If you’re in the eCommerce space, you’re already well aware of the massive potential of selling on Amazon. But being an Amazon seller can be a bit intimidating for many reasons. There’s a lot to know, and there are a lot of small errors that can lead to costly mistakes.
For some business owners, the question is “What’s the best way to get started with FBA?” For others, the question may be “How can I handle all the facets of my FBA business without breaking my wallet or working 14-hour days?”
Whether you’re just getting into the FBA space or have been in it for close to a decade, there are a lot of subtle tactics and strategies that are easy to miss. As a business owner, it’s your job to know when it’s best to get something done in-house or to hire a consultant. Sometimes it can be hard to admit that you need help, but the reward is well worth it. If you’re considering hiring an FBA consultant, this post will help you get clear on what you need to consider before you do so.
Step 1: Is Hiring an Amazon Professional A Good Idea For Me?
The first thing to consider is rather obvious: “Do I need to hire an FBA consultant right now?”
I’m going to make a bold statement here and claim that unless you’re a ninja when it comes to hiring, managing, and putting the right team in place, then it probably makes sense to work with an FBA consultant at some point.
Here are some more signs that it’s time to hire a consultant:
- You have a successful eCommerce business and haven’t started to sell Amazon and have no idea where to start. Maybe you’re doing very well and haven’t needed to sell on Amazon, but you’re really feeling the itch. Or, you know you’re missing out on potential sales and are ready to expand.
- You’re already selling on Amazon but it’s a bit of a mess. You’re struggling to keep up with things and it’s frustrating because you know that with a little help, you could be doing very well.
- You’re crushing it on Amazon, but it’s kind of an accident (and hence not sustainable). You could be one suspension away from a disaster and not even realize it. Your competition may be creeping up on you and you have no idea why and what to do about it.
- Your Amazon sales have flattened and you know you need to change things. You’ve done well up until now, but you’re ready to take it to the next level. But how?
- Business is going really well and you want to make sure your success continues. You’re one of the wise successful business owners out there who know that even when things are going well and you’re on top, you can still receive help and improve your situation. You’ve had a nice level of success and you’re still eager to optimize and see where you can improve.
The main reason NOT to hire an FBA consultant is if you can’t afford it yet, or if your team is already excellent at dealing with the ins and outs of FBA. In that case, you may be receiving requests for your team to act as FBA consultants for other businesses!
Step 2: What Do I Need Help With When It Comes To My Amazon Business?
Next, it’s time to identify your CORE Needs.
It’s crucial for you to get clear on what your business needs are first. While you may have some blind spots, chances are you can easily pinpoint the areas that you need help with.
Here are some questions to help you do this:
- What areas in the business need the most attention?
- What are the pain points you are experiencing in each area of your business?
- What are the specific roles that need urgent attention?
- What tasks need to be done that your team isn’t currently qualified to do?
Answering these questions alone could bring up many insights, but it may also be a struggle. That’s completely fine. Any good FBA consultant can easily identify areas that need improvement even if you’re not already aware of them. If a simple exercise like this feels overwhelming or you don’t have the time in your schedule to hammer out the details, then that’s a clear sign that you would benefit from some expert guidance.
Step 3: Give Yourself Some Options
Now that you’ve discovered what it is you need, who do you want to hire? Do you want a quick one-off call or more long-term mentorship? If you’re wise, you understand that an FBA consultant is often a long-term relationship. If it goes well, it’s a win-win for both parties. As your business continues to grow, you’ll be able to continue to receive more value and guidance from your consultant.
Of course, you will easily find plenty of options on LinkedIn and Upwork. Though that may be a bit intimidating and challenging to seep through the number of options there and find someone who appears to be qualified. We recommend that you take some time to research potential candidates no matter what platform you find them on.
It’s also a good idea to take some time and consume some content (podcasts, Youtube videos, etc.) to find a possible consultant. After listening to or watching themspeak, you’re likely to have a good idea if you think that consultant would be a good fit or someone you want to work with. It’s always good to have options so you can compare the structure, strategy, and pricing. This isn’t something you want to rush into, either. Any FBA seller knows that small mistakes can be very costly in the long run.
Most business owners agree that it’s always good to have options when it comes to hiring anyone for any task. When it comes to selling on Amazon, remember that the problems you are faced with will change as your business grows and expands. So, it’s important to look for an FBA consultant that has a lot of experience and can help you with short-term issues as well as long-term ones. Or, you may be in a rare situation where you’re only looking for a short-term solution to a specific problem you are currently facing. That’s fine too.
If you’re talking to a potential consultant, here are some things to look for.
- Transparent pricing structure. Are they open and honest or does it feel a bit murky? Are they clear on their prices or does it seem oddly vague?
- Custom-tailored services. Do they believe in a one-size-fits-all approach? If so, run! Or, slightly decline and move on 🙂
- A proven track record. Are they established? Can they give examples of real success stories? Have they been in the game for a while?
- They know and understand your business, brand, and niche. Do you feel like you have to explain yourself a lot or do they understand your vision?
- Aligned values. Do your values align with each other? Some consultants are focused solely on profit, while others have others may have environmental incentives or ulterior motives. Do you feel that your goals and visions are similar?
- No shady tactics. Anything besides a white-hat strategy is to be avoided. It just won’t get you long-term results and you’re likely to get suspended very quickly. You want to make sure you trust that they don’t use any black-hat methods. You want it to be clean, kosher, and legit.
It’s good to have some questions prepared so you can get a sense of the expertise in the potential candidate. Ask about keyword research, ask what they know about suspensions and how they’ve dealt with them in the past. Ask them if they’re proficient in PPC, ads, and other marketing areas your FBA business may need. Even if it’s not an area you need now, you want to make sure they can fulfil your needs moving forward. More importantly, you want to make sure that everything they say sounds reasonable and that you can trust them.
Step 4: Take Action (And Prepare For Execution)
The last step is rather obvious, but nothing is going to get done if you miss it: take action. The first action you’ll need to take is hiring a consultant, but that’s only the beginning. Any solid Amazon expert will give you plenty of tasks to fulfil, and if you don’t have the proper team in place, this could be a bit daunting. There’s nothing worse than knowing what you should be doing and not doing it simply because you don’t have the right team members in place.
If you’re unsure whether or not your team can execute a plan successively, then we hope you consider working with SellerPlex. We’d be lying if we told you that we’re simply FBA consultants. We offer so much more, including bookkeeping, supply chain management, ongoing account management, AMZ PPC, listing optimization, and more. We love helping eCommerce businesses scale, and we have plenty of other valuable posts on eCommerce and business strategy on our website that you can check out for further reading.
Simply put, if you want to expedite your eCommerce success, then we’re happy to help.
Either way, you’re likely going to have a lot of work to do when working with an Amazon consultant and you want to make sure you have a solid team prepared to do the work.
Conclusion: Your Path To eCommerce Success
In short, if you’re ready for success as an Amazon seller and are considering hiring an Amazon FBA consultant, there are four simple questions to consider.
- Am I ready to hire an FBA consultant?
- What does my business need help with?
- Who’s the best person to help me with this?
- What do I need to do so I can execute the strategy ASAP?
We hope you’ve found this article useful in some way. More importantly, we wish you success in your amazon selling efforts!