The scorching July passed, and the equally scorching August arrived.
The peak season promotional activities ignited by Shanchi grew hotter, and the competition became increasingly fierce.
"Boss, Lüyuan held a press conference in Hangzhou, making a big splash,"
Zeng Jixiang reported.
"What did they say?"
"They promised the public that Lüyuan electric vehicle batteries would be guaranteed for 2 years, motors for 5 years, and there would be 20 items with lifetime free service, focusing on service."
Lüyuan, constantly squeezed out of the Zhejiang Province market by Shanchi, finally couldn't sit still.
As industry leaders, they for the first time announced high-quality services, which was a first nationwide.
What's free is often the most expensive.
The 20 free services, such as changing fuses, mudguards, and light bulbs, frankly aren't particularly useful, and the added cost isn't high; it's more of a gimmick.
No one is so bored as to specifically travel to a Lüyuan service point just to change a fuse; time is also a cost.
However, this move was indeed effective.
The word 'free' alone is attractive enough, and 'lifetime free' is even more so.
Moreover, a well-known old brand like Lüyuan is inherently more trusted by consumers for its quality.
This news could be found online.
Tan Jincheng opened his computer, typed keywords into Baidu, and quickly jumped to the specific news page for the event.
Although Baidu was already full of ads these days, keywords were still very useful.
"Lüyuan has also found a new path with this."
This move is quite aggressive.
Lüyuan doesn't have an advantage in promotion, but they can take service to the extreme.
Their quality is already superior to other competitors, making them the first choice for quality-conscious consumers.
With this added strategy, it will certainly be effective.
"What should we do?"
Zeng Jixiang asked.
This summer was Shanchi's first summer of market grabbing, directly targeting all top manufacturers.
Therefore, the entire company paid special attention to the moves of leading manufacturers.
When Xinri launched a big promotion in the Jiangnan region, Shanchi immediately launched a price war.
Now that Lüyuan is focusing on service, Shanchi, which aims to be a top player, must certainly come up with a counter-strategy.
"Follow suit, what else can we do? Additionally, we'll add another point: advocate for agents to recycle used batteries, with our electric vehicle sales points serving as collection sites, all for environmental protection. Have the marketing department develop a promotional plan for this."
"Still letting the marketing department handle the plan? Won't there be a hidden risk?"
Zeng Jixiang knew that the company had recently faced poaching attempts, with the marketing department being the main target.
"Do as planned. Poaching shouldn't affect the company's normal operations. Leave it to Zhou Ao; let him arrange it."
Zhou Ao had already called to inform him, so Aima's poaching plan for Zhou Ao had failed.
As for other marketing department staff, some were bound to be poached; there was nothing to be done about that.
Let Zhou Ao handle it.
As for other departments, attention should be paid to Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping, as well as Wang Chao and others in the R&D department.
Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping control Shanchi's domestic and international market channels, while Wang Chao is crucial to Shanchi's subsequent R&D.
These three are actually more important than Zhou Ao, but due to Tan Jincheng, Shanchi's marketing department has been overly prominent.
The market attributes Shanchi's success to its excellent marketing strategy, which is undeniable.
However, if other departments falter, even the most brilliant marketing is useless.
Tan Jincheng only ran the initial few months of establishing market channels and the supply chain system.
After that, everything was handed over to Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping, who have been on long-term business trips, working very hard.
Lin Yumin is currently still on a business trip in Jiangsu Province.
The news from Changzhou ZF was relayed to Tan Jincheng through him.
The R&D department is even more crucial.
Wang Chao was poached by Tan Jincheng from Xinri.
Before being poached, he didn't hold a particularly high position at Xinri, but his abilities were outstanding.
He was technically proficient and also understood some management.
Talent that understands technology and is also suitable for management is truly rare, even scarce.
Unbeknownst to them, Shanchi Technology's electric vehicle business already had a relatively complete team.
The finance department was managed by Liu Meilin, so there wouldn't be any issues there; traditional entrepreneurs don't have a habit of poaching each other's finance personnel.
It's also unlikely that Chen Jinwen from HR would be poached.
Like the finance department, any sizable company has its trusted talent.
As for the production department, an old bicycle company like Aima certainly has its own set of production processes and no need to poach people.
Finance, HR, and production are not concerns.
What needs guarding against are market, marketing, and R&D.
As for the procurement department, Zhao Xinyi just took office; only a fool would poach her.
The core supply chain is also in their hands, so there's even less to worry about.
Regarding the branch companies, Sun Yuming was just sent to Tianjin and had just taken charge, full of ambition.
There was no need to overthink his choice.
As for Zhang Xuhui of Hangxin, given his current compensation, position, and relationship with Zhang Xupeng and Tan Jincheng, if they had to worry about him being poached, then there would be no need to run the company at all.
After this review, Tan Jincheng realized that he had managed Shanchi quite well.
All core departments were under his control.
Unless all executives from the marketing, R&D, and market departments were poached, losing one or two people probably wouldn't be a major issue.
Nevertheless, necessary countermeasures must be taken.
It's currently peak sales season, and the company cannot be destabilized by competitors' poaching attempts.
"Go call Zhou Ao, then call in the head of each department, one by one."
"Okay."
The boss was about to make a move.
Five minutes later, Zhou Ao, feeling uneasy, entered Tan Jincheng's office.
He knew the boss must be looking to discuss the poaching attempts with him.
He didn't know why, as he hadn't done anything wrong, and had even shown loyalty, yet he still felt a bit anxious.
Seeing Zhou Ao's uneasy expression, Tan Jincheng teased,
"Here you are, Director Zhou. Please have a seat."
"Boss, please don't joke with me,"
Zhou Ao said with a wry smile.
"Haha, don't be nervous. I actually want to thank you. The fact that you called me immediately shows that you truly acknowledge me as your boss, and that is my honor."
After Tan Jincheng made a joke, Zhou Ao's mood eased considerably:
"Boss has taught me a lot. In my heart, I even consider you my mentor. Calling you was just a subconscious act."
"How was it? What was your feeling when you received the offer of 500,000 a year?"
Tan Jincheng asked curiously.
Having lived two lives, Tan Jincheng had never worked for anyone else.
In his previous life, he used money earned from selling lunchboxes to start a business, so Tan Jincheng certainly wasn't generous back then, often hearing employees grumble about his stinginess behind his back.
Only in this life had things somewhat changed.
Honestly, Tan Jincheng didn't fully understand the psychology of employees.
If it were him, facing the temptation of a 500,000 yuan annual salary, it would be hard not to be tempted; at the very least, he'd wait a few days to see, rather than immediately calling the boss to report it.
Zhou Ao looked at his boss, who showed nothing but curiosity, and then nodded:
"Honestly, it was quite tempting. That's 500,000 yuan; working for a year could directly buy a house. Before I even walked into that Starbucks, I never dared to imagine I'd be worth that much money."
"Then why did you refuse? Changing jobs is actually quite normal. Even if we signed a non-compete agreement, as long as they're willing to handle the penalty for you, none of that is an issue."
'You built such a large factory in Tianjin; don't you know what kind of power you wield? Wasn't I afraid of your retaliation? However, Zhou Ao dared not say these words aloud.'
"Tempted is tempted, but if I were asked to manage the marketing department of a startup company right now, I don't think my abilities are sufficient. I also know what they value in me."
Tan Jincheng nodded in satisfaction:
"Excellent. The fact that you can realize this and not be blinded by desire is already exceptional."
Without waiting for Zhou Ao to reply, Tan Jincheng continued:
"I certainly can't give you a 500,000 annual salary right now, but don't worry, you'll have it soon enough."
"I know, thank you, Boss."
"Don't thank me. But if I didn't add anything at all, it would be looking down on you, and looking down on myself. What if Aima has money? We at Shanchi aren't lacking either. Two things, go get them done."
"Tell me, Boss."
"First, you've probably seen Lüyuan's press conference, right? If not, go back and watch it. Then we'll fully follow up, incorporating a used battery recycling plan, and write up a proposal."
"Second, the company has been officially operating for one year, and we've made money again. You should coordinate with finance and HR to create a company-wide salary increase promotion plan. All management staff will receive a 15% raise, and all grassroots employees will receive a 20% raise. Additionally, the company will provide several of you with company cars."
A reborn person should have some vision.
Having made so much money in a physical business, it's only right to give employees a raise.
If we announce this, will companies like Xinri, Yadi, and Lüyuan follow suit?
If they do, it will also increase Aima's poaching costs.
You claim to be wealthy and powerful, offering 500,000 annual salaries at will.
Let's make you bleed a little more.
"Alright, then I'll thank the boss first,"
Zhou Ao replied with a smile.
The boss was indeed as generous as ever.
The 15% salary increase significantly boosted the already well-compensated Shanchi employees' income, and the perk of company cars for management was beyond excellent.
Moreover, this also made the company's first-anniversary promotional plan more robust.
It also, coincidentally, countered competitors' poaching efforts.
Simply perfect.
"Don't reveal the second point yet. You and the heads of a few departments can discuss it privately."
"Understood."
Zhou Ao nodded.
"Go get busy. Do good work, and don't overthink things. What's yours won't be any less. I drive an Audi, and you'll at least be driving an Alto."
Zhou Ao chuckled,
"Then it looks like we'll need to make sure you switch to a Ferrari as soon as possible, Boss."
---
As a headhunter manager, Xu Qihua realized that her trip to Yongcheng had indeed involved several significant mistakes.
There was nothing wrong with initially targeting Zhou Ao, but as Zhou Ao himself said, she had underestimated the enemy too much.
For instance, regarding the choice of Starbucks as a meeting location, Xu Qihua indeed hadn't thoroughly understood Zhou Ao's lifestyle habits, relying solely on her past experience and Tan Jincheng's preference for coffee.
After reviewing, Xu Qihua realized that she still hadn't fully valued Zhou Ao's abilities, or perhaps Tan Jincheng's abilities, believing that those who gained Tan Jincheng's trust would be the kind of people who catered to his preferences.
Subconsciously assuming that subordinates should like whatever Tan Jincheng liked, this idea was indeed somewhat biased.
'Indeed, how could a young man who could grow a company to such a scale within a year be so simple? It was merely a habit; whether or not his subordinates catered to his preferences, why would he care?'
And a subordinate like Zhou Ao, who was not related to him, to be recognized and promoted by him, how could he be an ordinary person?
"Tsk, tsk, 500,000 yuan, and he just refused it like that."
Xu Qihua clearly saw temptation in Zhou Ao's eyes, yet he refused without hesitation.
This resolve impressed even Xu Qihua.
As headhunters, they were highly sensitive to compensation.
The figure of 500,000 yuan made even her feel tempted.
Those who could decisively refuse were truly few and far between; even with hesitation, most would say,
"Let me go back and think about it, okay?"
But it doesn't matter; as long as there's temptation, there's a chance to try again.
Besides Zhou Ao, Shanchi had several other targets within Xu Qihua's plan, including Wang Chao from the R&D department, as well as Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping.
However, considering Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping's relationship with Tan Jincheng, the chances of securing them were slim, so they were placed at the end to avoid premature exposure.
Xu Qihua didn't know yet that she had already been exposed.
(End of Chapter)