As a business owner selling products on Amazon, product sourcing is an essential part of the work that requires attention to detail and an eye for researching products. If the time-consuming task of researching, looking for tending products, and which product categories will give you the most profit are not your forte, perhaps this is a job for a virtual assistant.
Outsourcing Tasks and Getting Help
Product sourcing is important in eCommerce, especially when selling on Amazon. If you’re looking to hire a virtual assistant to help you with your business, someone who has expertise in inventory management and researching will give you an edge as a seller.
Freelancers and virtual assistants who specialize in Amazon product sourcing can be found in the freelance market.
By freeing up your time and helping out with your systems, the inventory management, you will find that hiring a virtual assistant for your Amazon business could be worth every penny. But where to start?
1. Identify the niches of products you’d like to sell
With hundreds of categories available on Amazon, narrowing choices of the products you want to source is a good way to start. Amazon is a huge market, but once you figure out factors such as shipping weight, popularity and competition are some things that can determine a product’s profitability.
Once you’ve figured all of these out, finding the products will be easier since Amazon provides you with all the information you need to narrow down your choices.
2. Hire a Virtual Assistant with product sourcing experience
After choosing a product to sell, the next step is to get help with the basics. An expert in Amazon product sourcing that can help you find the right supplier and procure the product for you.
Looking for a freelancer with expertise in product sourcing doesn’t have to be difficult and tedious for you. Choosing to sell products on Amazon is a big step on its own, and it could be intimidating trying to reach out to freelancers or agencies. However, there are places like Fiverr, freelancer.ph, or FreeUp that will do all the work when it comes to the hiring process. These websites offer a pool of freelancers that are ready to be hired at any time.
3. Set clear expectations for what the new Virtual Assistant will handle
Once you’ve formally hired a virtual assistant, the next step is to start the onboarding process. Make sure to set clear expectations. This step is crucial as it determines the success of the collaboration between you and your new product sourcer.
You have to be on the same page and have clear communications as to who handles what in the business. Be as comprehensive and concise as you can, but still open to questions. Here are some points:
- Who will be in charge of finding suppliers to work with?
- What are the expected results?
- Any specific information you need for weekly reports.
- How much flexibility and freedom do they have to sign off of, or if they have to consult with you first for every decision?
Not only is the onboarding process a good time to set things clear between you and your virtual assistant, but it is also the perfect time to provide them access to the tools and software that you use.
4. Build relationships with your suppliers based on initial product sourcing outreach
Reaching out to suppliers for the first time is not just a trivial thing but may be the beginning of a thriving business relationship. This is why as a business owner, it’s important to hire someone with the necessary skills not only for product sourcing but also outreach.
The products may be an important part of your Amazon business, but remember that these products won’t see the light of day without the suppliers. Creating and building a strong relationship with them is essential. Building relationships in business is a strategy where you earn a partner or your supplier’s trust as you form a mutual correspondence where both you and your partner benefit from. Your supplier can impact your Amazon business in a lot of ways.
Suppliers impact your business in these areas:
- Product Quality
- Timeliness of Delivery
- Pricing
- Billing terms
If you’re getting into eCommerce, the success of your business lies not only in the products you’re selling, or the suppliers you’re making a deal with. A virtual assistant with expertise in this field counts just as much if not more than the other proponents of your business.
There’s a lot that goes into hiring a virtual assistant, especially one who knows their way around Amazon businesses and eCommerce. If you want to know more, Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Click here for your free 30-minute consultation.
