Li Kai, who graduated from college in 2010 and entered the sales department of Alibaba's international website, has also been y shocked by the spirit of the Iron Army, and even later began to do import and export trade in Alibaba's international website, and the spirit of the Iron Army has also become the backbone of his success.
Qingdao's sea breeze is always warm and salty, came to Qingdao University to study international trade, Li Kai, instantly fell in love with the city.
As a port city, Qingdao has the world's largest supply chain for machinery and equipment production, and the shipping capacity of the large port gives the transportation of woodworking machinery and equipment such as large-scale production tools to import and export conditions.
When he was studying at university, Jining's Li Kai had the idea of staying in Qingdao and doing trade in the future.
So. During the university period, Li Kai, most of the effort is spent on two entrepreneurship, "at that time, I want to find a business to practice".
For a while, the small language training is very popular, Li Kai and his brother into a training organization "to steal the teacher", soon to do it themselves. Recruitment of three or four hundred students, the original training institutions have become competitors, "they reported that we illegally use the school classroom, on the class was thrown out", but also alarmed the school security section.
The two earned more than 100,000 yuan, looking to do something more profitable business.
Li Kai recalled his life, the first "big money": high school graduation, to their local private school enrollment earned 5000 dollars. Can save dozens of people, hugely started the second venture, but because the team lacked practical experience, to fail to end, Li Kai once became the target of several classes.
"The first step to being a boss is sales."
After graduation, Li Kai did not directly entrepreneurship, but with two entrepreneurial experience, through the national school recruitment into the Alibaba international station sales team known as the "Iron Army",
"Here the work is very hard, can you accept? May go to the countryside, can accept?"
"Of course! As long as I can get into Ali."
In 2010, the international station of the region prevails between the end of the month PK system, the last day of each month is the major regional sales iron army hot PK time. At that time, Li Kai's downtown Qingdao bullish team, every morning the war drums are noisy. Li Kai remembers a girl on the team who had once won the national TOP, from 9 am to more than 10 pm, either meeting customers or on the way to meet customers.
On the last day of July, the heat was suffocating. Li Kai's group was just one 100,000 yuan order away from first place, and it just so happened that Li Kai had one such intended customer on his hands. The other 10 comrades have put in all their efforts, and now all the hopes are focused on whether this order can be signed.
Li Kai took a deep breath, pushed open the door of the customer, only to see the center of the office of Chinese decoration sitting in the middle of a man in his early 30s, behind the fan "hissing hissing hissing his head. After the financial crisis in 2008, the customer's import business lost a lot of money, and is considering doing exports online. A few hours of back and forth, Li Kai felt a little hoarse.
"Are the last day of the end of the month, do you have any activities?" Li Kai immediately skilled to give to the promotional program, the customer showed a satisfied smile.
Finally want to sign a single, but the customer rummaged through the corners of the entire office, how can not find the official seal. Sitting on Li Kai rented a car specifically to talk about customers, customers in the home up and down to find a pass, unsuccessful, and folded back to the office and a pass to find, to and fro and a few hours, Li Kai's shirt before and after being wet with sweat.
"Sign tomorrow can not?"
"No, today!" The brothers in the "trenches" are waiting for themselves, all the hope falls on this order in Li Kai's hand, absolutely can not let go!
Perhaps their own youthful exuberance to the customer angry, and ultimately this single did not sign.
Holding back a gas Li Kai, walked downstairs, for the first time, the Shandong man wow cried out.
More often than not, the days of the Iron Army are full of friendship, passion and honor.
There was a time when the newcomers in the region old man PK, Li Kai from the first place is only 10,000 yuan short of the performance, he will target the platform is hesitant between the boss of an automotive spare parts, when his supervisor spent a day and night to help the customer to plan a complete solution to make the customer very satisfied.
To this day, Li Kai still feels influenced by the passion of the Iron Army, and he fondly remembers one of the values of Alibaba International: "Ordinary people do extraordinary things."
In the two years of the Iron Army, Li Kai once took the second place in Qingdao area sales, his team has three times to get the area PK victory, and many of the customers at that time have become friends now.
Looking at the end of the month war is coming again, the team organized an offline presentation end. Near the end, Li Kai found his customers all early exit. But this time the whole group of brothers all full of orders, "can not drag their feet", think about it, he will target firmly in the plan to do exports of a food additives importers.
The second day after the end of the lecture, dawn, Li Kai set out on the road to visit.
Sunrise and sunset, he and the customer chatted for a whole day, from the business logic to their own views on some of the export, and then to Alibaba's corporate culture, Li Kai's perseverance has finally impressed the customer, "this young man is not bad," the two are still very good friends.
Although the sales do thrive, the impulse of the entrepreneurs in his bones, or let him in the second year of the Iron Force resolved to leave.
Early listening to the iron soldiers mentioned Qingdao rising wooden machinery business, Li Kai determined to try the water. "Machinery this industry is no substitute, as long as there are people, there is a real estate demand, but also the need to produce furniture equipment, in China this industry is getting better and better."
"At that time, there was also not enough money to exhibit to do publicity, the use of the international station of the platform fee of about 20,000, can be said to be very good to save the start-up costs."
But because woodworking is a segment of Qingdao's manufacturing industry, trying to find reliable and suitable suppliers for a newcomer is not easy, this time and together with a hundred years of Ali training a classmate appeared to solve the factory's problems.
In 2013, everything is ready for Li Kai, but the division is not good, due to the limited start-up funds, a **** 4 people team was dug out of the two.
To add insult to injury, because of the industry does not understand Li Kai planted a lot of pits, and even bought a second-hand machine at the original price. He was excited to come to the factory and unpack the woodworking machine that had just been purchased from Guangzhou and transported to Qingdao to be put into the container with other goods. "I was stunned when I lifted it off." What had been a brand new instrument in my mind was a pile of scrap metal.
"That was a machine from a South African customer who had been working with us for six years so far, and if it had been sent out, it would certainly be a customer without that now."
That time, in order to facilitate the reception of foreign customers, Li Kai bit the bullet and rented a car, but because of the environment is not familiar with, always get lost near the plant.
One day, Li Kai was again lost in the alleyway, and for the first time, he gave birth to the idea of giving up.
At that moment, the passionate images of training in Alibaba International Station appeared in his mind, and listening to executives and top sales in the region every day for a whole month allowed him to enter the industry quickly.
"The days in the Iron Army let me understand that this era, the efficiency is very high, the time passes non-fast, you have to figure it out yourself, rapid iteration, continuous learning."
That year, Li Kai shuttled to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, enrolled in several training courses in technology, management, etc., like a sponge crazy inhalation of knowledge.
But what had the greatest impact on him was the 3-day training at the International Station's Orange Camp.
From leadership to decision-making, the past year's confusion and confusion were dissolved in the intense collision and exchange with his classmates. There, Li Kai also met by the former Alibaba International Station regional manager level staff in late 2011, founded by the Budo education, and years later insisted on attending the corporate training there.
And the customers he met at Alibaba Tiejun also lent a hand when he got stuck in the mud. There has been a tens of thousands of dollars in orders stranded in the harbor, want to offshore must find an agent to register "offshore companies", under the urgency of a hundred thousand, Li Kai dialed an old customer's phone. The other side without saying a word, quickly contacted a good agency to solve the urgent problem.
In 2014, Li Kai re-established his company in Qingdao, and later expanded his business to Foshan.
Today, Li Kai set up the Qingdao Jinshi Wei Chang Industry and Trade Co., Ltd, customers in more than 70 countries around the world, and the team of more than 20 people to carry a year of 30 million in sales, domestic customers, including Sofia and Shangpinzhaiguang producers.
The epidemic was thought to affect their business, but Li Kai's woodworking machinery business, but the unexpected burst single.
From the end of February, Li Kai canceled a series of trips to India, Dubai, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. "The beginning is the customer asked me to try not to go, and then their country outbreak of epidemic, the trip to China are also canceled."
Although and customers see not above, but the resumption of work for a month, Li Kai received the intention of the order than the weekday rose by half.
According to previous years, March is the offline ordering will be the hottest time, because the epidemic all canceled. Li Kai that customers have flocked to the line is the reason for the explosion of single.
At present, more than 20 employees, including the purchasing department, sales department and other departments have resumed work one after another.
During this time, customers who find Li Kai are always worried. Because the epidemic in China affected the shipment, a lot of goods stranded, resulting in capital turnover is not very smooth. An order from being accepted, to push through the procurement department to the sales department to take orders, and then to the procurement department to order, the factory production after delivery, follow the shipment, the whole process takes a month, so now deal with most of the February and March of the stranded orders, Li Kai is expected to continue to have a large number of orders in the next April and May demand.
More than 20 customers placed orders with him in February, but they are all intentional customers. "People are still thinking because of the epidemic this thing, when to place this order, but as long as the goods are sent out you can place a new order."
Even so, the domestic factories are resuming work one after another still gives Kai Li confidence. "Just like in China, at first everyone was afraid, and then began to slowly adapt, life goes on, work goes on," he is used to face everything with the optimism of the Aliens.
The customer who had an appointment to talk in detail offline can now only keep communicating through social software.
"China is getting better and better now."
"We are getting worse here."
"Don't worry, the epidemic will always pass!" That's how Kai Li always reassures his clients.