Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

The first batch of sausages was successfully made, and the entire processing workshop was filled with joy.

Seeing everyone wolfing down their food, Sun Dahai's face broke into a long-lost, genuine smile.

His skill finally paid off.

"Master Sun, your cooking is absolutely amazing!" Luo Xinde exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up as he ate. "This taste is so good, it's one of a kind, not just in the county, but even in the city!"

"It tastes good, but the cost is not low either." Li Minxia silently did the math in her mind. "The best hind leg meat, the rose liqueur transported from Tianjin, plus these complicated processes, the cost of one pound of sausage is almost the same as the fresh meat we sell."

"Mom, don't worry. Good stuff will always fetch a good price," Luo Xiyuan said confidently, wiping the grease from the corner of her mouth.

With the product in hand, the next question is how to sell it.

"Xiyuan, what do you think is a suitable price for our sausages?" Luo Xinde asked.

"I suggest that we not set a price for the first batch," Luo Xiyuan said.

"No price? How much will it cost?" The whole family was stunned.

"We're not selling, we're giving it away." A mysterious smile appeared on Luo Xiyuan's lips.

"Another one?" Li Minxia's heart ached upon hearing this. "Last time you sent a whole pig, and now you're sending sausages? How are we supposed to do business?"

"Mom, this is called 'taste marketing'," Luo Xiyuan explained patiently. "For a brand new product, customers know nothing about it. If you set a high price right away, who would dare to buy it? We need to let a small group of people taste our product first, let them know just how delicious our sausages are. Once word of mouth spreads, then we can officially start selling it, and the effect will be completely different."

"Then...who should we send it to first?" Luo Xinde felt that his daughter's words made sense.

"I've planned it out, in three steps." Luo Xiyuan held up three fingers.

"The first and most important step is to serve our 'seed users' well. Who are our seed users? They are the customers who have become members at our pork shop and are the ones who have recharged the most."

"Sister Li Yan," she said, looking at Li Yan beside her, "when you get back, immediately pull out the list of members who have recharged more than 1,000 yuan from the membership system. We'll give each of these most loyal customers half a pound of sausage for free, saying it's a year-end benefit from 'Luo's Farm' to our loyal customers. Let them be the first to taste our new product."

"This is great!" Li Yan's eyes lit up. "These regular customers are all die-hard fans of our shop, and they have a great reputation among the neighbors. If they try it, word will spread like wildfire, which is more effective than us trying to cheat ourselves!"

"The second step," Luo Xiyuan continued, "is to win over our 'opinion leaders.' Who are our opinion leaders? Manager Wang from Jin Haiwan, and his team of chefs!"

"Dad, tomorrow, please go to the city yourself. Take ten pounds of packaged sausages and deliver them to Manager Wang. Don't mention cooperation; just say it's some local specialty we made ourselves, and ask the hotel's chefs to try it and give us some feedback. Be humble."

"I understand," Luo Xinde nodded. He knew that Wang Defa was a crucial connection.

"The third step," Luo Xiyuan's gaze became somewhat playful, "is to give our 'competitors' a big gift as well."

"Giving gifts to competitors?" Luo Xinde was confused. "To whom? Zhao Hu?"

"It wasn't him. It was the purchasing managers from several other large hotels in the county, as well as the government guesthouse," Luo Xiyuan said. "These people, although not our customers now, are all major consumers of pork."

"We deliver the sausages to them, and without saying a word, we let them eat them. After they've eaten our sausages, they won't find any flavor in other places."

"Whether they continue using their old suppliers or turn to us is up to them to decide. This is called 'winning hearts and minds'."

The three moves are interconnected, one after another.

The first step is to build a strong fan base and generate positive word-of-mouth through core followers.

The second step is to elevate the brand positioning and endorse the product through recognition from industry benchmarks.

The third step is to precisely target competitors and divide and dismantle potential markets.

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia were completely stunned. They felt that their daughter wasn't just selling sausages; she was clearly playing a grand game!

Once a plan is made, it should be executed immediately.

Li Yan returned to the store and quickly compiled the "VIP customer" list. There were more than thirty people in total.

The next day, she and Zhang Lan carried bags of sausages carefully wrapped in oil paper and delivered them to the members door-to-door.

"Aunt Wang, you were one of our first members. This is a new product made on our farm, handmade sausages by Master Sun. We specially brought it to you to try. Thank you for your continued support!"

The members who received the gifts were both surprised and delighted.

"Wow, the Luo family's business is really sophisticated!"

"Yes, they still think of us regular customers. It really warms our hearts."

They took the sausages home, steamed them, and the aroma filled half the hallway.

Upon tasting it, the flavor astonished them even more.

"Old man, come and try this! This Luo family's sausage is even better than the ones we used to eat in Guangzhou!"

"Son, don't eat out anymore, come home quickly! Mom made your favorite sausage rice!"

For a time, a "sausage craze" swept through a small number of families in the county.

Ordinary customers who didn't receive the free sausages all came to the store to ask after hearing about it.

"Hey Li, I heard you have some new sausages? How much are they? I'd like two pounds!"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Brother Zhang. Our sausages are still in the trial production stage. The first batch was given to our long-time members to try. We haven't officially started selling them yet," Li Yan replied apologetically, following the script Luo Xiyuan had taught her.

"Oh? When will they start selling them? You have to save some for us!"

"Don't worry, we'll definitely let you know as soon as we officially go public! Please leave your phone number."

This is called "hunger marketing." The more unavailable something is, the more curious people become and the more they want to eat it.

On the other side, Luo Xinde also drove his small truck and delivered ten kilograms of the most beautifully packaged sausages to the Jinhaiwan Hotel.

He met Wang Defa and handed him the things.

"Manager Wang, this isn't anything valuable. It's just some sausages made by a master chef at our home using our own pork. You and your brothers can try something new," Luo Xinde said modestly.

"Old Luo, you're too kind!" Wang Defa accepted the gift with a smile. "Perfect timing, our head chef is here today too. I'll have him taste it and see how your 'Luo' brand sausages are, besides the pork."

He immediately instructed the kitchen to steam the sausages.

A short while later, the hotel's executive chef, the imposing Chef Li, personally carried a plate of sliced ​​sausages into Wang Defa's office.

As soon as he came in, he said to Wang Defa, "Old Wang, where did you get these sausages?"

His expression was very serious.

Wang Defa's heart skipped a beat, thinking the food was bad, and he quickly asked, "What's wrong? Old Li, the taste is off?"

"It's not wrong," Master Li said, picking up a slice of sausage, putting it in his mouth, closing his eyes, savoring it carefully, before finally saying, "It's absolutely right!"

He opened his eyes, looked at Luo Xinde, and said with admiration, "Boss Luo, I've been a chef for thirty years, and I've tasted sausages from all over the country. But honestly, yours is in my top three! The aroma of the wine, the texture of the meat, the ratio of fat to lean meat—it's amazing! Especially the aftertaste, with a hint of sweetness and a touch of numbing sensation—it's exquisite!"

Luo Xinde was so excited to receive such high praise from the executive chef of a five-star hotel that his face turned red.

"Well... Master Li, do you think our sausages can be put on your hotel's menu?" he asked tentatively.

"Should I bring you the menu?" Chef Li shook his head.

Luo Xinde's heart sank instantly.

"Such good stuff, it's such a waste to put it on the regular menu." Chef Li's tone suddenly changed, his expression becoming excited. "Old Wang, I suggest we add it to our hotel's New Year's gift package right away!"

"Let's call it Golden Bay Special - Luo's Craftsmanship Sausage!"

"This is definitely our most competitive product this year!"

"Also, we're adding a new dish to our Chinese restaurant's menu, called Claypot Rice with Preserved Meat. The main ingredient is this sausage!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Defa immediately slammed his hand on the table: "Great! That's settled then! Lao Luo, what's the price of your sausages? Give us a price! We'll order 500 jin for the first batch!"