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Sales and Marketing Intelligence

In this rapidly expanding and highly competitive economy, you can’t afford to waste valuable time and staff pursuing leads that don’t pan out. Now, more than ever, you need to be certain that your sales and marketing strategies are directing you to the most probable customers with the highest profit potential. Our Sales and Marketing Intelligence consulting service uses a sophisticated, six-step process to help you analyze the system you are using to generate your prospect base and make sure that your organization is positioned for maximum success and profitability.

For more information or to Register for a seminar, class, or training workshop Click here

During the Sale

Life will get busy once you start selling. Learn time management techniques, as well as the nitty-gritty of safeguarding your business, customer service and accepting payments.

You've got items posted for sale, bids coming in, questions from potential buyers, and orders to process and ship. Are you stressed yet? Don't be. Stay in control with these time-management tips:

1. Make a plan—and stick to it. "It's essential to plan your time and keep a mental schedule," says Marsha Collier, author of eBay for Dummies and eBay Time-Saving Techniques for Dummies. She recommends setting aside time to post sales receipts to QuickBooks and payment withdrawals to a checking account balance once per week, instead of doing it every five minutes. Collier also recommends that, every day or every other day, you set aside time to ship merchandise. And you must also schedule in time to search for and buy new merchandise. The most difficult priority to factor in, according to Collier, is usually answering questions from customers. But no matter how busy you are, make sure to answer their concerns as soon as possible.

2. Use auction management tools. "The best time-management tip is to find a good auction management program—that's key," says Angie Cash, 37-year-old founder of Cashco1000 Inc. (eBay User ID: cashco1000) in Kennesaw, Georgia, which sells home décor primarily on eBay and projects sales to reach $500,000 this year. You can use the software to launch auctions, organize listings, keep track of inventory, track payments, automatically send out customer notices through e-mail, and even track nonpaying buyers to file for and receive fee credits.

It's also important to consider eBay's selling tools— Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro and Turbo Lister—which help sellers save time and perform various tasks related to selling items. Before buying an application, though, shop around for the right one to fit your needs, as choosing the wrong utility can be a big time-waster. For a list of popular auction management software programs, check out "Tips for Choosing Auction Software".

3. Hire employees. If you still need help beyond the assistance an auction management software program can provide, consider hiring employees. Full- or part-time staff can assist you with shipping, answering e-mails and more.

Mariano Ruiz, 50-year-old founder and owner of Reliable Tools Inc. (eBay User ID: reliabletools) in Irwindale, California, which sells $1 million of metalworking equipment per month on eBay, found that hiring a staff worked for him. "I tried to do it myself for the first few months, [but the business] just started growing and growing," he says. Currently, Reliable Tools, which expects sales of $12 million this year on eBay, has an average of 30 to 35 employees, depending on volume.

4. Use your time wisely. Don't leave the office to buy goods for your business—instead, order them online and have them delivered to your door. Also, instead of dropping off packages at the post office, arrange for regularly scheduled pickups from FedEx, UPS or the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

eBay allows sellers to print USPS Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping labels with Delivery Confirmation for no label processing fee, and pay for the postage through PayPal. (PayPal is an eBay service that enables businesses to receive and send online payments through a credit card or bank account.)

Sellers can also print USPS shipping labels from their PayPal accounts. Fees for First-Class Mail, Parcel Post and Media Mail labels are 20 cents for label processing, and 13 cents for Delivery Confirmation. And now you can even order eBay-branded shipping boxes. Simply place your order, and the free boxes will be shipped directly to your address.

Protecting Yourself

While fraud is not a big problem on eBay, occasionally a transaction does not go as expected. Here's what to do when you encounter:

• Nonpaying bidders: Contact the buyer/bidder after your listing has ended. Buyers/bidders can have legitimate reasons for not responding to you right away. If you still do not receive payment after sending a reminder, you can file an Unpaid Item alert. After 10 days of trying to resolve things with your buyer/bidder, you can request a Final Value Fee Credit. A refund will be credited to your account within 48 hours.
• Bid shielding: If your buyer/bidder is engaged in bid shielding—protecting a low bid by deliberately using a secondary User ID to place an extremely high bid that is pulled away at the last second—report it to eBay's investigations department. Disciplinary action may result against the buyer/bidder.
• Here are some additional tips on how you can protect yourself against fraud:
• Never ship an item until you have received payment and it has cleared.
• "Don't ship to a different address than is registered for the credit card," says Joseph T. Sinclair, author of eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site.
• Ship to a confirmed or verified address through PayPal, an eBay service that enables businesses to receive online payments through a credit card or bank account.
• Protect yourself from chargebacks. If you follow the PayPal Seller Protection Policy, you can file a complaint and be reimbursed for the transaction, up to $5,000 per year.
• Track your deliveries, suggests Sinclair. If someone claims he or she did not receive his or her order, you can prove it was delivered and received.

Check buyers' feedback ratings. A lot of negative feedback means you might want to cancel the buyer's bids or double-check that they are reputable." If somebody happens to place a bid, and their feedback is at a minus one, I have no problem e-mailing them and making sure they are really interested in the item, and that they are willing to pay [for] it," says Chris Porter, 34, a work force management representative for eBay and founder of All.business (eBay User ID: all.business), a Salt Lake City company that sells sports memorabilia on eBay and expects to make $14,000 this year. "This gives everyone the chance to explain themselves." If he does not receive a response after e-mailing that person, Porter removes the bid that was placed.