TAS 084 : How New Amazon Seller Generated $6,486.75 in 30 Days - Part 2

A success story to inspire and motivate you in your FBA business

Today’s episode is part 2 of the story of Tim Holterman, a regular guy who decided to work his way out of his regular job and gradually build an Amazon FBA business on the side. In this conversation, Scott asks Tim in-depth questions about what he did, how he did it, and what the results were from every step he took. You won’t find a more transparent, encouraging account of how a normal person (not a guru) took his private label Amazon business from $0 to over $6000 in just 30 days. Listen to this episode to hear all the details of Tim’s amazing story.

Once your product is on Amazon, what then?

Tim knew his products needed to get reviews for his private label product pretty quickly. He asked people with Amazon Prime accounts to make a purchase of his product (that he would reimburse - essentially giving away free products), and he also began using AMZ Tracker, which has a review system. He began building up reviews, which in turn moved his product up in Amazon’s natural search results to get him some natural sales on Amazon also. So his product was slowly creeping up in the search results, getting a few sales organically, and enabling him to get things headed toward a bigger volume of sales. Find out what Tim did next on this episode.

When Tim turned on Amazon PPC things began to catch fire...

… but not immediately. That’s because the Amazon analytics take about a week to refresh once you’ve set on PPC. So the first week or so Tim’s results looked terrible and he was a bit discouraged. But he knew he should hang on before making any changes because he’d been listening to The Amazing Seller and knew that it would take a while for his stats to be correct. Once they started showing, his PPC became clear and he could see what campaigns to keep, which to turn off, and which to refine. This enabled Tim to continue cranking up his sales and getting his pricing and product inventory dialed-in. Listen to hear how Tim’s strategies could apply to your FBA products.

The impact of inventory: What happens when you run out?

Tim’s initial purchase of his product was not thousands of units, but only hundreds. That means that once his sales began jumping, he quickly ran out of his products. Once he realized he was going to run out, he scrambled to get more products produced, shipped, and into his Amazon account, which took a couple of weeks. When he ran out of products in his Amazon inventory and didn’t have more to replenish it yet, he did see his sales drop (naturally). But he also noticed that once he had products resupplied, it took him a while to get the product ranking and sales back to what it was before the inventory was depleted. It was a great lesson, and one Tim knows is difficult for all sellers to handle because not everyone has the capital to keep a full supply of products when they first start. Find out what Tim recommends in this episode.

The issue is not whether FBA sales works. It’s about finding the right products.

Tim’s story shows that the FBA systems you learn on The Amazing Seller podcast and other places really does work. You can build an Amazon sales business that can supplement or replace your current income. But you may not do it on your very first product. The right product is the key to building a business that will last, and reinvesting the profits into the business will enable you to grow the business more quickly. If your first efforts don’t turn out like you anticipated, don’t conclude that Amazon sales doesn’t work. Just start the process of finding another product and try again. You can’t give up. Once you hit on the right product or niche, the sales will begin to take off and you’ll have the opportunity to truly build a long term business. Listen to Tim’s advice on this issue in this episode.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

Welcome to this episode - part 2 of an amazing Success story (Find part 1 here - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/83)!

Introduction of Tim Holterman, a member of The Amazing Seller Facebook community.

Your invite to Scott’s free workshops!

The first steps Tim took after his product began selling.

Reviews: How Tim went about getting his first ones.

PPC: What did Tim do and when did he do it?

Tim’s lessons learned about running out of product inventory.

Advice about finding products and working on more than one niche or brand.

Tim’s thoughts on feedback, reviews, and reaching out to customers.

Plans for the future - what Tim is going to be doing.

Tim’s relationship with his sourcing agent and how he’s developed personal relationships that are feeding his future endeavors.

Tim’s ideas for obtaining graphics and packaging.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Part 1 of this interview - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/84

The Amazing Seller Facebook Community - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB

Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop

Tim’s resource for graphcis - http://www.Dribbble.com

Tim’s resource for product packaging ideas - http://www.TheDieLine.com