18 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Amazon Seller Central Consultant
What we cover in this blog
Whether you’re new to selling on Amazon or are looking to perfect your online store, chances are you don’t yet know the best ways to optimize your listings to maximize revenue. Although the Seller Central platform may seem straightforward, it is often advantageous to hire a Seller Central consultant to help you get the most out of the service. Below, we outline what questions you should ask a potential consultant before hiring them to elevate your Amazon business.
If you’re looking for your first Amazon consultant check out our guidehere.
What does a Seller Central Consultant do
An Amazonseller central consultantis someone who deeply understands Amazon’s seller platform and offers advice, guidance and support services to Amazon sellers. Many of these services include business and advertising consulting as well as Amazon PPC optimization and Amazon account management. You can count on an experienced and knowledgeable Seller Central Consultant to help you grow your sales and expand your reach.
Where can I look for a Seller Central Consultant
There are a few standard places you can look to find an Amazon Seller Central consultant. These include Amazon agencies, freelance websites such as Upwork and Fiverr, online forums, and social media groups.
18 Questions to ask an Amazon Seller Central Consultant
When hiring an Amazon Seller Central consultant it’s critical you ask the right questions to ensure they can help with your vision. Below, we outline 18 of themost important questionsyou should ask a potential Seller Central consultant.
1. What can you do that we can’t?
When paying for a service, you’ll want to get the most out of it, especially if it’s’ for something that someone on your team could do for less. With this question, you’ll be able to gauge what an Amazon sales consultant’s unique value proposition is.
2. What are your services?
From Amazon PPC management to in-depth financial analyses, Amazon Seller Central consultants can specialize in a broad range of services. You’ll want to know exactly what an Amazon agency or Seller Central consultant is offering and whether or not these services match your needs.
3. What do you specialize in?
This question builds on the previous one since you’ll not only be looking into what theycando but what it is this particular consultant isbestat. Some Amazon Seller Central consultants specialize in different markets, product categories, and aspects of Seller Central. You’ll want to evaluate their expert-level services based on your needs
For example, if you want toexpand to Amazon Canada, you’ll want to hire a Seller Central consultant who has a deep understanding of the Canadian market, Canadian laws, and Canadian consumer needs.
4. Why should we choose you over other options?
Again,questions like thiswill help you better understand their unique value proposition. There is no shortage in competition when it comes to Amazon Seller Central consultants, so make sure you are getting the best person for the job based on your needs.
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5. What results can we expect?
This question will set the expectations for both parties. By outlining the desired results from the start, the Amazon Agency or Seller central consultant you choose to work with knows what to aim for and you’ll know whatoutcomes to expect.
6. How many people will be working on my account?
Asking this will give you an opportunity to evaluate how organized the team of Seller Central Consultants or Amazon agency is.
You can then evaluate the services they are offering against the number of people assigned to your account. More team members working on your account might be desirable if you are getting help in several areas such as Amazon PPC, SEO, and market research. However, if you have multiple people doing the same types of tasks, it may cause confusion when communicating along with inconsistencies in the results.
7. Do you have anyone on your team that used to work at Amazon?
A Seller Central consultant that has experience at Amazon will be able to provide far more value than one who doesn’t. Individuals that have worked at Amazon know the ins and outs of the company and can therefore better optimize your Amazon strategy.
8. Do you communicate with Amazon?
You’ll want to know whether an Amazon consulting agency has any open lines of communication with staff at the eCommerce giant. An answer to this question lets you know if they are up to date with the latest changes and processes at Amazon.
9. Do you have a portfolio or collection of case studies available showcasing your previous work?
Requesting a portfolio/work samples allows you to vet an Amazon Seller Central consultant’s previous work and validate the claims they make regarding their achievements/capabilities.
10. What KPIs does your team use to measure a project’s success?
By inquiring about their key performance indicators, or KPIs, you’ll better understand an Amazon Seller Centralconsultant’s measures of successand how they may differ from your own.
It’s crucial you understand whether or not their KPIs match your ultimate business goals. If for example, their KPI is profit, you’ll want to dig into whether their ACOS is optimized for profitability or if they are mishandling the advertising budget.
11. How much time do you expect before seeing results?
If you are given timelines that seem unrealistic to you, then it can be a cause for concern as it takes plenty of effort to optimize and see results. Whether you choose to work with an Amazon PPC agency or afinancial consultant, you’ll want to make sure they only promise realistic outcomes.
12. Are there any things I need to do to ensure success?
Working with a consultant is a two-way street. Therefore, it’s important you understand what your Amazon Seller Central consultant requires from you and your team to ensure that the working relationship is healthy and effective.
13. What is your knowledge of Amazon SEO?
Optimizing your listingsis a must when trying to minimize your ad spend. Your Amazon Seller Central consultant should have knowledge of SEO to ensure that they are effective in optimizing the different aspects of your Amazon business.
14. How do you win the buy box?
The “buy box” is one of the most important parts of operating a successful Amazon business. Winning the buy box is a goal most sellers strive for and any Amazon Seller Central consultant worth consideration should know the fundamentals of it and have a strategy ready.
15. What tools do you use?
It is standard in the industry to use premium software tools for increased effectiveness and efficiency. You’ll want to do research on some popular and reputable tools before you meet with a Seller Central consultant so you can have a better idea of whether or not they are using the best software available for the job.
16. What are your optimization best practices?
You do not want to hire a Seller Central consultant or Amazon Agency that uses “black hat” techniques to get results. In short,black hat practicesare those that go against Amazon’s policies and can get you banned from the platform. This may include providing false information, soliciting reviews, IP infringement, and more.
17. What is your pricing structure?
It’s vital you understand an Amazon agency’s pricing structure as the more you spend on consulting, the more you’ll be eating into your profits. Weigh the potential benefits vs. the costs for each Seller Central consultant you consider.
18. What type of business is your agency best positioned to help succeed on Amazon?
This ties into the question of specialization. Every Amazon agency has a type of client that they are best suited to serve and thus you’ll want to ensure that the agency’s services are best suited for your business’s needs.
Conclusion
When considering an Amazon Sales consultant, it’s of utmost importance you gauge their expertise and abilities before purchasing their services. The end goal of hiring any service for your business should always be to increase revenue in the long run rather than eat into profits, which is why asking the right questions early on can help you determine whether or not a consultant can meet your needs.
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