2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 422 The Desired Partner of Massive Engine
Since May 9th, some Flash Motors dealerships in northern Anhui, central Henan, and southern Henan have seen a surge in customer traffic, seemingly entering their peak sales season ahead of schedule.

People came to the store with their invoices to redeem new cars, some came to see if the cars were really being given out, and some came to the store to make a scene because they had lost their invoices. The scene was quite lively.

For consumers who claim they've lost their invoices, FlashChe's policy is to refuse them outright, no questions asked. Otherwise, who knows how many more people would be accumulating lost invoices.

There were actually quite a few people who went to the store to make a scene. Most of the car buyers were ordinary people or small business owners who didn't have the habit of keeping invoices.

Many people are completely unaware of the importance of invoices. They simply put the car under the seat after purchase, and if they hadn't heard about this recently, they probably wouldn't have remembered anything about invoices until their cars were worn out.

The trade-in program, which has been launched in major regions across the country, is in full swing. Ironically, the number of consumers who purchased the first batch in 2005 in the Beicang area is very small.

Not a single vehicle produced in the first month was put into the Beicang market.

The purchases made by employees in Beicang did not actually come with invoices. At that time, Flash Motors was a makeshift operation, and the profits from this part of the purchases were not very legitimate. It was easy to deal with these customers; all they needed was their employee ID and receipt.

Anyway, there aren't that many people, so let them change if they want. A few hundred more cars won't make a difference.

The main drivers of car replacements in the Beicang area were Flash Motors and employees of some partner manufacturers, such as Zhang Mingcan, who were leveraging their personal connections in the first year.

A rough estimate suggests that the number of vehicles sold by Flash in its first year through these personal connections would equal the annual sales of several dealerships, and that these were sold directly from the manufacturer to the consumer, without any intermediaries.

Although there are significant discounts, the actual profit margin is still quite high. This kind of help based on personal relationships is still very common among enterprises in Zhejiang Province.

For example, the raincoats and helmets that come with the Flash Electric Vehicle series are also produced by some related companies, and everyone helps each other.

The increased foot traffic in the store has boosted sales, in addition to the exchange offers. This product has a bit of a herd mentality; people who come into the store already have some intention to buy, and when they see that it's a genuine exchange offer, their desire to buy becomes even stronger.

This trade-in program primarily focuses on self-operated stores, supplemented by first-tier stores. In fact, self-operated stores in various regions have gradually entered their peak sales season since the 9th. This initiative has effectively established the brand of its self-operated stores.

This has had some impact on the business of other dealerships, but it hasn't caused any resentment among the stores. FlashChe doesn't have any self-operated stores in smaller cities, and the number is strictly controlled in larger cities.

The initial establishment of self-operated stores was actually a preparation for setting up car 2S stores later. Flash Motors plans to learn from Tesla's model and directly operate the cars it will produce in the future, without any dealerships.

Ordering through the entire app results in the same price across the country, eliminating the chaotic pricing model of traditional 4S stores, which feels much better.
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"is it here?"

"Yes, Mr. Tan, please go ahead. I've already made an appointment with them."

"Well, thank you."

"Of course, it's our job."

Besides supporting the exhibition and giving a punch to his peers, the most important reason for coming to Shanghai was to meet an investor. This investor was introduced by a headhunter, and Tan Jincheng planned to poach him to ByteDance's advertising platform to oversee its primary market investments.

Judging from his resume, his past experience is also impressive. He graduated from Jiaotong University with a bachelor's degree and then went to the University of Chicago in the United States to study, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in business administration.

He has held positions such as Channel Manager and Asia Pacific Marketing Director at large companies like HP, possessing extensive experience in product development and marketing, and has also built his own channel team.

After returning to China, like all internet professionals who have studied abroad, those with money went into investment, while those without money started their own businesses. They took the entrepreneurial route, built several websites, and eventually sold them to Google, which can be considered a form of financial freedom.

After 2000, he and his partners founded a portal website in Shanghai that served foreign investment institutions. Over the years, the website did not have much traffic, but due to its accurate positioning, it did quite well.

His resume shows that he is one of the earliest internet entrepreneurs in China. Although he is not as famous as Zhang Chaoyang, and he is not as accomplished as Zhang Chaoyang among those who raise pigs, he is excellent in terms of both professionalism and experience.

ByteDance's advertising platform needs a leader like this to take charge of internet investment. With professional knowledge and Tan Jincheng's memory, he should be able to do a good job.

Tan Jincheng remembered the big names in the investment world, but unfortunately, they had all become successful by then and it was impossible for them to be recruited.

Then we can only look for experienced internet entrepreneurs.

Talking about salary with these financially independent successful people is pointless; you can only talk about ideals with them. Headhunters can only act as intermediaries; whether they succeed depends on Tan Jincheng's persuasive skills.

During the last few days of the May Day holiday, Mr. Tan didn't busy himself with work, but instead spent time traveling in Shanghai with his parents and family. To be honest, Mr. and Mrs. Tan didn't really enjoy life much in the first half of their lives. When they were young, they were not well-off and were reluctant to spend any money they had, as they had to support their parents in the countryside. After Tan Jincheng was born, their attention was all focused on him.

Her job income was just so-so, and she didn't have much money to spare each month. It's already quite remarkable that she was able to raise Tan Jincheng so well, ensuring he didn't lack nutrition, and that the family's conditions gradually improved over time.

From this perspective, Tan Jincheng has done quite well in business, both in his past and present lives, and can be considered to have inherited the business acumen of the Tan couple.

Given that both parties are in poor circumstances, it is actually quite difficult to manage a family well. Without some financial management skills, they can only stay at the subsistence level.

In the past two years, with the rise of Tan Jincheng, Zhang Suzhi has completely retired to take care of the children, and Tan Lihua's work has gradually become easier, which has allowed him to relax. Before 2003, traveling was simply a luxury for this couple.

If Tan Jincheng hadn't boarded the ship and had gone to study instead, or even if it were in their previous life, their lives now wouldn't be much better. They would have an extra daughter, and their son would be selling fast food, putting them under a lot of pressure.

The headhunter led Tan Jincheng to a quiet tea room, where a middle-aged man with glasses and a somewhat dark complexion was sitting.

He sat upright, holding a teacup in one hand and sipping tea.

When Tan Jincheng and the headhunter entered the private room, the headhunter stood up from his seat and looked at them with a smile.

The headhunter introduced Tan Jincheng, saying, "This is our General Manager Huang, who currently manages a website."

He was about to speak again, but Huang Ming interrupted him: "No need for introductions, this must be Mr. Tan Jincheng, the CEO of FlashDrive. I've heard so much about you."

"Hello, Mr. Huang, please forgive me for taking the liberty of asking to meet with you," Tan Jincheng said with a smile, extending his hand.

Huang Ming, also known as "General Manager Huang" by headhunters, is Tan Jincheng's target this time and the future leader favored by ByteDance's advertising platform.

"President Tan's generous move this time is truly astonishing. I believe our peers in the electric vehicle industry will be in for a headache this year. If nothing unexpected happens, Flash will likely be the sales champion this year," Huang Ming said with a smile, extending his hand.

His "I've long admired your name" wasn't just polite talk. As someone with marketing experience, he understood the significance of Flash's large-scale marketing campaign. This campaign was a game-changer, and it wouldn't matter whether other manufacturers followed suit or not.

After the massive giveaway of 6118 million yuan, Flash has distinguished itself from other electric vehicle companies in the minds of consumers. In the future, consumers may compare prices and styles when purchasing electric vehicles and choose other manufacturers.

But if you ask which electric vehicle company is the best, the first thing that comes to mind for consumers will definitely be Flashcar.

This business mindset of serving users is somewhat unlike that of traditional brick-and-mortar enterprises.

If we're really talking about it, he does have a bit of an internet user mindset. No wonder he also went on to found Orange Technology and built it to such a high valuation. The Orange Products project is no secret in the internet industry.

Many internet professionals are eagerly anticipating what kind of project Orange Products will be. The e-commerce sector is highly competitive, with companies like JD.com (which has received investment and is building its own logistics network), Vancl (which is in the planning stages), numerous international online shopping websites, and Taobao, which currently holds a major market share.

Tan Jincheng, whose business spans both physical manufacturing and internet companies, has a low level of education, but he always manages to perform amazingly. He has given his opponents a lot of headaches in the electric vehicle industry, and he can make even a simple game like Happy Farm more interesting, breaking through the competition on social networking sites.

It remains to be seen how he will perform in e-commerce.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the headhunter made an excuse to leave the tea room. His mission was complete. Regardless of whether an agreement was reached or not, he would receive his due compensation after this meeting.

If you succeed, you get more; if you fail, you don't lose anything. Boss Tan is quite generous in this regard.

Only Tan Jincheng and Huang Ming remained in the tea room.

Before Tan Jincheng could speak, Huang Ming asked directly, "What kind of words does President Tan intend to use to persuade me?"

Since he's here, it means he has this intention. He's not short of money, and he's not short of projects either. He currently manages a website, which, although not large in scale, is doing quite well.

If there is a better direction for development, he will naturally not refuse it, but if there is no reason to convince him, he will choose to continue to lie low and wait for the next opportunity.

(End of this chapter)