Sales on Demand Show

One of the most common things that new sellers tell me is that they would be doing better, if only they had more cash!  

I was one of those cash strapped sellers, only a few years ago, but now I save everything that my business generates, and more.  Today, I talk about how to find "room" in your budget to scale up your business, pay off debt, and have cash saved for emergencies.

Today's episode is sponsored by the Low Hanging System, the only online training program devoted to Print on Demand, and the easiest way I've ever seen to get started selling on Amazon, Etsy, and Ebay.  

Today's episode is all about debt, and in this episode I share my family's personal fight against the crushing debt that nearly resulted in bankruptcy.

I can't sugarcoat this for you...debt can crush you, and it is very very easy to get yourself into more debt than you can handle!

It doesn't matter how much money you earn, if you lose all of it to debt repayments, you are no better off than a person working minimum wage, but who has no debt at all.

On the next episode, you will hear the final resolution of our debt journey, and how I am using my Print on Demand business to lift my family past the debt than nearly crushed us just a few years before!

This episode's sponsor message is devoted to the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus.  If you are concerned about how much debt the US government is getting into (22 Trillion and rising FAST), you should be aware that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are really serious about paying off or even slowing down the debt.  The only political party that is dedicated to reducing and eliminating the debt, ending the wars, and crushing the government's overreach is the Libertarian Party.

Join the Mises Caucus today, and help fund the freedom that you will need to keep the money you earn in your business!

It's now January the 943rd (seriously, does this month EVER END??) and by now, most of the people who committed to make 2020 the "Best year ever!" are probably fading into the old habits they had from before.

All, except you, of course, because you're made of something a bit stronger.  You're the tempered steel of the current generation, and it's all because you listen to this show!

Now that I've really laid it on thick, let's get serious.  So many people start selling online, find a little bit of success, only to quit a little while later when they don't see the results that they want or expect.

In this episode, I talk about my personal workflow, which allows me to just keep pushing forward, no matter what is happening around me.  I don't build this business into my life.  I built my life around this business.

If you still want more motivation, join me and thousands of other sellers on the Low Hanging System Facebook group, only available to paid students.  This is the only reason I have Facebook anymore, and I'm not joking at all.

Well I did it finally, I got a guest on the show, and what a guest too!  Travis is a top level seller on Amazon, selling up to hundreds of units per day at peak times.  He recently entered the Etsy selling field as well, with pretty good results.

Today we talked about how Travis got started in selling mugs, the success that he's enjoyed, and why he just sold all of his mug printing equipment (hint: he's NOT quitting).

I certainly found this interview to be extremely valuable, and I'm ready to implement some new tactics!

Welcome to the year 2020.  There are no flying cars.  You can't live on Mars.  Robot servants are not cleaning my bathroom.  You can however, put your pronouns on Twitter, and that apparently means something...

Regardless of how you feel about the new decade, it's a new opportunity to build your business!

Today, I scraped together a lot of listener questions, gave my answer to those, and then I went over my personal vision for 2020, both with my Print on Demand selling, and the Sales on Demand Show podcast!

I challenge you to step out this year, don't just spin your wheels in the sand, really look at what you are doing and ask yourself "Is this going to build my business?"

As always, you can join me and thousands of other sellers in the Low Hanging System, the Greatest Print on Demand training program ever created!

Last episode of 2019!  Ok, you got me, it's actually 2020, but I meant to record this in 2019, so we're gonna pretend that it's December 31st, you're drunk on Eggnog, fireworks are flying, and you're about to hear an endless number of "2020 vision" jokes.

This episode is a recap of my 2019 year selling Print on Demand on Etsy.  The Good, the Bad, and the Mediocre are all laid out for you here.  

Here are the show notes!

Amazon in 2018 and 2019 was fantastic. Etsy was...well, it was what it was, and in some ways, I'm ok with that.

2018 Review - New trending products, about 10k in sales for Christmas
Lots of messages, some screw ups, some refunds, Canada Post made my life a living hell
Did well for M & F day

2019 Review - About half of 2018. Quite a bit fewer messages, again, Canada Post was so slow that I'm debating not selling to Canadians any longer...because I live in Canada, they think that I'm shipping direct.

I asked the real question: What does Etsy hold for me in 2020? Should I stay? There are some benefits to Etsy that go beyond just making money ON Etsy.

Benefit 1 - Finding Amazon winners - I've found a few from Etsy sales, sending to FBA

Benefit 2 - Double the results from designing - Selling on two platforms is easy and you get more results from the same (sort of) effort.

Benefit 3 - Research on Etsy is easy and effective. Trends appear first here (also on Merch by Amazon and TeeSpring)

Benefit 4 - Customers make requests, which turn into new (and sometimes HOT) products.

Goals for 2020 - Add 400 designs by Christmas (good ones). These will come from the 1500 designs I have planned for Amazon this year.

Turn off all customization. It's a waste of my time.

Delete anything that hasn't sold more than once.

The great thing about Etsy is that you can make a decent amount of money without spending a bunch, or tying up cash with "stock". The bad thing is that it's easy and so there is a lot of competition. You actually have to work at it with considerably more effort than Amazon! No "cheat code" like FBA to get a jump on other items.

Join me and thousands of other sellers in the Low Hanging System, a training program that will supercharge your knowledge.  It's a great time to join!

Sure it's nearly midnight on Christmas Eve, and I'm filled up with cookies and eggnog, but why not post my latest episode?

DO NOT miss this episode.  Today, I'm talking about everything I did wrong, and everything I did right on Amazon, and you do not want to miss this!

Join me next episode, and I'll talk about Etsy...where the news wasn't quite so good.

Perhaps I am just *that* good, but this year I am not seeing anywhere near the number of customer messages that I did last year.  It is still a bit early, so perhaps there is a long line of angry customers just waiting to message me.

Regardless, I am fully prepared for any customer, the Good, the Bad, and the Angry.  Are you prepared to deal with customer messages?  It is often quite a shock for new sellers when they receive their first truly unreasonable customer, and it is natural to sort of "get angry" at a person who is making unreasonable or impossible demands on you.

I've compiled a list of the most common issues that you will deal with, and a roadmap for you to follow in dealing with them in a way that will make both you and the buyer happy.

Handling Customers for Noobs: How to turn "Karen" into "Grace"
1. Make sure that you have your shipping times clearly posted, and your return policies are available (on Etsy) Amazon tells you that you must accept returns, and it's not negotiable.

2. Don't promise anything that you can't deliver. It's ok to say "I think that could arrive in time, but I can't guarantee it". Shoppers are actually pretty ok with this, and will often order anyway.

3. When you get a crazy, demanding, and unreasonable person, it's totally find to refund, cancel, and block them. Don't get sucked into long conversations about anything.

4. Sometimes a refund will solve a problem, even if it's not really your fault. You might even get a nice review out of it.

5. Custom requests: Your time is worth a lot. Charge accordingly.

6. Be prepared to get a lot of messages about the tracking info, since Etsy does not update or even give the tracking number. I just find the link and send it, and boom, problem solved.

7. Some people's items will be stolen by trolls and orcs, but mostly of the time a "stolen" item is actually delivered fine, but gets misplaced.

8. If (when) you screw up, own it and make it right immediately. See below for some message templates.

Customer demands faster turnaround than you can deliver: "Hi! I apologize but I cannot get that item to you within that time frame. I could offer you a printable mockup that you could give as a "placeholder" gift until the actual item is delivered. Let me know, and I'll do everything in my power to speed up the production.

Customer can't find the tracking info: "Your tracking number is xxxxxx, and here is a link to track your item. It looks like the predicted delivery is (day). Have a good day!"

Customer asks you to make an item that you can't or don't feel comfortable making. "I'm very sorry, but due to the extreme volume of orders, I cannot offer that service for you right now. I do have a number of other types of products and customizations that you might consider, have a look in my shop and see if anything catches your eye."

Customer is crazy/rude/possibly insane: "I regret that I will be unable to provide any products or services for you at this time, or any time in the future." BLOCK THEM

Customer does something stupid, loses, breaks, or gives you the wrong shipping address: "I'm sorry to hear about what happened. Looking at the shipping information, I shipped this item to the address you gave, and it was marked delivered. If something went wrong, I could offer you a replacement at cost, please let me know"

Wrong item, broken item: "I apologize for that! Can you please send me a picture of the item (or damage)? This will allow me to contact my insurance and get you a replacement right away. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Want more coaching and training?  Join me in the Low Hanging system, a true Mastermind group of the top sellers in Print on Demand.  

Are you in the US?  Consider joining the Libertarian Party, the only Political group that is truely committed to real, genuine freedom!

https://www.lp.org/tomwoodsshow (If you join through this link, a friend of mine makes $5, another good reason to join!)

In the US, people are now diligently and carefully prepping turkeys, pies, and other delicious treats to eat, while us Canadians are prepping our cars, and dressing our kids in 48 layers so they don't freeze to death as they walk to school.  At least we don't have hurricanes...I guess.

Black Friday is sometimes called the biggest shopping day of the entire year, and it's bigger than people hitting each other over the head with toasters at Walmart.  Online shoppers, you know, the smart ones, are taking advantage of Black Friday to get a head start on Christmas presents, and YOU can take advantage of this!  

Not gonna do a lot of typing, I have a very busy day ahead of me, driving around in the snow, but I think this episode title speaks for itself.  What do you think?  Let me know on the Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/salesondemandshow