Why One Platform Is Keeping Your Business Stuck 

Not long ago, sales for one of our product lines on a marketplace dropped by about half.

Half.

That gets your attention pretty fast.

At first, I thought we had a marketplace problem. Maybe the ads had changed. Maybe our ranking had dropped. Maybe a new competitor had moved in. Maybe the price was off.

And yes, some of those things needed our attention.

But the bigger problem wasn’t sitting inside the marketplace.

The bigger problem was that we had let one platform become too much of the business.

We had gotten really good at selling through one door. What we hadn’t done was build another good way to reach those customers.

That’s what we’re talking about in Day 2 of 30 Days to More Sales.

Because a sales channel can be doing a fantastic job and still create a hidden risk in your business.

Amazon can be bringing in orders every day. Your Shopify store can be growing. Etsy can be sending you the perfect customers. One retailer can be placing big orders. Your social media or paid ads can be carrying the month.

Those are all good things.

The problem isn’t that one channel is strong.

The problem is when that channel becomes the only real way customers can find you and buy from you.

And when something changes, you suddenly realize how much of your business was sitting behind that one door.

In this episode, I’m walking you through what we learned when our own sales dropped, why you don’t need to start selling everywhere, and how to choose one good second door for your business.

Because the worst time to build a new sales channel is when you desperately need it to save the month.

You want to start building it while your first door is still working.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL HEAR:

• What happened when marketplace sales for one of our product lines dropped by about 50%
• Why fixing the ads, listing, price, and ranking wasn’t enough
• How a successful sales channel can quietly turn into dependence
• Why you don’t need to sell on every platform
• How to choose the right second sales channel for your customer and your business
• Why building an email list and customer relationship matters
• How Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, Etsy, TikTok Shop, wholesale, retail, and email can play different roles in your business
• The simple number that will show you how dependent you are on your biggest channel
• How to choose one second door to strengthen over the next 90 days

YOUR ONE CLEAR NEXT STEP

Look at your sales from the last 90 days.

Figure out what percentage of your total sales came from your biggest channel.

Then finish this sentence:

Right now, __________ brings in about __________% of our sales.

If that channel slowed down for 30 days, the best second door we already have would be __________.

If you already know what that second door is, that’s probably where you need to start putting more attention.

If you don’t have one yet, now you know what needs to be built.

You don’t need five new channels.

You need one good second door.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Free Second Door Plan

I created a free Second Door Plan to help you figure out how much of your business is sitting behind one sales channel and decide what to build next.

It will help you:

• Measure how dependent your business is on your biggest sales channel
• Give each of your sales channels a clear job
• Choose the best second door for your business
• Build a simple 90-day plan to start making it stronger

Get the Second Door Plan FREE at BeckyJAnderson.com.

30 DAYS TO MORE SALES

This is Day 2 of 30 Days to More Sales.

For 30 days, we’re looking at one place your product business could be losing sales and giving you one clear next step to fix it.

One problem. One fix. One clear next step.

COMING NEXT

Day 3: Stop Creating New Products — Sell What You Already Have

Because building another sales channel doesn’t mean you need another whole group of products to sell there.

You may already have a product that could do a lot more for your business. It may just need a clearer job and more attention.

MORE FROM ME

Visit BeckyJAnderson.com for the podcast, free tools and worksheets, and ways to work with me.

Follow me for more practical help with sales, marketing, money, and growth for established product-based businesses.

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you’re building a product business, make sure you follow Product Biz Made Easy so the next episode in the 30-day series is waiting for you.

And if the show is helping you, I’d love it if you’d leave a rating or review wherever you listen. It helps more product-business owners find the podcast.

One problem. One fix. One clear next step.