Podcast Summary: The Product Boss – Episode 733 "The 3 Numbers That Will Shape Your 2026 Sales"

Host: Jacqueline Snyder
Date: December 11, 2025
Length: ~36 minutes (Content-focused, skips ads/intros/outros)

Episode Overview

In this strategic, workshop-style episode, Jacqueline Snyder wraps up 2025 by guiding product-based entrepreneurs through the three critical numbers they must analyze before heading into 2026. Drawing from 20+ years of experience and extensive coaching, Jacqueline shares actionable tips for leveraging your data and eliminating guesswork—enabling makers, artists, and founders to become the CEO of their business, not just hustling creators. The tone is motivating, pragmatic, and empathetic, with relatable anecdotes and concrete frameworks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mindset: From Guesswork to Data-Driven Decisions

• Jacqueline empathizes with the year-end confusion that many entrepreneurs feel, stressing the importance of pausing after the frenzied Q4 to analyze data rather than operating blindly.
• "Every year it felt like I was wiping a whiteboard and moving on to the next thing... I would literally freak out every December." [01:21]
• She reframes "I don't know" as often being a way of avoiding looking at the real (sometimes uncomfortable) numbers.

2. The Three Numbers to Track

A. Your Best Seller(s)

(What are you known for? What drives the most revenue?)

• Use the 80/20 rule: "80% of your revenue can come from the top 20% of your products." [08:26]
• This isn’t always a single SKU, but often a product category (e.g., necklaces vs. rings for jewelry, a scent or vessel size for candles).
• For one-of-a-kind or custom products, look for consistencies—what type/size/theme sells most reliably?
• Repeat (and adapt) what already works:
  • Adapt bestsellers with new colors, seasonal variations, or bundles (e.g., how Juicy Couture repeated their tracksuit in multiple colorways and styles).
• "Your best seller is going to tell you what your customers want to buy, what you're known for, what they're going to spend their money with you on." [09:57]
• Memorable Analogy: Juicy Couture tracksuit’s success came from relentless repetition and adaptation, not chasing constant innovation [12:15].

B. Average Order Value (AOV)

(How much do customers spend per order, on average?)

• Higher AOV means faster growth with the same or fewer customers.
• Calculate AOV: Total revenue ÷ Total number of orders.
• Strategies to raise AOV:
  • Adjust free shipping thresholds (“They would rather add something to their cart than pay you for shipping.” [17:45])
  • Bestseller bundles ("Help your overwhelmed customer—'everything you need is in this pack'.” [20:38])
  • Order bumps/upsells at checkout, inspired by grocery store lanes [21:53]
  • Free gift with purchase for seasonal tie-ins
• "If you can get the people who are already buying from you to just spend a little bit more, you don’t need any new customers to make more money.” [23:56]
• Jacqueline urges listeners not to project their own scarcity or buying anxieties onto customers—be the CEO, not just the creative.

C. Sales Channel Breakdown

(Where is your revenue really coming from?)

• Identify and focus on what’s actually performing:
  • Website
  • In-person markets (which specific markets, and why)
  • Wholesale
  • Influencer-driven surges
• Use the 80/20 rule: A few channels often drive most of the revenue.
• Track which offers worked, how your booth was set up, what online listing got the most views.
  • "This whole episode is about looking at the data. It's math, not drama. Your business is leaving you clues the whole way." [30:28]
• Example: One student’s “email + offer strategy” turned a previously low-converting online channel into a powerhouse.
• Track both the numbers and what you did to make those numbers happen (so you can repeat or adapt in 2026).

3. Overcoming Common Entrepreneurial Blocks

• Creatives often resist doubling down on bestsellers out of boredom, but that’s the path to profit.
  • "If you're bored, get a hobby. The thing that's keeping you stuck is your creativeness and your want to do something new and different... That's literally the thing getting in your way of the millions of dollars in your bank account." [15:52]
• Mindset shift: Track and double down on data, not just intuition.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On business analysis:
  "Have you ever thought that? I don't know. I mean, that comes up so often. ... So what if you did know? Or what if you were able to look at the numbers, look at the information that you have, right? It's math, not drama." [02:15]

• On boredom with repetition:
  "You sell it and you sell it and you sell it, and you get so bored selling it, and you sell it all the way to the bank, right? That is how brands grow." [15:13]

• On raising AOV:
  "They would rather add something to their cart than pay you for shipping." [17:45]

• On channel analysis:
  "What was the sales channel that worked well, and why? ... You get to really look at the sales channel that worked and ask yourself, why did it work?" [31:47]

• On CEO mindset:
  "You get to be the entrepreneur, the CEO mindset, the leader of your business, not someone who feels like they're flying by the seat of their pants or that says I don't know. Because you do know." [35:02]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:00] — Wrapping up Q4 and annual reset mindset
• [03:42] — The illusion of “not knowing” & importance of tracking
• [08:26] — Number 1: Best Seller(s), 80/20 rule, and examples
• [12:15] — Juicy Couture and the power of repeating bestsellers
• [14:55] — Boredom as a creative block to profits
• [16:13] — Number 2: Average Order Value—why it matters and how to improve it
• [20:38] — Bundling, upsells, free gifts as AOV boosters
• [27:56] — Scarcity mindset and “you are not your customer”
• [28:50] — Number 3: Sales channel breakdown—finding your true revenue engine
• [32:48] — Tracking and reflecting ahead of 2026
• [34:56] — Final mindset nudge: Be the detective, not the drama queen

Actionable Takeaways

• Track your bestsellers—by product, category, style, or theme.
• Calculate and increase your AOV with offers, bundles, or subtle shifts in customer incentives.
• Analyze which sales channels actually drive results and double down on what works.
• Write down what you did and what worked (and why)—you’ll need this when planning next year.
• Release resistance to repetition (if you’re creative)—repetition is what scales revenue.

Tone & Style

Jacqueline’s delivery is warm, energetic, and reassuring, acknowledging entrepreneurial insecurities while providing clear, practical frameworks. Her language is motivating, grounded, and filled with specific examples—often addressing individual students by name for relatability.

For anyone seeking clarity, control, and real growth as a product-based business owner, this is a must-listen episode with a workshop feel—perfect for planning a more profitable year ahead.