How friction can silently kill your business

Amazon is sharpening its focus on cost control, now requiring employees to declare personal vs. business use of company phones—leading to reduced reimbursements. This move is part of a bigger trend of increased spending scrutiny across tech giants. Does tighter oversight boost efficiency or harm morale? Read more via StartupTalky: startuptalky #WorkplaceCulture #TechNews https://lnkd.in/gCgthiE4

A client told me: "I went from a 4.2 to a 4.3 and my sales just doubled." That 0.1 difference was feeding their family. Most people don't realize how Amazon actually works. We look at reviews, check the star rating, and buy. It takes seconds. But sellers? They live and die by those stars. Going from 4.2 to 4.3 is massive. You cross from 4 stars to 4.5 stars visually. Some of our clients lose 10-50% of their sales when they drop below that threshold. I had one seller tell me: "I just did a product launch. Got review bombed by a competitor. My launch is dead." Six months of work. Thousands in production costs. Killed by a few fake reviews. That's not fair competition. That's sabotage. We don't remove legitimate reviews... and we never will. If your product sucks, fix it. Learn from the feedback. Improve. But when competitors attack newcomers with fake reviews? When people leave nonsensical one-stars because they're having a bad day? When reviews violate Amazon's own guidelines but slip through their system? That's where we come in. 14,000+ reviews removed. All compliant with Amazon's rules. All helping real business owners feed their families. Before you slam a business with a harsh review, remember: There's a human on the other side trying to make a living. Be constructive. Be fair. Be human.

An Amazon insider blew my mind about reviews. "Trust me," he said. "4 stars plus, people buy. Below 4 stars, they don't." But here's the kicker... 5-star reviews? People don't trust them. Too perfect. Too suspicious. The sweet spot is 4.2 to 4.8 stars. This matches exactly what I've been telling clients for years. Remember my old client with zero reviews while his competitors had 10+ at 4.8 average? He got zero enquiries. But the real gold came from someone in the travel space. “Don't fear bad reviews. It's not about the review - it's how you deal with it." When someone leaves a 1-star review and you reply: "Yep, we screwed up. Here's how we fixed it." That builds more trust than fifty 5-star reviews ever could. Social proof isn't about being perfect. It's about being real. People want to see: ✅ Others have bought before them ✅ Problems get resolved ✅ Real humans run the business ✅ You care enough to respond My client who was getting battered on reviews? Started replying to every single one. Good and bad. Sales went up 30% in two months. Not from better reviews. From showing they gave a damn. Stop hiding from social proof. Start using it properly. What's stopping you from asking customers for reviews? P.S. Ask every customer: "What could we do better?" That question alone is worth its weight in conversions.

How I Say Things That Build Trust as a Program Manager at Amazon Words matter. Early in my career, I didn’t realize how much tone, phrasing, and framing influenced outcomes. Now, I’ve learned small language shifts create big differences in how people respond. Here are 20 “say this, not that” swaps that make me a better PM every day: 1/ Say: “What does success look like?” Not: “What do you want me to do?” 2/ Say: “Here’s the impact if we don’t…” Not: “We can’t do this.” 3/ Say: “I missed this…here’s my recovery plan.” Not: “Sorry, it slipped.” 4/ Say: “Can you own this by Friday?” Not: “Who’s going to take this?” 5/ Say: “Option A delivers X, Option B delivers Y.” Not: “I don’t know which path is right.” 6/ Say: “Here’s what I heard…did I get it right?” Not: “Okay, I understand.” 7/ Say: “This will unblock three other teams.” Not: “This is my priority.” 8/ Say: “I’ll follow up with a recap so we’re aligned.” Not: “Let’s assume we’re all on the same page.” 9/ Say: “Here’s the trade-off if we add this.” Not: “We don’t have bandwidth.” 10/ Say: “How can I make this easier for you?” Not: “Why isn’t this done yet?” 11/ Say: “We’re trending behind…here’s the risk.” Not: “We might be late.” 12/ Say: “Let’s clarify ownership before we leave.” Not: “We’ll figure out who does what later.” 13/ Say: “This will take 2 weeks…does that work?” Not: “It’ll take a while.” 14/ Say: “Can we prioritize X over Y?” Not: “We can’t do both.” 15/ Say: “Here’s the final draft for feedback.” Not: “Here’s the final version.” (too early) 16/ Say: “I want to make sure I understand your concern.” Not: “That’s not what I meant.” 17/ Say: “Let’s document this so it doesn’t get lost.” Not: “We’ll remember.” 18/ Say: “Here’s what I can commit to today.” Not: “I’ll try my best.” 19/ Say: “We’re blocked by X…here’s how you can help.” Not: “We’re stuck.” 20/ Say: “I appreciate the feedback…here’s how I’ll apply it.” Not: “Got it.” Small language shifts create clarity, confidence, and accountability. 📬 I share leadership + execution insights weekly in The Weekly Sync: https://lnkd.in/e6qAwEFc 👉 Which of these swaps resonates most with you?

"Did I just ask you to buy heroin or did I ask you to remove reviews?" That's what I thought after my first Amazon seller conference. I'd walk up to booth after booth: "We can remove negative reviews." Their reaction? Like I was trying to sell them something illegal in a back alley. People would literally back away from me. I couldn't figure it out. These sellers were getting crushed by fake reviews, losing thousands in sales. Yet when I offered a solution, they ran. Then it hit me: they thought we were black hat. For years, the only companies removing Amazon reviews were sketchy operations. Offshore teams making fake accounts. Sellers getting suspended left and right. We were the first to do it completely compliant with Amazon's guidelines. But nobody believed us. So I put my name on the company. Not because I think I'm special, but because you could Google me. See my track record. My UCLA teaching history. My client success stories. If I was running a scam, why would I put my face on it? Sometimes when you're pioneering something new, you have to overcommunicate trust. Your reputation becomes your biggest asset. What are you doing to build trust in your industry?

Most businesses struggle because they obsess over the wrong questions. Every meeting I sit in, I hear the same ones: • Where are our customers coming from? • What do our customers look like? • How much are they willing to pay? Those are the easy questions. The obvious ones. The ones everyone asks. But here’s the problem: they only scratch the surface. I once sat across from a CEO who was frustrated. “Bryan, all anyone wants to talk about is price. Features. Discounts. That’s it.” I asked him, “What questions should your customers be asking?” He froze. He realized that not a single customer had ever asked about the work his team had done to reduce downtime by 30 percent. Why? Because they didn’t even know to ask. That’s the Johari Window in action. There’s what customers know. There’s what you know. The overlap is tiny. But when you illuminate the questions they should be asking, you expand their vision and you shift from vendor to trusted guide. Think about Amazon. It didn’t just answer “What does it cost?” or “How fast can I get it?” It rewrote the very questions customers asked. “Why wait a week?” became “Why not tomorrow?” “Why settle?” became “Why not everything in one place?” So here’s your daily reminder, the two most important questions in your business: 1. What questions are my customers asking? 2. What questions should my customers be asking? Answer both. Every single day. Because if you only focus on the questions customers know to ask, you drift. But when you teach them the questions they never thought to ask, you navigate. And navigation is how you win.

Micro products changed our growth strategy. Think about how Amazon started. They didn’t launch as the “everything store.” They started with one category...books. That single, clear offer earned trust. Then trust unlocked everything else. We realized the same thing: stop trying to sell the whole kitchen. Start with the faucet. One win at a time. Here’s how micro products work: – Create a low-commitment, high-clarity offer that solves one problem fast – Use it as an easy “yes” that builds trust – Let that trust open the door to bigger, long-term solutions When you stack small wins, customers lean in deeper. When you overcomplicate, they hesitate. If you’re a father and husband, this isn’t just about scaling revenue...it’s about creating clarity and consistency because trust-driven growth buys you stability at work and margin at home.

Ever had a client in full Amazon ‘business emergency’ mode? Fast deadlines, panic in every email, and the need for instant results. We’ve been there with multiple brands—every urgent message comes with high stakes because every missed hour feels like a lost dollar. The common mistake? Promise the impossible, deliver a band-aid, and watch the relationship fray. That’s not how Emplicit operates. Instead, we learned that the real fix is over-communication: set clear, realistic timelines and expectations. Share every step of the plan and ensure all action items are addressed—and visible—to everyone involved. When we handle Amazon crises, we focus on clarity, not just speed. This helps brands protect their ASINs, keep up momentum, and avoid the chaos that leads to missed opportunities. How do you keep urgent relationships healthy—without burning out your team or your client’s trust?

"Don't Tell Yourself a Story" - When Your Amazon Business Feels Like It's Failing Last year, a client called me in tears. "I'm a complete failure," she said. "Three months, $100K invested, and only 50 units sold out of 1,700. I should just quit and liquidate everything." I recognized that voice—it was the same one I heard in my own head years ago when I was staring at my first major Amazon setback. My mind was spinning stories: "You're not cut out for this." "Real entrepreneurs would have figured this out by now." "Everyone else is crushing it except you." Ryan Holiday's chapter "Don't Tell Yourself a Story" from Ego Is the Enemy hit me like cold water. I was crafting a narrative of failure instead of seeing reality: I was learning. Every "failed" launch taught me about keyword optimization. Every customer complaint showed me product improvements. Every inventory mistake made me better at forecasting. Here's what I told my client—and what I wish I'd told myself earlier: Your story isn't "I'm failing." Your story is "I'm learning faster than my competition." That client? She stopped the self-defeating narrative, analyzed her data, and discovered her third product was actually performing well—she just needed to shift her inventory focus. Six months later, she hit her first $10K month. Profitably. The Amazon marketplace is brutal on sellers who tell themselves victim stories. But it rewards those who see setbacks as data points, not verdicts. What story are you telling yourself about your business today? Is it serving you—or sabotaging you?

Most intro calls are worthless. Because most people pitch instead of asking the questions that matter. At Zoplenti, we flip that script. Every intro call is about one thing: uncovering blind spots. And almost every brand (yes, even 7- and 8-figure ones) has them. From a call last week: - “Entire product lines have been ignored because our sellers cherry pick best-sellers." - “All we get are complaints and reactive reports. Nobody’s proactive.” - “Our staff has to manually check listings for unauthorized changes.” These aren’t small frustrations. They’re the difference between surviving and scaling. My goals for every intro call is to: 1) Learn about the current Amazon setup 2) Understand their dream setup 3) Ask the questions that bridge the gap If a brand is 100% confident in their Amazon setup and growth trajectory… fantastic!  Let’s not waste each other’s time. But if not… the right discovery questions expose the cracks. What’s your best discovery question you ask on an intro call? (I’ll share mine in the comments.) #AmazonStrategy #EcommerceGrowth #CategoryLeadership #DistributionMatters #BrandLeadership #DiscoveryCalls