Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners‪,‬ Michael Veazey

Are you ready to break through plateaus and achieve explosive growth on Amazon? This guide unveils the 8D Framework, a data-driven strategy designed specifically for established e-commerce brands with Product-Market Fit (PMF). Learn how to optimize every aspect of your Amazon presence for maximum impact, leading to a potential 2X growth in just 12 weeks.







Time Stamps







[00:00:00] - Discussion about profit margins and pricing strategies for Amazon sellers.[00:07:55] - Explanation of the importance of product positioning and brand consistency across platforms.[00:15:18] - Introduction of the fourth dimension of the 8D framework: product positioning and brand building.[00:21:40] - Discussion of the fifth dimension: customer experience optimization for different devices and languages.[00:28:11] - Explanation of the sixth dimension: tech stack and utilizing AI tools like ChatGPT.[00:30:40] - Details on the seventh dimension: logistics and supply chain management, including Amazon's Seller Fulfilled Prime program.[00:33:47] - Description of the eighth dimension: team communication and collaboration.[00:37:15] - Information about attending the free workshop and the 12-week Rapid 2X Accelerator program.[00:40:00] - Summary of the 8D framework and an analogy to the movie "The Karate Kid."[00:40:23] - Details about the 10K Collective Uber Mastermind program offered by the host, Michael Veazey.







The 8D Framework: A Deep Dive







The 8D Framework goes beyond simply throwing money at advertising. It's a meticulous, step-by-step approach that optimizes your existing assets for peak performance. Let's break down each dimension:







Dimension 1: Performance Optimization







This stage involves a comprehensive audit of your Amazon presence, including:







Product Detail Pages (PDPs): Optimize titles, descriptions, images, and videos for maximum clarity and conversion. Leverage A+ Content to showcase your brand story and product benefits.Brand Store: Establish a dedicated brand presence on Amazon to build trust and brand recognition.Brand Registry: Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry to protect your brand from counterfeiters and unlock additional features.Amazon Ads: For brands exceeding $150,000-$250,000 in annual sales per ASIN, utilize Amazon Ads strategically to target relevant customers and drive conversions. Leverage Amazon Attribution to track campaign effectiveness.







Dimension 2: Pricing & Promotions







Strategic use of promotions can boost sales, but profitability is paramount. Consider factors like:







Ideal Gross Margin: Aim for a 65% gross margin after accounting for landed costs.Amazon Fees: Factor in Amazon's selling price fees (30-35%) and FBA fulfillment costs when determining profitability.Advertising Costs: Account for Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS) alongside Amazon fees to ensure a healthy net margin (ideally 10-15%).Promotional Calendar: Utilize targeted promotions for holidays like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, but ensure profitability.







Dimension 3: Marketing Beyond Amazon Ads







Move beyond viewing Amazon PPC as your sole marketing strategy. Focus on building a strong brand story that resonates with your target audience:







Craft a Compelling Brand Narrative: Every product has a story – use it to connect with customers. Highlight use cases, and showcase the story behind your brand and founders.Influencer Marketing: Partner with relevant influencers on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to amplify your brand message.A+ Content & Brand Store as Storytelling Platforms: Utilize A+ Content and your brand store to showcase your brand story and product benefits.

Have you hit a plateau with your Amazon sales? Dreaming of explosive growth but unsure where to start? This guide unlocks the secrets used by industry leaders to achieve 2X growth in just 12 weeks. Learn the 8D Framework, a data-driven approach specifically designed for established e-commerce brands with Product-Market Fit (PMF) to scale their Amazon presence efficiently.







Time Stamps







[00:04:15] Having $100k-$250k in yearly sales per product demonstrates product-market fit for Amazon sellers.[00:06:05] He looks at sales per ASIN/product line, not the seller's total sales across all products.[00:09:01] The 12-week Rapid 2X Accelerator program aims to have clients trending at 2x their daily sales rate.[00:10:19] The program implements optimizations across 84 days in areas like logistics, productivity, and sleep habits to compound growth.[00:14:46] The first dimension is Performance Optimization - optimizing product listings, A+ content, pricing, promotions, and PPC campaigns.[00:18:04] This includes optimizing titles, bullet points, images and videos to increase conversions and organic ranking.[00:20:25] For FBA, having enough inventory for 1-day Prime delivery can significantly increase sales conversions.[00:27:11] One client saw 50% sales growth in the first week from just the listing optimization dimension.







About the Author : Sabir Semerkant







Sabir Semerkant is a titan in the e-commerce world. Over the past 25 years, he's helped launch two entirely new Amazon categories and worked with clients featured on Shark Tank. His company, GrowthBySabir, has generated over $1 billion in e-commerce sales across diverse platforms like DTC, Shopify, and, of course, Amazon.







Partnering with Gary Vaynerchuck







Sabir's expertise caught the eye of Gary Vaynerchuk, leading to a collaboration that brought e-commerce to the forefront of Vayner Media. Together, they established a global e-commerce agency with a proven track record of success.







Defining Product-Market Fit (PMF)







Before diving into the 8D Framework, let's solidify the concept of PMF. For Amazon specifically, Sabir defines a brand as PMF-ready if it meets the following criteria:









* Yearly Sales per ASIN (including variations): $100,000 - $250,000 USD







* Experience with common challenges: Counterfeiting, cloning, brand registry







* Marketing Efforts: Basic understanding of advertising (Amazon Ads or Google Ads)







* Supply Chain Management: Inventory control and responsiveness to customer feedback







* Product Iteration: Willingness to adapt based on reviews and competitor analysis









For Shopify stores, the overall PMF threshold translates to roughly $500,000 in annual sales.







Confirming Product-Market Fit (PMF)







Here are some additional indicators of PMF:









* Inventory Management: Consistent stock availability







* Product Photography: Ability to capture high-quality product images (even with an iPhone)









What the 8D Framework Isn't







This framework isn't about throwing money at advertising (Amazon Ads or Google Ads). It's a data-driven approach focused on optimizing existing assets for maximum impact.

In the bustling world of e-commerce, one question looms large: why do people buy? We often find ourselves fixating on the features of our products, the materials they're made from, or the benefits they offer. But in reality, successful selling goes beyond these surface-level attributes. It's about tapping into the deeper desires and emotions of our customers. Welcome back to part 2 of our exploration into authentic selling, where we delve into the psychology behind consumer behavior and how authenticity can revolutionize your sales strategy.















Understanding the Customer Experience: Beyond Product Features







Let's kick things off with a vivid example shared by an online marketing specialist during a recent interview. Picture this: you've developed the ultimate fishing lure. It's crafted with precision, boasting a carbon fiber shell and surgical stainless steel hooks. But here's the twist – nobody cares about the technical details. What truly matters is the experience you're selling.







Think about it. When someone buys a fishing lure, they're not just looking to catch fish. They're seeking adventure, camaraderie, and perhaps a taste of victory. By understanding the deeper motivations of your target audience, you can transform a mundane product into an irresistible proposition. In this case, it's not about the lure itself, but the experience of being the ultimate angler – outsmarting your friends, reeling in the biggest catch, and basking in the glory of success.















Cultural Nuances in Sales: Tailoring Your Message







But authentic selling isn't just about crafting compelling narratives. It's also about understanding the cultural nuances and emotional triggers that drive consumer behavior. Take the example of selling to different markets, such as the UK versus the US. While Brits may downplay their achievements, Americans have a strong affinity for winning and success. By tailoring your message to resonate with the values of your target audience, you can create a deeper connection and drive greater engagement.















Embracing Risk and Fearlessness: The Path to Success







Authentic selling isn't without its challenges, though. As our interviewee aptly points out, it often requires stepping outside your comfort zone and taking calculated risks. Whether it's expanding your business, investing in new technologies, or challenging prevailing norms, authentic selling demands courage and conviction. It's about pushing past the boundaries of what's comfortable and embracing the unknown.















Transcending Fear: Unlocking Your True Potential







But perhaps the most profound insight shared during the interview is the idea of transcending the fear of failure and death. Drawing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "Mountaintop Speech," our interviewee reflects on the transformative power of fearlessness. By letting go of our insecurities and embracing our true potential, we can unlock new possibilities and achieve extraordinary success.















Conclusion: The Power of Authentic Selling







In conclusion, authentic selling isn't just a marketing tactic – it's a philosophy that drives meaningful change. By understanding the deeper motivations of our customers, tapping into cultural nuances, and embracing fearlessness, we can elevate our sales strategy to new heights. So the next time you're tempted to focus solely on product features, remember that authenticity is the key to unlocking the hearts and minds of your audience.

Authentic Selling vs. Jedi Mind Tricks -  Coach Dan Gordon



Now, I've got to tell you, I said to Coach Dan Gordon, this is who we've got on the show, how I should introduce him. He said, "I want you to say the greatest fraud I've ever met,". Well, Authentic Selling is the focus of today's show, but that's clearly not the truth!



Dan Gordon is an executive coach and speaker, and his mission is to raise the consciousness of bad-ass entrepreneurs all over the world. So there you go, welcome to the show Coach Dan. Good to have you here.



Gratitude and Insight



Thank you so much. It's a real delight. And I just so appreciate what you do, Michael, helping people really step into the things that they struggle with and look at the parts of their life and their business that they need to work on. And just by the nature of the conversations that you have, you force those thoughts. It's beautiful.



Authenticity in Conversation



Not a sort of soft, cuddly guy, really. I guess British people have a habit of being, you know, a little bit on the cooler side, quietly blunt, I guess in a way. So yeah, I try to keep it real and that's definitely the topic of today's conversation.



Authentic Selling vs. Jedi Mind Tricks



Our topic, authentic selling versus Jedi mind tricks. Really like this one because it's a huge corrective to what's going on out there. So tell me what's this all about for you.



The Overused Concept of Authenticity



So last year, the Miriam Webster word of the year was authentic or authenticity, which means it is a widely overused word that now has no meaning. Right. So everybody wants to be authentic. Everybody, you know, and now, you know, people are training people how to be authentic, which is insane, right?



Challenges with Traditional Sales Methods



When you think about selling authentically, that betrays all of the Sandler type methods, which is, you know, the customer's pain points describing your products, features, and benefits, the open, the middle, the close, all of those things that people use as leverage to sell their crap and what. What makes it so inauthentic is you are not actually engaged with your client.



Embracing Authenticity in Sales



And so, I love that because it's forcing people to reevaluate how they show up in a sales meeting. And the reevaluation is, I'm going to put you first, Michael, if I want you to buy my coaching, then you have to come first. Not me, not this cool thing, not your pain points, but you, what are you struggling with right now? How can I make you a better person? Whether or not you buy my services and that's what authentic selling is.



Adapting Authenticity in E-commerce



I mean, they often do, but they probably don't think of it as a sales conversation. If you're talking to a supplier, if you're talking to a freight manager, if you're hiring a photographer, but you know, the essence of what they do is done by a computer screen.



Implementing Authenticity Online



So that's a great question. I get it. I get that kind of question a lot. I don't do one on one sales. Very few people do one on one sales. What's the point of what I'm talking about? The point is in messaging. How do I reach out to you as a person?



Testing Messaging through Human Interaction



And so you really have to test your messaging on human beings. And I would say that my best suggestion is to go to a networking meeting, go to a chamber of commerce, go to a place where people are and talk to them about what you're selling and see how they respond to it, right?



Appealing to Human Emotions



You know, the kids today, they do not go for that crap.

Hey folks. I want to discuss what is kind of a hard topic, which is why an e-commerce business isn't a cash cow. It's not what is advertised to be on the internet, but the good news is it could make you more money than you think, as long as you know what you're dealing with.

The myth of the e-com cash cow

So folks let's talk about the myth of an e-commerce business as a cash cow.



There is a lot of misconception on the internet about the cash-generating potential of e-commerce ventures. I'm talking about things with physical products at their heart, and therefore inventory, which changes everything. And we need to examine this.

Typical cash cow digital businesses

Now let's talk about what we mean by cash cow.



First of all, I'm talking really about things that produce money. In cash in other words without much capital investment.



The examples that spring to mind: are coaching. I know all about that because I've been doing that online for years. The upsides: you don't need to pay much money, or even any to start, if you just use influencer platforms like podcasting as I did to start with, but you need to spend a little bit of money on a little bit of equipment- podcast, mics very, very cheap. You can do it with your phone these days.



Downsides of course. You cannot just sell that easily, because it depends on your face and your brand. Also, you're trading time for money, unless you scale it up to be running a huge coaching practice.



And then you're trying to scale up people. and hiring people is not easy to scale in the same way as digital systems or physical products. So it is not the easy option it might appear.



But it doesn't require necessarily a lot of capital stuck in the business.



Digital business models, also digital products like books, have the same characteristic.



So I'm not discussing those; what I mean is an e-commerce business model is where you own the inventory that you sell.

Challenge 1: Profit margins

So let's talk about the challenges of e-commerce business models and what I think they are not. And what I think they are.



First of all. It's not a profit monster. There are certain types of business models where you might spend some money on YouTube ads for example, and then you sell your coaching - time for money trade, but at least it's 70% profit.



But you have quite healthy profit margins in that kind of business- digital product businesses, very healthy margins.



Not so much with physical products.



You have to buy the products. You have to ship them around, you have to store them, you have to fulfill them.



And then you've got to pay for whichever platform helps you sell them. Amazon takes a 15% sales commission.



Plus then you've got to pay for traffic in the form of ads to wherever you sell them, you've got to pay for ads.



So the Operating costs are pretty high.

The heart of the matter: capital intensity

But here's the true meat of the matter. The heart of the matter is capital.



If you want to have an inventory-based business, you need to think about the balance sheet.

All assets are not created equal

To put it simply, the assets are the things that the company owns. Most Amazon or Shopify-type businesses don't tend to own many things that unless you've been, you've got a very big business. They don't tend to own warehouses and offices unless they're really big, but they do own normally two major assets, which is cash and inventory.



And if you want to have stock in inventory, you're swapping cash for inventory.

Profit is not the same as cash (not even close)

And here's the thing. If you increase the value of the equity in the business and assume there's no debt,

Advertising costs on Amazon are on a ruthless upward trajectory. Feeling the pinch and worried about maintaining profitability? You're not alone. In this comprehensive guide, we'll equip you with powerful strategies to dramatically reduce your Amazon ad spend without sacrificing sales.

This isn't about cutting corners or sacrificing quality. We'll show you how to optimize your advertising campaigns, leverage the power of organic ranking, and unlock conversion-boosting techniques that make your ad spend work harder for you.

Ready to reclaim control of your advertising budget and fuel explosive sales growth on Amazon? Let's dive in!



















[00:00:00] Rule-based AI optimizes bids

[00:01:10] 10K Collective Podcast Welcome

[00:03:02] Travis's Amazon Journey

[00:04:09] Optimize Review Funnels

[00:06:01] Competing with Reviews

[00:07:28] Understanding Review Funnels

[00:10:08] Effective Call-to-Action

[00:11:45] Valuable Bonus Items

[00:12:39] Reducing Friction Levels

[00:15:03] Use Helium 10 for tracking rankings.

[00:15:19] Amplify bids with bid multipliers.

[00:15:39] Monitor ranking until bottom of page 1.

[00:15:56] Deploy multifaceted approach for ranking.

[00:16:25] Reduce bids by 50% when at top.

[00:16:38] Experiment with bid reductions weekly.

[00:17:03] Turn off ads for well-ranked bestsellers.

[00:17:27] Reduce ad spend by 10% weekly.

[00:18:20] Use UGC for inexpensive creatives.

[00:18:57] Use subtitles in video ads for engagement.













The Ever-Rising Tide of Ad Costs

Advertising costs are on an undeniable upward trajectory across platforms like Meta, Youtube, and yes, even Amazon. This trend is fueled by several factors, including:





Influx of Sellers: The Amazon marketplace is teeming with new sellers, particularly from China, leading to increased competition and a surge in ad costs for coveted keywords.

Amazon's Profit Motive: As a publicly traded company, Amazon prioritizes shareholder value. This often translates to higher fees for sellers, including advertising costs. They may even charge storage fees if you don't maintain sufficient inventory.

The Algorithmic Squeeze: Amazon's AI-powered A9 algorithm plays a significant role in product ranking and ad placement. This can make it challenging for new entrants to gain traction without significant advertising spend.



The Two-Pronged Approach to Ad Control

The key to controlling your Amazon ad spend lies in a two-pronged approach:

1. Optimize for Organic Ranking:

The more your products rank organically in search results, the less reliant you become on PPC (pay-per-click) advertising. While AI-driven changes might necessitate some ongoing PPC investment to maintain ranking, a strong organic foundation reduces your overall dependence on paid ads.

Here are some key organic ranking optimization strategies:





Keyword Research: Identify relevant, high-volume keywords that accurately describe your products. Utilize tools like Amazon Seller Central's search bar and keyword research extensions.

Product Listing Optimization: Craft compelling product titles, descriptions, and bullet points rich with relevant keywords. Optimize your product images for clarity and incorporate high-quality visuals.

Positive Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Reviews not only build trust and influence purchase decisions but also contribute to organic ranking.



2. Master the Art of Amazon Ads:

While organic ranking is crucial, PPC advertising remains a vital tool for driving traffic and sales on Ama...