Outsource Amazon Product Sourcing to an Experienced Consultant

Amazon product sourcing: why do you need it?

In need of Amazon product sourcing for your Amazon business? Looking for product opportunities on Amazon and suppliers of those products? Here’s a guide to outsourcing your Amazon product sourcing to a reliable consultant.

When you are in the business of selling products on Amazon, product sourcing will always be a part of your daily routine.  It’s no secret that products are your business’ heart and soul.  If you want to see it grow, you always have to be on the lookout for profitable products you can sell.

Amazon product sourcing isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do, however.  Not only does it take a ton of research, but it also takes a lot of time.  Something you don’t really have a lot of as a business owner.

Getting the help you need

Given the importance of this task, getting help from someone who has the experience and skills for it makes perfect sense.  If you have someone do this for you, why not give it to someone who knows it better than anyone else, right?

Luckily, there are Amazon product sourcing specialists available in the freelance market you can hire to help you with your product sourcing needs.  Not only will they be able to free you up, but their expertise will also go a long way in terms of sales and profit.

So how do you begin the whole Amazon product sourcing process?  Check out the steps below.

1.  Identify the niches of products that you are interested in selling. Pinpoint the weight, price point, etc. that you want to source.

Amazon is such a huge market and with millions of products to choose from, narrowing down your choices can be difficult.  Identifying the niches of the products you are interested in selling is a good way to begin.

Wade through the hundreds of categories available on Amazon if you don’t have anything in mind yet.  You also need to have a clear understanding of what makes an item profitable.  Factors like shipping weight, popularity, and competition are just some of the things that determine profitability.

Once you have all of these determined, finding that product shouldn’t be as difficult anymore because Amazon readily provides you with just about any information you’ll need to narrow down your choices.

Information like sales ranking, product dimensions, and product reviews are just some of the data you’ll have access to.  These pieces of information can help you pinpoint the right price point, weight and product dimension (among others) that most customers tend to buy.

2.  Use a marketplace like FreeUp to hire a product sourcing expert.

Once you have identified the product you’re planning to sell, the next step is to hire a skilled and experienced Amazon product sourcing expert to help you find the right supplier and procure the product on your behalf.

If you’re worried about the tedious task of hiring the right freelancer, fear no more because there are marketplaces like FreeUp who do all the legwork when it comes to the hiring process. FreeUp offers a deep pool of pre-vetted freelancers (including product sourcing experts).  You can readily hire to help you grow your business.

Since all of their freelancers are pre-vetted, all that’s left for you to do is to sign up as a client and provide your requirements on the request form.  FreeUp will then send you one or two candidates that you can speak with, just to verify that you are a match. You’ll get a notification when you hire a candidate, and you should be able to start working with the new product sourcing expert within the day, depending on what both of you had agreed on.

By signing up for a service like FreeeUp, you’re not only able to save a lot of time, you also minimize the possibility of hiring the wrong person. What makes the service efficient is that it gives you flexible options should you commit a hiring mistake.  This means minimal disruptions to your operations.

3.  Onboard and set clear expectations for what the product sourcer will handle

After formally hiring the candidate of your choice, the next step is to formally onboard them.  The best way to begin the onboarding process is to set clear expectations.

This step is crucial because the success of your collaboration depends highly on how clear these expectations are communicated.  You need to be on the same page as to who is in charge of what because any form of miscommunication can lead to terrible consequences.

Given the importance of this step, it’s logical to have this documented.

Try to be as detailed as possible when it comes to your expectations

• Who will be in charge of finding suppliers to work with? Will you be giving them a list or will they be searching from scratch?
• What kind of results are you looking forward to?
• What specific information will you need to see in their weekly reports?
• Which email correspondences should you be copied in?
• Do they have the freedom to sign off of on things or does everything need to go through you first?

These are just some of the things you need to establish before they begin their Amazon product sourcing tasks.  By doing this, you are giving them the opportunity to gauge if they’re up to the task and ask questions if something’s not clear.

It’s better to clear everything up this early than discuss it while they are in the middle of working on their tasks.

This is also a great time to provide them access to the tools or apps you use.  Give them a rundown of how you did things before so the results they’ll deliver wouldn’t be as far from what you were producing.

Communication will always be key.  It won’t hurt to lay out all your cards right from the get-go.  That way, there’d be minimal room for mistakes and wrong assumptions.

4.  Create relationships with suppliers by following up from the initial product sourcing outreach.

One of the many reasons why you need someone with the necessary skills and experience is that product sourcing isn’t simply about looking for a product.  What you are really paying an Amazon product sourcing expert for is his or her ability to communicate, negotiate, and build relationships with different suppliers.

While products may be considered the life of your business, you must remember that none of these products would see the light of day without the suppliers.  It is for this reason that creating and building strong relationships with these suppliers is an absolute must.

Building relationships with suppliers is always part of a business’ strategic plan.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re brick and mortar or online.  The concept is always the same because you’re part of a mutual relationship where both parties benefit from one another. Suppliers can impact your business in a lot of ways.  It makes perfect sense to take care of them and nurture them to the best of your ability.

Areas where suppliers impact your business

• Quality of products
• Timeliness of delivery
• Competitiveness of pricing
• Billing terms

All of these areas can help take your business to the next level.  Though you may think you are in the dominant position (which is a huge mistake), do take note that you need excellent and reliable suppliers to keep everything going.

They need to be treated like gold because a huge part of your success relies on them.  But how exactly do you build good relationships with these suppliers?  Here are a couple of useful tips:

• Allow for decent lead times – Suppliers deal with a lot of purchasers too.  Giving them adequate lead times to process your orders will make them appreciate you more.
• Always pay on time – If you want a long and lasting relationship with your suppliers, you need to take care of your reputation.
• Be more personal with your approach – If you have the chance, visit them onsite and take them out to dinner. It doesn’t have to be all business all the time.

It’s a really simple rule if you think about it.  Be good to them and they’ll be good to you.  The product sourcing expert should also understand and do all of these if you want to continue to work with your suppliers for a long time.

Final Thoughts

Product sourcing is a critical part of any online selling business.  You need to always be on the lookout for the latest trends and potential best-sellers.  You can make this happen with the help of competent, talented, and experienced product sourcing experts.

Your work doesn’t end, however, as soon as they join your business.  For you to maximize their full potential, you need to identify which products you’re interested in selling.  Make sure to set clear expectations as to what they are expected to do moving forward.  Be as specific and straightforward as possible.

If you are in need of an Amazon product sourcing expert to help you scale your business, we’d like you to sit down and put onto paper all the qualities you’re looking for.  Detail all the tasks you are looking to outsource then sign up as a client on the FreeUp website.

If you liked what you read, help us spread the word by sharing on social media!