She, widowed at the age of thirty, and 36, went south alone and entered Gree as a salesman. In just half a year, sales of 0 to 3 million were achieved. After 11 years of working in Gree, he became the chairman of Gree. This person is Dong Mingzhu.
What kind of charm does this woman who dares to bet a billion against Lei Jun have?
Her husband died and she went south to work
In 1954, Dong Mingzhu was born in a very ordinary family in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, the youngest of seven siblings. When she was a child, Dong Mingzhu was a very quiet girl, she was like most girls, living step by step, studying seriously, then graduating, participating in work, getting married and having children.
I thought that Dong Mingzhu's life trajectory was so bland and unremarkable, but fate pushed Dong Mingzhu to another track. As Mencius said: "Heaven has sent a great task to the Si people, they must first suffer their minds, strain their bones, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and act in a disorderly manner. ”
At the age of 30, a serious illness took her husband away, leaving her and her two-year-old son Dongdong behind. In the face of the sudden blow, Dong Mingzhu's heart was haggard, but she did not have time to grieve, because she still had a two-year-old son to raise. She gritted her teeth and went through those difficult years alone with her son.
Six years have passed, and Dong Mingzhu is 36 years old at this time. At this time, it was already 1990, when the wave of going to the sea was set off, and she was affected by this wave and decided to leave her son in the care of her parents, quit her current job and went south to work.
Dong Mingzhu's decision was opposed by her parents and siblings, but she resolutely insisted on her idea that she must go out and break in. From her decision, it was known that Dong Mingzhu was not an ordinary woman, and her later explanation for this was that "unlike most women, I have pursued a little career since I was a child."
Moved to Zhuhai and sold air conditioners
Dong Mingzhu began to work in a chemical company in Shenzhen. Later, she went to Zhuhai with friends, where Dong Mingzhu saw business opportunities and decided to stay.
She applied for Zhuhai Haili Air Conditioning Factory, the predecessor of Gree Company. At that time, 1 million air conditioners sold in Haili (Gree) had a commission of 20,000 yuan, which was too tempting for Dong Mingzhu at that time. She needs money to raise her son, and she also needs money to change her current embarrassment.
Dong Mingzhu resolutely entered Haili (Gree) as a salesman. At that time, Dong Mingzhu did not expect that haili (Gree), which had not been in production for a long time and only had an annual output of 20,000 air conditioners, had achieved her and become a career she had pursued all her life.
The past 36 years have been calm and comfortable for Dong Mingzhu, and the life after the age of 36 is full of turmoil and passion. The death of her husband, she was very painful, but for the sake of her son, she took a lonely courage and walked out of another path. As Dong Mingzhu said, "If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have taken the road I am on now, and if he was here, I wouldn't have agreed to my coming to Zhuhai." ”
Stationed in Anhui, the first to show its sharp edge
Just arrived at Haili (Gree) to work, Dong Mingzhu showed her difference, when she ran the business, she was always a drop of wine, and the principle is very strong, and those accidents, sleek old salesmen are completely different. Many old salesmen feel that Dong Mingzhu can't last long, and he can't sign the bill.
Dong Mingzhu did not care about the views of others, but tirelessly ran the market, fully understood the characteristics of Haili air conditioning, in order to explain to dealers. There is nothing difficult in the world, but I am afraid of those who have a heart. After continuous efforts, Dong Mingzhu only took half a year to make a list of 3 million, which no one expected.
But Dong Mingzhu did not have the slightest surprise, she has always believed that "others can do, I must be able to do; others can not do, I believe, through my efforts, I will be able to do it!" ”
Later, Haili (Gree) urgently needed to send a salesman to the Anhui station, the old salesmen pushed each other away, at this time Dong Mingzhu volunteered to stand up and say that she was willing to go.
Dong Mingzhu went to Anhui and the first thing he dealt with was to "recover 420,000 yuan in arrears." Whether it was then or now, it is common for dealers to default on their arrears, and it is not an easy task to recover them. And this errand is not easy to do, there is no mention of achievements, and it is easy to offend the dealer if it is not done well.
But Dong Mingzhu did not flinch, she believed that things were man-made. Since he has become a salesman of Haili (Gree), he is a Haili (Gree) person, and everything is based on the interests of the factory first.
Dong Mingzhu's road to recover the arrears is not easy to go, and the "debtor" Niu manager always has countless excuses, dragging dong Mingzhu away, and finally simply "disappearing". But Dong Mingzhu did not give up, and reported to Manager Niu's office on time every day, and slowly became familiar with the employees there.
Dong Mingzhu "blocked" Manager Niu several times, but Manager Niu was not afraid at all. After 40 days of exhaustion, Manager Niu was finally "bored" by Dong Mingzhu. He promised Dong Mingzhu that he could return the freight, but the 420,000 goods had to be moved out of the warehouse one by one.
Dong Mingzhu saw the shortcomings of this industry from this incident, and she was determined to change such a vicious circle of unclear payments. Many years later, the commercial rule of "first pay and then goods" has also become one of the unique symbols of Gree.
In 1992, Dong Mingzhu's sales in Huainan City, Anhui Province, reached 2.4 million yuan, and her sales in the Anhui market exceeded 16 million yuan, and her sales alone accounted for one-eighth of the entire company, which is a well-deserved "sales queen".
In the former Anhui market, the performance was dismal, but in the hands of Dong Mingzhu, it "turned waste into treasure." As Lu Xun said, "There is no road in the world, and the more people who walk, the more they become the road." Dong Mingzhu relies on her diligence and perseverance to make the Anhui market bigger and bigger, and also left a brilliant mark in her life.
Meet the nobles and attack the Nanjing market
Dong Mingzhu's outstanding performance also attracted the attention of Zhu Jianghong, chairman of Haili (Gree) Air Conditioning Factory. Zhu Jianghong decided to go to Anhui to investigate, and by the way, he met this incredible salesman, Dong Mingzhu.
In the chat with Dong Mingzhu, Zhu Jianghong learned that Dong Mingzhu is a person with a very sense of responsibility, she has a lot of ideas, and her ideological awareness is also very high. He decided to invite Dong Mingzhu to Nanjing to investigate, and at the same time to know Dong Mingzhu better. After the end of the trip to Nanjing, Zhu Jianghong made a major decision, that is, to hand over the Jiangsu market to Dong Mingzhu to manage.
Zhu Jianghong's trust in Dong Mingzhu made Dong Mingzhu even more righteous and never betrayed Zhu Jianghong's trust. It turns out that how far a person can go depends on who she meets. Many times, a person often plays a decisive role.
Dong Mingzhu opened the market in Nanjing, it took only one year, and the sales reached 36.5 million yuan, and the sales of the entire Jiangsu market were close to 50 million yuan.
In 1994, the market demand for air conditioning has entered a white-hot stage, and Gree is also fully prepared to blow the "horn" at any time. But a continuous rainy day, like a dark cloud that cannot be dispersed, makes Dong Mingzhu anxious.
At that time, Dong Mingzhu was recuperating in the hospital because of a car accident, and then he was anxious because of this rainy day. The rain has not stopped, and many merchants can't sit still, and they have begun to reduce prices and sell the accumulated air conditioners. Gree resisted the pressure of the market and did not have any price cuts.
In this battle, Dong Mingzhu saw it in her eyes, and she told herself, "We will never fight a price war, never." You can't do that even if you can't sell one. ”
Because of the continuous rain, Gree salesmen and dealers panicked and called Dong Mingzhu one after another, saying about the price reduction of air conditioners. Unprecedented pressure shrouded Dong Mingzhu's heart, and she began to hesitate whether to reduce the price. Later, even Zhu Jianghong called to hear Dong Mingzhu's thoughts.
Dong Mingzhu spent three days dragging the sick body to investigate the market, and then came to a conclusion, she said to Zhu Jianghong: "You can't reduce the price, the air conditioner is not sold, not because of the price, but because of the weather." In the market, Dong Mingzhu also understands that as a salesman, as long as she promises to reduce the price, she will not have so much pressure, and she can also sell personal feelings. But from the company's point of view, this price war, hurting others and hurting themselves, does not benefit the company.
On June 21, 1994, the weather finally cleared. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and air conditioners have begun to sell in large quantities, and Gree, which has not reduced prices, has become the biggest winner in this battle. In the same year, her sales reached 160 million yuan, accounting for one-fifth of the company. Also in this year, Gree became one of the top ten domestic brand-name enterprises.
In the same year, Gree also ushered in its crisis - key employees resigned, went to competitor companies, and even dealers turned against each other. Of course, they also wanted to poach Dong Mingzhu and offered a favorable condition of an annual salary of 2 million yuan, but Dong Mingzhu refused.
Careers take off
Zhu Jianghong saw Dong Mingzhu's loyalty and ability and decided to nominate her as the vice president of sales of Gree, but Dong Mingzhu said that she had no experience in leading the team, and finally she took over the position of deputy director of the operation department. This was the opportunity for her career to take off, and it also changed the fate of Gree. A year later, the sales of the team she led increased sevenfold from before to 2.8 billion yuan.
From 1995 to 2005, in the past 11 years, the sales of Gree air conditioners have accumulated more than 70 billion yuan. In 2012, it exceeded 100 billion yuan.
In 2001, Dong Mingzhu was 47 years old, and she worked in Gree for 11 years, and she also achieved the position of president of the company from the deputy director of the operation department.
Dong Mingzhu is strict with others and is also very strict with himself. For example, girls are not allowed to have long hair during work, and long hair is either cut into short hair or coiled up; earrings and rings are not allowed... Gree's marketing salesmen are not allowed to take kickbacks, take a penny rebate and immediately dismiss, etc. She is also a person on her own business trip, without an assistant, and a business trip alone can save a fee. Don't eat with the dealer, if you have to eat, you have to aa.
As she said, "I've never made a mistake, I've never admitted a mistake, I've always been right." "Because every decision she makes is based on the interests of the company and considers the company."
A tough and gentle woman with an iron wrist is truly unforgettable.
Today's Dong Mingzhu is really not allowed to shave his eyebrows, what do you think?