Marketing

Lin Qiang pushed the door open with a serious expression and scolded, "Why aren't you working?"

The two reactions were starkly different. Zheng Shuai made a face, completely ignoring him.

Lin Xiaozhao, however, jumped up immediately, ready to throw away her half-eaten meal, swallowing her food hastily like a frightened kitten, "I'll go right away....I'll get back to work... right away..."

"I was just joking... don't take it so seriously," Lin Qiang couldn't help but laugh. He walked over, patted Zheng Shuai, and signaled him to leave.

Zheng Shuai gave a mischievous grin and quickly left, closing the door behind him.

Lin Qiang guided Lin Xiaozhao back to her seat, pressing her down gently. "Finish your meal first. I want to ask you something."

Lin Xiaozhao didn't dare eat, just stared at Lin Qiang blankly.

"Have you passed the personal financial planner exams?"

Lin Xiaozhao nodded.

"Then let me ask you, how should one plan for a retired person with ample funds?"

Lin Xiaozhao quickly responded, "Retired individuals have a low risk tolerance and should adopt a stable financial plan that ensures asset security and financial freedom. Based on their assets and annual income, most of their wealth should be invested in principal-protected products, fixed deposits, and government bonds, with a small portion in insurance products to guard against unforeseen events, and some funds should be kept for emergencies. Based on our bank's products, it should be..."

Lin Qiang listened, nodding continuously. Even if she was just reciting textbook material, she did it well. Moreover, she cited examples of current products, showing that she had been putting in the effort despite doing menial tasks.

The key point was... Lin Xiaozhao seemed very confident when talking about this topic, without any hesitation.

After she finished, Lin Qiang asked, "Okay, suppose there's an elderly person outside with 2 million yuan in liquid assets, living comfortably and in good health. If you could only sell them one product, which would it be?"

Lin Xiaozhao frowned, thinking deeply before answering, "Our bank's 'Flexible Profit' product. It's divided proportionally into one-year, six-month, and three-month terms, minimizing risk, offering flexible withdrawals, and yielding about a 5% annual interest rate, guaranteed."

Lin Qiang was quite satisfied. This product was principal-protected, ensuring no loss, and the division into three terms reduced temporary withdrawal losses.

Still, he pretended to be conflicted and asked, "But the commission for this product is very low. I think the one-year term only gives a 0.5% commission. If you sell a stock-based product, you could earn much more, and it would look better for the outlet's performance."

"No! We can't let elderly people buy high-risk products!" Lin Xiaozhao suddenly became assertive, "Such products are for high-risk tolerance, high-income individuals. Even then, they should only constitute 30% of their investment, no more."

Lin Qiang smiled, "Once the deal is closed, whether they profit or lose is no longer our concern, right? The key is making money for ourselves and our outlet. Selling only low-risk products won't make the outlet manager happy."

"Supervisor! I thought you were..." Lin Xiaozhao stared at Lin Qiang, showing rare stubbornness, "Other people's money is their business, but if we make an elderly person invest all their savings in high-risk stocks and lose their retirement fund... I'd rather not make that money!"

Lin Qiang looked at her with interest, "What if I insisted? You know I just got here and urgently need to boost my performance, so I want you to focus more on marketing."

"Then you do it yourself," Lin Xiaozhao said, lowering her head to eat. "Cheating elderly people out of their retirement money..."

She had just taken a couple of bites when she suddenly realized something. She looked up angrily, "Supervisor, you tricked me! I've heard about you! You mostly sell principal-protected products!"

"Haha! Am I that famous?"

"Hmph..." The joke gradually brought them closer. Lin Xiaozhao snorted, then continued eating, stirring her food with her chopsticks. "I know I'm useless... even you make fun of me..."

"Alright, eat up." Lin Qiang stood up, straightened his suit, and patted her shoulder lightly. "There's an elderly customer with 2 million yuan in the lobby. Get ready. I'll help you as much as I can."

"What?!" Lin Xiaozhao choked on her food. "Cough... an elderly customer with 2 million yuan?"

"Yes, come to the lobby after lunch and follow my lead," Lin Qiang smiled. "If you perform well, you might replace Zhang Jiaming's role tomorrow."

With a look of surprise on her face, Lin Qiang left, hoping the elderly customer was still there.

...

In the lobby, Hao Wei had returned and was chatting with Zhang Jiaming. When they saw Lin Qiang, they stopped talking.

"So, have you got a basic understanding of the situation here?" Hao Wei greeted him with a smile.

"Not yet, a few data points don't tell the whole story," Lin Qiang replied. "The transaction volume is high, but it's hard to land big deals."

"True," Hao Wei sighed. "Most of the new residents are young, burdened with mortgages, so they don't have much spare cash for investments."

He patted Zhang Jiaming, "But Jiaming has still managed to secure some quality clients. Quite commendable."

In the bank, each account manager has fixed clients. In principle, they shouldn't poach each other's clients. Hao Wei's implication was clear: if you want to land deals, find your own clients; don't expect us to share.

"Yes, but I see Jiaming is overwhelmed. There should still be opportunities," Lin Qiang glanced at the waiting customers. "In our line of work, we have to be proactive and thick-skinned."

Hao Wei laughed, "That's true, that's true. So having you and Zheng Shuai here is a great addition!"

"It's a team effort," Lin Qiang shifted the conversation. "I think Lin Xiaozhao is quite promising. She's attractive and personable; she should be given more opportunities."

Zhang Jiaming flinched, feeling the pressure. He quickly said, "She's still inexperienced. She gets nervous in front of clients and can't speak fluently. Rushing her could backfire."

"She'll need training sooner or later. I think she can handle it," Lin Qiang said firmly. "We can rotate her current tasks among ourselves."

"But... this..." Zhang Jiaming didn't know how to respond.

Hao Wei felt indignant. No matter what, he was the manager. Lin Qiang ordering a staff transfer in front of him was too arrogant.

"Lin, you're new here and might not understand everything yet. Putting an inexperienced newcomer out front could displease customers."

"Come on, Manager Hao. Our bank ultimately needs to perform, right?" Lin Qiang retorted. "I've reviewed the recent figures. All the investment sales depend on Jiaming. Isn't he too busy?"

Hao Wei quickly replied, "Well, now we have you and Zheng Shuai to help."

Lin Qiang had anticipated this, and responded swiftly:

"That won't work. We're all men. In many situations, a woman has an advantage."

Hao Wei was stunned. The rapid exchange left him feeling pressured, and he reluctantly said, "Well... let's discuss this in tomorrow's meeting."

"Let's speak with results!" Lin Qiang saw Lin Xiaozhao coming out and waved to her. "Let's see if Xiaozhao can close a deal with the current clients. If she can, we'll fast-track her training. If not, she can continue learning."