5 Traits of Great Amazon Consultants

Investing money in Amazon consultants can be very rewarding. A consultant can balance the experience and expertise in areas you may lack.

Nowadays there are thousands of professional Amazon consultants, advisors and consulting agencies. Everyone claims to be the smartest, most experienced and most professional in the industry.

Even though it’s never been easier to find an Amazon consultant online, it can still be difficult to find out if the advisor of your choice is a good one. Which advisor is right for you depends on your product, your niche, your business size and several other factors. However, there are 5 qualities that every Amazon consultant should have.

1. They have experience

The first and one of the most important point is experience. A good Amazon consultant should have lots of experience in their field.

This doesn’t mean that they must have been an Amazon seller themselves once in order to understand you and your business. If they have previously worked in a consulting agency and managed multiple projects/clients, they have built up a lot of expertise, knowledge and experience without ever selling a single product themselves.

Having this experience means that they have seen many mistakes and problems that other Amazon businesses had to deal with before – and also how these problems were solved. As a result, a great Amazon consultant can quickly see which processes need to be optimized in your Amazon business and how to do that best.

2. They are honest

I’m sure you’d expect the consultant to be honest anyway. But that doesn’t just mean that they are only honest and transparent with costs, targets and schedules before signing the contract with you.

Honesty means that they tell you openly and immediately if you have unrealistic or unreasonable project ideas. There are consultants who do not dare to give their honest opinion when they do not agree with you. Mostly out of fear of losing a client.

This way, however, you will obviously not benefit from their work. After all, you hire an Amazon consultant because you want to benefit from his experience and professional assessment – not because you want a nice person around you who is meek and mild about all your decisions.

A good Amazon consultant sets clear and achievable goals, defines and assigns long and short-term tasks and communicates exactly what it takes to reach these goals without sugar-coating anything.

3. They have empathy

The third thing to mention is how important it is that the consultant of your choice has a feeling for your brand and your vision. Consequently, empathy is an important character trait of any advisor.

Only when they can understand what you stand for with your brand and your product, they can provide you with the right advice. After all, your entire strategy is based on the basic values and positioning of your business.

4. They see the bigger picture

As a business owner it can easily happen to you that you develop a kind of tunnel vision over time. You concentrate fully on where you are right now and focus too much on little things.

The best Amazon consultants can see the bigger picture and take your business to the next level with a fresh mind and new ideas. He takes a step back and develops a suitable long-term strategy.

5. They can adapt to changes

The last and very important point is that the Amazon consultant is agile. As you know, Amazon is constantly changing the rules of the game. It is therefore crucial that the consultant is always up to date about these changes and is able to adapt existing strategies to a new environment.

Besides, your own business can change as well – anytime. For example, your budget can grow or shrink, contractors can quit or be hired, business partners can join or leave. A good consultant is able to react quickly and efficiently to all these changes. That means that he does not apply one size fits it all strategy to every customer, but always adapts it individually to your needs and your situation.

Bonus: How to Find Great Amazon Consultants

You’ve learned what traits make great Amazon consultants. But how can you now find one that is perfect for your business?

At Sermondo, we already published a comprehensive guide on how to find the best Amazon consultant, but here’s a quick summary with the most important steps:

First of all, you need to figure out what your goals are.

What are the problems in your company? Which areas would you like to improve? Do you want to reduce costs in order to increase your margin, optimize your advertising campaigns or simply increase your overall brand awareness?

Write down your goals ranked by priority. The better you know what you want, the easier it is for you and the Amazon consultants you interview to find out if they are the right ones to help you.

You should also consider your budget.

How much money can you invest in a consultant? This is already a helpful “filter” for your search, as it allows you to eliminate the more expensive consultants and consulting agencies right away.

Then, the hunt for the perfect Amazon consultant really begins.

Amazon service provider platforms such as Sermondo can provide you with a comprehensive overview of Amazon consultants from all over the world. Then you need to pre-select 3 to 5 consultants and arrange face-to-face meetings or Skype calls with them.

Marketplaces like FreeUp go another route, looking over your requirements and sending you one or a few matches – jumping to the shortlist, if you will.

Ask them all the important questions.

You can use the criteria mentioned above as a guideline.

Do they have experience with your category? How long they have been in business? What do they think about your brand positioning?

Pay close attention to the way they answer your questions. Do they avoid unpleasant questions? Do they seem to only give vague or unclear answers? If so, don’t get involved.

Do they answer directly and seem sincere? Do they explain their answers and give practical examples from their experience? A good sign!

Put the top 2 or 3 on your shortlist.

Make a selection.

If you choose Sermondo, you can now have these top candidates send you an offer. Compare what they charge with what they can deliver. If you choose FreeeUp, you will already know what each consultant charges and can make a comparison to help you make your final decision.

Consider your gut feeling when you choose one and not only the costs. The chemistry must be right so that you can achieve great results. This is usually more important than saving a few bucks.

The Bottom Line

Good Amazon consultants have experience with your product and/or category. They are always honest with you and understand the values on which your company and brand are based. They are able to develop a suitable, individual long-term strategy for you and can adapt it as circumstances require.

When searching through the seemingly countless Amazon consultants available for hire, it is key to find the one who can do this for you. This means having a process that helps you match them to your needs.