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[LWN] 🤦‍♂️ I've Never Been So Embarrassed...

[LWN] 🤦‍♂️ I've Never Been So Embarrassed...

Lunch With Norm's Weekly Newsletter - Prime Day Talks & More

July 01, 2024 • Estimated Read Time: 12 minutes

🤦‍♂️ My Business Dinner Nightmare…

This newsletter is proudly sponsored by:

What you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:

🤦‍♂️ My Business Dinner Nightmare [True Story]
🔥 A Once in a Lifetime Experience
😮 Is Amazon Now Competing with TEMU!?
📢 Find My Amazon Product Challenge
🎙️ What to REALLY Expect This Prime Day

One of the best ways to expand your reach to new customers and grow your business is through Walmart Marketplace.

You’ll get to leverage the platform of a household name and find millions of monthly shoppers looking for products just like yours on Walmart.com.

As one of the fastest growing eCommerce platforms in the world, Walmart Marketplace makes scaling any eCommerce business simple with:

Zero monthly or set up fees
Competitive commission structures
Flexible solutions for fulfillment, advertisement, pricing, and more

And, if you become a seller today, you can save up to 50% on referral and fulfillment fees.*

*Conditions apply

🤦‍♂️ My Business Dinner Nightmare [True Story]

Back in the 1990’s, I was working with this big Fortune 500 company.

At the headquarters, I got to know one of the higher-up executives, a senior VP of purchasing.

We became friends.

I took him to a nice restaurant to say thank you for everything he had done for me.

It was my very first time going out with him and our wives.

Back then, you could take people out; nowadays, I feel like it's frowned upon.

I took him out, and we had a very nice (expensive) dinner.

Everything was going great.

And then that bloody check came…

I whipped out my card to pay.

There was NO WAY I was letting this man pay for this dinner.

The waiter picked up the card and left.

A few minutes later, the waiter came back and said, “Um, sir, we have a problem with your card… It was declined.”

I could feel the blood drain out of my face.

“Are you sure? There’s no way!”

That was my only card.

I had no cash.

There were no ATMs.

I was in full panic mode.

Was this going to end the relationship?

Did I just ruin everything?

This was the one person I wanted to impress the most, yet somehow I managed to completely embarrass myself (and in front of my wife).

He ended up looking at me, kind of smirking, and said, “Don't worry, I got it.”

He reassured me it was okay.

Miraculously, it really was okay with him.

We ended up going out to several dinners after that… And yes, I paid.

We kept in touch, and we became very good business friends.

Remember to make the best out of bad situations.

At the time, I thought this incident was going to end my relationship with him. It was so bloody embarrassing.

But it didn't, and in a way, it made our relationship stronger.

We were able to go on and thrive in this Fortune 500 company.

Sometimes, things aren’t as bad as you think.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter.

— Norm

What would you have done?

Share with me a time when something similar happened to you!

Results From Last Week’s Poll

🗞️ AMAZON NEWS & UPDATES 🗞️

What’s happening in the world of Amazon today…

📈 Amazon to launch discount section with direct shipping from China, the Information reports - Read More
🤖 Amazon is reportedly working on its own AI chatbot that might be smarter than ChatGPT - Read More
🔥 TikTok to compete with Amazon Prime Day through its own July sale - Read More
🛑 Amazon sidesteps carbon offset standard Bezos helped fund - Read More
🔍 Gen Z, millennials are driving membership growth at Sam’s Club - Read More

⛰️ ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP THROUGH THE ROCKIES ⛰️

Join Kevin King and I on an incredible train journey, through the Rockies this August.

This is an experiential Mastermind – No Presentations. Just great times with like-minded entrepreneurs, bonding and sharing amazing experiences.

16 seats only. Don’t miss out. Learn more → Collective Minds Society Sign Up

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE BEARDED GUY?

Can you find Norm in the picture below? Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see the answer!

“FIND MY AMAZON PRODUCT” CHALLENGE!

Struggling to figure out what product to sell on Amazon?

Drowning in data and don’t know where to start?

Join the FREE 5-Day “Find My Amazon Product” Challenge!

Izabella Ritz is an Amazon expert with 9 years of experience with multiple successful exits. She is also a Lunch With Norm friend & guest.

Izabella excels at the toughest part of selling on Amazon: Product Research 🔍.

She’s running a Zoom webinar every day next week at 12pm EDT to walk you through finding your next winning product, step-by-step.

Plus, you’ll get bonus perks like FREE 7-day trials to Voc.ai, Data Dive, SmartScout, and exclusive access to AI Research Assistants.

Limited Zoom seats available, so claim your spot today!

When: Monday July 8th - Friday July 12th, each day @ 12-1pm EDT

WHAT YOU MISSED LAST WEEK

👇 Highlights from last week’s Lunch With Norm podcast episode👇

IS PRIME DAY A WASTE OF TIME? KEVIN KING

Watch the full episode here

7 Key Takeaways:

Prime Day Skepticism:
- Is Prime Day really effective for sellers in 2024? We discuss the effort and costs involved might not be worth the hype unlike what many gurus say.
Inventory Management:
- It's crucial to ensure sufficient inventory to meet the increased demand during Prime Day. This needs to be balanced with realistic expectations to avoid overstocking. Have ample inventory, especially for seasonally relevant items.
Double-Check Product Listings:
- Sellers should double-check their product listings for accuracy and optimize titles, descriptions, and keywords. Using tools like Helium 10 can help ensure all listing elements are optimized and complete.
Price Adjustment Strategies:
- Only lower prices if you aim to clear inventory or if you think a discount might significantly improve your product’s ranking. Be careful against lowering prices for best sellers with decent ranks unless it's for a strategic reason.
Avoiding Excessive Spending on Ads:
- Be cautious in spending excessively on ads and promotions. Your strategies need to have a clear return on investment rather than getting caught up in the excitement of Prime Day.
Pre-Event Planning:
- Try starting campaigns two weeks before Prime Day. This includes email campaigns to inform customers about upcoming deals and maintain sales momentum leading up to Prime Day.
Alternative Sales Channels:
- TikTok and Walmart are both competing during Prime Day. Check out what other marketplaces are doing and see if there is an opportunity that other sellers are missing.

	Billion Dollar SellersCutting Through the Clutter for the World's Top Amazon & E-Commerce Sellers

DON’T MISS THIS WEEK’S EPISODE!

You can watch all episodes on YouTube or on my Facebook page at 12 pm ET on Wednesday!

Guests and topics are subject to change*

Wednesday - CREATING CUSTOM AMAZON A+ CONTENT IN SECONDS

About George Reid:

George helps Amazon brands convert more traffic into customers, using conversion optimized design.

Join us us 12 pm ET on Wednesday! If you have a question for Jake, email me and I’ll make sure we ask it on Wednesday 😎

Watch LIVE 👉 Sign up here

The Latest Marketing Misfits Episode

Join Kevin King, Norm Farrar, and special guest Mark De Grasse, former President of Digital Marketer, on this exciting episode of Marketing Misfits. In this episode, Mark shares his incredible digital marketing journey. Hear how his early love of content and passion for branding propelled him into the digital marketing world. Now, find out how he is adapting to this new world of AI using lessons from the past.