Entries from November 2006 ↓

eBay University, Miami, FL 2004 - The scene: With over 350 people in the room, I've lost control. People are yelling at each other. It took several mojitos that evening to recover.

Whether you have many or a few in your room, you must maintain control of the room for the sake of those who really want to learn. It's your responsibility as the speaker. How can you do this without being a jerk to your students?

First, before the students even arrive you'll want to make sure everything is in place for the presentation.

• Temperature should be comfortable
• Seating ready
• Computer on and connected to the internet
• Presentation loaded

Once people are in place, begin with some housekeeping. Even if it's a small group. Tell them what you expect.

• Cell phones on vibrate, and talking done outside the room
• Kindly ask that talking between students be done outside
• Hold questions till appropriate times.

During your class if you have interruptions by any of the above, the way you handle the first one or two will determine how your audience will behave going forward. If you let one person interrupt you, they will assume that they may all do that. If you let one person talk on their cellphone, they will assume they all may do that. And you'll lose control and need a mojito before you can go on.

The reason the Miami crowd got all surly with each other was people were interrupting over and over with their personal questions. It broke up the presentation and made it hard to follow. In many cases the questions would have been answered had the questioners waited. If I had tactfully handled this situation right at the outset it would have quieted the questioners and kept the other class members happier. (And would have lowered my alcohol bill for the evening.)

Most of your classes may be much smaller, but the principles still apply. Your first responsibility is to the group, to teach them the class. Secondly, the individual students have questions and you should try as hard as you can to answer them. I offer free support to my students via email after the class. I have never been sorry for this, and it's a great service to the students.

If you get a question and you don't know the answer, admit it. Don't fake it because you may actually lead someone the wrong way. Besides that, there could be a silent Powerseller sitting in the audience who'll blurt out "That's wrong!" which is highly embarrassing and will cause you to lose credibility.

If you have experienced any situations that you'd like to relate, please feel free using the comments link below.

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Your voice is your main tool if you're a public speaker, take care of it. Most of us will be speaking for several hours at a time. If you don't learn to protect your voice you will really be miserable as you speak, and may well lose your audience.  You can prepare ahead by having one or two bottles of water handy before you begin.
Relaxing is very important to breathing properly. Breath control is vital to properly use your voice and make it last for hours. Especially if you are not using sound equipment your voice is at risk.
As you speak make sure you are standing with good posture, relax your throat muscles, breath deeply - especially at the beginning of the session. Then like a singer, speak from down in your belly - not your throat. You want to learn to use your diaphragm to push the air out. This will help you project very well, and it puts much less of a strain on your voice.

When you are addressing the class be careful not to turn away from them while talking. This causes your voice to drop and many will not hear what you say. This is irritating to the class and they'll likely let you know. Face them when you speak as much as possible. Find a few with friendly faces throughout the class and speak directly to them.

In my next post I'll deal with the subject of controlling your audience. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome.

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After speaking in front of crowds for many years, I've learned a few techniques to help my fellow presenters which I thought I'd share.

I've taught classes numbering 7 to 700. These have taken place in a variety of rooms with and without sound equipment. When you're using your voice for four to six hours, standing in front of an audience, trying to keep their attention, the way you handle yourself will go a long way toward good evaluations and repeat engagements.

First of all, an average room will likely be a few dozen people. In a classroom setting you will usually not have a microphone, so I'll cover that specific topic later in this category. Lets talk about how you can relax when speaking in front of others.
In a survey some years ago people were asked what they feared most. Number two was death. Number one - speaking in front of others. People would rather die than speak in front of an audience!

Humor can help break the ice and get you and your audience to relax. Be careful though, if you have a canned joke and it bombs you may be more nervous than before.

Outside of a little initial humor, the best relaxation technique I've found is preparation. Knowing your presentation well is a key in being comfortable. You need to know the presentation forward and backward. When you do, you'll know what's coming next and your presentation will flow nicely. Having the logical points in mind will help you not wander around but keep your audience focused on a logical progression of points. For example, in teaching eBay it's logical to start with registering > setting up a Seller's Account > researching an item > choosing a category > etc. It will help you relax if you have these things in mind.

I have found that it is very helpful to meet a number of the attendees and talk with them before the class. This helps in two ways. First, you have a handful of people with whom you're comfortable and can directly address. Also, you can get the 'temperature' of the room by finding out their experience, interests, and perhaps some questions early on. I have been put in front of a large class without doing this, and it can be intimidating. If that happens, you should warm up by chatting a little and finding out why some of them are attending. Do they want to sell things they currently have in their homes? Are they looking to buy items to resell? All this will help them and you be more relaxed.

In my next post I'll deal with the subject of keeping your voice. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome.

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Recently I've noticed a trend with [tag]eBay[/tag] users and feedback. The newbies have become increasingly impatient and are quick to leave [tag]negative feedback[/tag]. Even when the issue is resolved and they are invited to remove their comments, they won't respond. I just received two negs even though the buyer suffered no loss. One was an out of stock item and the buyer received a 100% refund. She still left a negative comment.

The other was a person (with a stunning feedback rating of 18) who purchased a poster on the second of the month. [tag]eBay's User Agreement[/tag] says sellers have a 30 day window to deliver. I never push that window, however the poster was delivered 15 days after purchase. This buyer left a negative. Ruining a 100% positive 1400+ feedback rating.

Now, he won't respond to requests to remove the feedback. I know some feel it's "retaliatory" to leave negative feedback in response to negative feedback. Well, it could be in some cases. However feedback is left to give the community an idea of the impression the participants had of the transaction. My impression of that transaction was soured by the seller's unreasonableness. I feel it's necessary to warn the community of this buyer who is quick to leave negative feedback. So I left a negative for him, based on the fact that I feel he was unreasonable.

As the eBay marketplace is increasingly marginalized by other online shopping sites, perfect feedback will not only matter less, it will be nearly impossible to maintain. It shouldn't be expected either. Buyers know by now that there are people who are just impossible to please. Anyone who has been on eBay for any length of time will eventually find them. I did. The feedback rating should be high, especially if purchasing a big-ticket item. But it just doesn't mean what it used to as more and more buy online.

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This is perhaps the most common question I've received at [tag]eBay University[/tag]. It's frustrating to the person asking because they want me to simply answer their question with an answer such as "used catheters are huge this season." If I did that in front of 300 people however, they would all go out and start [tag]selling [/tag]the same item, prices would fall and disappointment would be the word of the day. (Although, you'd be able to get a heck of a deal on a used catheter for your next road trip. And, No rest stops!)

So, what I try to do is give people concepts instead of actual items. First, if you are an expert in an area you may have a leg up on the competition. If you have spent your entire life selling cutlery, you likely have great knowledge about knives and things related. You may also have great contacts in the business that will help you source a product.

The idea should not always be to sell the 'hottest product' on [tag]eBay[/tag]. "Hot" is a term that comes and goes. What you really should strive for is a product which you can consistently sell for a profit. Occasionally you will be in a position to take advantage of a spike in interest. If you develop a product line around cutlery for example and you sell ceramic knives, let's say Rachel Raye does a show on ceramic knives - you will see added interest in your products. News stories and popular celebrities have a great effect on your sales.

To get ideas on what to sell, look to resources such as eBay's Seller Central. There, under "What's Hot?," you'll find eBay's Merchandising Calendar, the [tag]Hot List[/tag] (top selling items from the past month), the Holiday Hotlist, and other seller resources. It's a great tool for sellers and potential sellers. A new (and fun) tool is [tag]eBay Pop[/tag]. It's a joint effort by eBay and Mpire to show the heavy hitters for the past two weeks.

Lisa Suttora from whatdoisell.com gave great advice on developing a product line last year at [tag]eBay Live![/tag] in Las Vegas. She suggested having the 'product sourcing mindset' at all times, even looking into publications related to items you sell. For example, if you were interested in selling high-end cooking utensils a good resource for upcoming trends would be some of the more popular cooking magazines. They often have the latest and greatest in kitchen gadgets.

So, how then do you get the products at a price which will allow you to sell at a profit on eBay? There is some good (and free) information on wholesale buying at [tag]Worldwide Brands[/tag]. If you'd like to avoid a large inventory and drop ship products you can visit [tag]Doba[/tag] for some excellent help.

In order to find a niche for selling, look at yourself and your own individual experience and know-how. Only you know what you know. You can use your unique experience in life to develop a product line that reflects your passions and interests. Sure some people may sell the same products, but you may be able to do so in a way which causes buyers to feel comfortable with you as a seller. YOU are the key to what to sell.

[tags]what should I sell[/tags]

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I've recently had the privilege of working with a company called Doba. Doba provides a web platform that enables small businesses to find wholesale products to resell. In essence, this platform links these small retailers to the virtual inventories of wholesale suppliers and vice versa. Currently, over 20,000 small retailers use the simplified product sourcing solutions of Doba to transact millions of dollars of B2B ecommerce annually.

Along with Mikal Belicove, Doba's Director of Community & Education I've just presented my first webinar entitled "'Tis the Season for Some Serious Selling: Capitalizing on Seasonal Selling Opportunities Throughout the Year."

It was very successful and we look forward to more webinars for the Doba members in the near future.

If you're interested in selling on eBay or other online channels, look in this category for common questions. Especially for new seller's.

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I've decided to redesign my site and make it much more valuable to those seeking instruction. I'm just beginning, but I expect to have a nice variety of links and other resources for those seeking help. Please be patient!

I'm creating specific pages related to the classes I teach. They are found in the menu at the top of the page.

In order to contact me please use the address steve@genuineseller.com and I'll do my best to respond asap.

Thanks and welcome!

Steve

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