2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 139 Five-Year Plan
"You're doing pretty well lately, kid. You've even got ads on Anhui TV. My mom told me to tell you to thank her."

"There's nothing to thank me for, it's just a little electric scooter."

"Let's get two cars then. I'll get one for Sister Yanning and one for Li Jinglan. After all, they started this business with us."

"Have you no shame? You're using my things to do me a favor. When you leave, have Brother Sun haul them over in his pickup truck."

"Haha, that's more like it. How about I treat you to lunch?"

"I'm busy at noon, so I'll just eat at the cafeteria. You don't have to leave either; I'll ask the cafeteria to cook a few extra dishes."

"Alright, Boss Tan."

Sitting across from Tan Jincheng at his desk, Zhang Xupeng watched him busily working and felt genuinely happy for him.

His family only saw that his company's advertisements had been broadcast on Anhui TV. As brothers who grew up together and lived in the same city, Zhang Xupeng knew how much pressure his good brother had been under these past few months.

With nearly ten million yuan in debt, if his cash flow were to have even the slightest problem, he wouldn't be able to make it past the next month. He's been sleeping at the factory for almost half a month now. When has he ever worked this hard?

Fortunately, the pressure has eased considerably, and at least we no longer have to worry about a lack of funds. Once all the electric vehicles are launched to the market this month, everything will be resolved.

"How's it going with Uncle Lin and Uncle Wu? How's the promotion going?"

"It's pretty good. We offered a significant discount, the brand is already somewhat well-known, and we covered all the costs of the promotional plan ourselves, so their promotion went quite smoothly."

Lin Yumin was in charge of Henan Province, and Wu Zhenping was in charge of Anhui Province. In fact, their locations were not far apart. Wu Zhenping went to northern Anhui. According to the feedback from the two of them, with the implementation of several preferential policies, the on-the-ground promotion went very smoothly.

The reason they haven't returned yet is that their strategy is to focus on larger stores, with orders starting at least at 50 units, and even better if they can order 100 units at once. Although this would reduce the coverage, larger stores are better for the brand image.

Tan Jincheng also thought this method was good. Promoting 10 units at a time was not only inefficient, but also resulted in being mixed in with other brands and failing to create any significant influence.

The difference in presence between a shop displaying 10 Teslas with the lightning bolt logo and a shop displaying 100 Teslas with the lightning bolt logo is vast.

The other two brought back good news: they raised the ex-factory price by 50 yuan each, and the ex-factory prices will be 1850 yuan and 1550 yuan per unit respectively. The 50 yuan increase will not have a significant impact on the first batch of 8000 units, but it will have a big impact on the future.

A gross profit margin of 450 yuan per electric vehicle is perfectly acceptable for retail retailers; this profit margin is not low.

另外目前豪华版跟低配版本的推广比例分别是20%，80%；每100台里面20台豪华版本，按一次性进货100台计算，合计金额是16.1万元。

Currently, there are several payment methods for purchasing electric scooter stores. Major brands generally require payment in advance before delivery, and these brands have sales volume and purchase requirements. Even if the sales volume is not met, the required purchases must still be made.

In addition, there are some off-brand and niche electric scooter brands that allow payment after delivery, or you can order a batch of goods, sell them all, and then pay for the first batch when you order a second batch.

In addition, there is the prepayment method. Flash is not a major brand, but Tan Jincheng does not accept the fate of being a no-name brand, so he requires the terminal to purchase goods through prepayment contracts.

This presented some challenges for Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping's promotion efforts, but it wasn't insurmountable. Taking 100 units as an example, the 40% prepayment of 16.1 yuan would amount to 6.44 yuan, which shouldn't be a problem for larger stores.

As for the final payment, it will be settled within 10 working days after the goods arrive at the store. In addition, there are some after-sales details, all of which will be written in the contract. From a later perspective, when he first opened up the market, Tan Jincheng preferred to do things in the form of contracts.

This provides a certain degree of protection for the rights and interests of both parties. However, Tan Jincheng still hopes that one day, FlashCheer can be like big brands such as ChipRi, allowing payment before delivery.

Judging by the timeline, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping's promotional campaign should be coming to an end soon, right?
The two, who reported their progress to Tan Jincheng every day, expected to finish this marketing campaign in a few days. This campaign was not only focused on the present, but they also collected information on stores that were still hesitant but interested in cooperating, in order to prepare for the subsequent distribution.

"The Super Girl competition is going live again tomorrow night. Do you think your red-haired spokesperson can make it into the top five?" Zhang Xupeng said mischievously.

In his view, Xiao Tan's choice of spokesperson this time is no different from his previous bet on Liverpool's championship; both are gambling on whether they can win the title. It's just that this time the investment is greater, and the taste is really not good.

"Of course we can! Just watch, our spokesperson will definitely win the championship," Tan Jincheng said confidently.

"Come on, you haven't even watched many matches, how do you know you're guaranteed to win? If you ask me, you should have signed more players back then, that way the risk would be lower."

"There's absolutely no need for that. You don't even know how popular she is. Besides, I managed to bet on Liverpool winning the title when the odds were so slim. You have to trust my judgment and luck."

"Okay, if you bet right this time, I'll be completely convinced." Then, Zhang Xupeng asked, "What's going on between you and Gu Qingqing?"

"What? What's going on?" "Do you think I'm stupid or what? I didn't notice at first, but after all this time, I still can't see that your relationship is unusual?"

"What you're talking about isn't anything special, we're practically friends now; don't worry, you're still my best friend," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Zhang Xupeng pursed his lips, but it was clear that the second half of the sentence made him very happy: "Who's talking to you about this? You're just pretending. Didn't you tell people it's your birthday today?"

"You can see how busy I've been lately. I don't have the mind to celebrate my birthday. Besides, I'm still a student. There's no rush to talk about this."

"Look, look, you've given yourself away. You still say you have no ideas."

Tan Jincheng smiled but didn't say anything, nor did he deny it; there was nothing wrong with having feelings for someone of the opposite sex.

She is good-looking, has a great figure, is decisive, dares to try and learn new things, and also has the arrogance and persistence of a rich girl, but all of this is based on her self-confidence, not the unreasonable and domineering attitude of a rich girl.

Tan Jincheng saw in her the gentleness of a woman from Jiangnan, as well as the independence of a modern woman, which is very admirable.

If possible, Tan Jincheng would certainly not mind dating her, but it's not really appropriate right now. He should wait until his junior year when he officially starts his internship, otherwise it might cause gossip.

On the other hand, I really haven't had time for romance in the past two years. The most important thing right now is to make money, make money, make money!
For a company to grow bigger and stronger, it naturally needs to plan well, and the current plan is to do a good job in the electric scooter business.

If 2005 is defined as the initial stage, Tan Jincheng hopes that in 2006, Flash will achieve a qualitative leap in both production capacity and brand status.

After entering 2008, the global financial crisis caused a rapid decline in economic growth. The four trillion yuan stimulus plan launched to stimulate the economy will lead to a period of rapid development for my country's economy, with all industries moving forward at a fast pace.

The electric vehicle industry is no exception. With increasing competition and accelerated infighting, Flash Motors must accumulate sufficient capital beforehand to cope with market risks.

If 2004 is defined as the year of his first pot of gold, then 2005 to 2008 can be called the year of Tan Jincheng's dream. Only by doing well in these four years and gaining a foothold in the electric scooter market can he realize his dream of new energy vehicles.

Spend five years building the initial framework of your dreams and living a life different from your previous one.

Time waits for no one. We must not miss the era when it is easiest to make money. Once all kinds of capital enter the market, ordinary people will have nothing left to do.

As for relationships, let nature take its course. Taking things one step at a time is fine. After all, even in 2008, I was only 23 years old, so there was no need to rush.
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In the capital of Henan Province, Lin Yumin squatted down next to a trash can on the side of the road, smoking without any regard for his image. Several of his subordinates were around him, also smoking without any regard for their image, either squatting or standing.

After finishing his last puff, Lin Yumin stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into the trash can, and pointed, saying, "Brothers, see that electric scooter shop across the street? If we take that one, we can go back to Beicang and get some rest."

As soon as he finished speaking, his employees started yelling. In July and August, the weather in China is extremely hot and humid, and traveling for business during this time is really exhausting.

The group's exposed skin had all been tinted a shade darker.

Despite the hardship, Lin Yumin's eyes were full of energy. At the age of 35, this bold adventure of leaving the system seemed to have brought back the passion he had in his twenties in the past two weeks.

Visiting stores, exchanging ideas, promoting the brand, discussing cooperation intentions, signing contracts, writing summaries at night, and reporting and exchanging ideas with General Manager Tan—my days are packed full, and my life is exceptionally fulfilling.

This was an experience he had never had before at the petrochemical plant. Through his conversation with General Manager Tan, Lin Yumin gained a clearer understanding of FlashDrive.

With its large-scale online and offline marketing campaigns, being the first in the industry to hire celebrities to endorse its products, and workers working day and night in the factory, everything indicates that the young CEO Tan has a dream of reaching the top of the industry, which can be described as ambitious.

Lin Yumin, who has many years of marketing experience, is also very impressed with Tan Jincheng's marketing plan. It is said that every boss of a private enterprise is a top salesperson, and it seems that this is really true.

The advertorials on QQ Space and the posts on forums subtly introduced netizens to the Flash brand, while the widespread airing of TV commercials and its association with the hottest figures of the moment were like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

It all seemed to be part of Tan Jincheng's plan, and the timing was just right.

If no major mistakes are made in the subsequent major decisions, even when facing competitors, Lin Yumin is confident that Flash Motors will not be what it is today in a few years. Perhaps by then, Flash Motors will have its own production base, just like the current industry leader, Xinri.

Like a high-speed train that had just departed, Lin Yumin was filled with anticipation for the future.

At the same time, Wu Zhenping, who lived in Yingzhou, northern Anhui, had a similar feeling to Lin Yumin.

(End of this chapter)