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Sales Process & Managing Inventory

many of you might remember Natalie from last time. I, um this I met Natalie through morgan. She's a good friend of Morgan who you're gonna meet soon as well. And Natalie and I were here in a hotel room. I, too, am wearing yoga pants. This is sometimes what you have. What happens when you do these interviews? And Natalie and I were talking instagram way back when because she was not on instagram. She was on eBay and she moved her whole business over to Instagram after Maurren and I convinced her how great it would be for her business. So her business is the retail rebellion. You guys had seen the bio that we talked about earlier. And, um, Natalie is already to share with us how she is selling in making money in instagram. So let's welcome Natalie. Hey, Natalie. How are you? Great. How are you? Good. I'm excited for everyone to learn from you. So Natalie was on our show last time. Some of you may remember her, and I want to talk with you. Um, you know specifically how you're selling an i...

nstagram. We want you to dive in really deep to exactly what you're sale processes because everyone listening wants to know how to make money in Instagram. And you're the perfect example of that. Okay, so I guess I'll just I'll start from the get go over how a sale will start House sale ends so Well, the first thing is, I have to be posting the right type of item in order for my sale to happen. So my type of business is actually very broad. I do design a resale. So a lot of the designers are not necessarily to my target target audience. And I know on Instagram who my target audience is and that's kind of young girls are between the ages of about 12 to 35 who love specific designers. And so I know when I pick what type of designer I want to put up or what item I put up based on that. So I know for a fact that I get a pair of Tory Burch flats, I gotta post them on Instagram. And so I go and I post them and then my second step after posting them is putting a hash tag on them so that they're easy to be found when people are looking through my page because if you scroll through my page, I have 500 posts. So it's hard to see what is available and what is not. Or, you know, depending on let's have a business, you have what is in your inventory and what's just kind of quotes or inspirations of yours, depending on how you're targeting your audience. And so it's just let users know what's available. I have created a unique hash tag, which is CI are are available. No one else uses it. And whatever I comment under my post, I right she are available, which allows you then to delete that comment once items gone so girls know when they quick on t are available, those are all the things that are available for sale. So what say this girl comes onto my page? Who's going through in your speed? Sees that pair of flats. She loves shoes, and she'll then comment with her email on my business runs that when someone says, How do I buy these, or how do I get this? I primarily just let them know that the easiest way to get them is to comment with your email on about having people you know, go through my eBay page, find that pair of shoes is a lot harder. It's much easier, Joe say, Hey, shoot me or email And then I take that email and I make an invoice. I used PayPal, which I find very easy to keep track of my orders and to keep track of who's paid and I can actually post and print labels shipping labels from. There also is it's a very useful tool, and I go, I make it invoice for them. I put in their email address. I put information about what the item was that they were buying. I actually have a little default that has my return policy, which in my case is 14 days. It's important to a lot of girls want to know, and then they move on, and I I will send them the invoice, and they have 24 hours to pay their invoice with a lot of times or something that's really popular, they'll actually be a big list of people well, common under and say, Oh, can I Second back tonight. Third that all the list of 10 people that are on a list hoping that that person doesn't pay within 24 hours. So you have to make sure you have that boundary of I have. This is my limit. Because people don't get angry if you know something goes awry. So that's what we wish for you. It's 24 hours. Yes. Yeah. And did it take you a while to establish kind of your rules within your business? Like, what were you doing before you have these hard core? This is the way I do it. And this is what works. So I've noticed if I have a girl, I'm feeling a lot of times with with people between the ages of 18 22 they might not have $500 for a purse that I have for so that they want. So a lot of times they will comment and say I actually getting paid on Friday. Do you mind holding this on Friday? And I I do I allow that I'm not so hard core 24 hours, but, um, I work with everyone. But the way that I came up with this was because I noticed that a lot of times girls would pay their invoice three days later or they wouldn't pay their in vote. Was it all? And I have a list of girls waiting. So how am I supposed to know if I can have a potential sale of in this first person? Never pays. Then I could lose my potential sales. So I decided 24 hours is pretty fair. And if the person commented, then I think that they would look at Instagram and get, especially if they were playing a purchasing something. And they get the notification in their email as well. So if they norther email and ignore their instagram, I mean 24 hours was made sense straight. That's good. I like that a lot. That's really great. And so you use several interesting strategies to keep track of your marketplace. So because we're talking, we're calling this a store a marketplace, because now he is definitely using this as a storefront, and I wanted you to share some of them with the audience you share with me. It's it's keeping that V I P list and reaching out to fashion bloggers, and you have buzz agents. So can you talk about each one of those? Sure, definitely. So the first thing I think you mentioned there is my V I p less. Yes, I comment. I put a paid a post op, maybe want the recent months where I ask people, What did you in search of? Because I want to know what the designers are that these people are looking for. Or if you're selling jewelry for saying necklaces, what's a design they're looking for? There was a huge anchor faith anchor popularity that's going on now, So that could be something that you would use. Probably. What do you guys in search of people are gonna say? I want everything anchor. And so when I keep track of those people and what they say they want Tory Burch, Louis Vuitton. The moment I get that in my shop, I look through my demands and I comment. I grabbed their names, their instagram names, and I poached them right underneath the poster that grab their attention. It gets on their on their phone or whatever they're most likely phone or IPad Weber using with Instagram, and that way they know that it's available what they're looking for and they usually purchase. So I have Tory Burch flats flying. They'll Selvin seconds because I have that. I want to let people know. What do you insert joke? I put all those people under the moment I don't becomes available. What expect were really helped and branching off of that. A lot of girls were getting frustrated, actually, because they weren't getting to the following five and they were missing big designers because they might have turned off their instagram notifications. And so I'm getting frustrated buyers commenting like I really wanted this purse. I really wanted to some stops that I missed it and it happens over and over and over again. I would say 75 75% of my posts have girls you've commented, saying Oh my gosh, I can't believe Miss this. And so I thought, another way to get there, you know, get get their attention that that sale is to create, um, and email that I also did, which is I get girls emails and I see what they're interested in. And I have a email that I send out. Everyone wants their specific things that come in the store that are really high demand another process. I think he mentioned was reaching out of fashion bloggers. If you search the hashtag blogger or it's something similar prepping native, you have some proper gear. You're looking for people who are commenting and posting that kind of stuff. Those are the people that will have a following that are interested in that type of item. Right? So I asked them. Oh, I noticed you're a blogger. I noticed your fashion blogger. I'm scrolling through the photos. I mean, this girl has a picture of all the designers I sell, and I asked them I said it would offer Would you accept $20 gift card to my store if you post something about my store or is there anything in my store you're interested in? That I would be able to provide your really great discount on if you were just post about it. And I've Brian quite a bit of followers from there because these bloggers, the girls selling the bloggers like that fashion. So it is a perfect connection between between me and those followers that will be purchasing stuff for me. So yes, So you're you're really OK. So a couple of things that you are doing are just awesome. I love that you are strategically tagging back to people who missed what you sold, but still want that brand. So whether it's Louis Vuitton or Tory Burch Michael Cores, what are some other big brands? So you know what your big brands are, right? Yeah. So if they've missed it, you've kept track of their names so that you can then tagged them when you have something with that brand again. So you're bringing them back to life and getting their attention on what you're selling. You've also created email list. So where you capturing their email from PayPal? Yes, from PayPal. And I actually put a few post up I say on I leave those posted by I tagged. She are available under a Louis Vuitton first and under a territory Flats and I have girls come minting like, Oh, are these still available? And I come back, Actually, no, but I get them very often. So if you give me your email address, I'll post it on my email serve, which they're the first ones to get the notification. That's only comes in. And I had I lunch. I had two news emails come out. This is a new thing for May and from the Chew. It had three sales over $1000 total. So it's a small change, but it is a big impact, so OK, so when was it? Do you remember Natalie? When you first got on Instagram, you were just on eBay. Has it been more than a year? Yes, I think it's It's been about a year since I think September. Okay, so and then when you were on last time on creative life, do you remember what your numbers were? Your followers? Oh, my followers. I think it was like Chew 1000 I want to say And where are you now? I'm just under 4000. I think you've doubled your followers, and you don't have to share your numbers at all with your revenue. But has your revenue doubled or has there been a significant increase in the amount of money that you're making? Definitely. EBay was e still use eBay for sure, but I used instagram kind of a compliment. And now I would say it's 1/2 my business. Uh, still, many sales doubled in sales in the past few months. It just grows and grows, and the repeat customers are the ones who are really the most awesome in that case also. So it's been all benefit and and a little bit of heart. It's hard work, but the benefits are much greater than their work. So So I want everyone to know that Natalie is getting her masters in systems management. Is that right? A systems engineering engineering manager bitten G. W. So she's a student. I think she's in one of the rooms. Are you in a college room? Right there? This is my office. I'm not teaching assistant. Also. Okay, so I want you to know that Natalie is a full time student as well as, um, making you know, a living doing this that started on eBay. And she's really turned it into How many hours a day you spending working an instagram now, with a part time? The whole business is definitely a part time job. I spend maybe a few hours I would say about an hour, two hours a day on instagram, kind of gathering all and putting all the invoices. But then it comes to the packing in the shipping of the items which adds more time. It's definitely a part time business, but it's worth every minute you spend on it. That's that's great. Okay, so another question I have for you and then we can open up questions to everyone else is. So you've had a lot of success with giveaways, and you talked about it a little bit. How do you track those give away? So you mentioned the bloggers, then are you? Are you giving away good stuff or you're giving away things that just aren't selling? So let's talk about your give aways because we talked about contests a little bit earlier, and I think this will be helpful. So contests are gold. And in my in my business, gold, I get so many followers and so many sales when I give away uh, countless sales, I don't want to give away. Actually, three days ago for Creative what I was thinking about creative love. If you send an example of a giveaway and play, I've definitely had at least 300 new followers, and I've had three sales that I know are new brand new customers and that's awesome have been two or three days and the way that you make a giveaway is to use the best item you have, and it could be a little painful like to me. Right now, I'm giving away a Tory Burch purse, which I would love to keep, and a lot from girls would love to pay, like $200 for. But that is what's going to bring in the people that I really want. Girls who love Tory Burch girls who want that purse. If I have something blob, it's not selling that. Not many people are gonna make the effort toe repost what I have. That's just not going to work. So they're so happy to be re posting about Tory Burch there chatting their friends and their post that keep getting notifications of people tiding people within people in my post, getting more people to enter. So, Natalie, because we talked about contest earlier, you talk about how you do your contest, your posting strategy for that contest. What are the three things that you're asking people to do or the repost piece of it? Okay, so I have a photo that I make and that photo has to be very appealing, and it has to have your nice item in it, and I actually use can va. I love campus. You can create a beautiful photo that looks just spot on. It looks like some graphic designer made it. And I use that, uh, make it look gorgeous appealing. And you guys tell them what you want to do in order to enter your give away. So I let them know I want you to follow me. And I want you to repost this picture and you have to write in the description that you're you're letting you know you're entering the giveaway That way. I know when someone's looking at that post, they can see for my graphics and things being given away, they can click on my name or the person should have tagged easily, get to me and re follow me. And now they're also spreading the world word to their network. And so once they do that, I can I get tag so I can see that they've entered. I can go. I can copy their name and keep track of the different names. Everyone who's entered and I use a randomizer actually to pick the winner of the end. So I have my entire no document of all the entries. Ah, that I expect to maybe hopefully reach like 5 600 I've got 103 days, so I can imagine she go up bigger. Um And then I have a randomizer that picks the winner. And from you know, from there I get more followers and more. Sounds like I've mentioned Do use random number dot org's. Is that what you use? Yeah, there's actually a list randomizer newly type in Google lists. Randomizer. The most efficient way of doing this is usually to use some type of software a program. But in my case, I just can't really afford that. And I'm sure a lot of your cases you're starting off on Instagram. You can't really afford that either. So this is the best way to keep track and be fair. Yes, So let me just let everyone listening that random number dot Or guess what I use and you want to take a screenshot when you do that it if you have 10 people that entered and it it generates the number of the winner. So if you're gonna click down, um, and just choose somebody, It tells you the number and I take a screenshot unless your rules are different than you can. You know, just tell people based on the rules. This is who want. So you might say if you repost it x amount of times you might win. But you want to be totally legitimate with how you're picking that winner and have documentation. I've heard problems. Some people where, you know, they were picking their friends and having their friends kind of repost for them. And you want to be genuine and authentic with who you're picking. Definitely. And another suggestions. A lot of people have giveaway accounts. They have accounts that are not their main accounts, but account that they've made just for giveaways, which is not It does. That doesn't to me does not meet my requirements for my give away. I want you to personally on your account hood up how happy you are about this giveaway. I don't want your giveaway account that has 10 followers supposed it. So those I usually don't qualify as entries. Just just a tipper for someone who finds that problem, which you're not gonna get much growth from someone who with 10 followers has a get away account, and then they're the ones that would Yeah, that's that's that's a good thing to hear. I want to open it up now. Two questions, because I'm sure, um, we have some here and maybe with the, um, online audience as well. So yes, I loved that tip that you gave about finding reaching out to bloggers and connecting with their audiences. And my question is, how do you find the bloggers? How do you find them? The How do you find them to reach out to them. So, uh, 11 problem that I have with Instagram is that ah, lot of foreign accounts are using hashtags that flood the hashtag market. And so when you're when you're clicking and searching Blogger, you're going to get a lot of posts that are just, you know, oh, broad accounts that are kind of junk. They're not meaningful to you. It's not as clean anymore. So what happens is you might need to be more creative with how you find the blogger by thinking about what they would hash tag. And so, in my case, crappy fashion or Tory Burch lover kind of different hashtags you can think of in your head a combination of things that someone was a blogger might use. And I've had a lot of success with that preppy poppy lover. Preppy fashion. I've found most of my bloggers that way. By searching those hash like that, I think are gonna be something that those bloggers views and then to reach out to the blocker. Just about self of that, if you comment on their posts is usually less legitimate. What I would do is I like, on their account, you can tell they're blogger, cause they will say they're a walker in the description. They're gonna usually provide a link to their blawg, click on their block and use their contact page or use their email by direct messaging them or commenting on their posts. You seem less legitimate. You're gonna get less fruit that way. And I found that out the hard way. Oh, that's very good. So you're doing You're emailing them. So you're going right to their website? Definitely. Thank you. Yes, Some questions online about giveaways, elegant K B is asking Do you ever give away gift cards? I had customers asking for them in my next contest. I suspect they're teenagers, though. What do you think about that? Naturally. So I actually gave away a gift card at one point, and I found that I the gift card to the place that I was giving away. I think it was a Victoria secret one. I did have ah, decent amount of fruit from that. But it wasn't. It wasn't contact direct to my company and my kind of, uh uh, repertoire. I am a designer reseller, and I should have my item be a designer, something that I'm reselling. So by giving away gift card, it might not be as legitimate, And you might get more junk followers. I like to call them junk followers there. People who will follow you because they want to win the give away. And then they're gonna unf all you once they don't win. And those aren't the kind of people you want to attract. And I found that people that you can attract and have less people on following you is by having more genuine giveaways that are more true to yourself. But if you're referring to a gift card to your shop, then by all means that's also a good giveaway. But you're going to see definitely less fruit from that. Because people are less interested in in your shop. Sorry, but they probably are in case of Tory Burch Day. Might want toe, you know, get the designer over The gift card to your shop is what I'm trying to say. Another question from Chris is joining us online and saying, What have you found to be the best duration for a contest or give away? You shouldn't be 24 hours. One week. What works for you, Natalie? It depends on how big the item is. If I'm giving me a really big item, I'll give it two weeks or so. If I'm giving away something like a necklace from my account, I might have it 24 hours or two days. So it really depends on on really the value of the item you're giving. What would be would be an item that you would wait two weeks for? What handbag? Yeah, Right now I'm keeping that handbag. So I have a two week rule for that, because again, 24 hours would not get me the amount of followers or a fruit, but I would hope to get so goodbye, Natalie. How I really love in your your account. I've just started doing the giveaways and what I'm finding. I get a lot of those competition accounts. So how do you get rid of them or you know, what do you do? And what do you say in your in your competition, Teoh Not have them there? I mean, I'm giving away one killer block of chocolate, which is 2.2 kilos. It's quite a $60 value just to get an entire congratulations. You're a winner. Awesome. I'm so with those giveaway accounts, I actually tend to just ignore them. I know that's kind of mean, but you can write in your post giveaway accounts will not be counted. But, um, I usually say in my account that I'm looking for personal, you know, shares personal things like that. Most people are aware that give away counts aren't working, and it's kind of like a unsaid rule in like my industry. At least I've noticed in the shopping, resale designer sort of industry, everyone kind of understand each other that that kind of a giveaway accounts or never the winners of via of the contest. But if you want to specify it, then by all means sure, thanks. So going on the question online saying, How much is too much to ask of your followers to enter a contest like like a comment? Retweet Answer. Accra Trivia question. Should you worry about making them jump through too many hoops in order to enter? Yes. Oh, yes, Just getting them to share isn't like it's very hard for someone to I don't want to say this in a mean way, but change kind of their account by by having something more, you know, promotional on there. And a lot of people don't want to do it. They have all this personal stuff in their accountant. They don't want to put in commercial stuff and and mix it in there. So you gotta have something convincing. They want to take the time. It's a repost it and leave it on their account for two weeks. You you definitely want to, you know, be careful with that. So thank you so much, Natalie, for being with us again. Wasn't she great? You guys