In my confusion, Director Zhou smiled and said, “Although you haven’t officially joined our company yet, I believe you are the most suitable candidate. Of course, if you personally aren’t ready yet, I won’t force you.”
After Director Zhou finished speaking, Li Xiaoyun looked at me, seemingly very eager for me to accompany her to this business negotiation.
“No problem, I will do my best to assist Director Li,” I replied confidently without hesitation.
Director Zhou patted my shoulder and said, “Then I look forward to your triumphant return.”
Before I could respond, Li Xiaoyun quickly added, “Director Zhou, don’t put too much pressure on Zhaoyang. This is only the initial meeting; it’s too soon to talk about triumphant returns.”
Director Zhou teased Li Xiaoyun with a smile, saying, “Xiaoyun, you’re so concerned about him, it seems your friendship is quite special!”
Li Xiaoyun, being an experienced professional, didn’t show any girlish shyness. She smiled and said, “I’m just stating the facts!”
Director Zhou smiled knowingly. Xiaoyun and I then said goodbye to him, prepared briefly, and headed toward Times Department Store by car.
On the way, Li Xiaoyun drove while I sat in the passenger seat. She asked me, “Zhaoyang, do you think you can handle it later?”
“Just a small task; our combined efforts will be fine,” I said calmly. This calmness stemmed from my previous work experience. Back at Baoli, whenever luxury brands set up counters in the mall, domestic top celebrities were often invited to attend the opening ceremonies. I had hosted several famous stars, so an ordinary business meeting wouldn’t create any psychological pressure for me. Additionally, I had a general understanding of the background and team information of Ousen Advertising, so I was confident I could handle the upcoming business negotiation.
Li Xiaoyun nodded and said, “Yes, I have full confidence in your psychological resilience and communication skills, but I’m still worried that you might not be familiar enough with Ousen Advertising…”
“Don’t worry, I still have you. Please help me cover any internal company issues, and with our默契 cooperation, we will definitely nail it.”
Li Xiaoyun nodded and smiled, saying, “Zhaoyang, you actually have a certain masculine charm when you’re confident, which is hard to associate with the person I first met.”
“You’ll get used to my hidden talents soon enough!” I joked.
But Li Xiaoyun didn’t take it as a joke. She said very seriously, “I really look forward to the surprises you’re about to give me!”
…
A moment later, Xiaoyun and I arrived at Times Department Store. After parking the car, we immediately walked toward their office area.
Led by the receptionist at Times Department Store, Xiaoyun and I arrived at the office of the planning department manager. We knocked on the door and walked in immediately after receiving a response.
Li Xiaoyun greeted Manager Lin of Times Department Store with a very friendly smile, saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Manager Lin.”
Manager Lin smiled in return and said, “Not at all; we still have ten minutes before our scheduled time.”
Li Xiaoyun nodded and introduced me to Manager Lin, saying, “This is my colleague from our company’s planning department, Zhaoyang. He has experience in planning at top-tier department stores. If you have any questions about our company’s planning later, you can discuss them with him.”
“Hello, Manager Lin,” I nodded in greeting.
Manager Lin smiled politely and asked curiously, “So we are actually colleagues in the same field! May I ask, which department store did you work for previously?”
“I used to work at Baoli Department Store in Suzhou, but later I moved back to Xuzhou due to some personal reasons.”
Manager Lin said in surprise, “Baoli Department Store! I have some connection with their planning manager, Chen Jingming. Compared to Baoli Department Store, our Times Department Store still has some gaps.”
I wasn’t surprised by Manager Lin’s sentiment. There are only about ten top-tier department stores in Jiangsu Province, and we are all industry insiders engaged in planning work. Although we are in different cities, it’s not unusual for us to know each other. Indeed, Times Department Store does lag behind Baoli Department Store, as they currently only have five internationally top brands, though they are already considered top-tier in Xuzhou.
I continued the conversation with Manager Lin by saying, “Chen Jingming is a supervisor I deeply respect. It was my honor to work under his leadership!”
This wasn’t flattery. My gratitude toward Chen Jingming came from the bottom of my heart, but I had no opportunity to repay his kindness, which made me feel guilty and sad again.
Manager Lin nodded in agreement with my evaluation of Chen Jingming and then gestured for Xiaoyun and me to sit down and chat. The atmosphere became much more relaxed because of our shared connection with Chen Jingming.
Manager Lin’s assistant poured a cup of coffee for each of us, and our conversation began.
First, Manager Lin asked Li Xiaoyun some questions about advertising production and pricing. Li Xiaoyun answered them all professionally.
Finally, Manager Lin turned to me and said, “Planner Zhaoyang, could you tell me more about your company’s advertising planning capabilities?”
I nodded and spoke frankly, “Manager Lin, I think you must understand that in a city like Xuzhou, which is at the top of third-tier cities, it’s a bit difficult to define advertising planning capabilities. I also believe that when Times Department Store chooses an advertising company to cooperate with, what they value is definitely not the advertising planning capability itself, but rather how many promotional resources the advertising company has and how many advertising channels they have established. Am I right?”
Manager Lin looked at me in surprise, then smiled and nodded, saying, “Indeed, you have experience working in a department store. In a city like Xuzhou, where the advertising market is not yet mature, we don’t have overly high expectations for advertising planning capabilities.” After a brief pause, he emphasized, “Indeed, what we value more is the advertising resources that the advertising company possesses.”
The reason Manager Lin focused on the generally weak advertising planning capabilities of advertising companies in Xuzhou was just to maintain a dominant position in the negotiations, hoping to pressure for a lower advertising price.
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. I fully understood the advertising needs and mindset of the department store industry. I then smiled kindly and said, “Manager Lin, let me briefly introduce the advertising resources currently controlled by our Ousen Advertising.”
Manager Lin made a gesture inviting me to continue, while Li Xiaoyun beside him looked at me with slight tension. In her eyes, I hadn’t officially joined Ousen Advertising yet, so how could I possibly be familiar with their advertising resources?
I recalled the information about Ousen Advertising that I had reviewed at noon and then said, “Currently, we have large outdoor billboards along the Jingfu Expressway and the Ningxu Expressway within Xuzhou. Additionally, we have building advertisements set up in high-end villa areas of Xuzhou, such as Longrun Mountain Villa, Taiyang Garden, and Nan’an Villas. We also have advertising rights for the entire Yunlong District’s bus stop stations, including prime time slots on local television stations. These are all advertising resources that a high-end department store cannot resist. If Times Department Store chooses to cooperate with our Ousen Advertising, I believe we have the capability to integrate these advertising resources and create the most suitable advertising plan for Times Department Store, improving dissemination efficiency and maximizing resource savings for you.”
After I finished speaking, Li Xiaoyun looked at me in astonishment. She absolutely hadn’t expected me to have already memorized all the advertising resources of Ousen Advertising.
After I finished speaking, Manager Lin was silent for a while and finally said, “Currently, there are only a handful of advertising companies in Xuzhou with advertising planning capabilities, and even fewer that understand department store marketing. The advertising resources your company possesses are indeed very tempting to us. I will definitely consider Ousen Advertising seriously. However, the cooperation still needs to be reported to the upper management. Please wait for my message.”
Li Xiaoyun wanted to say something else, but I gently tapped her foot with mine to signal her not to speak. Then I smiled at Manager Lin and said, “Manager Lin, we’ll wait for your good news.”
Manager Lin stood up, and we shook hands. I had a strong feeling that this cooperation with Times Department Store would definitely be successful. It wouldn’t be long before Manager Lin contacted us to discuss the cooperation details.
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