E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 164: Episode 164: The Troublesome Customer Strikes Again

Chapter 164: Episode 164: The Troublesome Customer Strikes Again

Zhou Xueyin knew why she was called in, because she had never intended to give Zhang Yongzhong the real customer list...

That one was from two years ago, just a list of small users.

The list of key customers, that was something no one could give away, the company’s most valuable asset, including this newly appointed Vice General Manager...

"Xiaozhou, I glanced at the list, why are all the customers for female products? Doesn’t our website do advertisements for male products, like razors?" Zhang Yongzhong’s words put Zhou Xueyin at ease.

So his doubts were about gender, not about hiding major clients.

"Because the forum users are all females, there are too few male users, and advertising to them would be ineffective, so we gave up on that sector." Of course, the most important point was that the several male brands she had come into contact with before had truly disgusting sales strategies, so they had no plans to touch that sector again.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, should I say you women are short-sighted!" Zhang Yongzhong looked at Zhou Xueyin with disdain, fiddling with the razor information in his hand, "The female economy is indeed still not outdated, but there is also a demand for male products! You just made a decision on your own to give up on this sector. No wonder you only sold 200W..."

"To correct you, it’s 200 million US Dollars..." Zhou Xueyin retorted discontentedly.

"Oh... 200 million US Dollars? That’s not too bad. I thought you meant 200 million RMB..." It was visible that Zhang Yongzhong was trying hard to suppress his surprise.

"Even so, you can’t be too proud! Listen to me, get in touch with this razor brand... if you pull it off, make sure you say it was me who brokered the deal!" Zhang Yongzhong slapped the material onto Zhou Xueyin, "Alright, make sure to contact them! Remember to tell me the outcome!"

Zhou Xueyin glanced at the brand and immediately scoffed, "No need to contact, I can tell you right now. It’s precisely because of this brand of razors that we completely gave up on the male product market!"

"What’s wrong with this brand? The pride of domestic products! I always use this brand of razors, and I also recommend it to people around me! You can’t look down on the brand like that!" Zhang Yongzhong, brandishing the information in his hand, nearly hit Zhou Xueyin in the face.

"Langri Razor is indeed very good, quality is solid! But their Huabei District general agent showed no respect to our staff, so we refuse to have any further dealings with them. Are you satisfied with this explanation?" Zhou Xueyin felt angry just thinking about it, the torment Pang Xin had put 51buy through remained clear in her mind.

"Oh, come on, it’s just a little touch during a meal, what’s the big deal? It’s not like you lose a piece of flesh, right?"

Zhang Yongzhong’s offhand remark made Zhou Xueyin want to slap him hard across the face with the material.

"Since General Manager Zhang is so keen on landing this client, then please take the liberty of negotiating with Langri Razor yourself. Unfortunately, our sales team is all tied up with other clients at the moment, simply too busy!" Zhou Xueyin was determined not to deal with this brand that had left them traumatized.

"Would it be appropriate for a Vice General Manager to negotiate directly?" Zhang Yongzhong slammed his hand on the desk, "Go out and ask around, which company’s Vice General Manager goes to see clients?"

"What’s wrong with a Vice General Manager seeing clients? How many of the company’s big and small deals have I personally negotiated? You’d better find out! Besides, I’m the General Manager, I have the right to order you to see this client, don’t I?"

She hadn’t wanted to pull rank to avoid Zhang Yongzhong gossiping later on, but under the current circumstances, she had no choice but to be assertive.

Zhou Xueyin was more resolute than Zhang Yongzhong, "Since you are the Vice General Manager of 51buy and have just taken office, you should at least set an example. Take over the negotiation with Langri Razor, and if you succeed, we’ll give you a separate bonus at year’s end, how does that sound?"

"Tch... that’s more like it..." Upon hearing about a bonus, Zhang Yongzhong perked up, "But I can’t do it alone, I need to bring... I’ll bring Li Jin’niang with me!"

"She can’t, she’s going to discuss international luxury clients with me!" Zhou Xueyin decisively refused him.

"Then Zhang Jingwan will do!" Settling for the next best option, Zhang Jingwan’s figure wasn’t bad either and could definitely present a good image.

"Fine, I’ll talk to her about it. Is there anything else you need? If not, I’m heading to work on the client’s proposal..." It should have been her getting up to leave, but now it felt as if the other party was the general manager, and she was waiting for his orders.

Let’s just consider it respecting elders. If not for his seniority, she would never indulge him like this!

[Wanwan, I have some unfortunate news to tell you...] Zhou Xueyin sat back at her desk and messaged Zhang Jingwan.

[I overheard just now, you’re not going to make me talk to the idiot, are you?] Zhang Jingwan’s hearing was surprisingly sharp.

[Sorry to trouble you, but with his way of speaking, right? Without someone eloquent, the deal is definitely not happening! Oh, and meet up with the idiot later to see if there’s anything that needs to be prepared.] Using this opportunity, Zhou Xueyin also wanted to see what Zhang Yongzhong was capable of property-wise.

Anyway, she had no hope for his articulation; with his thick tongue, unclear diction, and muddled speech, could it really be that he climbed to his position today because of outstanding business skills?

[No problem! I’ll just wait for the idiot’s page!] Zhang Jingwan seemed somewhat eager about collaborating with Zhang Yongzhong.

[Right, let me give you a heads-up. This Langri Huabei District general agent is pretty sleazy, he’s known to drug people when they leave their seat, so be careful and protect yourself!] Zhou Xueyin cautioned.

[Got it! I know! How did the idiot even find such a client?]

[Not sure, but just take care of yourself! Set 110 as the speed dial, and if something’s off, call the police immediately!] If it weren’t for having to attend classes and that Zhang Yongzhong didn’t fancy her, she would surely have gone to the negotiation herself.

[Alright! I’ll be careful!] Zhang Jingwan promised.

But it had been quite some time since then, and Zhou Xueyin hoped that Pang Xin had already been transferred away...

Now, though, there wasn’t much time left to worry about others; tomorrow she was meeting with Johnny Philip, and the strategic plan was still a blank slate. If she didn’t come up with some ideas quickly, how would she showcase her impressive capabilities?

Zhou Xueyin browsed through Barbour’s official website, hoping to draw some inspiration from it.

But as she looked, the British style DNA buried deep within her soul became restless.

She personally had a strong affinity for check patterns, and Barbour’s style just hit the spot for her. Barely glimpsing a few products, she felt an urge to buy them all...

Wait a second! There’s the inspiration for the proposal!

Zhou Xueyin noted her ideas in a PowerPoint presentation, picturing an advertisement with a dark green color scheme, featuring limited edition products, and complimented by two sophisticated models...

By the time she finished the proposal, it was nearly time to leave work. That was when Zhou Xueyin finally saw the "investigative report" on Zhang Yongzhong that Wei Jingzhu had sent.