Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 195 Killing Multiple Birds with One Stone

Manager Pan really couldn't figure out how to solve the current problem.

On his way to Li Xu's office, he was still thinking.

However, it must be said that a leader who is hard to understand is definitely more capable than one who is easy to see through.

Manager Pan prefers his boss to be someone who is unpredictable.

When I arrived at Li Xu's office, Li Xu was intently reading a document.

Manager Pan was quite tactful and didn't approach. The door was open, and he knocked gently.

Li Xu glanced at him, then said crisply, "Manager Pan, come in and have a seat."

There is a chair in front of Li Xu's desk.

Manager Pan nodded, walked over quickly, and sat down in front of Li Xu.

Only then did Li Xu unfold what he was looking at, place it on the table, and push it towards Manager Pan.

Manager Pan took one look and realized that this was not a document at all, but clearly the personnel ranking he had given to Li Xu.

"Tell me more about your supervisors."

Manager Pan noticed that Li Xu had made numerous annotations and markings on the sorted list. Clearly, Li Xu had obtained information from more than just him.

Manager Pan didn't understand what Li Xu was going to do, but he still explained everything in detail.

After listening to the brief introduction, Li Xu paused for a moment, then asked, "Of these four managers, which two were the ones who said they would resign if their salaries were reduced?"

Manager Pan hesitated for a moment, but still spoke honestly. This wasn't exactly a secret; Li Xu could easily find out by making a few inquiries.

Manager Pan said, "They are Jinsha and Xia Rui, respectively."

Before Li Xu could ask any further questions, Manager Pan began to give a detailed introduction to Jin Sha and Xia Rui.

Manager Pan said, "Xia Rui is currently in charge of two projects for the Transportation Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau. He won the first phase of the projects. Now the bidding for the second phase of those projects is about to begin. Xia Rui is in charge of all the preliminary documents. Moreover, Xia Rui has a very good relationship with everyone in those two units."

"Simply put, Xia Rui is a very capable salesperson with a technical background. He used to work in technical services within the group. However, when communicating with clients, he doesn't talk about flashy technical stuff. Instead, because he understands the technology, he can avoid many pitfalls and issues. He also personally handles all the tender documents. When communicating with our internal technical staff, Xia Rui's efficiency is far higher than that of ordinary salespeople."

Li Xu did not express his opinion, but nodded.

Manager Pan then introduced another salesperson: "As for Jinsha, her main characteristic is that she has a very high EQ. You'll understand if you meet her. She's not only good-looking, but also has a sweet appearance. She's currently in charge of the project at the computer mall."

From having absolutely no connections to breaking into the industry and snatching a piece of the pie from two large companies that had been in the computer market for years, Jinsha made a name for herself overnight. Although she hadn't been in the industry for long, she had already successfully risen from a regular salesperson to a supervisor in just one year.

After listening to Manager Pan's introduction, Li Xu leaned back in his chair and thought for a while. Suddenly, he smiled and asked, "Manager Pan, if you were to rank these two supervisors again, and one of them had to leave, who would you choose?"

Manager Pan was taken aback. This was indeed a difficult question to answer, and for a moment he fell silent.

Li Xu wasn't in a hurry and patiently waited for Manager Pan to think it over carefully.

Manager Pan remained silent for a long time before giving a bitter smile and saying, "Of course I hope they can both stay, but if I really have to rank them, I still hope Xia Rui stays."

Li Xu's face remained expressionless as he nodded and said, "Tell me the specifics."

Manager Pan cleared his throat, sat up straight, and said seriously, "First of all, it's a matter of seniority. Xia Rui has been with the company for many years, and this is his fourth position in sales. He knows a lot of the company's secrets."

"Secondly, he has a technical background. From the research and development to the formal implementation of our new projects and technologies, it involves the information synchronization between the company's internal engineers and sales personnel. Salespeople like Xia Rui with a technical background are obviously much stronger than ordinary salespeople in this area."

After a pause, Manager Pan smiled and said, "I really appreciate people with technical skills going into sales, but in reality, the vast majority of technical people can't do sales work."

"As you know, sales and technology are completely different things. Many engineers have a linear way of thinking. They think that if their product is excellent, the customer will definitely accept it. But only those who have actually done sales know that there is not much difference between an 80-point product and a 100-point product in the eyes of the customer."

"Unless they are one of the very few customers who focus on the specifications, most customers don't understand your technicalities. What they care about more is whether their needs are met and whether their concerns are addressed."

"Most technicians bring out a bunch of technical parameters when they talk about products with customers, but they can't grasp the customers' pain points and needs at all. Xia Rui does this very well. Although Xia Rui comes from a technical background, he never brings that kind of technical thinking into his sales work. His professional skills are only used in internal communication, which is what I admire most about him."

"Because of this characteristic, Xia Rui is a salesperson with great potential. In our industry, it's not easy to accumulate experience and then unleash your full potential, but Xia Rui happens to have this characteristic. The longer he works, the more impressive he becomes."

Li Xu glanced at the time silently. He noticed that Manager Pan used more words when talking about Xia Rui, which showed that he did care more about Xia Rui.

Manager Pan thought for a moment and then said, "Besides that reason, there's another big difference between the two salespeople." Li Xu nodded, signaling Manager Pan to continue.

Manager Pan began, “That’s teamwork. The biggest difference between the two is that Xia Rui values ​​teamwork more. He has several salespeople who are loyal to him. He treats his team very well. Every time the sales target is met and the performance bonus is distributed, Xia Rui only takes half, sometimes even less, and gives the lion’s share to his team. In contrast, Jin Sha prefers to work alone. Of course, that’s not to say it’s bad. Jin Sha is worth several people on her own. So, although she is a supervisor, she doesn’t actually lead any other salespeople.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xu revealed a meaningful smile. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be a good thing for him, the manager, if his supervisor is good at leading the team, unless he needs someone to replace him if he wants to promote someone else. However, Li Xu didn't ask any further questions.

He silently processed the information Manager Pan had provided, nodded, and asked, "Besides these two people, who are the people in your department that you least want to see?"

Manager Pan's eyes flickered. He hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth, since the answer to this question might offend some people.

As if sensing Manager Pan's concerns, Li Xu slowly said, "I want to hear the truth, Manager Pan. You know my position. I can't stay here indefinitely, so everything I do is for the betterment of the company."

Manager Pan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and then said, "President Li, the four people at the very end of the list I gave you are all long-time employees from when the company was first established."

Upon hearing the words "veteran employee," Li Xu immediately understood what was going on.

As expected, Manager Pan gave a wry smile and said, "They took advantage of the fact that they secured two big projects when the company was first established, and they have a lot of seniority in the company. Now they've become old hands. They're taking the company's salary while also doing some side businesses."

Li Xu asked, "Can't you control them?"

Manager Pan sighed and said, "As you know, salespeople like us can't stay in the company all day. We definitely have to go out and do business. So you can't use their absence from work as an excuse. Most of the employees who actually go out to do sales are not in the company either. The only thing we can talk about is the sales volume. But these old hands have a lot of connections in society, and they always manage to get orders when it comes to performance reviews. You really can't say anything about it, and you can't fire them either."

Li Xu leaned back in his chair, remained silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "Besides these six people, where are the others?"

Manager Pan said earnestly, "I think the others are all very good."

Li Xu nodded and said, "I understand the general situation. Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

Manager Pan stood up and said, "Okay, then I'll get back to work."

After Manager Pan left, Li Xu called Huang Lingling over and asked her to call over Xia Rui and Jin Sha, the two sales supervisors.

In the entire morning, Li Xu met with three people. After these three meetings, Li Xu already had a plan in mind.

At lunchtime, Li Xu was in a great mood. He had A Bin drive while Huang Lingling chose a restaurant, which served Italian food.

Li Xu didn't mind telling Huang Lingling about the upcoming plans. The waiter brought over a plate of black pork chops, and Li Xu casually pushed it to Huang Lingling, telling her to eat first, while saying, "Xia Rui's dissatisfaction with the new salary plan is that the pay cut will greatly affect the sales team. In short, he's appealing on behalf of his subordinates. Jin Sha, on the other hand, is different. Jin Sha simply feels that her contributions far exceed the value provided by the salary plan."

Huang Lingling blinked, nodded, and then shyly cut her steak.

Li Xu had no appetite for food at the moment. After thinking for a moment, he said to Huang Lingling, "Help me contact some of the best headhunting companies in the province."

After hesitating for a moment, Li Xu waved his hand again, "Forget it, I'll do this myself."

He took out his phone and called his father. What followed was a conversation that was a little inconvenient for Huang Lingling to hear. Li Xu stood up and walked out.

On the other end of the phone, Li Yuqian listened to Li Xu's plan with some surprise, then chuckled and said, "You've managed to kill two birds with one stone."

Li Xu humbly asked his father, "Dad, do you think there are any flaws in my thinking?"

Li Yuqian paused for a moment, without giving an answer, and only said: "You have to do it to know. Your idea is very bold. Whether it can achieve the expected results or not, we'll have to see the outcome. But I hope you can go for it. I'll have my secretary send you the phone number later."

After hanging up the phone, Li Yuqian found it somewhat amusing and muttered to himself, "This brat is becoming more and more like a pro, huh?"

Li Xu's method was actually not complicated. He planned to find some headhunting companies to poach a few people he thought shouldn't stay in the company. In addition to the four seasoned veterans mentioned by Manager Pan and Jin Sha, there were two others he learned from other sources who needed to be laid off, making a total of seven people.

These seven people were poached by other companies through headhunting firms. Competition in their industry is increasingly fierce, and some companies are jumping in headfirst without understanding much about the industry. It's easy for headhunting firms to trick them.

What impact will this decision have? First, Li Xu will ensure that the total compensation for the marketing department does not decrease in the salary package. With fewer people, their department's compensation will naturally increase, and those who remain will be very satisfied. Besides, their team doesn't actually need that many salespeople; quality is more important than quantity.

Secondly, regarding the choice between Xia Rui and Jin Sha, Jin Sha's actions essentially stemmed from her attempt to manipulate the company using her abilities. If she were to succeed, it would create numerous hidden problems for future management. Furthermore, Li Xu clearly understood that Jin Sha's ability to secure that large deal was not only due to her own capabilities but also significantly influenced by the platform provided by the company—a fact Jin Sha herself failed to recognize. Now, with a different company and platform, whether she can effectively utilize that platform, and whether that platform is suitable for her, remains uncertain.

However, Jinsha's reputation has already spread. Because of Jinsha's presence, other companies are more likely to believe that they poached such an outstanding top salesperson like Jinsha based on their own abilities. Therefore, it would seem more authentic to package and sell those old hands together.

In this way, they solved the sales team's compensation problem, strengthened team cohesion, and weeded out a few long-time crooks. Meanwhile, the headhunting firm closed the deal, and their competitors poached talent. Jinsha and the other long-time crooks received high salaries and opportunities to prove themselves.

It can be said that everyone got what they wanted, and everyone has a bright future.

Thinking of this, Li Xu couldn't help but chuckle softly. The competition ahead would be fierce, and the people who were poached this time would most likely participate in the project. It would be a good thing to create some hidden dangers for the competitors.

(End of this chapter)