Maximizing Ecommerce

When most people think of an Amazon business they think about a fulfilled by Amazon model—not an Amazon FBM (fulfilled by merchant). Michael has gone against the grain and built an Amazon business fulfilling orders himself. It was born out of a desire to fuel his passion. Listen as we chat about how he got started, the ‘why’ behind his business, and why he chose the path he did.

Outline of This Episode

• [3:15] Diving into Brand Accelerator Live
• [5:30] Kevin introduces his guest, Michael Barnhill
• [7:50] How Michael got started in ecommerce
• [10:00] Scaling the business
• [14:15] Make people happy and earn customers for life
• [17:20] Choose a role that fits your strengths
• [22:30] Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) model
• [27:35] The seller based Prime discussion
• [32:45] Are you an entrepreneur, manager, or an artist?
• [37:40] Getting a product to perform better
• [42:50] We all deserve to prioritize ourselves first

He started an Amazon FBM business to fuel his passion

Michael and his brother purchased a recording studio with money they had received from their father. It was something they were passionate about but expensive to operate. To keep it afloat, they started selling musical instruments on eBay. They sold the product, picked it up from a local distributor, and shipped it themselves.

They were doing drop-shipping before it really became a means of selling. 

They had zero clue what they were doing but were fueled by a passion to just keep their recording studio open. So they started reading books about business. They tracked their sales and realized that their best selling product was an office supply item. So they began putting all of their effort into this product. Now they own 3 fulfillment warehouses. 

Keep people happy and you earn customers for life

The #1 thing Michael has learned is that you need to keep your customers happy. If you do whatever it takes to keep people happy, your business will grow and people will talk about you. 

If your customer complains they didn’t receive their order? Ship them a new one.

Was the product damaged or didn’t arrive in the condition expected? Send them a new one.

Sure, there may be people who abuse the system, but it’s rare. Most of the time, people have legitimate issues with the product that you can fix. Michael allows his team to fix whatever they can up to $50—no need to ask him for permission because his baseline is client happiness. 

After all, do you want to be right, or have a customer for life?

Why the FBM versus FBA strategy?

Michael started as a distributor and now manufactures many products in-house for his customers. He and his brother decided early on to market to people looking for something unique. When you corner the market on the few people looking for specific things, you can still make a significant profit as opposed to those trying to sell one product to many.

Their warehouses allow them to hold stock for all of these unique items in different colors and sizes. Even if the demand isn’t strong, the demand still exists. Michael and his team do utilize Amazon FBA in some instances—with products that perform in their top 20%. They see a bump in sales, and it’s easier for them to fulfill the rest of their products out of their warehouses. 

Kevin and Michael talk about their shipping methods and how they stay competitive—so keep listening!

Michael is the creative voice for his business

Michael learned early on that he was not an operations guy. Managing people was just not his thing. He decided that he was going to focus on being an artist. He allowed himself to be innovative and imaginative. It’s what he’s passionate about. When he shifted into that role in his business, things changed for the better.

It’s okay to hire people to fill whatever roles you do not enjoy yourself. 

If your focus is where you are most gifted you can allow others to excel where they are gifted. Michael now focuses on product development, revamping old products, visually displaying the products in the best way, and so much more.

Listen to the rest of the episode as they cover enhancing the customer experience, getting a product to sell, self-care, and more. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Brand Accelerator Live
• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
• DHL eCommerce Logistics
• Good to Great by Jim Collins

Connect with Michael Barnhill

• Michael on Facebook
• Michael on Twitter

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Are you looking to increase eBay sales but don’t know where to start? Would your business benefit from building systems and processes? eBay is still a thriving platform that has a potential upside for making a profit. If you’re interested in growing your sales—listen to this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce with Matt Leavell, CEO of BuyLow Warehouse. You’ll hear Matt’s love for processes and procedures, hiring tips, and sales strategies to boost your business!

Outline of This Episode

• [2:40] How Matt got started in the business
• [10:00] Finding a process for everything
• [13:40] What does buying truckloads of a product look like?
• [17:00] How Matt sources remote team members
• [22:25] Hiring virtual assistants - how do you find a good candidate?
• [34:35] How to increase sales on eBay
• [46:45] Use a product image that captures attention
• [49:15] advice he wished he would’ve known

Developing systems and procedures will greatly benefit your business

When Matt started buying products by the truckload they come with a manifest. It would supposedly list everything that was included—but he’d often find the products didn’t match up with the manifest. They were accurate about 85% of the time. So Matt developed his own procedure for sorting the information and structuring it for bulk upload to eBay.

He’s learned that you can develop a process for just about everything. 

To be efficient, he writes procedures for everything. His goal is to only run the process himself 3 times. The first time he’ll write instructions as he’s carrying out the process. Then he takes what he typed and follows it word-for-word, editing as he goes. Lastly, he gives it to an employee to test and report back to him. Keep listening as Matt shares how the system works for him and why it’s so important. 

How to hire the right virtual assistant

All of Matt’s employees are remote. Why pay for office space when everything can be carried out remotely, from anywhere in the world? He’s sourced team members from Upwork, OnlineJobs.ph, Kuhustle, and more. The 1st person he hired was from Pakistan—and he paid him $0.50 a listing he posted. At first, he felt guilty about such a low pay rate. But the conversion of money from the US to Pakistan quickly assuaged his guilt. 

In Pakistan, he was making three times as much money as a lawyer.

But how did Matt find the right person for the job? If you’re hiring someone in a different country, how do you assess their skill-set? Ask them questions that weren’t pulled from a template. If you’re assessing customer service ability, give them questions you’re asked often and analyze their answers. One of his favorite strategies to utilize is to pay his candidates $5 to carry out a task. Whoever delivers the best result is who he hires. For more tactics for hiring the right people, keep listening!

Increase eBay sales with these simple strategies

Matt states you need to view eBay as one big search engine. Your item description needs to be specific and descriptive for it to show up in search results. When a customer is searching they choose from different categories—if you haven’t chosen that category for your item it will be excluded from the results. 

So how do you get your product ranking?

One technique you can utilize is eBay’s promoted listings. For a percentage of the final sale, they bump you up in the results. If you do this for a certain length of time and—purchases are made—you can drop the promotion. The increase in sales will then help boost your product. Matt covers sale tactics, learning your maximum discount, inventory tips and MUCH MORE in the next section.

Product photos can make or break your listing

It’s not something we would typically think about, but having the right image associated with your listing makes a world of difference. Matt experimented with a product and the results were amazing:

The first product image was a crisp view of the front of the box, well-let, with a white background. 

In the second image they shifted the box and shot the photo from a lower camera angle (same background, same lighting).

The second product image showed an increase in clicks—seven times higher than the original photo. Perception is everything. So make sure you test what works the best for your products and adjust your listings accordingly.

Listen to the rest of the episode for some advice Matt wished he had been given when he first launched his business.

Resources & People Mentioned

• Upwork
• OnlineJobs
• Kuhustle
• BuyLow Warehouse

Connect with Matt Leavell

• Matt on Facebook
• Matt’s LinkedIn
• MLeavell(at)BuyLowWarehouse.com
• BuyLow Warehouse LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Do you know what legal red tape you need to cross when branding your business? Does the idea of working with a lawyer immediately intimidate you? There are legal ramifications you need to consider as you’re building your business—but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. Robert Wright covers intellectual property law and more in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce.

Robert considers himself a geek about all things intellectual property. Driven by a desire to support entrepreneurs he had two choices: work for a big law firm or start his own practice. Today, he operates a virtual law practice specializing in intellectual property, protecting the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:00] Set up your business for success
• [3:20] Today’s guest, Robert Wright, is introduced. 
• [7:15] Robert learned to sell on Amazon to understand client’s needs
• [12:00] Where to start with branding your business from a legal standpoint
• [18:40] How to properly go about trademarking and protecting your brand
• [35:00] Surround yourself with experts in the industry—including a lawyer
• [45:40] Dealing with challenges such as cease and desist letters
• [52:10] Business is a great challenge and adventure

Branding your business begins with making it official

To better understand his clients, Robert learned how to sell on Amazon. He launched a private label brand and has been selling for years. It’s brought him steady income as well as knowledge he wouldn’t have gained otherwise. This better positions him to be of help to clients struggling with legal issues related to selling online. 

Robert states you don’t need to make things more complicated than they need to be—but your business needs to be official. So what does that mean? If you’re running an Ecommerce business you need to operate as a formal business entity. One of the easiest routes to take is becoming a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Robert talks about the interesting history of LLC’s as well as other routes you can take—keep listening!

Register your trademark to protect your brand

After you have a formal operating agreement in place the next thing you need to consider to protect the brand you’re building is registering your trademark. This gives you the legal right to sell everywhere under your brand name—and no one else can use it. It is important to go through this process as early as you can. Why?

If you don’t register your trademark, someone can steal your brand out from under you. 

A particular client of Robert’s had their ‘buy box’ on Amazon removed. They reached out, and after some research, Robert found out someone else had taken their name and identifying mark and registered it. His client was forced to completely re-brand and completely start over. Continue listening as Robert and Kevin talk about how to keep this from happening and the difference between the principal and supplemental register.

What makes a good trademark?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a great resource for understanding the process. You can also use their site to make sure that your name isn’t already registered and in use. If you’re just starting and haven’t chosen a specific brand name Robert tells us the general rule regarding trademarks:

A name is more easily trademarked if it is fanciful or distinctive.

You can’t use something descriptive or generic such as “red blankets”. It’s not recommended to use a surname and you certainly can’t trademark a name that is too similar to something already registered. Think about some of the more recognizable names out there—Nike, eBay, OREO cookies, Lego and so forth. You want to create a name that is unique, memorable, and distinctive.

Why you need a professional team to protect your business

Robert freely admits that lawyers tend to get a bad rap. They’re portrayed in the media as evil or conniving, outrageously expensive, or just as rotten people. But you need to overcome the stigma surrounding lawyers because you NEED an intellectual property lawyer on your team. They might not be as expensive as you’re led to believe.

Plus, paying the fee to meet with a lawyer for an hour could save you thousands of dollars.

Why? If you’re not consulting with a lawyer and haven’t taken steps to properly protect your business you could lose it (such as the example given earlier). The old adage states that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s important to surround yourself with a team of experts—a lawyer included. Business is a great challenge and adventure. Be sure you’re legally well-prepared when challenges arrive.

Resources & People Mentioned

• www.USPTO.gov
• Trademark Basics

Connect with Robert Wright

• www.CounselInTheCloud.com
• Robert’s LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Did you know unique content creation can be a driving force for your Ecommerce business? You can build content for whatever product you sell on Amazon. The process can be harrowing if you don’t have extensive experience with writing, photography or videography. However, there are some simple ways that you can generate traffic to your product that you should take advantage of. Toni Anderson is here today to walk through it!

Toni has built a successful hypoallergenic aromatherapy jewelry business and is the co-founder of Sellers Summit. She has years of experience consulting for various brands—such as Kraft, OxiClean, and more. Toni has a unique insight into implementing creative strategies to market your product. This episode of Maximizing Ecommerce is packed full of helpful information you don’t want to miss.

Outline of This Episode

• [2:52] Today’s guest, Toni Anderson, is introduced.
• [5:35] Her background in blogging and content strategy
• [8:05] How to get the ball rolling with content creation
• [13:45] How to learn about your core customer
• [16:40] The ins and outs of email marketing
• [21:45] Build consistency and have systems in place
• [27:00] Making the most of your photographer
• [30:50] What to do if you’re not a writer
• [35:15] Learn how to properly utilize targeted ads
• [41:35] A Facebook Group can be a great place to grab content
• [46:25] Become an expert in your field

Why does content creation matter so much?

Toni began blogging in 2006—before it was the popular thing to do—and before there was much information out there on monetizing a blog. She learned all about affiliate marketing, paid ads, and brand ambassadorship. She learned what worked and what didn’t. Of everything she learned, one thing stands out: you want multiple channels for selling your product.

Amazon is fickle and you may find yourself banned for no apparent reason. They have strict rules and regulations and your competition will always try to mess with you. The easiest way to combat this is to have another means of selling your product in place. Creating a website with content built around your brand gives you the alternative you need—and another storefront to utilize. It’s a win-win. 

You NEED to know your customer and what they’re looking for

Toni recommends researching what your core customer wants and needs. In the past, she had attempted creating Pinterest boards where she styled models wearing her product—but her customers weren’t interested. She realized they wanted to know specifics about the product itself. 

Was it hypoallergenic? 

What were the best oils to use?

The goal is to engage your customers AND offer them something of value. 

One of the easiest ways to begin writing content that engages your audience is to learn what keywords they’re searching for. What questions are they typing into a search bar that you can answer? A tool she recommends is Ahrefs. It incorporates a nifty option you can use to search for keywords related to your product. You can then search for related keywords and build your content around it.

Why you should embrace email marketing

Content creation is playing the long game. That’s why, as you build out your blog, it’s also important to get people to subscribe to an email list. Once they subscribe you have complete power over what is marketed to them. Toni recommends having at least 1 month of email content prepped and scheduled out—but it’s even better to have 6 months.

Email marketing allows you to build a following that you can direct to your best content. Send them promo codes, recipes, printables and anything else they find valuable. Add links to products you recommend that are a mix of yours and other non-competitors. You can track what emails aren’t getting opened and remove them. You can also track which are the most popular or which content is providing the most value. It is one of the best marketing tools that also help you generate ideas for more content. 

Content creation doesn’t just have to be writing

You want to have some sort of content on your website as a landing page for people. But you can take the work you’ve done and bring it to other channels. Do you have a product where social media marketing can promote it? Take it to Instagram and Pinterest. Can you create how-to videos that relate to your product? Put them on YouTube! 

You can also flip the way you create content. If you are better on video and that flows easily for you, start there. Then, have your video transcribed. Someone will still need to edit the transcription and make it work for written word over spoken. If that’s not up your alley, hire it out to a content writer. Toni has some unique ideas to find writers—listen to hear what they are!

Create a Facebook group to generate discussion 

Even if you’ve done thorough research it can be difficult to know what your audience is looking for. An easy and fun way you can interact with your customer base while simultaneously grasping what they need is a Facebook group. You can post links to your products, post articles, and simply ask questions to generate discussion.

It’s all about finding ingenious ways to give people what they’re looking for. 

Does a particular post generate questions or even arguments? Write a blog post or create a video discussing the issue. Do members bring up questions about a product you’ve posted? Answer them in the group or make a ‘frequently asked questions’ video. 

Toni and Kevin covered SO much in this episode. Listen to the whole thing so you don’t miss out on any of the amazing content!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sellers Summit Conference
• The Oil Collection
• Chubbies Shorts
• Steve Chou
• Natalie Mounter
• Mike Jackness
• Joe Valley
• Jennifer Garza

Connect with Toni Anderson

• Toni on LinkedIn
• Toni(at)SellerSummit.com
• Toni on Twitter

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Are you interested in creating Disney magic in your business? Do you want to know some of the key factors in creating a successful business as Disney has? Listen to this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce If you want to understand the meaning behind this phrase—and how it can positively impact your business. 

Today’s special guest is the former Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World, Lee Cockerell. With a cumulative 41 years of experience in the industry, he is an expert in creating magic in your business. He retired from Disney in 2006 and has spent the last 13 years speaking worldwide on leadership and management development as well as embodying excellent customer service. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:40] Kevin’s story of how he met Lee. 
• [6:40] Lee’s backstory: how he ended up at Disney.
• [13:05] Transition into retirement and working for himself
• [15:00] Important things he learned at Disney
• [18:40] Things that cost you nothing in customer service
• [23:05] How to experience your business from a different angle
• [25:55] The best way to remedy a mistake
• [32:05] Don’t get too caught up in algorithms
• [32:40] Final advice and resources

The three most important things Lee learned working at Disney

While Lee worked at Disney World he learned some invaluable lessons about leadership and setting up your business for success. 

1. Hire the RIGHT people: Look for reliability, credibility, and flexibility in your hires. Strive to hire those who are experts at what they do.
2. Be clear with your expectations: No one can read minds. Employees succeed when there is a clear outline of what is expected of them.
3. Pay your staff well: Treat your employees fairly and pay them well.

Lee points out that you want to hire someone that you would be proud to refer to friends. Not only that—with each hire, question whether or not this person would be a great leader for your grandchildren and their generation. It’s an interesting and uniquely important thought to ponder.

Excellent customer service costs you nothing... or costs you everything

A business should strive to provide sensational customer service. Being nice can go a long way and it comes at no cost to you. One of the things that sets Disney apart is their exceptional customer service. It is their #1 goal to create happiness for every person that enters their world. This is a state of mind that you want to cultivate throughout your staff.

Going the extra mile could very well create a customer for life.

Conversely, if you provide poor customer service it will negatively impact your business. Poor reviews and complaints can easily lower sales and impact your bottom line. Lee states that you want to be set apart. You want your business to be different than everyone else on purpose. So strive to be a step above and watch the magic happen. 

Creating Disney magic begins with experiencing your business as a customer

Lee would take his grandchildren to Disney World se he could experience the wonder through their eyes. They’d give feedback on rides, food, customer service and more and he would be able to implement the changes they suggested. If he hadn’t immersed himself in his business in this unique way he may have missed the opportunity for improvement! So what are some things you can do to experience your business from a different angle? 

Ask a friend to order something and relay how the process was for them. 

Conduct some quality control research and find out how packages arrived and if they were damaged. Gain feedback on how packaging could be changed. 

What are negative reviews saying about the quality of your product?

Problems don’t go away just because you don’t know about them. It is imperative to listen to your customers and adjust accordingly. The truth is, most people don’t complain—but you will lose their business. Kevin and Lee talk about going the extra mile for your customers, so keep listening. 

Remember that people exist behind the algorithms

You may be utilizing an algorithm to determine many decisions you make in your business. Knowing your numbers is certainly an important aspect of your business. But at the end of the day, it’s important to remember that you are dealing with people and that you must treat them well. Go out of your way to turn a negative customer experience into a positive. Remember, they have a sphere of influence. You want them to tell their friends and family to buy from you, not to steer clear. 

Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the influence or impact you have one someone’s life. Whether it is an employee, a friend, or even a stranger a small interaction can make a lasting impact. Disney is all about creating a moment of magic that will be remembered for a lifetime—is your business doing that?

For the fascinating story of Lee’s background and many more important details, listen to the full episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Book: Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell
• Book: The Customer Rules by Lee Cockerell
• Podcast: Creating Disney Magic
• Text “MagicPlanner” to 44222 and enter your email to receive Lee’s Morning Magic Planner

Connect with Lee Cockerell

• www.LeeCockerell.com/
• www.Twitter.com/LeeCockerell
• www.LinkedIn.com/in/leecockerell/

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Do you know how to keep your Amazon seller account safe from dirty sellers? Are you aware of the tactics people use to steal your sales traffic? There are a lot of ‘dirty sellers’ out there who utilize banned but effective moves to negatively impact other seller's sales. So what do you do? Listen to this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce with Cynthia Stine to learn the steps you need to take to safeguard your business.

Cynthia has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and business owner. She launched eGrowth Partners in 2015 to help Amazon sellers learn how to be compliant with rules and regulations—and keep their accounts from being suspended. Her company has grown to 30 employees in the 4 years since it launched.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:43] Keeping your account safe with Amazon
• [5:10] I introduce Cynthia Stine, founder of eGrowth Partners.
• [11:00] Ways to be proactive and keep your account safe
• [17:00] Easy dirty tricks bad actors use
• [25:00] Be aware of what is going on in your account
• [31:15] Black market lists can be purchased from a broker
• [33:10] What can sellers do to protect themselves?
• [39:00] Further resources

What is a dirty seller?

Dirty sellers—also referred to as bad actors—are cropping up all over amazon. They use black hat tactics to take down the competition in any way that they possibly can to increase their sales. So not only are sellers getting their accounts suspended by updates in the site algorithm but also because of these dirty sellers sabotaging their stores.

Last year there was a huge shift and the activity among these sellers increased, leading to increasing account suspensions. Cynthia is working hard to combat these bad actors and striving to get the word out that they do exist, so you are not caught by surprise if and when your account is tampered with. Keep listening as she covers some of the tactics they use.

How to keep your Amazon seller account safe

The easiest way to make sure that your account is not vulnerable to attack is being proactive. Though not everything is preventable, there are some things you need to do to safeguard your business.

1. Have really good performance metrics.
2. Sell a good quality product.
3. Follow Amazon rules and policies.
4. Protect intellectual property and make sure your trademark is registered.

Be familiar with intellectual property laws and understand that they vary from country to country. The United States follows a common law trademark policy. If you use it first in commerce, it is enforceable in the courts. Conversely, China is first come first served, which can be problematic. Cynthia covers some of the easiest ways dirty sellers steal your intellectual property—even by utilizing design patent fraud. 

Tricks dirty sellers use to take down the competition

Did you know one of the easiest tricks people use to drain your inventory is by putting all of your stock in their shopping cart? If they get ahold of your numbers and know exactly how much to add to their cart it's an effective way to rapidly drop your sales for as long as 24-48 hours! Another tactic they use is blatantly fake 5-star reviews on your products to make it appear that you purchased the reviews. 

The biggest loophole yet can be found in Vendor Central. 

Unfortunately, anyone with access to Vendor Central has access to any account. This is a huge problem that’s been known about for years, and nothing has been done to correct or fix it. A seller can go in and change your product category or tag it as an adult item, and your sales will plummet.

Oddly enough, access to Vendor Central is by invitation only! People will spend upwards of $25,000 to bribe an Amazon employee for an invite OR they will purchase an existing brand so they can have access. From there, they have free rein to make whatever changes they’d like to—and they know how to be stealthy. So what do you do?

Always be aware of what is going on in your account

You need to be 100% aware of what is going on in your account at all times. Look at your reviews weekly and monitor for fake, negative, or poor reviews that are out of place. Keep an eye on returns and why people are returning products. Dirty sellers will utilize every keyword they can in those reviews to get your listings flagged and removed.

You also want to strive to be labeled as a good seller by following the rules. Amazon is less likely to listen to your concerns or reports if you have a poor rating. They could even side with a competitor over you! But the first step to protecting your business is awareness. If you know where your weaknesses are—fix them. Know the tactics used. Cynthia shares more hacks they use as well as more ways to safeguard your account. Listen to the entire episode for all of the important details! 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Podcast Addict on Google Play
• ZeroToHabit.com
• eGrowthPartners.com
• Suspension Prevention by Cynthia Stine
• Vendor Central
• Amazon Brand Registry

Connect with Guest Name

• eGrowthPartners.com
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Are you looking for a networking opportunity and a place where you can learn? A place where you can meet like-minded entrepreneurs looking to grow their business? Today’s guest Carlos Alvarez started a local meetup group and never imagined how large it would grow. Now he hosts 14 meetings a month—10 in English and 14 in Spanish! It is the largest Amazon Seller meetup group in the world!

Carlos works his marketing magic running Blue Bird Media and Marketing Solutions and hosting the South Florida FBA – Amazon Sellers meetup. His biggest mistake as an entrepreneur led him to his first victory. This episode covers his evolution in Amazon sales, some of the best tricks of the trade, and why meetup groups are an amazing learning tool and sales tactic.

Outline of This Episode

• [4:55] I introduce my guest, Carlos Alvarez.
• [7:50] Selling novelties using Alibaba
• [8:50] Losing everything launched his first profitable business
• [11:20] Creation of his meetup group
• [15:50] Using meetups as a marketing tool
• [18:50] Finding great product reviewers
• [21:05] Carlos talks through a product launch
• [28:15] Take advantage of everything amazon offers—including ebooks
• [32:00] Amazon Treasure Hunts
• [35:50] How to connect with Carlos

It all began with a mistake and...bugs?

Carlos started his sales career 15 years ago when he decided to launch an eBay business. He simply sold things around the house to make some extra money. Soon he started purchasing goods at garage sales to sell. This morphed into the novelty business—purchasing in bulk through Alibaba. When his supplier through Alibaba didn’t have the $81,000 in stock that he wanted he tried finding another supplier.

The supplier stole all of his money.

So he started over and began selling the little he had remaining, including his pet snakes. As he was waiting in the pet store, he saw someone pay $25.00 for bugs to feed their snake. A light-bulb went off in his head! He went to the local library and found an article about breeding insects to save zoos money and his next business was born. Carlos started to breed millions of insects and sold 30-40 units a day. One year later, he sold his insect company for 2.6 million dollars.

The creation of his meet-up group

Carlos would meet up with local Ecommerce sellers and friends on the weekends to talk about what was or wasn’t working and brainstorm solutions. Their businesses grew and they were making money—but still tossing around the same ideas. So Carlos decided it was time to start a meetup group where anyone could join and more minds were available to give insight.

His friends didn’t show up—but 4 new people did. Eventually it grew to become the largest Amazon Seller group in the world. They have sessions for beginners to experts. They cover everything from arbitrage to wholesale and more! The opportunity to network, to learn and glean insight, and to surround oneself with other entrepreneurs is invaluable. 

Using meetups as a money-making marketing tool

What do you do when you want to work against the grain and utilize a tactic that no one else is taking advantage of? How do you stand out in a crowded market? Carlos had the ingenious idea to utilize meetups. For example, he posted fliers everywhere and marketed a free meetup for people to learn how to scuba dive. He connected with a scuba shop and paid an instructor to train everyone who came to the event. They got the training they desired and a free scuba certification!

Instead of utilizing coupons or giving his product away for free, he offered people something of value. So why wouldn’t they purchase from his Scuba company? Not only that, because they felt rewarded by what they had gained, he received good reviews. So for a small amount of money—versus giving away thousands of units of product—he grew his business and made money. Keep listening as branding, email marketing, quality reviewers, and launching products are covered!

Dominate your niche by taking advantage of Kindle Direct Publishing

Writing an ebook on a subject that directly relates to your brand or product can work as marketing magic. Carlos talks about selling tomato tools and the idea is this: you go look up books on everything related to growing and selling tomatoes and check out their table of contents. You would then compile a list in an excel spreadsheet and write 2-3 paragraphs on each of those items. 

Within hours one (or a ghost-writer) can compile an ebook covering everything a person would need to know about growing tomatoes. Amazon even allows linking to your products, your author page, and more! So someone searching for resources will find and read the book and be directed straight to your product. Carlos is full of amazing and revolutionary ideas to market your brand—listen to the whole episode of Maximizing Ecommerce for more outstanding marketing moves!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Scott Voelker
• Book: Will It Fly
• Amazon Vine
• BuzzSumo
• PixelMe
• vooPlayer
• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• K Money Mastery
• Alibaba.com

Connect with Carlos Alvarez

• Meetup.com
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• WizardsOfAmazon.com
• MeetupEventRecordings.com
• Blue Bird Marketing Solutions
• Wizards of Amazon App
• Text 'Amazon' to 69922

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Are you interested in diving into the world of online sales, but have NO interest in selling on Amazon? Do you have a product idea that you can’t wait to launch? More often than not, people associate a product being sold online with Amazon. My guest, Allen Walton of SpyGuy.com will talk about why Amazon doesn’t work for everyone and what you can do instead. 

Allen specializes in selling all things ‘spy industry’ including surveillance cameras, GPS tracking, and even bug detectors! He started working in the niche in 2009 and by 2014 had learned enough to launch his own store. He’s grown a successful business that now earns 7 figures a year. In this episode, you’ll hear about his decision to use Shopify over Amazon, finding mentors, what he wishes he would’ve known—and more!

Outline of This Episode

• [3:50] I introduce my guest, Allen Walton.
• [5:40] Pivotal moment that led to launching his store
• [8:25] Why he doesn’t use Amazon
• [11:25] Selling and manufacturing electronics
• [15:30] Learning his industry
• [18:30] Story about Tim Ferriss
• [22:40] How to find mentors
• [32:50] Driving traffic to your site
• [36:20] Where to focus your advertising
• [41:00] Things he would have done differently
• [43:00] Book recommendations

Why Allen decided to use Shopify over Amazon

Customers who purchase from SpyGuy usually have a particular reason for doing so that they prefer to keep private. They could be purchasing surveillance equipment to catch someone in the act of stealing, record workplace harassment, or catch a cheating spouse. Many of the devices can be considered invasive, and anything that “secretly intercepts or records” audio or video is banned from Amazon.

So, quite simply, the largest reason he doesn’t sell on Amazon is that many—if not all— of Allen’s products cannot be sold on Amazon. Another reason? Many customers purchase surveillance equipment and within days have the answer they were looking for. With Amazon’s lenient return policies, Allen knew that his company would hemorrhage profits! Shopify is different in that they provide the tools necessary to build your own online store—with a much smaller list of restrictions. 

Creative ways you can find a mentor 

Allen’s #1 recommendation for finding a mentor is to become active in online communities related to E-Commerce. You can learn an immense amount just by interacting with people who have been where you’ve been. Using online platforms is the perfect way to ask questions, share experiences, and learn from each other. Even better, If you join a paid group, they tend to weed out the “wantrepreneurs”. AKA, people who aspire to be entrepreneurs but aren’t there yet, or may never be. This solidifies that everyone in the group is there to contribute valuable information and not just probing for questions.

Another way you can locate entrepreneurs to gain wisdom from? Go where they are! Embrace networking and attend conferences (or “unconferences”) or events where you know the key players in your industry will be. Allen lives by the mantra “If I’m doing interesting things then I’m going to meet interesting people.'' He strives to be helpful, entertaining, and be real with people. He’s always shown a willingness to learn and believes you should do the same as well. This episode is packed with tried and true tips straight from Allen—definitely give it a listen.

The many ways you can drive traffic to your store—and choosing the best option for you

How do you decide where to spend your advertising budget? With the many options available it can be a difficult choice. Allen decided to primarily use Google’s AdWords to drive traffic to his website. It allowed his business to be profitable from the beginning and gave his customers the anonymity they were looking for. Most people searching for surveillance equipment don’t want to be found out, right? So marketing on Facebook or Instagram aren’t necessarily the best means of advertising for him.

However, he has a friend who sells crochet hooks and is absolutely crushing it doing Facebook ads. The bottom line is that you need to keep your audience in mind. Make sure you do your due diligence when researching your market, and the way you market your product should become clear. A tool Allen recommends to help grow your search traffic is ahrefs. It’s a great way to monitor your niche and gauge competition in the space.

Why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needs to be prioritized

When asked what advice he would have given to himself when he started his business, Allen joked that he would’ve said don’t go into electronics. All joking aside, he recommends putting time and energy into SEO. He didn’t make it a priority from day one and regrets it. While paid ads got him traffic immediately, in the long-haul you want multiple channels directing traffic to your site.

He believes if he had invested in SEO from the start, he could essentially just end his ad campaigns and still get the majority of the traffic needed to turn a profit. The point is that Google can be fickle, and their algorithms are constantly changing. Who knows if his ads will be shuffled around or no longer prioritized—so he emphasizes utilizing multiple modalities of driving traffic.

Allen is quirky, real, and blatantly honest—all wonderful qualities in an entrepreneur. This episode is chock-full of valuable information and resources that you don’t want to miss!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Tropical MBA Podcast featuring Allen
• Elaine Pofeldt
• Nat Eliason
• The Tim Ferriss Show
• The eCommerceFuel Podcast
• Ahrefs tools
• Ramit Sethi’s website
• Book: The Personal MBA
• Book: The 4-Hour Workweek
• Book: The Millionaire Fastlane
• Book: Building a StoryBrand
• Book: Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords
• Book: The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
• Book: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
• Book: How to Win at the sport of Business
• Book: Trust Me, I’m Lying

Connect with Allen Walton

• SpyGuy.com
• Allen’s website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerF

Are you already an Amazon seller and interested in learning how to sell on Amazon in Australia? Or are you just starting and want to know what it really takes to become successful? If you’re looking to build your business to a global scale, Australia is a great market for you to dive into. Today Hamish Conway joins us to talk about the ins and outs of selling on a global scale and how to make the Australian Marketplace work for you!

Hamish Conway graduated from the University of Otago with education in marketing, economics, and accounting. In 2013, he started selling on Amazon internationally. Within one year he was making seven figures! Now, along with partner Sophie Howard, he runs Sell Global. They are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs launch their products around the world exporting through Amazon.

Outline of This Episode

• [1:10] Kevin introduces his guest, Hamish Conway
• [4:10] How does the Australian marketplace compare to the US?
• [9:30] Why you should stake your claim in Australia
• [11:35] Amazon’s beginnings in Australia
• [19:00] Hoops to jump through to sell
• [25:00] How to register your company
• [30:00] Tips to launch in Australia
• [34:10] Where to get more information!

How does the Australian Marketplace compare to the US? 

Amazon officially launched its Australian version of the website on December 5th, 2017. Even though Australia has the same landmass, it has a much smaller population than the US, coming in at approximately 24.6 million—the US is approximately 326.6! So Australia has a smaller marketplace, but also fewer sellers and less competition.

If you’re a resident in Australia you know that their biggest online marketplace is eBay. Whereas Amazon dominates the marketplace in the US. Last year, eBay boasted 68 million visits to their website in a single month, with Amazon trailing at 11 million. But Amazon is slowly making progress towards catching up, growing at approximately 11 million visits a month since May of last year. Keep listening as Hamish and Kevin discuss the upside of the growing Australian market.

Why you should stake your claim in Australia

Australians are familiar with Amazon.com and approximately 500 million dollars in sales on the site come from Australia! Now, with the launch of Amazon.com.au just a couple of years ago, Amazon is looking to change the game and offer a better customer experience. Now with fulfillment warehouses in-country, delivery times are shortened and more products are available.

As a seller, this is the prime time for you to grow into global sales. Sponsored ads became an option on Google in June, whereas previously the only way to drive traffic to your business was your personal network or database. This is a huge step for Australian marketing, and it’s now easier than ever to rank on the first page if you know what you’re doing. 

Australian Ecommerce is growing at 1.3 billion dollars a year—isn’t that a market worth diving into?! Amazon is currently only charging $6.99 AUD for its Prime membership (less than $5.00 USD!), working hard to drive traffic to their site. Listen to the episode as Hamish and Kevin talk in-depth about the long-game Amazon is playing in growing their business—and yours—in Australia.

Hoops you may need to jump through to sell on Amazon in Australia

Of course, any good business starts with thorough research of the products you’re looking to sell. Is it something the market is looking for? Can you obtain good margins on the product? As you ask yourself these questions, you also want to consider how much product to start with. Hamish suggests starting small with 10-20 skews, maybe 5-10 units of each. By starting small and seeing what sells, you save yourself the change of losses.

If your sales begin to approach, say, 75k a year, then it’s time to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN). You’ll also need to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST). About 1/11th of the sale price of any item has to be paid towards the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Hamish says that the hardest part is importing your goods into Australia. Keep listening as the details of setting up an ABN, GST, and the importing process is covered—this is something you do not want to miss!

How to sell in Australia: start small and build momentum

Launching your business in Australia is similar to launching in any other country. You want to leverage social media, pay per click (PPC) advertising, and even take advantage of offering lightning deals. At this point, it should not be hard for you to rank on Google for your product and start building your sales.

Hamish also recommends diversifying and considering selling on eBay or Catch as you start to grow your Amazon sales. Since eBay still has more traffic, it’s a valid option to bring in revenue as Amazon.com.au continues to grow. Hamish covers some tips for utilizing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) as well as current trends in goods sold—listen to this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce for the juicy details!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sell Global
• Amazon—Australia
• Dolman Bateman Accounting
• FBA Prep Australia
• Pro Prep and Fulfillment
• Australian Business Number (ABN)

Connect with Hamish Conway

• Sellglobal.co.nz
• [email protected]
• Linkedin

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Is there room in the marketplace today for entrepreneurs who are interested in product development and creating their own inventions? How do you build a brand around a product that no one has ever heard about? Here to share her story and encourage leaders like you is Kimberly Meckwood. 

In her conversation with Kevin, Kim opens up about her journey developing the Click & Carry, what the patient process was like, how she got the word out about her product, challenges along the way, and much more. If you’ve ever wanted a peek into the world of product development - this is the episode for you! 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:50] Kevin’s introduction to this episode. 
• [2:20] Introducing today’s guest - Kimberly Meckwood. 
• [6:40] Kim talks about the development of her product, the Click & Carry. 
• [13:45] What was the patient process like? 
• [16:00] How did Kim spread the word about Click & Carry? 
• [18:45] Appearing on QVC. 
• [22:15] How did Kim end up on 5-Minute Pitch? 
• [25:20] Kim talks about her experience so far on Amazon. 
• [28:00] What is the traffic like on Kim’s website? 
• [32:00] Kim’s secret weapon. 
• [34:30] Advice for budding innovators and entrepreneurs. 
• [38:10] Closing thoughts. 

From idea to development

Where does the idea to create something completely new come from? The truth is, most inventions come from an idea to address a common problem. In Kim’s case - she came up with the idea for the Click & Carry because she was sick of taking multiple trips to the car to unload her groceries. 

Too often we believe the lie that you have to be a super-genius to come up with a great idea like the Click & Carry. Kim is a smart and savvy businesswoman who took a risk and put herself out there. Sellers like you can follow in Kim’s footsteps! Learn more about Kim’s story and how the product development process played out by listening to this episode - you don’t want to miss it! 

Spreading the word

Once Kim took her product from the idea stage to the development stage, the next big hurdle arose - getting the word out. While it’s fairly easy to promote a product everyone knows about like a fishing rod or a cutting board - a new product that never existed before is a tough sell! How would you go about spreading the word for a new product you invented? 

As you can imagine - Kim’s road to spreading the word wasn’t easy - there was no roadmap for her to follow. Through trial and error, Kim made her way with the Click & Carry to local trade shows and farmers markets until she caught her big break with QVC. You can catch the clip of Kim getting featured on “Bethenny” in the resources section at the end of this post.

Appearing on The 5 Minute Pitch

Kim had been avoiding anything Amazon related for a while when a friend had suggested that she enter the 5 Minute Pitch competition. The 5 Minute Pitch is a show where 32 bootstrapped companies are selected to pitch Greg Mercer, Scott Voelker, Steve Chou, and Mike Jackess, along with a weekly guest judge for the chance to win $50,000.

Not only did Kim get a chance to pitch her idea on The 5 Minute Pitch but she was also selected as the first season winner! Of course, Kim was thrilled to win the $50,000 to invest in her business, but the big win - according to Kim - is the opportunity to get coaching from the judges. Tune into this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce to learn more about Kim’s experience on The 5 Minute Pitch! 

Branching out

Now that she has the likes of Greg Mercer, Scott Voelker, Steve Chou, and Mike Jackess whispering in her ear - Kim is rethinking her approach to ecommerce. She had heard that Amazon was not a good option for inventors to feature their products because of the risk of copycats - she’s since received more accurate advice. While the risk is there - Amazon is still one of the best platforms to grow your brand and grow your following. If you are ready to invest in your ideas and break out of the typical career trajectory - listen to this episode to hear Kim’s inspiring story of product development and ecommerce success!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sellers Summit
• 5-Minute Pitch
• Mike Jackness
• Greg Mercer
• Scott Voelker
• Podcast Fast Track

Connect with Kimberly Meckwood

• www.clickandcarry.com
• USPTO write up on Click & Carry - Inventor’s Eye Newsletter - "Spark of Genius”
• VIDEO: Click & Carry uses
• VIDEO: David Venable & Lisa Robertson Surprise an Entrepreneur

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM