The Product Boss Podcast

Episode: "Why Scattered Products Kill Repeat Sales (and What to Do Instead)"

Host: Jacqueline Snyder

Date: November 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this workshop-style, actionable strategy hour, Jacqueline Snyder dives deep into why product-based businesses with too broad or scattered product lines bleed sales and struggle to build a loyal customer base. Drawing on 20+ years of coaching and firsthand business experience, Jacqueline shares the importance of brand clarity, how to audit your best sellers, and practical steps to move from confusion to a focused, repeatable sales model that fosters repeat buyers and business growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem with Scattered Product Lines

• Customer Confusion

  • When businesses offer a wide variety of unrelated products, customers struggle to understand what the brand stands for and what to buy.
  • Analogy: Walking into a store or website with no clear direction is overwhelming, like entering Ross or Home Goods (00:08).
  • “When your categories are scattered, when what you sell is scattered, they don't know what to buy from you.” – Jacqueline Snyder [00:19]

• Wasted Resources

  • Developing and managing too many products increases costs, inventory headaches, and usually results in unsold stock.

• Case Example

  • Jacqueline coached a maker serving “modern religious families”; though she sold hats, prints, mugs, candles, and more, only low-cost items (prints, stickers, tattoos) truly resonated and sold in volume.
  • After focusing on these, her monthly sales grew from $15K to $35K.
    “Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.” – Jacqueline Snyder [01:45]

2. Brand Positioning: What Do You Want to Be Known For?

• Start by clarifying what you want your business to be known for—not just broadly, but specifically and defensibly in the market.
• Data is key: Look at hard sales numbers, not just assumptions or anecdotal feedback.
• Focus creates “easier marketing, better product-market fit, and lower cost of goods." [03:27]

3. The Customer Wants You to Tell Them What to Buy

• Successful brands lead shoppers by highlighting best sellers, creating homepage banners, and curating displays (just like mannequins in store windows).
• “If you’re able to write something down, write this down: The customer wants you to tell them what to buy.” – Jacqueline Snyder [06:13]
• Your website, emails, and social channels should narrate what to buy, via clear product highlights, “bestseller” badges, and consistent messaging across all platforms.
• Study big brands’ websites and emails for how they create guidance and urgency.

4. Diagnose: Are You a Gift Shop or a Brand?

• Open your site and ask: Does it look like a themed brand or a random gift shop?
• Are you creating regular offers (bundles, kits, promotions) based on what people want to buy—not what you want to clear out?

5. Collect and Use Data: Find Your Best Sellers

• Analyze the last 6–12 months of sales—focus on units sold, not just overall revenue (especially if you have big-ticket outliers).

• “I'm going to go off the units because that's telling us what customers want more of, not the revenue.” [25:50]

• Pick your top 3–5 products or product types as a test; this is the starting point for focus.

• Practical Example:

  • Candle company: discovers 8oz soy candles in vanilla outsell all other scents and sizes.
  • Jewelry maker: chunky gemstone necklaces move in volume, while one-offs or dainty styles are slower.
  • Graphic T-shirt biz: black/white shirts with a specific saying outsell bright colors or random designs.

6. The Grandma Test: Can a Novice Understand Your Offer?

• “If my 90 year old grandma were to walk into your booth, would she know what you sell?” – Jacqueline Snyder [34:00]
• Websites and displays must be simple enough for a non-expert (or even a fifth grader) to understand instantly what’s being sold and what’s popular.

7. You Are Not Your Brand – But Develop a ‘One-Liner’

• Separate your personal identity from your business—failure doesn’t mean you failed.
• Still, your brand should be so clear people can refer to you as “the cake pop lady,” “the San Diego prints person,” or “the freshwater pearl jewelry guy.” [22:56]
• Try the exercise: “Can people sum up your offer—or recommend you specifically for something—in one line?”

8. Narrowing Doesn’t Always Mean One Product Only

• You can focus on just one item with variations (e.g., color, scent, finish) and still achieve major success (see Static Block’s $400k/year with a single anti-static spray product).
• Larger brands (e.g., Rothy's, Nike) focus on a few signature categories before expanding, with variations and new collections built off best sellers. [41:47]

9. How to Apply Focus: Step-by-Step

• Review sales reports; identify your volume movers.
• Refocus your website and channels: hero images, navigation, homepage banners, and social posts should lead with best sellers.
• Create offers, bundles, and emails spotlighting your stars.
• Check: could your grandma describe what you sell after three seconds?
• As you grow, evolve variations based on best sellers—use trends for freshness, not for random expansion.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” [01:45]
  (On overdeveloping product lines)

• “The customer wants you to tell them what to buy. Yes, you heard that right.” [06:13]

• “If you’re not focused, not paying attention to the data, your customer is confused and confused customers don’t buy.” [05:28]

• “Would my 90 year old grandma know what you sell?” [34:00]

• “When you make what you want to make... you’re no longer acting like a business owner, you’re acting like someone with a hobby.” [53:38]

• “The proof will be in your bank account when you see how much easier it is to sell what they already want.” [01:09:40]

Important Timestamps

• 00:08 – Analogy: Overwhelming store experience
• 01:45 – Coaching case: narrowing SKUs transforms sales
• 03:27 – The focus-data-sales connection
• 06:13 – “Customer wants you to tell them what to buy”
• 16:20 – How to audit your site for scattered-ness vs. clarity
• 22:56 – Self-identifying your niche in customers’ minds
• 25:50 – Data: focus on units sold, not just revenue
• 34:00 – The grandma test explained
• 41:47 – Single product variations and big brand examples
• 53:38 – Hobbyist vs business owner mindset
• 01:09:40 – Focused selling and proof in your results

Actionable Takeaways

• Audit your sales data. Identify which 3–5 products sell the most units.
• Refocus your customer journey. Your homepage, emails, displays, and social posts should lead with these hero products.
• Bundle and promote. Create offers around your best sellers to increase average order value and encourage repeat sales.
• Simplify your message. Use the grandma test—can anyone instantly understand what you sell and what you’re known for?
• Evolve thoughtfully. Use trending colors/styles only as variations of existing best sellers—don’t scatter into unrelated territory.

Episode Tone & Style

Jacqueline’s coaching is warm, energetic, and direct—balancing tough love with cheerleading. Her real-world stories, actionable checklists, and easy analogies make this a lively yet highly practical “mini-masterclass” for product-based entrepreneurs aiming to grow with focus.

For more coaching and support, Jacqueline invites listeners to join the Product Boss Collective or book a free strategy session if their business is ready to scale.

This summary captures the primary themes, key insights, actionable steps, and memorable quotes for anyone wanting the core of this valuable episode without pressing play.