should ask her for advice when you have time."

For both male and female leaders, a balance of firmness and flexibility is the best way to work.

Zhao Xinyi blushed a little at what was said. She was indeed quite assertive in the purchasing department, but there was nothing she could do about it. When she first took office, many people looked at her with prejudice, but they got used to it over time.

Zhao Xinyi lowered her head and replied, "Okay, I understand."

"I don't mean to criticize you, nor do I want you to change anything; it's just a reminder."

Tan Jincheng had heard some rumors before, and he originally wanted to remind her to settle her personal life as soon as possible, but then he thought better of it.

It's not appropriate for him to say that; let his wife talk to her.

(End of this chapter)