1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,420 Kevin Mako: Hello, product innovators. Today we learn how to research your product niche on Amazon to ensure success from an Amazon consultant, seller, and book author who's worked with thousands of product brands. 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:19,060 Kevin Mako: This is the Product Startup Podcast, a show to learn from top leaders in hardware product development, prototyping, manufacturing, product selling, and everything in between. 3 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,880 Kevin Mako: Hosted by Kevin Mako, the leading expert on product development for hardware startups. 4 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:28,320 Kevin Mako: Welcome back, everyone. I'm very excited to introduce Lesley Hensell to the show. 5 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:54,360 Kevin Mako: Lesley is the author of The Amazon Incubator. She has been selling on Amazon for 14 years and is also the co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, which has worked with thousands of Amazon sellers directly. Today, Lesley will share some valuable knowledge for inventors, startups and small manufacturers on why selling on Amazon is so important to a hardware startup, how to research your Amazon keywords and best practices to ensure your Amazon product launch is a huge and lasting success. Now, on to the episode. 6 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,720 Kevin Mako: This show is produced by Mako Design, the original. 7 00:00:58,740 --> 00:01:05,580 Kevin Mako: firm providing end-to-end consumer product development services tailored specifically to hardware startups, small manufacturers, 8 00:01:05,580 --> 00:01:12,860 Kevin Mako: and inventors. Take your product from idea to store shelves at MakoDesign.com. Now on to the episode. 9 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,323 Kevin Mako: Hi, Lesley, welcome to the show. 10 00:01:15,323 --> 00:01:16,820 Lesley Hensell: Thanks so much for having me, Kevin. 11 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Kevin Mako: We're really excited to have you on today to talk about what Amazon is, why it's so important, but more 12 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:28,180 Kevin Mako: importantly, doing your research to figure out if Amazon is a good fit for your new hardware product and how to 13 00:01:28,180 --> 00:01:33,000 Kevin Mako: research how to get onto the platform, do it right, do it well, and be a leader and be a big 14 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,180 Kevin Mako: success story on the platform with your new innovative product. And before we get into all those 15 00:01:37,180 --> 00:01:41,700 Kevin Mako: great details, Lesley, just give us a bit of a story of how you got to the success story that you are 16 00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:50,060 Lesley Hensell: today. Sure thing. Well, I started selling on Amazon way back in the glory days in 2010 when it was 17 00:01:50,060 --> 00:01:56,020 Lesley Hensell: the Wild West over on Amazon. My background is actually in marketing consulting. So a few years in, 18 00:01:56,020 --> 00:02:00,560 Lesley Hensell: I actually started helping sellers who would get into trouble on the platform. So now I'm 19 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,500 Lesley Hensell: co-founder of ever been consulting. That's what we do is assist sellers with challenges, but my 20 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:10,840 Lesley Hensell: heart and soul are still in selling. And I also recently wrote the book on how to sell called 21 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,620 Kevin Mako: the Amazon incubator. Right on. Much appreciated for that intro and what better person did 22 00:02:15,620 --> 00:02:20,680 Kevin Mako: talk about how to actually do your research to make sure that your product is a great success 23 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:25,140 Kevin Mako: if you choose to launch on Amazon. Let's start big picture. What is the Amazon marketplace? 24 00:02:25,140 --> 00:02:30,340 Kevin Mako: and why is it important consideration at least for new hardware startups and emerging product 25 00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:37,280 Lesley Hensell: brands? So what most people do not realize is that two thirds of the products sold on Amazon are actually 26 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:43,660 Lesley Hensell: sold by third party sellers. The remaining third being Amazon in a vendor type relationship 27 00:02:43,660 --> 00:02:48,000 Lesley Hensell: where it's more like when you go to Walmart and you buy something there in the retail store. So two 28 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,860 Lesley Hensell: thirds of those goods are from people like me and you who started up businesses or have 29 00:02:52,860 --> 00:02:57,320 Lesley Hensell: existing businesses selling on Amazon. To make it sound really sweet, though, there are 30 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:05,960 Lesley Hensell: 150 million prime subscriptions only in the U.S. marketplace, which is crazy. And prime members 31 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:11,700 Lesley Hensell: have this tremendous tendency to go to Amazon first, either to buy products or to do research 32 00:03:11,700 --> 00:03:18,700 Lesley Hensell: on products. In fact, Amazon has surpassed Google for product research like, what is the best 33 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:22,840 Lesley Hensell: X? People tend to go on Amazon now instead of Google to do. 34 00:03:22,860 --> 00:03:27,960 Kevin Mako: find their products. Wow, that's powerful. Obviously, Amazon is a great system and a great 35 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:33,320 Kevin Mako: platform and the scale is massive and continuing to grow. So for those hardware startups 36 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,600 Kevin Mako: interested in being a part of that ecosystem to get their new product onto the Amazon marketplace, 37 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:45,080 Lesley Hensell: where do you start? So almost any product can be sold on Amazon. The question is, 38 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:51,500 Lesley Hensell: should you sell it on Amazon? Because the last thing you want is to ship a lot of units to Amazon for 39 00:03:51,500 --> 00:03:55,760 Lesley Hensell: them to fulfill and they just sit there. But you also don't want to pass up on perhaps 40 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:02,060 Lesley Hensell: the most amazing opportunity for sales, right? So what you have to figure out is, is your product 41 00:04:02,060 --> 00:04:09,020 Lesley Hensell: suited for Amazon, which really means, is there a niche for you? Are you able to sell that product 42 00:04:09,020 --> 00:04:15,240 Lesley Hensell: without competing against deeply entrenched brands who already have a huge presence, 43 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:21,380 Lesley Hensell: spend a ton of money on ads? How can you develop your product so that this strategy is part 44 00:04:21,380 --> 00:04:25,700 Lesley Hensell: of what you're thinking about. So it could be, I mean, you've probably already thought about 45 00:04:25,700 --> 00:04:30,580 Lesley Hensell: features and benefits. If you're not quite there yet, though, I would actually start with features and 46 00:04:30,580 --> 00:04:36,100 Lesley Hensell: benefits as you're developing or coming up with your idea of refining it, looking at the competition 47 00:04:36,100 --> 00:04:41,250 Kevin Mako: on Amazon. That's great. Great advice, and especially as a hardware startup, you have that luxury 48 00:04:41,250 --> 00:04:46,290 Kevin Mako: of, first of all, presumably if you're developing a new product, it's because you've got some sort of 49 00:04:46,290 --> 00:04:51,370 Kevin Mako: innovative idea. You realize some sort of unique benefit or solve the pain point to somebody, 50 00:04:51,410 --> 00:04:56,110 Kevin Mako: through your product, and that's what you're working on. So the nice thing is that because you're 51 00:04:56,110 --> 00:05:01,150 Kevin Mako: building these new proprietary and custom technologies, hopefully that means that you're creating 52 00:05:01,150 --> 00:05:05,590 Kevin Mako: something unique on the marketplace. But of course, you have to think about accessory products 53 00:05:05,590 --> 00:05:10,670 Kevin Mako: or, let's say, non-direct competing products, alternative products that somebody could buy 54 00:05:10,670 --> 00:05:16,350 Kevin Mako: potentially in replacement of what your feature benefit, et cetera, is. And once you really 55 00:05:16,350 --> 00:05:21,390 Kevin Mako: realize what your specific value add is, you can now start doing your research to figure out, well, 56 00:05:21,410 --> 00:05:26,290 Kevin Mako: how do you fit in uniquely into that ecosystem so that people want to look for that particular 57 00:05:26,290 --> 00:05:30,410 Kevin Mako: opportunity or pain point, find your product, and buy it? So how do you do this research when it 58 00:05:30,410 --> 00:05:34,650 Kevin Mako: it comes to keyword research and understanding what those gaps are on the actual Amazon marketplace? 59 00:05:35,350 --> 00:05:41,970 Lesley Hensell: So it does all start with keywords, and I encourage people to really build out long keywords as well, 60 00:05:42,090 --> 00:05:47,770 Lesley Hensell: long tail keywords. So of course, you always have those one, two, or three words that describe your 61 00:05:47,770 --> 00:05:51,390 Lesley Hensell: product. It's a garlic press. It's a stainless steel garlic press. 62 00:05:51,410 --> 00:05:57,010 Lesley Hensell: whatever it might be, but could it also be, it's a stainless steel garlic press with a 63 00:05:57,010 --> 00:06:03,110 Lesley Hensell: comfort handle? There can be all kinds of additional descriptors, just like how you'll see products that 64 00:06:03,110 --> 00:06:11,470 Lesley Hensell: have great for birthdays or for mom, whoever the recipient of this item might be. So first you have 65 00:06:11,470 --> 00:06:17,050 Lesley Hensell: to develop a list of your keywords and long tail keywords. And I really encourage you to 66 00:06:17,050 --> 00:06:21,390 Lesley Hensell: brainstorm like crazy. Get creative. Talk to people in your family or 67 00:06:21,410 --> 00:06:27,310 Lesley Hensell: in your business and get their feedback on what those should be because you might be limiting 68 00:06:27,310 --> 00:06:32,890 Lesley Hensell: yourself in your own imagination and your niche might just be something that your neighbor, 69 00:06:33,090 --> 00:06:40,150 Lesley Hensell: your friend, your brother, your sister tells you, well, really, I would see it as X. So first start 70 00:06:40,150 --> 00:06:45,730 Lesley Hensell: with that really broad keyword list and then you're going to have to invest in a software tool. 71 00:06:46,070 --> 00:06:51,390 Lesley Hensell: Fortunately, there are some very inexpensive tools. The two favorites out there right 72 00:06:51,410 --> 00:06:58,070 Lesley Hensell: now are called Helium 10, and it's the number 10, and Jungle Scout. So both of 73 00:06:58,070 --> 00:07:03,850 Lesley Hensell: these have keyword tools specifically for the Amazon marketplace, and you can put in various 74 00:07:03,850 --> 00:07:10,390 Lesley Hensell: keywords, look at different categories, and see how competitive those categories are. You might 75 00:07:10,390 --> 00:07:16,130 Lesley Hensell: find out that, yes, there are competitors for your specific product, but they might have very poor 76 00:07:16,130 --> 00:07:21,230 Lesley Hensell: ratings. They might have a listing detail page, which is like your ad page on Amazon. 77 00:07:21,410 --> 00:07:27,270 Lesley Hensell: that doesn't use all the photos, that doesn't have video, that the text is lousy. It has a 78 00:07:27,270 --> 00:07:32,570 Lesley Hensell: horrible bestseller rank. You have to figure out the whys. Is it because there's really no demand? 79 00:07:33,110 --> 00:07:38,150 Lesley Hensell: Or is it because these folks just aren't doing a good job? And fortunately, these software tools 80 00:07:38,150 --> 00:07:44,110 Lesley Hensell: will tell you, they'll rate on a scale of 1 to 10, this is the greatest listing detail page 81 00:07:44,110 --> 00:07:50,730 Lesley Hensell: ever made, or actually, this is really bad, and that's why the item isn't selling. So you play with 82 00:07:50,730 --> 00:07:56,670 Lesley Hensell: those various keywords and try and drill down and find what's that subcategory where there is 83 00:07:56,670 --> 00:08:00,838 Lesley Hensell: still an opening for competition that you can really go get some great sales. 84 00:08:00,838 --> 00:08:01,650 Kevin Mako: That's amazing. 85 00:08:01,890 --> 00:08:05,930 Kevin Mako: And the nice thing, too, is when you're looking at these people that are selling these products, 86 00:08:05,930 --> 00:08:10,970 Kevin Mako: you can think about how your product directly competes with their product. What better way to win the 87 00:08:10,970 --> 00:08:14,850 Kevin Mako: the game than having a great product? At the end of the day, that's what customers want. They want 88 00:08:14,850 --> 00:08:19,610 Kevin Mako: the product that either creates that opportunity for them or solves that pain point. So if you've made 89 00:08:19,610 --> 00:08:25,290 Kevin Mako: a better mouse trap, so to speak, or you've created a segment of that mouse trap industry, 90 00:08:25,450 --> 00:08:29,790 Kevin Mako: or as you use the garlic press, you've made some super special garlic press that does this very 91 00:08:29,790 --> 00:08:36,050 Kevin Mako: special thing. And you realize that the word garlic crusher device that never breaks is wide open for 92 00:08:36,050 --> 00:08:40,230 Kevin Mako: the taking. What an amazing opportunity for you to focus on that from a marketing perspective, 93 00:08:40,230 --> 00:08:45,330 Kevin Mako: but also build that world class product that you thought definitely beat the competitor and 94 00:08:45,330 --> 00:08:48,970 Kevin Mako: win on both fronts. I always like to look at it when you're developing a product. You want to make a better 95 00:08:48,970 --> 00:08:53,530 Kevin Mako: product than them, you also want to make better advertising or better promotion of that product 96 00:08:53,530 --> 00:08:59,050 Kevin Mako: than your competitors. If you win on both edges, then people have to buy from you at that point in time 97 00:08:59,050 --> 00:09:03,030 Kevin Mako: because you're winning on every angle. But at the end of the day, it starts with a great product. 98 00:09:03,710 --> 00:09:08,150 Lesley Hensell: And I love that you brought up advertising and promotions because the keywords that you 99 00:09:08,150 --> 00:09:12,810 Lesley Hensell: use when you develop your product, you decide how you're going to market, how you're going to 100 00:09:12,810 --> 00:09:18,950 Lesley Hensell: position, what niche it goes into. That all flows into how you build your listing detail page, 101 00:09:18,970 --> 00:09:23,530 Lesley Hensell: the keywords in the back end of that page, and even your advertising. If you buy 102 00:09:23,530 --> 00:09:30,230 Lesley Hensell: pay, pay-per-click advertising on Amazon, those keywords are important across all of these functions. 103 00:09:30,830 --> 00:09:36,090 Lesley Hensell: And by doing that keyword research on these software tools, it can give you so much insight. 104 00:09:36,550 --> 00:09:41,430 Lesley Hensell: And like you mentioned, Kevin, it'll give you insight into the competitors who are making money, 105 00:09:41,730 --> 00:09:46,730 Lesley Hensell: the ones who really are killing it in some adjacent category, and you can use those best 106 00:09:46,730 --> 00:09:48,250 Lesley Hensell: practices for your own product. 107 00:09:48,970 --> 00:10:18,790 Kevin Mako: That's amazing. Yeah, looking at those adjacent categories, especially if your product really is very proprietary or very unique. There really isn't a market, which is great because that's your opportunity. You realize, yeah, no one's really selling to this set of keywords, selling this type of product. But then looking at those accessory or nearby or adjacent industries and saying, well, what are they doing well, what are they doing poorly? And I'm going to make sure I'm doing the best of both worlds and figuring out that gap. Now, let's assume that you've figured out this gap. You've got a great product. How do you actually build and protect? 108 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:31,530 Lesley Hensell: that niche. Oh, such a great question. So there is a feature on Amazon called brand registry. And brand registry is so important for anyone 109 00:10:31,530 --> 00:10:41,510 Lesley Hensell: developing a new product that they are going to trademark. Because what you're essentially doing is declaring to Amazon, I am Lesley, this is my product. 110 00:10:41,910 --> 00:10:48,910 Lesley Hensell: This is my trademark. Mark it down. So you go through a process of registering with brand registry, just 111 00:10:48,970 --> 00:10:55,130 Lesley Hensell: like you register on Amazon and you show them your trademark paperwork. Your lawyer usually has to 112 00:10:55,130 --> 00:11:01,450 Lesley Hensell: click a button or two or whoever submitted your trademark information application. And that way 113 00:11:01,450 --> 00:11:06,970 Lesley Hensell: in the future, if you have someone come and knock off your products or try and sell on your own 114 00:11:06,970 --> 00:11:11,490 Lesley Hensell: listing, but they're selling counterfeits, you can get them removed from Amazon and have those 115 00:11:11,490 --> 00:11:17,210 Lesley Hensell: products taken down. So it is super important if you're investing all this money on design, 116 00:11:17,210 --> 00:11:23,370 Lesley Hensell: development, trademarks, patents, even, all of these things. You've got to take that next step 117 00:11:23,370 --> 00:11:28,266 Lesley Hensell: and register on brand registry so you have some tools to fight off the bad guys. That's great. 118 00:11:28,266 --> 00:11:29,130 Kevin Mako: Now, 119 00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:34,150 Kevin Mako: from a business perspective, how do you just protect against, let's say, honest competitors, people maybe with 120 00:11:34,150 --> 00:11:39,650 Kevin Mako: similar products or like we were talking about other products that may solve the problem, but in a 121 00:11:39,650 --> 00:11:47,170 Kevin Mako: different way? How do we win the game of being the best in that actual niche that we're creating using some of the 122 00:11:47,210 --> 00:11:52,500 Kevin Mako: business practices that you find as best practices on Amazon today. So there is a magical 123 00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:58,340 Lesley Hensell: period on Amazon called your honeymoon. Yes, you get to have another honeymoon, y'all, if you've 124 00:11:58,340 --> 00:12:04,900 Lesley Hensell: already gotten married and had one. This is your Amazon honeymoon. And everyone debates about how long 125 00:12:04,900 --> 00:12:12,120 Lesley Hensell: it really is. It's probably somewhere between 45 and 90 days where everything you do is treated as 126 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:17,220 Lesley Hensell: it's awesome and special and great. So no matter what you do, Amazon thinks your family. 127 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:47,220 Lesley Hensell: Fantastic just for those 45 to 90 days. So so many things you want to do right at the beginning when you get that listing up and the inventory ready to go to make sure you launch really well. The magic is the best seller rating, BSR. And there's one in every category. I know y'all have seen it before when you're shopping on Amazon. So it'll say like number one in books or number one in marketing books, but number 325 in books overall. All the subcategories have. 128 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:53,960 Lesley Hensell: have a number one. That's your focus during your honeymoon. You want to boost that BSR. So hit the ground running with 129 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:59,800 Lesley Hensell: a listing detail page that is gorgeous. You need photos of your product. Now I know you're in love with your 130 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:04,840 Lesley Hensell: product or you wouldn't have invested in it, but you can't just have pictures of your product. You need 131 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:10,760 Lesley Hensell: lifestyle images. So those are pictures of your product being used or in the setting in which they'd be 132 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:18,520 Lesley Hensell: used. Ideally, they should include, don't laugh, hot women, babies and dogs. That is what 133 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:23,420 Lesley Hensell: sells products on Amazon is hot women, babies, babies, and dogs. If you can fit in two of those, 134 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:29,420 Lesley Hensell: even better. You can have videos of your product that will also help your conversion because Amazon 135 00:13:29,420 --> 00:13:35,320 Lesley Hensell: will serve up the video in the search results on mobile. So you've got to have all this hitting the ground 136 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:40,740 Lesley Hensell: day one. You don't want to wait and like build in flight. Okay. Now I'm going to land. 137 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:46,560 Lesley Hensell: the product at Amazon. Now I'm going to start to make the page look nice. No, you need a plan where it's 138 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:52,340 Lesley Hensell: ready to go all at the beginning so you can get the most out of that honeymoon and then start with 139 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:58,980 Lesley Hensell: some advertising. So if you want to fend off these other guys like Kevin's mentioning, someone comes in right 140 00:13:58,980 --> 00:14:04,700 Lesley Hensell: after you with the same product, you need to already have a best seller ranking that is going to fend them 141 00:14:04,700 --> 00:14:09,026 Lesley Hensell: off in search results. And that's by putting in this work right at the beginning. Nice. 142 00:14:09,026 --> 00:14:10,120 Kevin Mako: That's great. Planning 143 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,380 Kevin Mako: ahead. It's always a good idea in product development in general. But of course, as you're 144 00:14:13,380 --> 00:14:17,320 Kevin Mako: getting onto these platforms, you want to win the game and you want to be the best of the best. And 145 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:22,380 Kevin Mako: you should be because you've made a great new product that is innovative, unique. You are the category 146 00:14:22,380 --> 00:14:28,540 Kevin Mako: engineer. You are the one creating this beautiful new subnitch within that category that you're in. So 147 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:34,360 Kevin Mako: we want you to win that fight. Now, the last thing that I know you talk a lot about is the idea 148 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,820 Kevin Mako: of fulfillment. So you hit the ground running. You do your planning. You're growing like crazy. Talk a bit 149 00:14:38,820 --> 00:14:43,240 Kevin Mako: about Amazon fulfillment. And then I want to touch briefly at the end before I let you go about 150 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:50,100 Lesley Hensell: your book and then we'll say goodbye. So a question to ask from the beginning is, will it ship? 151 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:57,320 Lesley Hensell: Because what you need to figure out is, is this a product that is friendly to selling on Amazon fee-wise 152 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:04,300 Lesley Hensell: if you use their fulfillment or if you use a 3PL? So the reason this is important is so many 153 00:15:04,300 --> 00:15:10,240 Lesley Hensell: built on Amazon success stories do rely on Amazon FBA, which is fulfillment by Amazon. 154 00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:16,500 Lesley Hensell: That is where you ship all your goods to an Amazon warehouse. And the beauty of it is, then they take 155 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:23,080 Lesley Hensell: over that prime delivery promise. So they're the ones delivering within two days or the next day to all of 156 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,872 Lesley Hensell: your buyers. But there are a lot of fees associated with this. 157 00:15:26,872 --> 00:15:29,380 Kevin Mako: Now, they are competitive to if you hired 158 00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:34,240 Lesley Hensell: your own staff, you're paying a 3PL, you're buying your own shipping, as long as the 159 00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:41,220 Lesley Hensell: product is not too big or hazmat. So if your product gets over certain dimensions, it can 160 00:15:41,220 --> 00:15:46,260 Lesley Hensell: push you into a higher fee category that makes you not profitable. If your product is hazmat, 161 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:52,280 Lesley Hensell: it can do the same thing. Some hazmat you can fulfill with Amazon. Some you cannot. So you really 162 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:58,240 Lesley Hensell: need to do research from the beginning to make sure that the dimensions of your product in the box or 163 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:04,280 Lesley Hensell: however it's delivered fit in the smallest category that you can manage on Amazon's 164 00:16:04,300 --> 00:16:09,160 Lesley Hensell: fulfillment systems, because when you leap into another category, it could put you in the red. 165 00:16:09,460 --> 00:16:13,160 Lesley Hensell: So just a really good thing to think of right at the beginning, because you might think you've got 166 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:19,260 Lesley Hensell: the best Amazon product ever. But if it's super big and heavy, probably best to fulfill some other way. 167 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:24,080 Kevin Mako: Great advice. Now, you wrote the book, the Amazon Incubator, which goes into a lot of these topics 168 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,460 Kevin Mako: and a lot more depth and detail. Just give us a quick highlight about that and where the listeners 169 00:16:28,460 --> 00:16:34,220 Lesley Hensell: can find a copy to buy. So the Amazon Incubator, I wrote as an antidote. 170 00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:41,140 Lesley Hensell: to some of the courses and systems out there that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. 171 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,720 Lesley Hensell: It's such a turnoff for me, especially since a lot of folks who buy those end up being my clients 172 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:52,260 Lesley Hensell: for bad reasons. Instead, what I try to offer is an inexpensive blueprint to how to sell on Amazon, 173 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:58,340 Lesley Hensell: figuring out if it's even right for you, setting your goals, setting up all the basic systems that you 174 00:16:58,340 --> 00:17:03,260 Lesley Hensell: need to have an Amazon business, and then how to grow it over time, how to use virtual assistance, 175 00:17:03,260 --> 00:17:10,240 Lesley Hensell: how to build SOPs. It answers a lot of the, can I do this and how do I do it about Amazon? 176 00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:17,220 Lesley Hensell: You can find it at all the major bookstores and especially at Amazon.com. And if you have any questions 177 00:17:17,220 --> 00:17:23,240 Lesley Hensell: or if you want some free goodies, I did a three-part video course and a workbook. If you buy 178 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:29,050 Lesley Hensell: the book, you can go to the Amazon incubator.com. Much appreciate it, Lesley. And as always, for 179 00:17:29,050 --> 00:17:32,950 Kevin Mako: listeners, I will put the links below in the show notes so anyone can just click through there. 180 00:17:33,290 --> 00:17:37,570 Kevin Mako: Thanks again for all your words of wisdom on how to sell and how to sell right on Amazon. 181 00:17:37,830 --> 00:17:39,110 Lesley Hensell: Thanks so much for having me on. 182 00:17:39,290 --> 00:17:40,430 Kevin Mako: Thanks, and we will talk soon. 183 00:17:40,710 --> 00:17:44,030 Kevin Mako: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Product Startup Podcast. 184 00:17:44,590 --> 00:17:49,570 Kevin Mako: If you found some value in the show, please do us a huge favor and hit the like button and subscribe. 185 00:17:49,570 --> 00:17:55,090 Kevin Mako: If you have any questions, guest suggestions, or anything else, feel free to reach out to us anytime 186 00:17:55,090 --> 00:17:58,830 Kevin Mako: at our email, podcast at MakoDesign.com. 187 00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:03,270 Kevin Mako: This show is hosted by Kevin Mako, North America's leading expert on 188 00:18:03,290 --> 00:18:07,910 Kevin Mako: product development for hardware startups. And the podcast is produced by Mako Design, 189 00:18:08,150 --> 00:18:12,410 Kevin Mako: the original firm providing end-to-end consumer product development services tailored 190 00:18:12,410 --> 00:18:17,590 Kevin Mako: specifically to hardware startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Take your product from 191 00:18:17,590 --> 00:18:26,210 Kevin Mako: idea to store shelves at MakoDesign.com. That's M-A-K-O-Design.com. Thanks for joining and see you again soon.