703. Ask Jacq: How to Find Your Best Sellers and Simplify Your Product-Based Business | Q&A

Summary

Episode Summary: The Product Boss Podcast – Episode 703: "Ask Jacq: How to Find Your Best Sellers and Simplify Your Product-Based Business | Q&A"

Release Date: June 26, 2025

In Episode 703 of The Product Boss Podcast, host Jacqueline Snyder delves into a dynamic Q&A session titled "Ask Jacq," where she addresses pressing questions from product-based female entrepreneurs. This episode focuses on helping listeners identify their best-selling products and streamline their product offerings to enhance business growth and profitability. Below is a comprehensive summary of the key discussions, insights, and strategies shared during the episode.

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1. Introduction to the "Ask Jacq" Series

Jacqueline Snyder introduces a new series within the podcast called Ask Jack, designed to provide bite-sized coaching moments derived from real conversations with her students. The aim is to offer fast, focused episodes that address common challenges related to pricing, visibility, scaling, sales, and mindset for product-based businesses.

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2. Identifying Best-Selling Products Among Diverse Offerings

Student 1 poses a question at [04:47]: "How do I identify my best-selling product when I sell equally as much boutique items as I do my handmade products?" She further adds her desire to focus more on handmade products, which are primarily sold online.

Key Insights & Strategies:

• Analyzing Sales Data: Jacqueline emphasizes the importance of evaluating sales numbers to determine top performers. By identifying the top three handmade products, entrepreneurs can focus their efforts on what truly resonates with customers.

  "Look at your handmade products, look at those and just figure out what your top 10 of your handmade products are. Find your top three." [05:01]

• Understanding Product Categories: She suggests that while cheaper items like chapsticks might sell in high volumes, it’s crucial to balance quantity with profitability. Jacqueline advises entrepreneurs to focus on higher-margin products that align with their brand identity.

• Streamlining Product Offerings: To avoid complexity, Jacqueline recommends maintaining a focused product line. This strategy helps in highlighting and promoting best-sellers, thereby increasing overall sales efficiency.

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3. Determining Best Sellers Across Multiple Product Mediums

Student 2 asks at [06:40]: "If I have certain designs that are selling across the board on different mediums—like T-shirts, stickers, or buttons—how should I determine my best sellers?"

Key Insights & Strategies:

• Categorizing by Product Type: Jacqueline advises distinguishing between different product categories (e.g., T-shirts vs. stickers) to identify which medium performs best for specific designs.

  "Where am I focused?" [07:38]

• Print on Demand Considerations: She highlights the pros and cons of print-on-demand services, noting that while they allow for flexibility without holding inventory, margins may be lower compared to in-house production. Entrepreneurs should weigh these factors when deciding where to channel their focus.

• Building a Cohesive Brand: By concentrating on a few key product types that align with the brand's identity, businesses can strengthen their market presence and enhance customer recognition.

• Case Study Example: Jacqueline references a student’s success with her company, Just Love Prince, where focusing on stickers and fake tattoos led to substantial monthly revenues, illustrating the effectiveness of this targeted approach.

  "She was making $35 to $40,000 a month with $5 stickers, $5 tattoos." [08:32]

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4. Optimizing Product Variations and Pricing Strategy

Student 3 inquires at [11:42]: "I have three types of project bags in my line, each available in multiple sizes. One size consistently outperforms the others. How should I interpret this performance?"

Key Insights & Strategies:

• Price Anchoring: Jacqueline explains the concept of price anchoring, where the presence of a mid-priced option can influence customer preferences. Often, customers gravitate towards the middle option, perceiving it as the best value.

  "What you're dealing with right now is probably price anchoring, which means that they look at the three and they're picking the middle package." [12:43]

• Testing and Iteration: She encourages entrepreneurs to experiment with product offerings, such as bundling underperforming sizes with other products or temporarily removing them to assess customer response.

• Simplifying Choices: To prevent decision fatigue, Jacqueline advises limiting the number of variations available. Offering too many choices can overwhelm customers, potentially reducing sales.

  "Customers like get decision fatigue. And so not only do they have to pick the product, then they have to pick the color." [14:23]

• Highlighting Best Sellers: By consistently promoting the medium-sized bags as best sellers, entrepreneurs can guide customer choices and increase the likelihood of those products being selected.

  "Every time I talk about stuff… this is the best seller. Customers love it. It's my medium." [13:40]

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5. Conclusion and Encouragement

Jacqueline wraps up the Q&A session by acknowledging the thoughtful questions from her students and encouraging listeners to subscribe to the podcast for more valuable insights. She reinforces the importance of strategic product selection and simplification in building a successful product-based business.

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Notable Quotes:

• "The best breakthroughs often come from one really good question." — Jacqueline Snyder [05:00]

• "Customers like get decision fatigue. And so not only do they have to pick the product, then they have to pick the color." — Jacqueline Snyder [14:42]

• "Every time I talk about stuff… this is the best seller. Customers love it. It's my medium." — Jacqueline Snyder [13:40]

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Key Takeaways:

• Data-Driven Decisions: Regularly analyze sales data to identify top-performing products and focus on enhancing their visibility and availability.

• Simplify Product Lines: Streamline offerings to reduce complexity, avoid overwhelming customers, and highlight best sellers to drive sales.

• Strategic Pricing: Utilize pricing strategies like price anchoring to influence customer choices and optimize product mix for profitability.

• Continuous Testing: Adopt a mindset of experimentation to identify what works best for your specific market and be willing to adjust offerings based on performance.

• Focus on Brand Cohesion: Ensure that product selections align with the overall brand identity to build a strong, recognizable presence in the market.

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By addressing real-world challenges faced by product-based entrepreneurs, this episode provides actionable strategies to help listeners identify their best sellers, optimize their product offerings, and ultimately scale their businesses effectively.

Transcript

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into successful business, and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams, no matter how big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product boss. Let's do this.

[Co-host]

Oh my goodness.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Friends, if you are anything like me, you probably spend more time running errands.

[Co-host]

Than running your business.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Am I right? Like, everything needs something, we gotta run around. And I knew that this was like a major issue for me back in the day, which is why I decided to get help where I could. And I decided to let Instacart handle all of my grocery shopping. So I no longer had to worry about running all the errands and having to run out and get more almond mil for my lattes. Rather, I was like, you know what, we're just gonna let Instacart handle that. So I want you to imagine skipping the store and getting back to designing packaging, orders, making, or maybe actually taking a break, even a nap. Remember those? Okay, so with Instacart, you can get groceries and essentials delivered in as fast as an hour so you can focus on growing your business without sacrificing a meal. Plus, less stress and more focus. And here's a tip. I've actually used Instacart before to order gifts from my daughter's friend's birthday parties because I haven't had time to run out and get presents. And I've been able to get the packaging, like the gift bag and the g, like hello, Sephora, delivered to my house while I was in the middle of coaching sessions so that I could have the present right. It's like having a personal assistant without having a personal assistant. So if you want to do what I do and get the help where you can, you can try it. Now. If you head to the productboss.com instacart hey, hey, product bosses. Okay, really, really quick. Are you spending more time making all your products or maybe packaging your boxes and actually growing your business? I know. Okay, so if you've ever wished that someone would just tell you exactly what works when it comes to scaling your product brand into real money, right, like good profit and making sales and growing this business that I know you've dreamed of, then I have something really special for you. I pulled together a special bundle of our top podcast episodes that every product based business needs to hear. So think of this as your shortcut straight to the strategies that help you grow your sales, build a brand that lasts and avoid that burnout that no one is actually talking about. Enough. So we're talking mindset shifts and marketing strategies and those behind the scenes lessons. And yes, you're going to have some quick action plans and strategies that we're going to share in here as well. So it is my top episodes playlist and it's totally free. We just wanted to gather it up so you didn't have to scroll through hundreds of episodes and think, what do I want to listen to? Right? Let's make it easy. So all you have to do is head to www.theproductboss.com top or click the link in the show notes, pop in your email. I'll send over those exact episodes that have helped thousands of product based business owners like you move from the hustle to sold out. Right? I want you to go from where you are to getting you seen and sold. And that's all going to happen with this compilation of episodes for you. I just want to make it super easy. So let's start building your business with clarity, strategy, ease and freedom. Hey. Hey friends and welcome back to the Product Boss. Okay, so I'm really excited to introduce a totally new series inside of the Product Boss podcast. And we're going to call it Ask Jack. Right? And so here's the deal. Over the years I've coached thousands of product based business owners inside of my programs like Standout Society and the Product Boss Sales accelerator. And one thing I know for sure is this. The best breakthroughs often come from one really good question. So in this series I'm going to share bite sized coaching moments pulled straight from real conversations, real coaching sessions with my students. So these are meant to be fast and focused episodes that are going to tackle the questions so many of you are asking. Maybe they're around pricing, visibility, scaling, sales and mindset. So whether you're just getting started or you're Growing to your next big milestone. My hope is that each episode gives you something clear, actionable, and encouraging to move forward with. So let's jump into today's Ask Jack. Q and A.

[Student 1]

My question is how do I identify my best selling product when I sell equally as much boutique items as I do my handmade products?

[Co-host]

Okay, so.

[Student 1]

And I want to focus more on the handmade because that's what I sell online. But how do you.

[Co-host]

So look at that then look at those numbers. So look at your handmade products, look at those and just figure out what your top 10 of your handmade products are. Find your top three. Sometimes people that do stuff like yours, and maybe they have a boutique or a farm stand, Chapstick might be their top selling product because it's like an easy product. So they might see that they sell hundreds and hundreds of those, but they're, they're way cheaper than other products. And we know that. We're not necessarily. I mean, Burt's Bees built a chapstick business, but you can see that there's other products. So that's what I would say. So what are your top three products for? For your products.

[Student 1]

Okay, how do I separate them and stop selling so much boutique and go back too? So I'm kind of like, you know, it's intricate right now. How do I separate those? What is your advice on that?

[Co-host]

Well, one, trust the process over the next five days so that you're going to learn how to take your current products and get more eyes on them and sell more and start to be known for that. And then you, most likely, however you're selling, whether it's your current sales engine or you add on additional sales engines, which is the intention that we're going to add a separate sales engine where it's not reliant on you a hundred percent, you will start to focus on that and you will start to highlight that you will give Beyonce more songs, right? You'll put her in the center. This is for everybody here. People want you to tell them what to buy. They put something on a mannequin, they put it in the center of a store. Pay attention when you go shopping. If you go to Target, even Target is going to tell you, this is what I want you to buy right now. Look at the stands and the displays. So that's going to be your job, is going to tell your customers what to buy visually, what's on your website, what's in when they walk into the store, and you're going to start to shift to that. But I think you're going to get more clarity over the next few days to think, okay, well then how do I expand those products so I can stop buying other people's products?

[Student 1]

Okay.

[Co-host]

Sound good?

[Student 1]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Co-host]

Thank you.

[Student 2]

My question is if I have certain designs that are selling across the board on different mediums. When I'm looking for my best seller, my best category, am I trying to pinpoint this sells best on T shirt versus sticker or do I just use like find the top selling designs and sort of, you know, focus that way?

[Co-host]

Great question. So you're selling some sort of print. Is it a graphic, words?

[Student 2]

Yeah. So hard working. Stoner is my business. I've already in the past year shifted from Filamena and Ruth, which was my brick and mortar and clothing and I highlighted the this like sort of stoner gear as my main focus and switch to that. So yeah, now it's like I'm doing this print on demand. So that I've already decided I wanted to get away from hand making everything. So print on demand I can offer multiple products.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Where am I focused?

[Student 3]

Yeah.

[Co-host]

The hard part about print on demand is like it's this in between and what my goal is. And a lot of students of mine have started with print on demand because it feels like an easier entry point. You don't have to sit on inventory. What will be important for you to start to identify is like are people wanting them as T shirts for example, or are they liking stickers? Because long term to sell another sales channels we're going to eventually you make less of a margin with print on demand. So you're like, oh, I'm selling but I'm making a little bit of money versus like really where you can. You're building a brand. So how do we build a brand versus right now you're kind of dipping your toe in the water with print on demand. So knowing the words that work, what are the top three categories of products that sell? I'm going to assume T shirts, bags, stickers.

[Student 2]

Stickers, T shirts. And I actually make buttons as well.

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Student 2]

Those are more wholesale. So when I'm looking at my overall sales, which is all in Shopify, buttons are popping up because of wholesaling.

[Co-host]

Okay. So I have a company, She's a student of ours and she's recommended. She's amazing, probably will share her story. I forget where in which day, but she is opposite than what you do, but similar. Her company's called Just Love Prince and she's a big Catholic company. She was for the modern Catholic family. And when she started, she had keychains and mugs and hats and stickers and fake tattoos and prints and candles, everything. When she did the exact same process, she actually saw funny they were the cheaper products. But her prints, her fake tattoos and her stickers were her bestsellers. So when she got rid of the keychain, she got rid of the hats, she got rid of the mugs. I think she also got rid of the candles. She focused on this. She was making 35 to 40, $40,000 a month with $5 stickers, $5 tattoos. So you absolutely can develop a brand. And T shirts. So I think if you focus, I like those for you. I like the T shirts, the stickers and the buttons because they're kind of a similar vibe. They're like two of them are going to be cheaper product you're going to have to sell more of. And then the T shirt is for someone who fully wants to own a look versus the other things are like little symbols. Like it's your own little thing that's kind of saying like, this is who I am. But they're not in that. It's a similar customer. Just one person's like all in. And the other customer's like, I'm gonna add this to my water bottle or I'm gonna put it on my iPad because it's a self identification. So I think you're good there. So, meaning, don't feel like you have to create tote bags and all these other things. So no, I guess I would stay with those three product categories and honing in on the words that make sense or the visuals that make sense for that ideal customer. And we're gonna talk more about your ideal customer as well.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Hey, friends.

[Co-host]

Okay, so I don't know if you're.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Anything like me, but sometimes it feels like my self care routine is slipping through the cracks. Because when I'm juggling and wearing all the hats in my business and doing all the things, I mean, the last thing I have to do is like really fulfill that self care routine that my daughter's talking about. She's like, mom, so listen. So when it comes to running a successful business, you can't really pour from an empty cup. And a lot of times that self care is like one of the first things to get yourself recalibrated. So that's why I want you to meet Glossy. Now Glossy is my favorite daily beauty supplement designed to transform your skin and gut health from the inside out. And I'm actually an investor in this business Because I so believe in this idea of science backed ingredients for digestion and skin hydration and glossy makes it really easy to look and feel your best without that whole 10 step routine in the mirror. The thing I don't actually have time for, all I have to do is simply mix the stick into my water and I'm good to go. So if you want to try this, because I so believe in this business, I think it's amazing. It's done so many wonders for my skin and my gut, which are two things that I need help with. And you want to simplify your wellness and your beauty. All you have to do is click in the show notes and you can use the code Jaclyn Snyder. So it's my full name. Use the code Jaclyn Snider and I'm hooking you up with 15% off your order. So cheers to glowing skin and a thriving business.

[Student 3]

My question is. So I do project bags and I have three bags in my line. I have the stuff it bags, I have ball buckets and I have something called Gnome. So simple. The ball buckets are my newest and they seem to be doing well. But I don't know if it's because they're new or because of their price. But then in my stuff it bags I have three sizes and one of the three sizes does really, really, really well. So is it that one size in the stuff it or do I just consider stuff stuff at all three sizes is a bestseller.

[Co-host]

Out of the three sizes, does one really underperform?

[Student 3]

I wouldn't say underperform, but it's funny. The smallest and least expensive of the three sizes is the one that sort of lags behind. It's like every now and again all of a sudden everybody wants lil Gnome, but for the most part they want the other two sizes, but they really want the Magnum, which is medium.

[Co-host]

So in pricing psychology, you know how like if you've ever gone to like a phone plan and they're like, you can have this one, this one or this one. What you're dealing with right now is probably price anchoring, which means that they look at the three and they're picking the middle package. So they're not ready to go to like the most expensive and the cheaper one is actually anchoring the value of the middle one. So what your attention can be and like what's going to be cool is tomorrow maybe you're going to get sparked with some version of an idea of how do we actually start to move the small version as maybe a Bundle in something else and on the go set, right? Like something else, we might be able to move it forward. So right now it may be price anchoring, I'm not sure. And with businesses with all of everything that you guys are doing, it's test and try. So if you pulled it off, if like you did not have it available, the next time you sell something, you could see are they going to pick medium or large, right? So you could potentially remove it and.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Test it or you can keep it.

[Co-host]

And just say like, okay, but my focus is always going to be the media.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Like every time I talk about stuff.

[Co-host]

Every time I'm like up in front of people, this is the best seller. Customers love it. It's my medium. Dah, dah dah dah dah dah dah. And they love you make suggestions. They love to buy this small. Maybe there's an add on because it's an on the go. Now the new product category or the new product that you introduce could be newness. So part of the reason it sells. So that's going to be again a test and try to see how long like we're going to test and try. We're going to put it out in front of customers, we're going to see if it works and it might get added on to your, your product lineup. Or you might be like this thing. Maybe I just stay to these, this one product. But it doesn't sound like you have a ton of products right now. What I don't want you to do is make each product and make like a hundred variations of each product meaning like, but you can also get it in 75 different colors. Customers like get decision fatigue. And so not only do they have to pick the product, then they have to pick the color. So if you ever go into a store, like this shirt that I'm wearing, my in laws hadn't seen me dressed yet. I went out there for a hot.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Sec and they're like, oh, we love the color we love.

[Co-host]

And when I saw this, this was only available in this colorway. They might have other colorways, but the.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Shop that bought it only had it.

[Co-host]

Available in this colorway. So the decision I had to make as a customer was one, do I like the color and do I like the style and does it fit me well? If you gave me five of them, I might be like, I have no.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

Idea what to pick.

[Co-host]

I can't afford all five. I'm not going to get any of them. Or I'm sitting in the dressing room wrestling with my own brain. Right?

[Student 3]

Okay.

[Co-host]

Think about that for your customers.

[Student 3]

Okay?

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Student 3]

Perfect. Thank you.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

All right, that's it for today's Q and A session and a big shout out to my incredible students inside of Standout Society and the sales accelerator and the Product Boss Academy. These questions are always so thoughtful, and I know that they help more people than just the person who asked. So if you found this helpful, make sure that you're following and subscribed to.

[Co-host]

The show the Product Boss Podcast, so.

[Jacqueline Snyder]

That you never miss a coaching moment like this one.

[Co-host]

I'll see you in the next episode.