I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 482 Feet, Want to Read More? The First Step to Winning Over 100,000 Merchants!
Chen Yansen did not return to Xucheng until September 13.

At this time, Baidu and Ctrip had just reached a preliminary agreement, in which Baidu would exchange 45% of its shares in Qunar and US$2 million for 25% of Ctrip's shares in the form of equity swap plus cash.

At the same time, Baidu downgraded the search rankings of products under Senlian Capital.

Although users can still find the official websites of products such as Kuaidi Dache, Kuaidi Dache, and Gaode Map, they have to scroll through more than ten pages to find them.

Previously, in order to ensure the user's search experience, Baidu only placed them on the second or third page. Now, it's too lazy to even do the superficial work and has simply lowered the prices to the bottom.

After getting off the plane, Chen Yansen left a message for Zhang Yiming on the cloud boat, demanding that Qiandu's products also be banned.

Thus, the competition between Senlian Capital and Qiandu has extended from the O2O industry to the OTA field.

In addition, Orange Smartphone has completely blocked Baidu: there is no Baidu app in the app store at all; entering the Baidu website address in the browser will automatically redirect to Lingxi Search; download links for all Baidu software are also invalid in Senlian Capital's app ecosystem.

When it comes to disgusting methods, Chen Yansen is several times better than Zhou Hongyi.

After more than a year of development, ByteDance has developed similar alternatives such as encyclopedias, Q&A platforms, forums, and document libraries, which are sufficient to maintain a good user experience.

When Chen Yansen returned to the Delta Villa, it was exactly eight o'clock in the evening.

Song Yuncheng pushed her suitcase to the dressing room on the third floor and put Chen Yansen's coat, lining, boxer shorts, and socks back in their original places one by one.

As for her own personal clothing, it was still in her suitcase; she only took toiletries, a change of underwear, and a clean set of pajamas.

After she finished her work, she found the living room empty. She went out of the living room and found Chen Yansen on the tatami by the sink.

"Master, are you hungry? I'll make you some noodles." Song Yuncheng sat down next to Chen Yansen and asked in a gentle voice.

After hearing this, Chen Yansen stared intently at Song Yuncheng. Seeing that the other party had no other intentions, he smiled and replied, "Forget about the rest. I ordered takeout. It includes your favorite crispy chicken and West Lake beef soup."

After saying that, she tossed the fish feed in her hand into the water, then lay down in Song Yuncheng's arms, comfortably waiting for the takeout.

Song Yuncheng froze, biting her lip as she looked at Chen Yansen, who was so close to her. Her small hand unconsciously reached out and touched his cheek, and she even dared to pinch it.

"If you dare to pinch the boss's face today, will you pinch his butt tomorrow? I'll have to pinch him back during the meeting tonight."

Chen Yansen squinted, pressed his face against Song Yuncheng's stomach, and threatened in a low voice.

"Master, Orange Pay's 'Quiz for All' has been launched. Yesterday, as many as 1300 million users participated in the game. Although the level of discussion across the internet is not as high as WeChat's 'Airplane Battle', the upward trend in popularity is very obvious."

Song Yuncheng rolled her eyes and changed the subject with a grin.

“Pony keeps copying my products, now it’s my turn to copy his. Look at him, he didn’t dare utter a single word on the phone! That’s what you call being guilty!”

Chen Yansen nestled his head in Song Yuncheng's arms and replied softly.

"Don't move, it tickles." Song Yuncheng chuckled and pressed down on Chen Yansen's head.

"Where does it itch? Let me check for you."

Chen Yansen said in a very serious tone.

"Do you want to see my feet?" Song Yuncheng asked casually.

The kind of teacher you have determines the kind of student you will produce.

Under Chen Yansen's tutelage, Song Yuncheng's facial expressions became increasingly natural when lying, leaving no trace of his deception.

"Why aren't you looking?" Chen Yansen sat up, picked up Song Yuncheng, and carried her into the house.

Outside the garden, a cool night breeze blew, and a sliver of pale moonlight floated on the water.

The following morning happened to be Saturday.

When users of KuaiPao open the travel channel, they see a huge promotional poster: "Weekend getaways to nearby suburbs, attraction tickets as low as 1 yuan."

点击活动页面一看，原来是筷跑把附近收费的植物园、动物园和海洋馆票价打了下来，原价15元、30元的票价只需1元，原价90元、120元的票价仅需39.9、59.9元。

Tickets priced at 1 yuan can be purchased directly, while tickets priced at 39.9 yuan and 59.9 yuan must be purchased in conjunction with hotel or guesthouse packages.

After placing an order, users can also receive a red envelope ranging from 18 yuan to 1888 yuan.

Invite friends to help you cut the price. If you can get it down to 0 yuan, the red envelope will be activated and credited to your account. You can use it to buy attraction tickets and hotel products.

In addition, Kuaipao has also bundled air tickets and hotels for deep sales, thereby targeting the air ticket and high-end hotel markets.

Kou Zhen personally led his ground sales force to rapidly expand into the surrounding cities.

From city managers to regional managers and field sales managers, everyone had a list of Ctrip's hotel partners and they were frantically poaching Ctrip's talent.

Li Zijie was originally an intern in the group-buying business, but before he could become a full-time employee, he received news of an organizational restructuring, merging the ground sales teams for food delivery and group buying into one.

In other words, when canvassing the streets offline, you can communicate with the shop owners about bringing in food delivery and group-buying shops at the same time, which makes your work more efficient and your income more.

In addition, the company is currently engaged in a battle with Ctrip, and the hotel and travel category has become a public resource. As long as the merchant's information has not yet been entered into Kuaipao's CRM database, whether it is a food category ground promotion or a leisure and entertainment category business, they are qualified to make cold calls.

Therefore, led by the experienced driver Xu Xianguo, the two took a bus to Chuansha Commercial Street, and then walked along the intersection before entering a mid-range hotel called 'Xingmeng'.

Upon entering the main gate, you will see an outdoor swimming pool with six lanes. There are rest areas on both sides, and two four-story buildings in front.

"Don't underestimate this hotel. Although it's not star-rated, it has a lot of sales on Ctrip. I did some research and found that it has 931 reviews, 11 of which are neutral and only 7 are negative, giving it a 98% positive review rate. If we can secure this deal, the commission alone will be over 10,000 yuan in the first month."

Xu Xianguo spoke as he walked.

Hotels like "Star Dream," which previously only partnered with Ctrip, can now have their ground sales managers receive 30% of the hotel's first month's order commission as a reward once they sign a contract and go online.

Under the new commission policy, KuaiPao Hotels' commission rate is approximately 8% to 12%. Therefore, the actual commission for the first month is 2.4% to 3.6% of the order amount.
If "Star Dream" has a monthly turnover of over 30 yuan, the commission will be between 7200 yuan and 10800 yuan.

The commission rate will drop to 10% in the second month, but there will be an additional tiered reward for increased revenue.

比如商家月流水环比增长了10%到20%，增长的部分提成比例升级为15%；增长率超过30%，提成比例升级为20%。

Of course, this is a special incentive policy from Ctrip; such high commission rewards are not available on ordinary days.

"Brother Xu, why don't we go talk to Home Inn or Jinjiang Inn?" Li Zijie asked curiously.

“Those are all prey for the regional managers and city managers. Forget about it. If we went there, we probably wouldn’t even be able to see the person in charge.”

Xu Xianguo shook his head.

Who doesn't know that brands like Home Inn, Hanting, and Jinjiang Inn have high revenue and high commission rates?

But the prerequisite is that we can reach an agreement first.

They are a chain hotel, and individual franchise owners cannot make decisions on their own; they have to report to higher levels before the online channel price can be determined.

A typical field sales manager can't handle this.

"Oh, I understand." Li Zijie nodded, then felt a pang of disappointment.

"You've got quite the appetite, kid. If you can win over Xingmeng today, I'll treat you to a foot massage tonight," Xu Xianguo chuckled.

"Brother Xu, aren't you afraid your wife will find out you wash your feet every day?" Li Zijie asked in a low voice.

Xu Xianguo's face froze, and he said irritably, "It's just washing feet, not taking a bath, what's there to be afraid of!"

After they became familiar with each other, they often teased each other.

It was only a little over a hundred meters from the main entrance to the hotel lobby, and Xu Xianguo and Li Zijie quickly reached the front desk.

"Please tell your General Manager Wang that Xu Xianguo, the business manager of Kuaipao, is looking for him. We had an appointment yesterday to discuss the cooperation for Kuaipao's entry into the market."

Xu Xianguo spoke calmly to the young woman at the front desk.

In fact, he didn't even have the phone number of Wang Haifeng, the boss of "Star Dream," so how could he have contacted him?

But he had no other choice; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to get past the front desk staff.

If Wang Haifeng is willing to meet with him, it means the other party also wants to expand their sales channels; if not, then they can try again next time. After all, people's thoughts change at different stages; not wanting to cooperate today doesn't mean they won't tomorrow.

Xu Xianguo was in his early thirties, wearing a sharp suit. He looked mature and composed, and with his incredibly natural expression, he easily intimidated the cashier at the front desk.

"Okay, Manager Xu, please wait a moment." The receptionist didn't suspect anything and instinctively picked up the landline on the table and dialed Wang Haifeng's office.

"Mr. Wang, there is a business manager from Kuaipao on the first floor. He said he made an appointment with you yesterday and he is at the front desk now."

The receptionist explained.

Chopsticks ran away?

Business Manager?

When did I schedule a meeting with him?
It's mostly just the sales techniques of those who run around doing ground promotions!
Wang Haifeng was about to refuse, but he quickly swallowed his words.

In the past year, Kuaipao has made rapid progress. Leaving aside the food delivery, grocery shopping, food and entertainment categories, its market share in the travel category alone is almost catching up with Ctrip and leaving platforms such as Qunar and Tongcheng far behind.

These hotel owners are no different from merchants on e-commerce platforms; clinging to a single channel is foolish.

He understands that having more sales channels means more sales revenue.

The reason why he rejected Kuaipao's business six months ago was twofold: firstly, Kuaipao's hotel and travel business was just starting out at the time, and secondly, Ctrip's business partner threatened him that if "Xingmeng" dared to join Kuaipao, the commission rate would increase by 5%.

Although Wang Haifeng was furious, there was nothing he could do.

At that time, Ctrip occupied half of the online travel market.

He had no choice but to back down for the sake of his hotel business!

“Bring him to my office,” Wang Haifeng said after thinking for a moment.

He had also heard about the competition between Senlian Capital and Ctrip and Baidu.

'Star Dream' gives Ctrip a 15% commission rate. Since Senlian Capital wants to poach customers, it should at least show some sincerity, right?
Wang Haifeng pondered to himself.

Three minutes later, the receptionist led Xu Xianguo and Li Zijie to knock on the door. After hearing Wang Haifeng's reply, she gently turned the doorknob and gestured for the two to come in.

Wang Haifeng sat in the boss's chair, looking the two of them up and down.

One was in his early thirties, dressed in a suit and tie; the other was in his early twenties, dressed casually.

"Please have a seat, gentlemen. May I ask your names?" After the two approached, Wang Haifeng grinned, invited them to sit down, took two bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and placed them on the table, and then asked.

Xu Xianguo's lips twitched. He had met Wang Haifeng just six months ago. They had only talked for a few minutes before the conversation ended abruptly.

They thought victory was assured, but to their surprise, the other party turned around and refused to cooperate with Kuai Pao.

"Xu Xianguo!"

"Li Zijie!"

Old Xu was too lazy to argue. He knew he was in a low position, while the other party was a big boss with tens of millions in assets. It was normal that he wouldn't remember him.

"I know why you two are here. To be honest, Ctrip's commission rate is 10%. I wonder how much KuaiRun can offer? And is there any additional traffic support?"

Wang Haifeng is a typical Shanghainese, who values ​​interests above all else. His first words were a test of Xu Xianguo's bottom line.

10%?

Xu Xianguo scoffed inwardly. He wasn't an expert in the travel and hospitality category, but he could guess the approximate commission rate of 'Star Dream'. Given Ctrip's domineering style, they could only lower it by two or three points at most. It would be good if the other party could negotiate the commission rate down to 12%.

10%?

Go dream!

Xu Xianguo, accustomed to the faces of businessmen, remained unmoved and said with a smile, "President Wang, I can give you a 12% commission discount, which is the biggest concession I can make. However, I can provide support for 'Star Dream' in terms of traffic, and I can try my best to arrange exposure on the homepage of the hotel and travel website."

12%?

Only three points?

Wang Haifeng thought it was too little, but seeing Xu Xianguo's expression that '12% is the optimal policy,' he pressed on, asking, "Where are the resource slots you mentioned?"

"Zijie, show it to President Wang."

Xu Xianguo said to Li Zijie.

Li Zijie responded, took out his phone, opened Kuaipao, clicked on the entrance on the homepage, and swiped down to see the 'Nearby Picks' channel page.

It is primarily intended for display to users within a 10-kilometer radius.

“There are a total of 5 targeted leads,” Xu Xianguo added.

“That’s too little. 10% plus 10 visitors per month would be more like it,” Wang Haifeng bargained.

"10%? To be honest, Kuaipao can't offer that price, it's the same no matter who you ask."

Xu Xianguo said with certainty.

Although the company granted a minimum 8% allowance, that was a preferential policy for large hotel chains and high-star luxury hotels.

What is the scale of 'Star Dream'?
The hotel has only 128 rooms, with a vacancy rate of over 45%.

After all, Shanghai Disneyland hadn't opened yet in 2013, and a 55% occupancy rate every day would be considered pretty good.

Xu Xianguo's gaze was firm. Every point less meant 900 yuan less. His bottom line was 11% or 10%. He would rather not do it than accept a result lower than 10%.

Because if the order is submitted, given Star Dream's rating system, it will most likely not pass the internal review.

“Manager Xu, but 12% is too high, it’s on par with Ctrip. Why should I risk offending Ctrip by cooperating with Kuaipao?”

Wang Haifeng spread his hands and said helplessly.

The implication is that I cannot agree to 12%.

"KuaiRun gave Xingmeng 5 targeted customer leads. Will Ctrip give them to Xingmeng for free?" Xu Xianguo asked rhetorically.

Before Wang Haifeng could react, he added, "The hotel category has been separated from the travel category and is now at the same entry level as food delivery, grocery shopping, and group buying businesses."

With the support of traffic from Pinduoduo, Gaode Maps, Taobao, and Orange Pay, Kuaipao's monthly transaction volume growth rate will never be less than 20%.

"Mr. Wang, the contract price is 12% today, but it might be different tomorrow."

Xu Xianguo had worked at Kuai Pao for two years and was well-versed in business negotiations. He could tell that Wang Haifeng was interested in cooperating, so he used both incentives and pressure to shorten the other party's consideration time.

Upon hearing this, Wang Haifeng's expression shifted between light and dark. He had built his business from scratch, growing a small family-run inn into a facility with over a hundred rooms, so he was unlikely to be easily intimidated.

He chuckled lightly, appearing completely unconcerned: "Sorry, I didn't see any sincerity from Manager Xu in our cooperation. Since we can't reach an agreement, then let's just forget about it."

"Mr. Wang, I'm sorry to bother you."

Xu Xianguo immediately stood up, preparing to take his leave.

He had long been prepared to make three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage, and never intended to take over Xingmeng in one fell swoop.

Wang Haifeng secretly observed Xu Xianguo's expression. Seeing that the other party seemed indifferent, his heart sank. He had a vague feeling that, given Xingmeng's size, they might only be able to get a 12% commission.

However, he wasn't in a hurry and decided to wait a few days.

Sometimes, being impatient can lead to mistakes. Only by calming down and reflecting can we make the right decisions.

Out of politeness, he escorted Xu Xianguo and Li Zijie to the elevator.

(End of this chapter)