pjbooks Chapter 105 [A Strong Warning]
Chapter 105 [A Strong Warning]
Chapter 105 [A Strong Warning]
Both now and in the future, the way most manufacturers incorporate GG is very crude.
It's like an unprofessional person insisting on doing unprofessional things by interfering in the implantation process.
Whether it's videos or live-streaming e-commerce, brands and manufacturers love to promote their products in videos, naturally assuming that the bigger and louder the promotion, the more people will buy.
But in reality, that's not the case at all. You have to make people like the product first before they'll listen to these long-winded explanations!
Regardless of the ingredient list, the quality of the milk source, or the discounts—these things should only be introduced after the user has already liked the product.
As someone who once tried to hire someone for marketing and was scammed, Liu Zhuohao is well aware of this now that he is doing marketing himself.
After listening, Chen Jianye leaned back in his chair, his face expressionless, but his question became more pointed: "So, how long will this process take?"
"How many days will it take to see results after the video is posted?"
"One week? Or one month? Our production line and inventory turnover are planned."
Liu Zhuohao spoke frankly, without avoiding the difficulty of the question, saying, "It's impossible to give a definite time. There are certain patterns to the dissemination of videos. A video might go viral and receive a large number of inquiries within a day or three days. It might also take a week or two to develop, or I might need to provide follow-up content guidance."
"But all our preliminary work was aimed at creating a buzz."
It's as if he knew perfectly well that, based on his own understanding, the video would definitely go viral.
But how long it will take for it to become popular, and how long that popularity will last, is an unknown.
Chen Jianye shook his head, this time looking directly at Chen Youyin, his tone clearly showing his disagreement: "Uncle, this sounds like—there's too much uncertainty."
"Investing in production lines, stockpiling raw materials, and maintaining inventory all incur costs. Is it too risky to wait for a video that might go viral at any time to boost sales?"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over, seemingly with a hint of disdain.
age.
Liu Zhuohao understood perfectly well that it was still his age.
However, upon hearing this, he was genuinely puzzled. He put down the phone he had been holding and placed his hands clasped together on the table.
"Brother Jianye, Boss Chen, I think we might need to clarify the nature of this cooperation again." His voice was clear and distinct in the quiet conference room.
"We signed a sales commission contract, which means that I don't have any income until the goods are actually sold and the money is received. All the filming costs, labor, and time are my initial investment."
He looked at the two of them: "I'm not some service provider who takes a commission, delivers a film, and calls it a day. I'm just as eager as you are to sell 'Chen Ji' beef balls, and the more the better."
"Because I can only get a share of the money if the product is sold, our interests are completely tied together in terms of sales results."
He paused briefly, then said, "So, you're worried that the videos won't be effective and won't sell anything, but I'm even more worried than you are."
"Because at least you have offline channels to sell your inventory, while for me, if this video fails, all my previous investments will be wasted, and I won't get a single penny back."
"Whether it's you or the platform, you'll all have doubts about my abilities, and I hope you understand that."
These words were quite direct, reflecting the rather subtle atmosphere that had just taken place in the conference room.
It's as if this collaboration isn't a sales commission model, but rather they directly paid me a GG fee. They are the client, and I, the service provider, have to constantly cooperate with them and come up with a solution that satisfies them.
He hasn't received a single penny yet!
After these words were spoken, the meeting room fell silent once again.
Chen Youyin held his teacup, lost in thought.
A subtle ripple crossed Chen Jianye's usually cold and hard face.
Chen Min quietly refilled their teacups again, her movements gentle. She even poured out the tea that had gone cold in front of Liu Zhuohao and replaced it with piping hot tea.
After a long pause, Chen Youyin finally put down his teacup and spoke, his tone more deliberate than before: "Boss Liu, I understand your reasoning. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just—"
He smiled and glanced at Mr. Chen, who was also in the video and had helped him with the filming. "What you did is so different from our traditional way of running around channels and finding distributors."
"And the way you film—"
He carefully chose his words, "Very—simple and unpretentious."
"The entire filming process took only one day, in a rented room and on the roadside, with simple equipment. We really couldn't imagine how much value the film could generate."
These words made Liu Zhuohao feel a little uneasy.
I was just too young.
Perhaps, I'm quite an expert in the food and beverage industry.
But in the self-media industry, I am still a young person.
She shouldn't have let Chen Youyin find someone to film for her. Even if she really needed to find a master of handmade beef balls to guide her, she should have gone outside to find someone else.
I shouldn't let the supplier get involved in my actual filming!
The reason, of course, is that in their eyes, they didn't contribute enough!
In their eyes, he is now someone who plans to easily solve sales problems by making a video in a day, and then take 40% of the sales revenue, making a fortune out of nothing!
"I don't quite understand what Boss Chen means," Liu Zhuohao thought to himself, but his face remained expressionless. "So, Boss Chen's idea is that I should spend 100,000 or 200,000 yuan to hire a professional team, build a set, and shoot a glamorous GG?"
He looked at them, waiting for a reply.
Neither Chen Youyin nor Chen Jianye spoke.
"That idea is a bit... amateurish."
Liu Zhuohao leaned back in his chair, his hand resting directly on the desk.
As soon as he uttered those words, he could clearly sense the dissatisfaction that appeared on the faces of the two people.
"It's like a movie that claims to have a huge investment, but after its release, it only grosses tens of millions or a few million at the box office. The audience simply doesn't buy it. What will the result be? The money's been spent, but you might not even hear a ripple!"
But Liu Zhuohao ignored him and continued, "Working in media has nothing to do with how much money you invest, at least not in terms of content."
"If you're talking about spending 100,000 or 200,000 yuan and putting all the money into promotion, bribing various TV stations and platforms to get them to promote my videos, then that's a different story. Of course, the more money you invest, the better."
"But I'm responsible for filming the content; promotion and distribution are the platform's responsibility."
"In terms of content, the key is how you shoot it, the key is the idea, the inspiration."
There was still no sound in the meeting room.
Chen Youyin and Chen Jianye were simply lost in thought.
Chen Min and Master Chen were practically invisible on the sidelines; they were just there to accompany the business and had almost no say in it.
"Of course, you must have heard Master Chen tell you how I filmed the videos. I just pointed a camera at the screen and filmed, right?"
"You might think, 'I, Liu Zhuohao, am capable, so why don't you find a young worker in your factory, or let Chen Min give it a try? Wouldn't that be just as good?'"
"I simply filmed for a day, why do you all insist on splitting the money with me, right?"
Liu Zhuohao was even more direct. After he said those words, Chen Youyin's hand holding the teacup stopped in mid-air, Chen Jianye's brows furrowed instantly, and he looked over with sharp eyes. Chen Min even widened her eyes slightly.
They didn't seem to expect that they would lay such a sensitive subtext on the table so directly.
The atmosphere definitely became tense.
But Liu Zhuohao didn't stop. There was no provocation on his face; instead, he was very calm: "Thinking like that is perfectly normal. If I were in that situation, I would think the same way."
"It's unsettling to pay for work you don't understand, and you feel like anyone can do the middleman's work, so you want to bypass them. That's just common sense in business."
"What's more, everyone here wants to do business. They're all learning by stealing skills, always thinking that once they've mastered it, they can go out on their own."
He then changed the subject, "However, there's something we need to clarify first. The agreement we signed earlier, in black and white, clearly states that the product we're collaborating on is Chen's handmade beef balls," and it outlines the profit-sharing arrangement and the rights and responsibilities of both parties.
"Moreover, this contract is an agreement between me, the platform, and you, the supplier, and it is also related to the business reputation and rules of the third-party platform."
"If Chenji decides to bypass me now, and you make your own videos, then sell the same product stipulated in the contract within the traffic pool or cooperation framework I provide —"
He shook his head slightly, warning directly, "This is no longer a simple business choice."
"I won't go into detail here, but the platform's legal department and risk control system have professional assessment and handling procedures for behaviors that may involve 'skipping intermediaries' or 'misusing platform resources in breach of contract.'"
"The penalties and damage to reputation there are probably not something that the profits from a few batches of beef balls can cover."
He saw Chen Youyin's Adam's apple move slightly, and Chen Jianye's lips tighten even more.
In business, you can't just agree, explain, and be humble all the time. Sometimes you need to be assertive, straightforward, and proactive.
However, Liu Zhuohao didn't stop at applying pressure; he immediately offered a compromise: "Of course, the contract we signed only covers the 'Chen Ji Beef Balls' product."
"If Chen Ji wants to develop other products in the future, such as Chen Ji Beef Tendon Balls or Chen Ji Cuttlefish Balls, or try video sales with a completely new team, new account, and entirely independent channels, then I certainly have no right and will not interfere."
"Furthermore, if after trying it out you still feel that professional content collaboration is necessary, we can discuss it again at any time. However, I have something to remind you."
He looked intently at each of the Chen family members, his tone calm and without any anger, and said, "You've already tried. If your own marketing doesn't work, then come back to me, but the price won't be the same."
The rules and regulations are so bluntly stated that they block all avenues.
The meeting room remained quiet.
They were all deep in thought.
Liu Zhuohao wasn't in a hurry. He finally picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and then used a bamboo skewer to pick up the cut fried chicken cutlet.
"Won't it get cold?"
Chen Min, standing beside her, asked softly, "Should I have someone fry another batch?"
"No need, this is fine."
Liu Zhuohao replied, popping one piece after another into his mouth, chewing and swallowing.
That's how business works.
As soon as they feel that the other party has lost out in any way, they will start to drag out the process and start bargaining.
Especially in smaller cities, some small businesses don't even sign contracts, relying instead on local reputation and verbal agreements, which greatly increases the interaction of personal relationships.
For this business to be stable, both parties need to meet frequently, have meals together often, and maintain regular contact.
However, for companies that are growing, communication costs will increase again and again.
"Professional matters should naturally be left to professionals."
After a long silence, Chen Youyin finally spoke.
Liu Zhuohao had heard this sentence from him countless times.
But sometimes, what this Mr. Chen does and says doesn't quite match up.
trust.
There's still not enough trust.
"As for the videos, I'm an older person and I don't really understand them." Chen Youyin and Chen Jianye exchanged glances. "You young people still have to examine them, but ultimately it all comes down to actual sales figures."
"Okay, Mr. Liu, do you think it's possible to release this video as soon as possible, and then in a day or two, you could give our factory a general report from your side?"
"Give us a rough estimate of the number of views, the number of people who have contacted you to place orders, and the number of people who have asked where to buy, so that our factory can prepare production accordingly."
—Actual data.
This is a common problem among many older entrepreneurs, or rather, people in all walks of life are similar; they don't understand the youth market and can't keep up with the changing times.
The only thing they could believe was the data.
However, this also means that some decisions may be made under the influence of data workers who specialize in creating fake reports, leading to misjudgments that seem incomprehensible to young people.
"That's definitely not a problem."
Liu Zhuohao replied, and the atmosphere in the conference room finally eased.
After that, there were some polite small talk. Every now and then, Chen Youyin would ask me about my future plans, whether I had ever had a girlfriend, and where my family used to live.
Liu Zhuohao responded to each question, sometimes giving detailed answers, and sometimes being vague.
"Xiaomin, see Boss Liu out."
It wasn't until after 4 p.m. that Chen Youyin spoke.
Liu Zhuohao got up to say goodbye.
Chen Min responded and accompanied Liu Zhuohao outside.
The approaching evening sun blew the factory's cement pavement white. She wore low-heeled leather shoes, and her navy blue cheongsam swayed gently with each step, walking half a step to Liu Zhuohao's side.
"My uncle and brother don't really understand these things on the internet, and sometimes they can't quite grasp the concepts. I hope Mr. Liu won't be angry."
She spoke softly, intending to defuse the awkwardness.
A gentle breeze blew by, lifting a stray strand of hair from her ear. She raised her hand and gently tucked it behind her ear, the pearl earring gleaming with a warm luster.