Sophie Howard
Is she the Amazon Selling Queen? ?
After some serious research, here's what I discovered with my team.
1. What makes Sophie's course unique?
Over the years, I have reviewed many Amazon FBA courses.
Sophie has some great hacks that are practical and we have never seen them before.
She was in Bali on vacation.
She was astonished to find high-quality incense sticks while visiting a monastery.
They were very popular with her.
Locate the supplier.
A deal was reached.
I bought the incense bulk and had them shipped to a FBA warehouse.
The rest is history.
This is FBA in a nutshell . But why was it such a smart move?
Because it isn't available online, no one can duplicate her product.
She also eliminated all middlemen = better profit margins
It's quite brilliant. We'll be discussing more of her hacks in this review ....
2.Avoid fake reviews
First, anyone can post anything online.
Fake reviews can sometimes be left by competitors.
These reviews focus on her aggressive advertising...
They didn't take the course.
This is a BS review.
Sophie has many new tips that we didn't see anywhere else.
These are just a few of the topics we'll be discussing. Continue reading...
Some people are so skeptical about everything.
They look for any reason to hate or believe that anyone selling high-ticket courses is a fraud.
That's nonsense.
This high-end course changed my life. It allowed me to quit my 9-5 job in 2014 and allow me to start a new career.
3. Course price and refund policy
$3.495 (USD), or 4 monthly payments $995
What is their refund policy?
It's not very clear.
We found the following public statement after some digging:
"If you have any doubts about setting up an Amazon business, let us know within seven days to get your money back. "
Because I am fully aware of what I am investing before I pay, I don't ask for refunds.
I don't want to be the guy who buys a course and then goes through it all, only to request a refund months later.
If you don't do the work, these programs won't work.
Some customers have had to contact them several times before receiving their refund.
This is the person to contact: [email protected]
4. What is private label? How can you make it work for you?
You basically take products that aren't branded from Chinese suppliers, and then you make a brand.
The whole package: branding, packaging, marketing...
This child explains it very well.
You have to be creative in coming up with packaging and marketing messages that make your product stand out.
Pro Tip: Take a look at your competitors and read the negative reviews.
Next tip: Combine products.
5. Is Sophie Howard's tea company legitimate? We investigated it...
She gives a number of examples, including one about Higher Tea, her private label...
Higher Tea offers premium loose leaf green, teas made from black, herbal, fruit and other health-teas. Higher Tea.com offers a wide range of delicious, healthy teas. Made in the USA. Available at Amazon.com
You can find this on her website.
But if you search it on Amazon,
Even if you search for her brand name, your brand is not on Amazon's first page.
It is therefore very doubtful that she is actually making any money with this private label brand.
6. My main gripe... My main gripe...Lack of real-life examples
For me, real-life examples are the best way to learn.
It is also how a coach can show that he has been successful in the business he is teaching.
Here's a call from someone who called Sophie's team
They were asked to show real-life examples and were rejected.
It's understandable. They don't want others to copy their products.
However, if coaches are successful, shouldn’t they be able at least to give specific examples?
I display dozens of my lead generation sites and don't worry if people copy them.
I mean here it is: grandrapidstree.com
It's been my pride and joy for many years.
It has not been copied by anyone else... but if they did, I wish them all the best.
Transparency is important. This is one reason our lead-generation course has been so popular.
7. What is the average time it takes to make money?
Private label FBA will take approximately 1 year before you start to see any profits. Here's why...
You will first need to order samples (6-8 weeks delivery time).
It is important to find a reliable supplier who offers quality products.
You'll lose a lot of money and get burned otherwise.
Sophie's Pro Tip: Don't ask for samples!
Sophie doesn't order samples. She requests a batch of products to be sent to her review network, which will then test for quality.
She said that suppliers will send you nice samples if you order just 1-2 samples.
You can ask for more quantities to ensure consistency in quality.
After you have found your supplier, it is time to order your inventory. This takes approximately 6-8 weeks. Some suppliers report longer freight times because of COVID restrictions.
It takes approximately 6+ months to set everything up.
It could take 3-6+ months for your listing to rank organically in Amazon.
That is assuming everything goes as planned.
My team and I spent 1.5 years before we realized any profit.
We launched 3 private-label products simultaneously, of which 2 failed.
8. The key takeaways
I have taken FBA courses before, so I took only notes about what I found new or more helpful in her modules. These are my top takeaways.
1 Build Brands That Other Companies Want to Buy
"Create something that's hard for the big, cumbersome brands to do, so that competition is lower and the brand can be sold at a premium later on" -Sophie
Envisioning The End-Game Of Your Potential Product
Create a product so good that other companies want to buy it. Her tea brand was approached by another company to buy.
3 Keys
Research the larger players in the niche
Knowing what debates affect current and future product consumption (Ex. millenials want to know their products are responsibly sourced)
Ask yourself if the product can be sold to a larger brand
Go after niches that have a lot of passion, with a clear demographic
For exaple, a niche with highly engaged Facebook group
Then create "Extreme Differentiation" from your competitors
A great product selection can be visualized in this way
2 Sophie's VA training & hiring process in 6 steps
Virtual Assists are criticual when you begin to scale, or you have enough money coming in that you can afford to hire people to take over certain tasks. My fav places to hire are onlinejobs.ph & upwork.
Here's Sophie's 6 steps when hiring & training, I love the part about hiring few VA's at a time and then picking the one that does the best work
3) Take a look at Forgotten Product Sources Places
Earlier in this review we talked about how Sophie went on a trip to Bali and then spontaneously found the incense to sell on FBA.
She still loves this strategy of traveling to remote places to source products because she'll be able to find ever-green products that will last more longterm because its just that much harder for other sellers to source it.
Not everyone can travel across the world to find products, so Sophie recommends few other places that most people are not looking in.
IDEAS FOR PRODUCT SEARCHING...
4) Search for Forgotten Product Sources
Earlier in this review we talked about how Sophie went on a trip to Bali and then spontaneously found the incense to sell on FBA.
Not everyone can travel across the world to find products, so Sophie recommends few other places that most people are not looking in.
IDEAS FOR PRODUCT SEARCHING...
5) Top Seven Factors That Influence Amazon Listing Rankings
Its not just about reviews... the title & listing has to be highly optimized...
click-through rate (must have good product title)
conversion rate (must have great photos & product description / copy)
6) Title Optimization: Do's and Don’ts
7) 3 Types of photos that you should have
Around 6-8 photos, here's the 3 types you should have
2 product only photos
2-4 lifestyle shots
2 or more photos of people enjoying/using your product
8) How do you get your first sale?
Sophie recommends, at first get your friends and family to buy your product and then give you 5 star reviews.
Then start spending $10 per day on ads, only increase ad spend only after you did your due dilligence and it makes sense to do so
Here's 7 metrics you should constantly be monitoring
9. What do Sophie's students think about her program? (Reviews and Criticism)
Many fake reviews are out there.
It is a red flag when complaints are repeated online.
As you can see, every program has its pros and cons.
Pros
Cons
These are authentic reddit reviews (reviews from verified customers).
They could have been more specific about the cost of starting an Amazon FBA private label company.
Let me explain it for you.
10. How much does it cost for a FBA company to be successful?
In total, you can expect to spend between $10K and $15K+ on start-up costs.
(And that's without even considering the $3500 Sophie's ...)course cost).
11. How do you succeed with Amazon FBA?
FBA is a business where even professionals fail to select the right products.
Because of the many unknown variables
Although you may have received a sample, and thought it was excellent quality, customers disagreed and said they didn't like it.
Oder the software metrics were wrong and there was not enough demand for your product
Your attempt to improve the product or "bundle" a few products made your brand less desirable for whatever reason.
Sophie even claims to have sold 500 products
Are you sure that each product was a top seller?
Not at all.
Many of these products didn't sell well.
Amazon FBA is the best way to succeed.
It is essential to test, test, and keep testing
To pull off this feat, you need a decent amount of disposable income
FBA may not be right for you if your finances are tight.
12. Private Label was my success story, but it wasn't for me.
My team and I spent 1.5 years trying to crack the code of private labels and make it profitable.
It was a difficult, tiring, and costly journey.
Fortunately, I had passive income sources (digital real estate) that gave me an increase in income every month.
This FBA business has a monthly net profit of $3K-4K.
It took me a while to realize that my digital estate business and this blog were far more profitable uses of my time.
The main problems with the FBA business
Conclusion: Have a look at the business model...
FBA is the Olympics of ecommerce.
Compete with the top e-commerce players around the globe
Each year it gets harder.
There are other ways to make extra money online, however.
This site is worth a look:
Since 2015, it's been paying me $2000 a month.
It is so easy to forget about.
These are lead generation sites in your area...
They bring in leads (customers), for plumbers, roofers, electricians, etc.
Only a few companies are in competition with you in each city.
Not worldwide like Amazon FBA.
This site has been my property for more than 6 years. It is still at the top of Google's search results.