Six Steps to Conquer Regional Markets - Regional Manager's Handbook

Author: Cao Wei / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Effective communication with top management at headquarters. A good vertical communication channel has a profound impact on a company's efficiency. In practice, many headquarters managers are willing to communicate with regional managers and stay updated on the sales progress of branches. In both rational and emotional communication, there is a win-win situation. Every enterprise exists to varying degrees with both formal and informal organizational relationships. Formal organizational relationships are primarily reflected in institutionalized, standardized, and rational communication between superiors and subordinates. On the other hand, informal organizational relationships are more evident in personal charm, family ties, friendships, and non-normal communication channels, essentially representing two different management approaches—emotional and rational—as well as subconscious concepts. Some large domestic enterprises, on the surface, appear to have advanced management and rapid business development. However, in reality, the deep-seated management philosophy of their top executives leans far more toward the emotional than the rational. For example, most regional managers are capable and educated "expats" who have been parachuted in, while a few veteran sales representatives placed alongside them act as powerful "monitors." Once a regional manager takes over such a region, they should realize that in addition to positive market issues, there are also "off-the-field factors"—this is the special status of the "monitor." Rationality tells them to "first secure the internal before dealing with external threats," but when they get involved in specific work, the "market" mentality makes them forget the difficult person. Busy with conquering and expanding, after a period of effort, when they are making significant progress, the "monitor" might suddenly raise objections. The issue isn't whether the company can use "monitors," but rather the individual "monitor" the regional manager encounters. The existence of "monitors" has positive significance because, although they may have limited capabilities, they are familiar with the company's situation, highly loyal to the company and its core leadership, and have a very harmonious relationship with the leaders. It is precisely because of them that the company dares to hire many capable individuals, which not only helps in controlling the overall situation but also strengthens the cohesion of the sales team. However, if the top management can use emotion (informal organizational relationships) more rationally (with more concepts of formal organizational relationships) while regional managers can focus on internal relationships while operating the market rationally and maintain more emotional communication with the top management, the result will be a win-win situation!
Learning to get along with top management In most cases, as long as the top management supports you in the big picture and doesn't affect the overall situation, you shouldn't focus too much on details. If you pay too much attention to details, it will certainly hinder your ability to think about the bigger picture. How can a regional manager truly align with top management, build mutual trust, and create a relaxed career stage for themselves? The answer is to first focus on being a good person before handling matters well. In any company, it's impossible to have no relatives or friends working there. As the ancients said, "Appoint people without bias, but don't avoid relatives when appointing them," as long as a person is capable of doing their job, they can be hired. Of course, they must operate within the company's institutional framework—this is a prerequisite. In communication, be more open and honest, and don't play power games. Even if top management treats you as a friend, you should always maintain their image in public because, to some extent, top management represents the company's image. Respecting top management is also respecting the company's image. For major issues, even if they fall within your authority, you should proactively communicate with them. If there are disagreements on certain issues, you should also be tolerant rather than narrow-minded. Be broad-minded and willing to accept some flaws in the company. Nothing in this world is perfect, and no company can satisfy everyone in management. People can have ideals, but they must never be idealistic. As a regional manager, if you encounter shortcomings in top management's leadership or in how they handle matters, you must learn to tolerate and understand them.
P40-41