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Once you’ve identified the products you want to source, the next step is in finding the right suppliers and building a relationship with them.

Even though you’re running an online business, it’s important to understand that building supplier relationships is one of the most  important success factors you can have!

There are many ways to locate legitimate wholesales suppliers. Trade shows and trade publications to name a few!

Suppliers are motivated to work with sellers who know how to move their merchandise. So once you make that supplier connection, don’t treat your supplier like an anonymous vendor.  Spend some time building a relationship with them.

It won’t happen overnight, but the more you get to know them and they get to know you and the needs of your business, the stronger your relationship will become.

As a supplier gets to know you,  the more likely it is that they’ll want to work with you. You’ll also be first in mind when it comes to letting their accounts know about the good deals, new products and special purchases.

When you initiate contact with a new supplier, focus not only on finding out what the supplier has to offer you, but make it a two-way street. Suppliers are in business to sell their products, just like you are. But ultimately, product sourcing is a people business (just like any other business).  And as you build supplier relationships, you’ll find that your effort and investment will be returned ten-fold.

“Sell what you love and the money will follow.”

“Sell what you know and watch the profits roll in.”

“If you are passionate about it, your customers will buy it.”

Have you heard this advice before?

While these catchy phrases do make for great inspirational sound bytes, unfortunately they are not solid business advice.

In fact, all three statements leave out one important factor for success…

You can only sell what you love, sell what you know and sell what you are passionate about IF people are interested in buying those products.

If no one is buying,  it doesn’t matter how much you like a product, you won’t make money selling it online.

Here’s the Profitable Approach

Find products that sell and be open to new passions.

Let’s look at an example:

Adele has a love of decorative plates.  Her house is filled with an impressive collection.

She thought this passion might translate nicely to an eBay business.

Because she loves decorative plates so much, Adele was sure that buyers would flock to her listings and buy the plates she adores.

However, Adele ignored one of the important fundamentals product sourcing; she became attached to her product line.

Not only that, she didn’t do her research ahead of time on the market demand for the kind of decorative plates she was selling.

Her results were disappointing.  The plates didn’t sell well.

After several months, Adele started to think that maybe an eBay business wasn’t for her.

It wasn’t until she and I talked that she realized the business wasn’t the problem, her product was!

Once Adele went back and did her research on the market demand for decorative plates, she realized that the plates she loved were not desired by other collectors.

So, Adele went back to the drawing board. Several months later, Adele reported that she had found a new niche in the collectibles market and her business was moving right along.

But Can’t I Sell What I Like?

Absolutely!  You have to have an interest in what you sell or you won’t put energy into marketing it. And if you don’t have knowledge about your product line and passion for your offerings, your customers can tell a mile away.

But remember, there are millions of products in the world to sell.  So always keep an eye out, and an open mind for the next opportunity.

Your business will be much more profitable with this approach.

-Lisa Suttora

With the Christmas holiday in sight, your holiday sales should be in full swing.

But if you’re late to the game, or need an extra boost to amp up the numbers, these 7 late-to-the-game strategies will stoke the fire in your holiday sales…

Speak Holiday.Go right now and look at your web pages, you eBay listings, your online store. How many places do you see holiday imagery, holiday messaging, holiday gift suggestions? If the answer is none or few then your products are not showing up for the party everyone else wants to be a part of.

You have to give your customers visual clues that you’re dialed-in to the holidays. Your store must be part of the fun and festivities. Even the smallest online sellers can add a few holiday graphics and use messaging on their their website to speak the language of holiday sales.

Run Different Holiday Promotions Each Week. If you want to capture the attention of holiday buyers this year, you must run new promotions on a weekly basis. While this year’s shoppers aren’t suffering from frugal fatigue, consumers are looking for a sale.

Unlike last year, they’re not hoping to find everything marked down to 50% off, but they are looking for somewhat of a “feel-good holiday special” so they walk away from the purchase feeling like they got something extra.

Sell Communication & Service. Prominent service messaging must be a part of your holiday game plan. Whether it’s strategically placed graphics on your site or you hop in front of a video camera, one of the key things shoppers should see when they come to your site is a message from you with a commitment to:

• Same day shipping
• Providing tracking numbers
• Customer service (how will they contact you if they have a question)
• Optional gift wrapping services

Free Shipping. If you’re late to the holiday selling game, one of the fastest ways to amp up your sales is by offering Free Shipping. Again this year, Free Shipping is the #1 thing that holiday shoppers are looking for.

Bundle it Spectacular. If your holiday sales haven’t yet made a blip on the radar, it’s time to pull out the big guns and get really creative with your product offerings. A necklace and matching bracelet sold separately becomes a spectacular gift set. Pair a warm fuzzy bathrobe with matching slippers and create a special Christmas morning promotion around it.

Offer Holiday Gift Suggestions. Holiday shoppers aren’t looking for the “same ‘ole, same ‘ole” when it comes to purchasing holiday gifts. They LOVE creative ideas and unique gifts. Just because the media doesn’t recognize your product line as a “holiday item” doesn’t mean you can’t!

Don’t wait for anyone to give you permission to present your products as a holiday gift. Be bold and step out and make gift suggestions!

Get in Front of the Video Camera. If there is one thing that etailers can do this year to get found in search without the use of costly PPC campaigns and lengthy traffic driving strategies, it’s to get in front of the video camera. There is not a person reading this blog post who sales can’t benefit by doing a video review of a product you sell.

Whether it increases conversion on your site or eBay listing or helps you make it to page one on Google, video product reviews are all the rage this year. And don’t think you have to have a Hollywood stage production video to make it useful. REAL sells. Take a look at this video review of a popular Nikon camera lens. A little humor, being real, to the point and educational. 11,000+ people have viewed it so far. (BTW, I came across it in Google search while shopping for, you guessed it! Nikon cameras.)

Even if you’re sales aren’t yet where you’d like them to be this holiday season, you’ve got 30+ more days to keep focused on selling more. Never give up! Keep doing the right things up until the very last holiday minute and you’ll start to see the results of your efforts!

How about you? What are your plans for increasing your sales over the next few weeks?

-Lisa