Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 165: Give First Then Sell
When Ma Qing walked into Qi Zongyuan's office and saw the rosy-faced assistant beside the old man, he couldn't help but sigh that the old man really knew how to have fun. Look at this assistant, look at the big sofa in the office, it's so big and soft.

"Haha, what news brings Boss Ma here? It's such an honor to have a distinguished guest come to my place. It brings honor to my humble home." Qi Zongyuan, a veteran in the business world, didn't take Ma Qing's view of his assistant to heart at all. Instead, he felt a little proud of it.

Ma Qing decided to find a pretty female assistant and install a big sofa like this in his office, but he said, "Of course I won't come to you for no reason. I have a lucrative business to discuss with Mr. Qi."

As Ma Qing spoke, he took out a bunch of colorful sticky note samples from his briefcase.

"What are you doing..." Qi Zongyuan picked up the sample of the sticky note, looked at it from left to right but couldn't figure out what it was. Aren't they just some colorful pieces of paper? Is this thing worthy of international trade?

Ma Qing was a little crazy. Why did everyone who saw the Post-it Note have this attitude? Was this invention too advanced? Although he brought the appearance of the Post-it Note forward by eight years, it shouldn't be so that no one would care about it now.

"This is called a Post-it Note. It is the latest product of my new company, Zhilian Paper. There are 200 notes in a stack. The factory price is $0.5 and the market price is $1. I wonder if Jiulong Trading is interested in being an agent."

When Qi Zongyuan heard that Ma Qing had set up a new company called Zhilian Paper, and that the price of the product was a bit scary, the sticky notes looked to be about 6X6 cm in size, and selling them at this price, he must be crazy for money.

Qi Zongyuan was thinking quickly in his mind, but he said, "Congratulations to Mr. Ma. This is another new business. The young are really formidable."

The old man Qi Zongyuan didn't even open the wrapping paper, and said: "But, Boss Ma, if you want to sell this piece of colored paper at this price, I'm afraid it won't work."

"I've already told you that this is called a sticky note, not a piece of colored paper. Why don't you open it and take a look?" Ma Qing took out a stack of sticky notes, took out a pen and wrote a few words, then tore off the first page. While the female assistant wasn't paying attention, he stuck it on her thigh with a snap.

"The three major features of this product are that it leaves no residual adhesive residue after tearing off, can be pasted repeatedly, and can be pasted on a variety of materials. This is the latest technological product of our Zhilian Paper Industry, and it has patent protection from all over the world. As for the price, 200 sheets cost $1, which means you can buy a sheet of adhesive tape for only 5 cents per sheet. Is this expensive?"

Qi Zongyuan then noticed that the piece of paper in his hand had glue on one end, so he could stick it anywhere at any time. "It's quite convenient, but what's the use of it?" The old man couldn't figure it out for a moment, and pretended not to see that Ma Qing was taking advantage of his assistant.

"..." Ma Qing now didn't know whether the sticky note he made was useful or not, and he was speechless for a moment.

As a result, the assistant said, "I think it's very useful. When I go to arrange work for my colleagues, if they are not around, I can stick this colorful paper in a conspicuous place and leave a message for them, so I don't have to run around."

It’s good to be young and have a lively mind. Ma Qing feels that these office OAs are simply angels descended to earth.

After hearing what his assistant said, Qi Zongyuan understood the purpose of this so-called sticky note, but he himself was not optimistic about this product. To him, the use of this thing was as absurd as taking off pants to fart.

But considering that Ma Qing's toy business is so successful, this product can also be made by the way, it won't be a problem, "So this is the use, then how about this, Boss Ma, I want one ton first, try the effect, what do you think?" Qi Zongyuan felt that he had given Ma Qing a lot of face, but he didn't expect Ma Qing to say directly: "One ton, one ton is enough for everyone, I will give you 5 tons, you send them to all your agents and trading partners, these 5 tons are my gift, this is my plan..."

Henry Vincent, a junior salesman at a toy distributor in New York, has just joined the company and is responsible for market development and distribution. Recently, the company has become the agent for a Hong Kong toy manufacturer. Because the toys are of high quality, bright colors and full of creativity, the company has made a lot of money. His old colleagues are also very happy and everyone's pockets are bulging.

But this matter has nothing to do with Henry Vincent, because he is a new employee, and the areas assigned to him are basically places that no one else wants. Not only are the public security in these places bad, but the key is that the consumption power is even worse. This makes Henry Vincent unable to enjoy this feast at all, and he can only stand aside and worry.

The key point is that now the company can make money, and the commission income of old colleagues is guaranteed, so they will never leave. Henry Vincent has no chance to change regions, which seems to be a vicious circle.

"Jenny, what is this?" While smoking, Henry Vincent found a large box of colored paper in the corner of the office, wrapped in cellophane into small packages.

Henry Vincent was looking at the products aimlessly, a cigarette between his lips. He heard the office secretary reply, "This is a gift from the container sent by Rongfa Trading. It seems to be called sticky notes. People thought it was troublesome, so they put it there first. If you like it, you can take it. No one cares anyway."

"Post-it notes?" Henry Vincent picked up a pack of colored paper. Since he had nothing to do, he started reading the product description:
Post-it notes are small, lightweight pieces of paper with a sticky back. They can be used to quickly record important information, to-do items, reminders, etc., and can be conveniently pasted anywhere, such as in the workroom, refrigerator, wall, etc., so that they can be viewed at any time.

Henry Vincent's heart moved, he spit out the cigarette in his mouth, took a pack of sticky notes and sat back in his seat. Henry Vincent wrote on the sticky notes with a pen: "Success lies in discovery."

Henry Vincent followed the instructions and stuck the yellow sticky note on the partition of his work cubicle. He looked at the words he had written on the sticky note and made a decision in his mind.

Henry Vincent knocked on the door of the manager's office. "Are you saying that you will be responsible for the market development of this sticky note? Are you sure?" The manager frowned slightly at this new employee with poor performance.

"Yes, Manager, I think this sticky note is promising. It is very suitable for work, home, and even school applications. I want to give it a try. You also know my current situation in the company. I don't have any better choice, right?"

"Okay, Vincent, but I have to remind you that this sticky note is not actually a gift. If we continue to purchase it, we have to pay for it. If we stop purchasing it, then this batch of goods will be a gift." The manager reminded: "So don't mess around. Goods are goods. They are valuable."

After Vincent's explanation, the manager began to realize the great potential of this product and remembered the instruction documents sent with the goods, although he did not take it seriously at first.

"Oh, and also, there is a marketing plan description sent along with the goods. You can take a look at it, maybe it will be helpful to you." The manager searched in the pile of documents for a long time and finally found the plan description sent by Xiangjiang.

(End of this chapter)