Scanner Society Presents 10 Action Steps For …...Scanner Society Presents 10 Action Steps For Increasing Profits For Online Sellers Wherever you may be in your business, part- or

Scanner Society Presents

10 Action Steps For Increasing Profits For Online Sellers

Wherever you may be in your business, part- or full-time, $2K in sales a month or $100K in sales a month, you are reading this because you want to grow. Increasing profits always sounds like a good idea, but many struggle with knowing how to do it. Where do you start? We have put together our top 10 (plus 1 bonus) list of strategies to increase your profits twofold or more. These tips have been gathered from our community’s accumulated experience and wisdom.

Scanner Society is a Chamber of Commerce for Amazon, marketplace and e-commerce sellers that is focused on one major goal, helping each other. We do this by networking, learning, saving and sharing deals. We are an organization like no other of Amazon sellers. We hope you’ll consider joining us on this journey. There is a bit more about our group at the end of this e-book. Or you can click here (www.ScannerSociety.com) to join or learn more.

Thank you for reading our book. Please let us know what you think and if you have any questions.

Best,

-The Scanner Society Team www.ScannerSociety.com

Page 2 of 13 – 10 Action Steps For Increasing Profits For Online Sellers

Networking, Masterminding, and Relationship Building (aka Making Friends)

Connections with other sellers and other business persons can help you to grow personally and to increase your income and business development exponentially. It is easy to become caught up in the day-to-day work of running a business and to neglect time for networking. Here are a few tip for remedying this:

1. Meet other sellers for a coffee, it is very rewarding. If you cannot meet in person, you can send some private messages or emails to set up a virtual “coffee” meeting over the phone or computer. Seeing people face to face, even virtually, can help with making connections. Services like Skype and Zoom make that possible for free. Step outside your comfort zone and put yourself out there! You may ask ten people to meet for a virtual coffee and only five will do it but if even one of them turns out to be a good connection it was worth it.

2. Find or start a local group. You can do this on Facebook, Meetup or even on sites like Nextdoor. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce and see what groups are out there for you to join. If you do not find the one you want, start one. Schedule a once a month lunch or meeting to connect with other sellers and business professionals.

3. Do not neglect “regular” sellers. Sometimes sellers try to reach out only to group leaders and gurus. These leaders do their best to respond but they have many people contacting them and cannot always develop ongoing chats and relationships with each person who contacts them. Reach out to other sellers whose posts you like, whose business you admire, or whose lifestyle or values resonate with you. Most groups have talented individuals who participate minimally or are lurkers or who simply have not initiated contact but are willing to respond. Connecting with different types of people will help you grow. You do not need to have something of “offer”. Just say hi and start a dialog.

4. Start a mastermind group or find a buddy. Mastermind groups can be effective but some people find that putting together the right group is challenging. Start by making a buddy or two. Set up a weekly call and see how it evolves. Set an agenda and set goals.

5. You may have to reject some individuals. As you reach out to more and more sellers, some will not be a good fit for you. That is alright. Set up short term arrangements like a 3-month long mastermind group, so that if it does not work out, you can just move on.

6. Set aside one or two time periods each week or month to connect and put them on your calendar. For example, schedule lunch out with another professional every Wednesday. Once that is full, move on to the next. This is how you can build your network but still manage your time.


Do More Of What Is Already Working. There are several ways to do “more”. One way is simply to spend more hours doing what is already making you money. If you are working 15 hours a week, work 30; if you are working 40, work 80, and so forth. A second way is to take the time to analyze what is most profitable and strategically to do more of it. Learn how to understand your profit numbers so that you can do a genuinely good analysis. This process is not a “one and done”, it is something to be repeated

regularly.

1. Here are some actions that might be profitable for you. You can do more of...

• Sourcing! However, you source, do more of it.

• Category or niche sourcing. If men’s athletic shoes are making you the most money, focus on sourcing more of them.

• Product planning. Whether it is bundles, new products or new suppliers, do more planning based on whatever expertise you have already developed.

Case Study: Cordelia B

“When I first started selling, I was doing well with retail arbitrage. So, initially, I just worked on my schedule so that I could spend more time shopping. I then added someone to my team who could prep my inventory so that I could do even more sourcing. I began to feel that the best way to make money on Amazon was to put new and popular products there. I started by listing items that I found but were not on Amazon. Then I started learning how to bundle. Over time, I did more and more of this and less and less RA. I started to develop wholesale relationships as my experience grew and sourced almost exclusively online or via wholesale. Now, as I have learned how to identify products that will sell well, I am moving into private label/brand launch. Each step of the way involved me looking at what was more profitable and tweaking my business and time management accordingly.”


Leverage Discounts And Rebates.

There are many ways to obtain discounts and deals. Every penny or $1000 counts.

1. Earn rewards on money that you are already spending by using websites like Ebates. These can be good for business expenses such as cards, websites and supplies too.

2. Use cash back or other reward credit cards when making big wholesale or arbitrage purchases. If managed responsibly, these can be a good source of money back or valuable rewards.

3. Use discounted gift cards purchased from sites like Raise.com to lower your costs when buying inventory or supplies.

4. Use your senior, military, or AAA discount and anything else for which you qualify.

5. Be nice: talk employees about additional discounts and opportunities. Taking the time to be nice is always beneficial!


Focus On Doubling Profits Rather Than Just On Doubling Sales.

Keep your eyes on growing your profits. This can be done by buying more strategically and by spending less time on the whole process. Your most profitable month may not be the one where you have the highest sales.

Learn to understand your profit. Improve it per purchase as well as overall purchases. Cost of goods (COGs) and other expenses impact profit. Some sellers track COGS in their MSKU code and then import into a spreadsheet, others use listing and account management software such as Scanpower for tracking. Here are some other ways to increase profits.

• Repricers. If they are set up correctly, they can increase profits by raising prices.

• Selling higher ASP (average sale priced) items can increase profits. For example, profit on selling 3 items that cost $5 for $15 each may be about $15. Selling 1 item that costs $15 for $45 may yield a profit of about $20. And you’ve spend ⅓ less time buying and prepping it.

• Following up with Amazon on returns and reimbursements can yield hundreds (or more) of dollars back in your account with no additional sales.

• Source popular products at a lower price by finding a better source such as a wholesaler.

• Make sure that your accounting is in order. You may not sell more but you could save big money with tax reduction. In addition, when you figure out your earnings, you may be surprised, sometimes in a good way, and sometimes not. Either way, it will help you be more strategic and formulate an improved business action plan.

Case Study: Andrew A “I have more than 1200 active ASINs and it seems impossible to pay attention to each one. When I do, I sometimes find ways to work smarter. For example, I sourced a Covergirl Lipstick from Big Lots. There was one shade, and I was paying $2.50 each. I found between 3 and 10 of them per location. They were selling at a rate of a couple a day for $15 each. Within a few weeks Big Lots started to run dry. I took the time to try and find a better source. I had already done the hard part. I found the item, tested it, made money, and knew it’s velocity. I did some quick Google-Fu and found a liquidator that had 100 of these in stock as well as about 15 more colors of this exact same line of lipstick and I ended up buying nearly 500 units of this lipstick line at $4 each and continue to sell them steadily. While my per unit profit actually went down, my overall profit went way up with much less time spent so I could focus on other items.”


Sell The Same Products On Different Marketplaces. 1. Use Amazon’s Multi Channel Fulfillment (MCF) program to send your FBA

inventory to customers who order from other sites or marketplaces. Use MCF to fulfill orders on these US based marketplaces:

• eBay • Jet • Bonanza • Mercari • Poshmark • Tradesy • Your own website

2. Sell on these marketplaces that you can send inventory into directly. They specialize in used but love new merchandise.

• Swap • ThredUp

3. Sell on social media. Social Media communities can be a terrific way to sell product locally or by mail order. You can start your own or find one in a niche and list items on it. Just make sure that you are in compliance with their policies. There are wonderful groups on Facebook for specific brands and niches (plus, big and tall, brand specific fan groups). More and more entrepreneurs are selling products on Instagram too. Local yard sale and treasure hunting groups can be an excellent resource.

4. Do not forget about live and in-person sales channels such as flea markets, yard sales and auctions.

5. Go International!

• It takes some time and work, but Amazon’s marketplaces around the world are growing, and there is much less seller competition than there is in the USA. A good place to start is selling on Amazon.co.UK.

• Sell on eBay and other marketplaces around the world. Rather than waiting for buyers to go to a U.S. site and choose international shipping, list your items directly there. Obviously this takes some upfront work, but it can be an excellent stream of income for the right products.


Source In A New Way. There are so many places to source new and used inventory! Each one requires time and work to understand and optimize. As you master one, try a new one. Every new type or sourcing has a learning curve. Few sources are instantly profitable the first day you start working on them. Therefore, try adding one or two new ones and taking the time to understand and explore them to see how your own business sense, personal work style and goals will intersect with each new channel. Make sure that you are in compliance with Amazon and other marketplaces rules and regulations. Here are a few places where you can find profitable inventory:

• Wholesale Distributors & Manufacturers (WS)

• Private Label your own product (PL)

• Digital product. Creating files for POD (print on demand) sites and even Amazon’s merch can be a low cost way to build up inventory

• White Label your own product

• Work with suppliers to give you exclusive products

• Bundles & Gift Baskets

• Auctions

• Thrift Stores & Garage Sales

Look at what you have sold successfully, what types of items or niches that you’ve sold in, and then look for similar items from new sources.


Focus. Avoid “Shiny Object” Syndrome. Master one niche, one category, one source, or one type of sourcing and then add a second one and master that. At most, work on two at once. For example, if you are selling toys, sell only toys. Learn everything that you can about what you are working on, and then as it becomes easier, you can add on new projects. It is so easy to become caught up in the latest and greatest thing. We are presented with amazing opportunities each and every day. We can nurture only so many of them at once. Instead of trying six new ways of sourcing or growing this week or month, try adding one and dive deeply into it. Be patient as you grow.

You can also focus by setting specific goals. For example, contact ten new wholesalers this week or spend $1000 a day on inventory. These types of specific goals will help you to focus your time and monetize your efforts.

Case Study: Guusje M. “When folks post about the latest “hot” toy they found that they flipped for 10x the going the price, they don’t mention trudging in and out of 10 Wal-Marts to find it. Just because other people are doing it didn’t mean I should! I work solo by choice so any products that require a great deal of prep aren’t cost effective for me. I was suspended for 3 weeks in 2015 and it turned out to be a blessing. I found some balance in my life and realized I’d put myself on a hamster wheel and that it was, in a strange way, a great relief to fall off. Once I was reinstated I decided to limit myself to books – which I’m very good at, and very targeted RA, the latter because I can’t find enough good books to make it as just a bookseller. My 2016 sales are ahead of my 2015 sales, yet I’m not spending nearly as much time in the stores making the rounds and I’ve some balance in my life with time for travel and leisure activities.”


Approval in Gated Categories Sourcing in harder to access categories can be more profitable and each item may have less competition. Amazon has several product categories in which all sellers can sell such as Toys and Home & Kitchen. They also have categories that require approval to sell in. Some are easier to be approved in than others. Some examples of gated categories are: Clothing, Grocery, and Sexual Wellness. Selling in more categories gives you more options.

Use your seller central dashboard to apply for these categories. Each one has different requirements that sometimes change over time. Once you are in a new category, or even considering applying for it, start learning about it. You can:

• Search and read Facebook posts

• Joining a free or paid category specific group

• Ask other sellers in your network for tips, either in person or online

• Make strategic small buys to learn first hand how products sell in that category

• Search on Amazon in those categories to see what is popular and what is hard to find

Case Study: Cordelia B

“I saw some designer purses at amazing prices from a wholesaler. I kept having to turn them down since I was not approved. One day I took the plunge and bought a bunch of them to force myself to go through the process of approval. I saw that there was a lot of category overlap between handbags, luggage and clothing so I went ahead and applied for all three and was approved. After my initial plunge into handbags, my source dried up. I actually ended up focusing on clothing. I now have sold tens of thousands of dollars of clothing on Amazon. I almost never sell in un-gated categories anymore as the products I’m sourcing are much more profitable and easy to acquire. On the flip side, I am approved to sell in Automotive and Watches and have sold almost nothing there as I’ve spent no time learning about them. So, approval is just the first step.”


Outsource Outsourcing can be a powerful way to grow a business but is also an increased cost. As you grow, make sure that any outsourcing costs more than pay for themselves either in dollars or time. Managing a team is skill like any other, take the time to develop and grow as a manager so that your team is healthy.

Many businesses are looking offshore to countries like the Philippines to hire lower cost yet qualified helpers. This can be a wonderful source of assistance but there is a big cultural gap and as the manager in the relationship you have to be willing and able to spend the time to train and develop these team members. Hiring US based assistants can cost more in terms of hourly pay but can also shorten the training time. Both have their pros and cons.

Some businesses choose to hire contractors and others employees. There are laws that govern this so check with your lawyer or accountant to guide you on what the most economical, legal, and safe way to hire help.

Be continually evaluating what your most profitable and enjoyable activities are. Then look at how you are spending your time. If you spending significant chunks of time on actions that are not bringing you profit or pleasure, you can outsource those. Tasks you can outsource include:

• Bookkeeping and Amazon account management

• Shopping

• Deal sourcing

• Administrative tasks like emailing potential suppliers and research

• Listing your inventory on multiple platforms

• House cleaning

• Meal preparation

• Child care

Effective outsourcing takes time up, especially up front. You must develop processes, hire, and train your staff.


Learn and Try New Ideas Learn about new categories, tools, and resources. There are many valuable free and paid sources of information out there. Whatever you decide to learn about, dedicate yourself and your time to to your new skill acquisition:

1. Facebook groups

• Search on them. For example, if you want to learn about shoes, search every group you belong to and read every post about that category. You will both learn the information and discover who some of the experts are. Make friends with them! (that’s the next tip)

• Be aware of how the organizers of the group are making money. You need to know that so that you can understand their bias. Some ways that group organizers make money are with affiliate income, selling their own information products to group members, and direct fees. Just understanding this can help you better to utilize the information in the group.

• The tone is as important as the content. Is the group filled with complainers or with people who are trying to work hard to help each other? A groups’ tone will attract different members. Find ones with a positive tone!

2. Videos, Podcasts, and Books - There are many wonderful people out there who know quite a lot. There are also some that do not know as much. Therefore, make sure that you listen to a wide variety of experts so that you see the bigger picture. Confirm any specific advice (rules and regulations) with Amazon.com or your accountant or lawyer. Experts make mistakes and rules change.

3. Blogs - Our industry has some amazing blogs with incredibly helpful information. Subscribe to as many as you can and set aside time to read them. Do not neglect past posts. There is thousands of dollars of information there.

4. Do it! Often we want to wait to do things until we are “ready,” but we will never become ready until we do them. For example, buying a bunch of shoes and selling (and not selling) them is very educational! Just as you would pay for a class, set aside some money and time to invest in your new niche or category. Buy inventory and GO! Make sure that you can afford it and learn. Making mistakes is a vital part of process: learn from them.

If you are going to pay for a resource, we suggest the following:

ü Ask for referrals and testimonials from other customers

ü Know the refund policy

ü Make sure that you dedicate time to utilize the resource fully.

ü Ask questions, connect with people and milk every last iota of value out of that resource


Do not neglect general business-building knowledge. There is a tendency to stick with resellers, but bigger picture resources and coaches will help you to build a stronger business and to meet people in other industries who have helpful and profitable strategies and knowledge.

We all have parts of our businesses that we are very comfortable with and other parts that we avoid. Try new things. Do something uncomfortable as often as you can. Over time, you will get become more adept at trying new things, and this will lead to business growth.

BONUS TIP: Understand The Business of Running a Business.

Many of us jump in and want to source or sell all the time. These are fun and profitable activities for us. However, we also need to take time to understand how to run a business, from accounting to insurance and beyond. It is vital to understand general business practices so that you can accurately understand your profit and build a strong strategic plan that evolves as you and your business do.

About Scanner Society The group, Scanner Society (formerly Scanner Monkey), has now been around since 2013. We have always been a community of professionals who help each other. We have grown to become a Chamber of Commerce for Amazon, marketplace and e-commerce sellers. We leverage the power of a group to help us all thrive and grow as small business owners.

Our group is well worth the monthly fee. We have several different levels of membership to serve different types of businesses. We do not do any affiliate marketing to our members and provide a combination of education, live and online networking, discounts and other resources for different types of sellers.

Our members report in our annual survey that the connections, friends, colleagues, and mastermind groups that they made from the connections that they have have exponentially increased their business profit and the joy of running their business.

We offer discounts to software, services, classes and conferences. Members literally pay for their membership many times over with the money that they save on products they were already going to invest in.

Our weekly webcast features industry experts and successful sellers who provide literally thousands of dollars worth of education and are included in the membership fee. Members have full access to our archive over over 100 webcasts and exclusive content. We cover big picture themes, breaking reseller news, and strategies for business success each and every week.

We offer in-person events to encourage connections and also have great online networking in our Facebook group.

Please check out our website for more information and use the code EBOOKCOUPON to get a free trial month. www.ScannerSoceity.com


Member Testimonials:

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Scanner Society Presents 10 Action Steps For …...Scanner Society Presents 10 Action Steps For Increasing Profits For Online Sellers Wherever you may be in your business, part- or