Make Yourself Available When Opportunity Knocks

If you have been selling on Amazon for any time at all you have probably heard of the Proven Amazon Course (PAC), Silent Sales Machine, and Jim Cockrum. In November Jim Cockrum and his team will host an event called CES Conference 2013 in Orlando, FL.

I signed up to go as soon as I found out tickets were available. That was almost two months ago, in early August. Since that time I have been following Jim a little more closely so I am fully up to speed by the time the event takes place and I can consume as much information as possible while there. One of the ways I am following Jim is through the event's Facebook group. In that Facebook group on Friday September 20, 2013 Jim posted the following:

"We'll have a few segments at the conference where we interview many of the successful folks who are attending. If you don't mind sharing your story for a few minutes (in interview fashion on stage) please drop me an email with a brief version of your story and we'll see if it's a good fit for what we have in mind."

I took a deep breath, thought about my career goals, and decided if I want to succeed in this business as a coach I had better learn to put myself out there (not an easy thing for a self confessed introvert). I wasn't sure whether or not my story would resonate with the crowd of heavy hitters that will be in attendance or if it was even the kind of story Jim was looking for. Either way, I wrote Jim an email with a 2 paragraph rundown of the last 18 months of my life, from wanting to leave the corporate world, to finding Brett Bartlett and Amazon FBA, to working an FBA business, then one-on-one coaching, hiring a team member, giving a training webinar, and preparing for my first group coaching.

About 5 minutes after I sent the email, nerves still shaking from taking the step to contact someone I hold in such high regard, the phone rang. It was Jim Cockrum!!! He told me my story was exactly the kind of story that he wanted. Since the conference will be recorded he is confident it will help to inspire others in a similar situation as the one I was in 18 months ago and to show them the success that can be achieved if you are willing to work for it. So with that, he assured me I would be on stage to tell my story! The thought of being on stage in front of close to 200 people while the camera is rolling scares and excites the crap out of me! I can't wait! It's amazing how much opportunity can open up to you if you are willing to take even the smallest step.

Jim was extremely generous with his time and talked to me for about 30 minutes. Some of our conversation was about the event, some about coaching, and even a little about running. It was an absolutely surreal moment. I can't thank Jim enough for giving me so much of his valuable time and advice. It was simply incredible.

Hopefully you will be attending and able to be a part of this exciting experience with me. If you haven't purchased your ticket for the CES Conference 2013 you still have time. Click the link below and you can sign up today. I truly believe if you are running a business you won't want to miss this event.

http://www.mysilentteam.com/public/See-you-in-Orlando.cfm

~Duane

Cut Through the Clutter When Sourcing

When people give advice on sourcing you will hear them say, "Scan everything." which sounds good in theory, but is ridiculous in practice. You cannot truly "scan everything", so what I tell people is to scan what you buy. To me this is the best way to get a feel for what kind of items are popular on Amazon and at what price point.

The one thing that helps me cut through the clutter when sourcing is Brand Names and Character Themes.

Here are some examples of popular Brand Names and Character Themes that have served me well.

Toys
Hasbro, Lego, Nerf, Transformers, Sesame Street, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Wars, Disney, Cars, Toy Story.

Home & Kitchen
Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Oxo, Sharper Image, Simple Human.

Health & Personal Care/Beauty

Aveeno, Braun, Conair, Philips Sonicare.

The list goes on and on, but I think you get the idea.

If you happen to come across a great brand with a well know character theme then you get items like this:
Lego Captain America
Sesame Street Chutes & Ladders (this was a FAST seller at $15)

Here are a few other examples of Great sellers whose names we all recognize:
Oxo SoftWorks Salad Spinner
Braun 32B

So, the next time you are out sourcing look for easily recognized brands and character themes, check the rank, and see if you can find some treasure.

Thank you for your time, please ask questions or leave comments below.

~Duane Malek

What's A Good Rank?

Everyone (including me) wants to know, "What is a good rank when scanning products to sell on Amazon?" Rather than go into a lengthy discussion about what rank is and how to effectively decipher good from bad, I am simply going to give you what I consider to be a good rank for fast turns on Amazon.

Toys: 150,000
Health and Personal Care: 100,000
Health and Beauty: 20,000
Home and Kitchen: 10,000
Grocery: 50,000
Baby: 5,000

In general I would say any category with a rank of 10,000 or less is a good rank (Except Baby, it fluctuates way too much!).

Here are some screen shots from some extremely fast sellers:

There are other factors to consider when deciding whether or not to buy, such as, Brand Name, Margin, Cost of Goods, Number of Sellers, Is Amazon Selling It, etc. If you have any specific questions please post them below I will do my best to answer them.

~Duane