Xiao Yan started playing with her cat as she finished her speech. She took out a brand-new drinking bowl, put in some fresh mineral water and tried giving it to Fina. She wasn’t sure if Fina was going to drink her water. She noticed that some customer tried to give Fina her leftover water but received a very unpleasant look from her, which was quite embarrassing for the customer.
Fina smelled it and didn’t drink it.
Xiao Yan then poured the rest of the bottle into Rainy’s water bowl. She started drinking happily.
Fina waited for a moment and confirmed that the water was fine to drink. She then started drinking her water.
This cat was wicked smart! She waited to make sure that the water was safe before taking a sip?! Xiao Yan was extremely amazed.
Zhang Zian was surprised as well. He would have never imagined that Xiao Yan’s road to success was that rough. Compared to her, he was truly lucky.
It was certainly challenging to run a business!
Xiao Yan sat down on her desk and told him, "Well, let’s take a look at my membership system. That’s what you came here for."
Zhang Zian walked up next to her and started looking at the computer attentively.
She explained as she ran through the system. "I purchased this system through a vendor. If you like it, I can connect you with him. The advantage of this system is that it is very flexible and easy to expand. It is very strict when it comes to administration access. This is important when you have more than one store in the future. Also, the system connects directly to your marketing system, so your membership holders will get notifications as soon as you have new stock or promotions."
She showed him how to add, delete, suspend and upgrade members, start member groups, apply member discounts, set up administrator rights, profit and loss reporting, WeChat marketing tools…etc. It was a very powerful and user-friendly system. He was especially interested in the WeChat notification function. If he needed to go somewhere, say, fetching Elfins, he could notify customers to come late.
He was quite impressed, and he trusted that Xiao Yan would not trick him with the system.
"The price of the system is 20 thousand Yuan. Each extra store costs an additional 10 thousand Yuan. The company will take care of the installation, connection, testing, maintenance and upgrades. All you need is a computer and internet. Member cards are an additional cost. Pricing is based on the size of your order."
Zhang Zian paid full attention and tried to remember everything she said.
"You probably don’t have to worry about additional stores at this point, so…"
"Well, I have a friend who is also interested in the system," he said, "my friend owns a pet clinic that is close to my store. I think it would be great if we could exchange our member’s data. We both install the system. Members in both stores could enjoy benefits from both. However, member deposits and finances of both stores should remain separate. Do you think that sounds feasible?"
Xiao Yan agreed. "That is a great idea!"
The idea of sharing member data was a thought that had just come to his mind. He wasn’t sure if it was even practical. He was afraid that Xiao Yan would laugh at him, but unexpectedly, she agreed with him. That was the best encouragement!
Xiao Yan said quickly, "In fact, I had the same idea. My industry is different than yours. I could not find a partner to work with me. Competitors will not work with me either, of course." She smiled. "Your case is completely different. A pet clinic and a pet store do not compete, but instead complement each other. My bet is that your idea would totally work. However, when it relates to revising the system to fit your specific needs, there will be additional costs."
He nodded. "That’s fine. As long as it is reasonable, I can accept it."
Xiao Yan said, "I will give you the contact for the IT firm. When you talk to them, mention my name. I don’t think they will charge you an arm and a leg because the big boss’s wife is one of my VIPs."
They smiled at each other.
Zhang Zian understood that even though most people thought that this was a male dominated society, the wife’s power was also essential.
She found the phone number from her cell phone and Zhang Zian saved it in his.
She reminded him, "Don’t rush into this stuff. Think over the details of your membership system to avoid frequent modification on the software, which would definitely add to your cost. You can get a computer ready though."
He understood. "I have to talk about the details with my friend. We are still in discrepancy over the discount. She also needs to hire a nurse; otherwise, it would be too much work for her."
Another question would be how many member cards should he make? How many customers would deposit money and become a member?
No one could answer those questions before it actually happened.
Xiao Yan was great, but she could only provide recommendations. He was the one who needed to make the decisions.
It was getting late. He felt that he had taken up too much of her time, so he stood up to say goodbye. "Today’s information was very valuable to me. Thank you very much for your support. I have to go. I will carefully think about the details and call the company."
Xiao Yan saw him off.
Fina jumped up from the couch and followed Zhang Zian. Rainy also jumped up and followed.
When they were waiting for the elevator, she reminded him again, "Don’t rush into a decision. You can wait. My recommendation is to mind the attacks from your competitors. I remember being attacked by my enemies. They used to spread all kinds of rumors about my salon. If you need my help, you can call me at anytime. Handle things with great care. I just found a great place to bathe my cat, I don’t want to lose it!"
She kept reminding him about the enemy’s attack. Zhang Zian knew it was her experience and was highly likely to be what was waiting for him down the road. The attacks were not detectable; he might as well do what he had to do.
The rule of thumb was to not touch any illegal business.
Something else came to his mind. He asked, "Sister Xiao, you know a lot of people. Do you know where I can get some good tea that won’t break my bank?"
"Tea?" Xiao Yan was surprised, yet a bit disappointed. She had been trying to warn him all night, and all he cared about was enjoying life?! Did she overestimate him?!
"Sure, I will ask around." Although disappointed, she agreed to help.
The art of building a network is like spreading seeds on soil. When a seed is planted, no one knows what the outcome will be. The seed could die in the soil. However, if just one out of 100 seeds can break the ground and grow into a big tree, then it had been very successful.
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