No, I’m not a recent victim of the killer tomato plague but I’ve been ill for 4 weeks and it’s great to be well, again! Much to my disappointment, I missed eBay Live 2008, this past weekend in Chicago, but I’m back and glad to report I’m ready to share what I’ve learned about how to painlessly and easily get an endless supply of quality antiques and collectible stuff to fuel your eBay auctions.
NOT Drop Ship is the mantra I’ve been repeating in prior blogs and in the title of my recent eBook titled, “How to Get Stuff* to Sell on eBay (*an Endless Supply of Real Antiques and Collectibles, NOT Drop Ship)” . Regardless of where you live, seniors and retirees in numbers can be easily accessed through their church and organized religious groups. If you question my concept, then pick up the phone and start dialing neighborhood churches to learn more about their Seniors’ Groups.
Believe me, these groups who meet monthly are anxious to hear refreshing, new topics and especially to learn more about the Internet which they are constantly hearing and reading about in their electronic and print media. If you are willing to structure a 30 minute speech about eBay, a subject of great curiousity to this audience, you are well on your way to getting the attention of the Seniors’ Group Coordinators at their places of worship.
Lets face it, driving to and from garage and estate sales looking for inventory is getting too, too costly at $4.00 per gallon. I’d much rather get in front of 40-50 seniors or retirees, who have lots of stuff stored in their attics and garages who are feeling the pinch in our tight economy and looking for ways to pay their bills. Ways such as letting you auction some of their stored stuff on eBay and getting cold cash for it!
I know, you may not feel at ease standing up in front of a group of strangers and delivering a 30 minute talk so the mechanics of composing and organizing your talk are the subject of this blog. I have been a Toastmaster for 30 years so I can speak with authority on the subject of Public Speaking.
You only have to go online to www.toastmasters.org and Click on FIND in the left sidebar to locate a nearby Chapter. Your first meeting attendance is usually free and you won’t be asked to say anything. I urge you to look into this superb international communications group. Not only is it inexpensive to join but their proven effective training materials are superbly written and their established meeting formats are fun.
But if you are anxious to get started and Toastmasters attendance is inconvenient, here are 7 key points to remember that will make it much easier for you to begin your part time career as an effective and in-demand eBay Information Sharer.
If you have any question about composing your first talk or what to say to the Seniors’ Coordinators, hey, I’m listening and looking forward to hearing from you, OK?
In my next blog posting, I’ll tell you about how you can effortlessly and for free spread the word about your seniors-specific presentation and eBay auctioning services in your local and regional marketplace.
Until next time, stay well, prosper and eat only vine-grown tomatoes!
If you read my prior blog posts, you know how I fueled my weekly eBay auctions. I discovered the most prolific local source of antiques and collectibles: senior citizens. More importantly, I developed an Action Plan for consistently accessing seniors where they frequently congregated at their places of worship.
My Confessions of an eBay Junkie seminar followed by FREE Appraisals conducted by professional personal asset appraisers provided me all the real antiques and collectibles I could handle to list on my weekly online eBay auctions. In fact, I repeated this process 97 times over 4 years at churches in Florida, Georgia and Alabama; and with few exceptions, it worked, flawlessly.
Two years into my Action Plan, I decided to seek local and regional publicity to establish more widespread marketplace credibility. Since eBay did a superb job of gaining frequent electronic and print media exposure, my efforts to promote Selectible Collectables, my eBay Consignment Sales Business, was an easier task.
Weekly, I mailed press releases about some of my more colorful consignment selling stories. About a Congressional Medal of Honor found in an old cigar box; 6 hand-made wooden clock movements from 1783, discovered in a storm-damaged attic; one of the most in-demand post-WW2 Japanese Tin Windup Toys found in a garbage can which sold on eBay in 2005 for $3,306; and other memorable eBay stories.
Easier, because I maintained a file folder full of testimonial letters from church pastors who raved about my events conducted at their churches as well as dozens of testimonial letters from satisfied seniors whose items I had auctioned on eBay and turned into instant cash.
I have collected a repertoire of human interest auction stories about several of my eBay auctions so when newspaper, TV and radio reporters come calling; I always have fresh material they can use, repeatedly. They will designate you as an ‘expert source’ and keep calling IF you keep your folder full of interesting, relevant material.
Remember this point about the media. AM Talk Radio, Network and Cable TV stations are constantly competing to increase their listening and viewing audience ratings just as newspaper reporters are forever researching human interest topics to build their readership circulations.
One half-hour TV Interview recorded by a Time-Warner Cable Station in Palm Bay, FL, in July 2005, has been replayed over 60 times (and, is still re-run) and can be credited with opening the door to my best-ever source of high ticket antiques: elder law attorneys which is why I no longer actively pursue church senior seminar bookings.
Getting merchandise to sell on eBay is much easier when citizens in your viewing, listening and readership audience know about you. Be prepared when the press comes calling and do your proactive marketing homework.
You can accelerate the process of gaining marketplace awareness by learning how to tap into Internet Publicity networks which will be the subject of a future blog.
Have a relaxing and safe Memorial Day Weekend. Of course, if you have Comments, I’d like to hear from you. See you next week!
electro
Practice the Magic of 3. Limit your key points to 3. Here’s why. If you are planning to conduct a free 30 minute program for a seniors group at their places of worship or their retirement homes, it’s important to respect their time limitations. Second, some of those in your audience will have memory and attention-span issues. Third, your talk will be followed with a 10 minute Questions & Answers period followed by free appraisals of items brought to this event by attendees. So, your actual presentation time may only be 20 minutes which allows just enough time for 3 relevant, memorable stories.
Each story should anchor one of your 3 key presentation points. For example, My Toy Story anchors the point that what may have appeared to be a worthless, broken windup tin toy, destined for garbage pickup, was in fact one of the most widely sought after Post WW2 Japanese Windup Tin Toys which fetched a closing eBay auction bid of $3,306 in October 2005.
Presentation Organization Tips. Your Opening Remarks can be in the form of a rhetorical question; a quotation; or, an attention-grabbing statistic about eBay. I always memorize one or two sentences for my Opening Remarks which match the handout each attendee receives shortly after my Introducer reads my word-processed Introduction. Compose something to grab the audience’s attention - not to startle or shock them unless a CPR Demo is on your agenda!
ALWAYS, always prepare a word-processed Introduction. Your Introduction must establish your credibility. It should answer 2 important questions: why should your audience believe what you are about to say and what qualifies you as an expert? Keep it short, but complete enough to establish your expert credentials.
Preparing a single page, double-spaced large type (14 point size) Handout or Presentation Outline is a must, especially with senior audience members who may have memory and attention-span issues. Your leave behind Handout should include a short biography, even though some of it was already mentioned in your spoken Introduction. Include your contact information with phone number, e-mail address, company name and your name. Also, an invitation to attendees to take one of your business cards and brochures at the end of your presentation. Encourage attendees to call you should they have any questions about your talk or eBay.
Your Close is the most important part of your presentation because you want those in your audiences with antiques and collectibles to step up to the Appraisal Table which brings me to the importance of having a Professional Personal Assets Appraiser as part of your program.
This person is a ‘key’ participant and a main reason why you will have standing room only crowds at your Seniors’ Presentations. Read my April 21st blog post for the justification and necessity of having a professional onboard for your presentation and where to locate them in your local community.
In closing, remember to practice your entire Presentation before every speaking opportunity. First, to gain total confidence with your presentation materials and props. Second, you owe each audience your very best effort. Practice and, if possible, video tape your dry run presentations. Then, go back and study your delivery and organization, especially if your expected outcome is to obtain valued collectibles and heirlooms from America’s most prolific source: our senior citizens!
Additional Suggestion: If you have any friends who are members of Toastmasters International Chapters in your area, show them your Practice Video and ask for their constructive comments.
In Chapters 1 and 2 of my eBook titled, “How to Get Stuff* to Sell on eBay (*an Endless Supply of Real Antiques & Collectibles, NOT Drop Ship)”you will find my complete Presentation Outline; verbatim Introduction and other proven successful presentation pointers to make certain each of your talks nets the desired results: valued antiques and collectibles to continuously fuel your eBay auctions. The Introduction and Chapter 1 are yours FREE to read before you decide to purchase my eBook. Just CLICK on View Sample Chapters after you CLICK on Purchase the Ebook Now in the right sidebar.
Ok, now, it’s your turn to add your Comments or questions. I’m curious, are there any members of Toastmasters International reading this blog posting?
If I’ve learned anything during my 30 years as a Toastmaster and professional speaker, it’s that nothing beat an interested group of willing listeners! Absolutely nothing comes close. Seniors and retirees who frequent ‘organized religious’ functions either as congregation members or as guests of members enjoy listening to entertaining and informative speakers when they attend monthly fellowship luncheons as their places of worship.
Seniors comprise a large and growing segment of core members of worship congregations according to Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Church and the runaway bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life.
So, it makes perfect sense to reach out and touch those responsible for booking monthly programs for seniors groups within their congregations. This is especially true when you consider the topics and presentation pabulum they are often subjected to which includes:
I’m sure you will agree these are mundane, yawner topics. Yet, one topic of intense interest is the Internet, as I discovered when I questioned the Seniors Coordinator for the Sterlings Seniors Group at my small Central Florida Presbyterian Church in February 2003.
My short telephone conversation with this lady literally changed my eBay Life, forever! During our phone conversation, I proposed to conduct a FREE 30 minute humorous, entertaining and most importantly, informational eBay talk titled: Confessions of an eBay Junkie followed with an Appraisal of items brought to the luncheon meeting by her group members. Appraisals would be conducted by a professional personal assets appraiser, just like on the very popular weekly Antiques Road Show on PBS.
You ask, why would a professional personal assets appraiser volunteer 2 hours of their time to participate in my event? Simply, because this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg! Appraisers who have participated in my events have consistently been invited to conduct paid appraisals of entire houses full of family heirlooms and collectibles.
The Internet and the eBay phenomenon, like a runaway train, continue to dominate the popular electronic and print media unlike any topic in our lifetimes. Just because they are retired doesn’t mean seniors are any less curious about technology trends that affect their lives and the lives of their loved ones!
So, if you are an eBay Consignment Seller or an eBay Consignment Seller WannaBe, and you are just bummed out over the thought of going to another Garage or Estate Sale to find stuff to list, then seriously consider this:
My first ever Confessions of an eBay Junkie event with the Appraisal Session filled 4 garages full of antiques and collectibles and fueled my eBay Auctions for 2 months. Plus, I repeated this success formula 96 times between 2003 and mid-2007. AND, I haven’t been to a Garage Sale since!
If you are an eBay Consigment Seller or a Wannabe, I’d love to read your Comments and questions.
While I have nothing against ‘Drop Shipping’, I prefer to go direct to the world’s largest local suppliers of real antiques and collectibles. These are the senior citizens and the soon-to-be-seniors, the Baby Boomers, who will be joining their ranks, soon. Their attics, basements and garages are brimming with the stored wealth of their generation and generations past.
FACT: They are all around us. They are Mom and Dad to me and others my age; and grandparents for the rest of us, eBay Consignment Sellers. Right now, there are 10,000,000 of them and in three years, their ranks will be swelled by the first round of Baby Boomers. They do have an ‘endless supply’ of stuff and gaining access to their stored wealth is much easier than you may think. Early in 2003, I discovered a process which provided me an endless supply of quality merchandise to fuel my eBay auctions. Once perfected, I repeated this process 97 times between March 2003 and June 2007.
This process is the focus and reason for my new eBook, “How to Get Stuff* to Sell on eBay” (*an Endless Supply of Real Antiques and Collectibles, NOT Drop Ship). This book gives you everything you need to access real antiques and collectibles belonging to America’s senior citizens through 2 connecting points at their: places of worship and elder law attorneys. You can learn more about my eBook by Clicking on the button titled: Purchase The eBook Now.
My purpose with this blog is to share with you what I have learned about senior citizens and other highly prolific target markets to fuel my eBay auctions. Technically, if you go by age, I’m one, myself. I will be 65 years young this year! While I don’t feel it, except when the temperature drops below 50 degrees and I sure don’t look it (judging from my picture to the right) like it or not, I’m getting more mail, more often, suggesting I retire and telling me how I should enjoy my ‘golden years’.
Aside from the fact that this is now my generation, I have always been a student of demographics, or population segments and their characteristics. Since 1967, studying demographics became a big part of my career DNA when I decided to pursue a career in marketing. You can read more about my career credentials on my About Me page.
Please feel free to add your comments about marketing to seniors. This blog is intended to become a timely, mutual exchange of meaningful information we can all use to better our knowledge and understanding of this exciting target marketing opportunity. Also, other target markets as we identify them through a more informed understanding of the demographic opportunities that makeup America’s dynamic population. So, let the discussion begin!
Excuse my ignorance, but I’m a blogging novice! I actually thought my first post would be NOT Drop Ship………..but Real Antiques and Collectibles. So, please go to my second posting to get started. I’ll figure it out as I keep adding posts and learning this wonderful new communications medium.