How to be an Amazon FBA Seller as told by Kirsty Verity

Do you want to become an Amazon FBA seller? 

Most people think becoming a seller on Amazon is an easy way to make money. 

Some think you just need to choose a winning product to sell on Amazon. 

Truth is, selling on Amazon requires more than choosing the best products to sell. It takes guts, tons of planning and execution, and a deep understanding of your customer’s needs. 

So today, we will talk about how you can get started as told by our CEO and founder, Kirsty Verity. 

How did you become an Amazon FBA seller?

Kirsty: Honestly I never thought that I was going to be an Amazon seller. 

I majored in English way back at Bradford University in England. I also did a bit of a promotion for some bands and comedy acts in a local bar. 

Little did I know that that would be my hands-on training for marketing.

This experience came in handy when I went to job fairs hosted by our university. And I got hired as a marketing assistant for a pet food brand. 

Eventually, I went up the ladder, working with different brands. 

I also wanted to travel the world, and I ended up going to Australia. That’s how I met the amazing Amanda Tucker, whom I clicked with right away. 

But there’s one huge problem. I was getting tired of the corporate life. 

I knew I loved marketing, but I also knew that this wasn’t the life I wanted to live. My career was going great, but it also made me feel trapped. 

Everything changed when I learned about The Four Hour Work Week[¹] by Tim Ferris[²]. 

I also started attending seminars and learned more about other investment strategies that I can work on. 

Despite the challenge of clarity, one thing was clear for me. I was ready to change the way I live and become an Amazon seller. 

Why sell on Amazon? 

Kirsty: I started learning about other investment options like trading and real estate. But at the time, I felt like the business models didn’t suit me well. 

Real estate and house flipping are so cash-intensive. You have to have a good team with the right experiences, and you also need to have the money upfront. 

Shares trading was also a bit too foreign for me to make money from it. 

Reading The Four Hour Work Week was a light bulb moment for me. It took the pressure off of me. It also made me realize that I don’t need too much money. I just needed to fund the travel and lifestyle I wanted to live. 

That’s when I tried e-commerce stuff like e-Bay, but that required me to get a warehouse for inventory. I also found it to be tedious and time-consuming. 

I also tried websites but building traffic can be costly. 

As I went about this journey, I became part of a list where I learned about the Amazon model. 

I loved that Amazon lets you become a seller with private label products. I also didn’t need to worry about logistics, returns, and product fulfillment.

Everything fell in to place. And every challenge I had before with selling on e-Bay, the Amazon model solved it for me. 

Kirsty’s Journey as a New Amazon Seller 

Kirsty: Getting started on Amazon FBA was also fairly easy and cost-effective.  All you need to do is create a seller account on Amazon Seller Central[3]. 

But selling on Amazon successfully is another thing. 

Most people think selling on Amazon just involves choosing a product to launch and sell on Amazon.com. 

Truth is, you need to plan and execute your strategy consistently to be successful.

When I started out, we didn’t have many tools to help us out. So most of the things I learned were through trial and error. 

I launched my product on Amazon and got to sell 2 items with the help of my mastermind group.

The next day, I had zero sales. Then I sold one after that. 

I realized that I needed to create consistency for this Amazon business to be worth it. 

Working with the people at Amazing Seller Machine also helped me create tweaks in my Amazon FBA. 

I was getting overwhelmed with tips on how to sell on Amazon. Some said I needed to run Facebook Ads and Google Ads to drive traffic to my Amazon store. 

Then it just clicked on me. I realized I needed to harness the traffic inside the platform if I wanted to get more traffic.

So I started focusing on two or three things. I started to work on getting traffic to my store and optimizing my product listings. 

I focused on getting more visibility and good reviews. That’s when I started getting my products sold. 

Learn more about Amazon listing optimization here: https://goteamreal.com/amazon-listing-tips/

Is selling on Amazon FBA worth it?

Kirsty: I made the best decision when I decided to sell on Amazon.

Is it worth it? Yes, definitely, if you do it right. 

Amazon selling gave me the opportunity to design the life I want to live. But it didn’t come without costly mistakes. 

As a new seller, I found a simple process to grow my business and turned a million dollars in ten months. I also got to travel the world as I’ve always wanted. 

I was getting homeruns and felt like this success would go on forever.

So I launched ten new products and planned on multiplying the results I had in the previous years. 

But then the products didn’t sell as well as before. I ended up having problems with inventory and other costs.

Things weren’t going according to plan.

The inventory was piling up, and I didn’t know what was working and what wasn’t. 

Despite that, I chose to be realistic about it. You need to be comfortable with facing the stuff that doesn’t work.

So I analyzed what went wrong and started treating Amazon FBA as a business.

As Amazon sellers, we need to know that there’s a huge difference between profitable products and putting money in the bank fast. 

It’s not enough to just start selling on Amazon. Most success stories you hear on Amazon involves managing finances and inventory properly. 

Like any business, you need to make sure you’re focusing on creating good cash flow. 

When you’re running an Amazon store, you’re not only paying for the product fees. There are also storage fees, inventory, the launch costs, ad costs, and all of that. 

That cash flow doesn’t go back to your business, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed if you’re not attentive to income versus cost and expenses. 

Back then I didn’t have a massive team to help me run the business. But it was a good thing because I learned how to be more conscious of the costs.

And because I had good cash flow, I was able to make adjustments and strategize better.

I also sought advice from my network and picked out their best advice.

That’s how I turned it all around and made it happen.  

For a beginner’s guide on how you can start selling on Amazon, check out our blog post here: https://goteamreal.com/how-to-sell-on-amazon-for-beginners/

Practical Tips for a Beginner Amazon FBA Seller 

Kirsty: As I’ve said, it’s easy to get started selling on Amazon. The question is if you can sustain it and make this business work. 

Millions of customers go to Amazon.com to buy the things they need. And there’s always a great opportunity for you to grow your business and start a private label brand. 

It’s an awesome business model that can help you create a new lifestyle. But it also doesn’t come without a cost. 

So here are some tips that can help you ensure success in selling products on Amazon.com. 

Pay yourself first 

Start paying yourself first as soon as you can. 

Sometimes it can feel like a grind, especially when you’re just starting out as an FBA seller. But when you feel the profit comes in, it helps create that inspiration you need. 

It also reminds you of why you got started in the first place. So pay yourself first as soon as you get the money coming in. 

Keep it simple 

It’s essential for you to focus on one or two things and master that to help you grow. 

You don’t need so much, all you need is to keep the basics. 

Focus on bringing traffic to your Amazon FBA store. 

Optimize your product listing. 

Make sure your customer service is on point. Most people take a look at customer service as one of the bases to repeat purchases. 

Great customer service also helps you get great reviews. 

Stick to that formula and you’ll do well. 

Learn to let go 

Most Amazon FBA sellers think they can do everything for themselves. This is also one of the biggest blocks you have to get over if you want to scale up. 

Think about hiring key roles to take care of the other parts of the business. 

Letting go means you get to grow your business faster. It also gives you the time to focus on the things that truly matter to you. 

Know your numbers 

Make sure you have a clear idea of the data you have in your business. 

Learn how much cash is coming in and going out. This will help you make better decisions about your business. 

The point of running a business is to make a profit fast. So it helps you to see the numbers clearly so you could make fair and objective choices for your business. 

Reach out to your network for help 

If you’re getting stuck with something, it’s best to reach out to your community.

It helps to have some fresh eyes to look into your business. Even today, I ask my people for help. 

You’re never above anyone else, and someone else can give you the right feedback to help grow your business. 

It’s also important to grow your network and meet new people every now and then. Attend events online and offline and connect with different minds so you could also grow yours. 

Conclusion 

Becoming an Amazon FBA seller is worth it if you do it right. 

All you need to do is make sure you overcome all the challenges that come your way. 

It’s also important for you to remember why you started in the first place and to ask for help when you need it. 

Listen to the full podcast interview below:

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