It’s a hard reality when you realize your dreams are crashing to the ground. In this 21st century we live in more and more people are firing their boss and heading towards entrepreneurship with the hopes of going it alone.
I love this mentality. If you’re reading this, you’re probably an entrepreneur who’s had your fair share of regrets and failures. However, the one aspect which separates you from the people who go back to punching the clock every day is you learn what went wrong and adjust accordingly.
One of the major platforms people are succeeding (and failing) on these days is the Amazon webstore. An average Joe can create this very dream in their mind, but the sad part is, not everyone gets to accomplish those goals.
In this article, I spoke with Ashraf Ali, founder of AMZ Trainer, a complete hands-on guide to fulfilling your sales glory on the Amazon platform. While it may sound like a great idea to jump into this network without thinking of strategy or products, Ashraf explains some of the ideas he personally used to become a million dollar seller on Amazon.
#1 – Get The Right Business Knowledge
Let’s face it, working from home and making a lot of money is a romantic idea. When this feeling washes over you, it’s difficult to rein yourself back in. Therefore, you end up making a lot of different mistakes in the beginning.
The key aspect of creating a successful business plan/strategy on Amazon is to have the right business knowledge.
Ashraf explained it this way, “After completing the course and at the time of my business launch, I realized the course covered only 20% of the real business and remaining 80% has to be learned by myself.”
So how do you combat the idea of peering behind the curtain if no one will allow you to do so unless you pay them for it? Since knowledge is power, find the right kind of business people with whom you can attach yourself to in order to create a solid business foundation.
Facebook groups are a great place to start. Once you learn who is who, you can determine if they understand the Amazon platform by their sales, feedback, and customers. It’s important to have a mentor when you first launch your business. It’s possible you may be wanting to give this a try for the first time, if so, finding someone who can lead you in the right direction is always a smart option.
While speaking to him, I got the feeling that Ashraf felt a little shortchanged after he spent his hard earned money on an “Amazon Business Course”. This is one of the reasons he started AMZ Trainer so he could be able to supply start-to-finish mentorship with experienced and beginner salespeople alike.
Another aspect of having great business knowledge on Amazon is understanding what you’re going to sell, who you’re going to sell it to, and what platform you can shout your wares from. All of this is important as it directs your customer to your doorstep. Enticement is a large part of the game and can be a difficult task to perform if you don’t understand your goals.
To get this knowledge, read. Read everything you can about your Amazon business direction. Take points from other people who have already been there before you and this will help you stay on track.
#2 – Find the Right Product
While it may sound enticing to sell every product under the sun, it’s just not viable. For instance, you may have found a great supplier, created an optimized listing, and a high-quality product. However, if it doesn’t meet the requirements of a highly profitable product all of your hard work will go to waste.
When it comes down to it, you have two choices to make:
- You can choose a BIG product niche.
- You can choose a single product which has already proven to sell well.
Naturally, you always lean towards the big products. In fact, these products can lead to huge sales down the road, but for beginners, it’s recommended to stick with the single products, start small, and then work your way upwards to the bigger products.
Finding the right product for your Amazon store can mean the difference of staying in the game or going home defeated. It all hangs on this one decision you’re about to make. [image source: https://www.brandbuilders.io/find-profitable-product-sell-fba/]
Make sure to spend quality time on learning which product is the best one for the audience you are trying to target. There are a lot of variables to learn when stepping up to the plate on product decisions, but if you can get this right you will be well on your way to being a successful Amazon seller.
#3 – Surround Yourself With People Who Will Make You Great
A lot can get lost in translation when it comes to pitching ideas and thoughts to people who don’t understand what you do exactly. For ever so long, when someone would ask me what I did for a living they would just stare at me sympathetically.
One of the aspects Ashraf Ali created with AMZ Trainer was to not only give you a start to finish course which shows you everything from picking your product to training you on Facebook advertising, but he makes sure you are placed with people who can make you better.
Do you ever remember competing with friends at work or school? When you surround yourself with positive-thinking business people who are going the same direction you are, but on different levels, you are able to give and receive encouragement and help.
And you thought when you started working from home you would be all alone. Building relationships with other Amazon colleagues is a great fire starter for your business and you will be able to implement ideas from others and take away things which don’t work based on the experienced people you have around you.
In Conclusion
With Ashraf Ali, creating success on Amazon is something everyone can do. One thing which stood out to me was something he said during our interview, “Take Risks. Without taking a calculative risk, no one can do anything, even if they are skilled. Risk taking is one of the biggest factors which everyone should learn and implement.”
So if you’ve been thinking about setting up your Amazon store, make sure you heed the advice of this experienced seller and take a risk for yourself. You will be amazed at the results if you give it your best.
You can find Ashraf and AMZ Trainer on Facebook and Twitter.
