How To Navigate The Complex World of Product Importing With Carolina Montanez

Launching a new product is an exciting time for any e-commerce business.

And in a global world, your products are most likely made offshore.

You’ve put in months of work with your supplier to have your products finally ready for sale and now you just need them delivered from overseas… to your door. Simple right?

Sadly, no!

Importing products from overseas is a complex process that if not done correctly can end up costing you thousands of dollars in unexpected costs. And it’s often the piece of the product puzzle that is completely overlooked until it is too late.

Today I talk with Carolina Montanez from Plane 2 Sea to walk through what you need to know, even before negotiating prices with your suppliers, to get your products from your suppliers warehouse to Australia with the least amount of hassles and unexpected costs.

In this episode we talk about:

Why communication with suppliers and freight companies is key
Why having an understanding of the process and shipping terms is vital even during the price negotiation with your suppliers
Disaster stories to avoid (including my own!)
Key terms to know and costs involved when shipping products to Australia
How a freight forwarding company can help you navigate the pitfalls of importing

Don’t know your FOBs from your AWBs? You’re not the only one!

Listen as Carolina shares her expert knowledge to understand the complex world of product importing – from overseas warehouse to your front door.

(There were some sound difficulties with the audio in the first 10 minutes of the recording. The written transcript of our discussion is included below to help you follow our conversation).

Listen now.

Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

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Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favourite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Find Ciara and the Plane 2 Sea team at:

Plane 2 Sea

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Read the Transcript

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Follow Me @cathlangman

cathlangman

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We help Ecommerce stores with their online marketing so they can scale faster.

⌛ It’s only 88 days till Black Friday! But…

Just about every eCommerce brand on the planet is looking forward to Q4, expecting Black Friday and Xmas promos will fill the cash registers after what’s been a tough year for most.

I certainly am – are you?

Here’s the unfortunate truth though… The marketing that worked last year, won’t work the same way in 2024.

Why?

(A) Black Friday starts almost a week later in the year compared to last year.

(B) Some of the major AI-driven changes to Google and Meta (and other platforms) is making it increasingly harder and more expensive to get traffic to your website.

(C) This year, the US will be holding their presidential elections in early November.

Experts are predicting that ad CPMs (cost per million impressions – basically the pricing method for digital advertising) may increase by MORE THAN 3x(!!) in the lead up, during and shortly after the election!

I’m not sure about you, but I definitely cannot afford to spend 3x as much on ads to make the same money back!!!

Is there anything you can do to prevent this costly calamity from ruining your peak selling months??

Yes. Yes there is.

But here’s the catch… You gotta start now.

Swipe across to see what you should be doing! 👉

Not sure what your growth opportunity looks like?

If you’re feeling nervous or a bit gun-shy about your marketing this year…

But you’re really keen to make the most out of this final quarter of the year…

Then I invite you to book a no-obligation call with us.

We’ll help you calculate the results you can achieve with the right plan in place!

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On Saturday we recieved the most amazing customer appreciation from Luckies Knickers 🧡

Appreciation Post for Catherine Langman and her team.

It can be super lonely and confusing in startup land. The learning curve seems insurmountable at times. I knew I needed help and had been listening to Catherine’s podcast for quite a while. She tells it straight, and she knows her business shit.
So I took the plunge and joined the Productpreneur Academy course and I’m so glad I did.

Not only has Catherine showed me incredible kindness, but her team (Sally, Narelle and Karen to name a few) are absolute guns. The other academy members are so sweet, open and helpful also.

We’re all doing our best, but they make us so much better in record time.
In another act of kindness, Catherine is having a free bootcamp Sept 19. You’d better get yourself there if you want to prepare for Black Friday with a bang.
Thanks so much Cath! You rock 🤘🏻

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On Saturday we recieved the most amazing customer appreciation from Luckies Knickers 🧡

Appreciation Post for Catherine Langman and her team.

It can be super lonely and confusing in startup land. The learning curve seems insurmountable at times. I knew I needed help and had been listening to Catherine’s podcast for quite a while. She tells it straight, and she knows her business shit.
So I took the plunge and joined the Productpreneur Academy course and I’m so glad I did.

Not only has Catherine showed me incredible kindness, but her team (Sally, Narelle and Karen to name a few) are absolute guns. The other academy members are so sweet, open and helpful also.

We’re all doing our best, but they make us so much better in record time.
In another act of kindness, Catherine is having a free bootcamp Sept 19. You’d better get yourself there if you want to prepare for Black Friday with a bang.
Thanks so much Cath! You rock 🤘🏻

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🔋🎧 Boost Your Ad Results Right Now
With This (Deceptively) Simple Strategy

The other day, I read the report a business buddy received from their ad agency. It said “this traffic ad isn’t converting but the traffic is good because it’s feeding your retargeting campaign.”

Only, there was no retargeting campaign!!

And frustratingly, my friend just had no idea, because she hadn’t taken it upon herself to learn anything about how those ads should work.

This scenario happens all too often, and is precisely why I am such a huge advocate for education.

Even more frustrating, is the fact that what’s working with ads now is not what worked even 6 months ago, and keeps changing rapidly.

So today on the show, I’m going to share ONE Meta ad strategy that ALL eCom businesses should be utilising right now, no matter if they are a start-up or a 20-year-old multi-million-dollar brand.

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Want to boost your eCommerce success without doubling your traffic? Focus on increasing your Average Order Value (AOV)!

🌟 By optimizing how much each customer spends, you can significantly enhance your revenue and profitability. Whether it`s through personalized recommendations, enticing bundles, or exclusive discounts, raising your AOV helps you get more from every transaction. Dive into strategies that can turn single purchases into higher-value sales and watch your bottom line grow! 💰✨

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Want to boost your eCommerce success without doubling your traffic? Focus on increasing your Average Order Value (AOV)!

🌟 By optimizing how much each customer spends, you can significantly enhance your revenue and profitability. Whether it's through personalized recommendations, enticing bundles, or exclusive discounts, raising your AOV helps you get more from every transaction. Dive into strategies that can turn single purchases into higher-value sales and watch your bottom line grow! 💰✨

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When I ask brand owners, ‘do you know where your sales are coming from?’

They’ll often say, ‘oh, Instagram’, or ‘TikTok’, and sometimes even ‘Google’.

Often it’s ‘I’m not sure’.

But if you know your sales are coming from Instagram, do you really know how those customers are coming to you? Was it your imagery? Was it your captions or hashtags? Was it your ads?

Was it pure luck…?

Meaning, have you nailed this formula? “If I do X, I will get $Y sales”.

Because you can’t grow what you don’t understand.

But have you ever considered the real cost of doing nothing? Let’s break it down. Swipe across to see the scenarios 👉

So, what’s the real cost here? Not taking action could mean staying stuck right where you are—no growth, no progress, just the same old struggle.

Or, you could invest in your future with our Mastery program and potentially see results that make you wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

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Want The key 🔑 to Finishing 2024 Strong? 💪

Remember that kid in school who left all their homework to the very last minute? The one who pulled all-nighters, scrambled to finish assignments, and then just barely scraped by with a passing grade? Let’s call them Procrastinator Polly.

Now, let’s talk about Little Miss Organised. She planned ahead, started her projects early, and always had her work done on time.
When it comes to your Black Friday and Christmas marketing, which one are you going to be—Procrastinator Polly or Little Miss Organised?

Here’s Why You Need to Start Now:

The market’s going to be more crowded than ever, and if you’re scrambling to get your ads up in November, you’ll be battling for attention (Your marketing costs will skyrocket, too.)

Meanwhile, Little Miss Organised (that could be you!) started planning in September. She’s got a rock-solid strategy to build and engage her audience early, nurture those relationships, and encourage repeat purchases all the way up to Christmas.

Our Strategy:
I’ve crafted a plan that starts in September and runs right through the holiday season. We’re talking about strategies that will 4x your revenue and help you bank more profit in Q4 than you ever thought possible.

Imagine getting your customers to come back not just once, but multiple times before Christmas—cha-ching!

And here’s the best part: we can teach you exactly how to do this in our Ecommerce Mastery program.

Don’t Be Left Behind:

Receive a free, personalised Results Action Plan (worth $3200)
Plus, for the first 4 clients who join our Mastery program in September, we’re offering a free personalised Results Action Plan worth $3200.

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Want The key 🔑 to Finishing 2024 Strong? 💪

Remember that kid in school who left all their homework to the very last minute? The one who pulled all-nighters, scrambled to finish assignments, and then just barely scraped by with a passing grade? Let’s call them Procrastinator Polly.

Now, let’s talk about Little Miss Organised. She planned ahead, started her projects early, and always had her work done on time.
When it comes to your Black Friday and Christmas marketing, which one are you going to be—Procrastinator Polly or Little Miss Organised?

Here’s Why You Need to Start Now:

The market’s going to be more crowded than ever, and if you’re scrambling to get your ads up in November, you’ll be battling for attention (Your marketing costs will skyrocket, too.)

Meanwhile, Little Miss Organised (that could be you!) started planning in September. She’s got a rock-solid strategy to build and engage her audience early, nurture those relationships, and encourage repeat purchases all the way up to Christmas.

Our Strategy:
I’ve crafted a plan that starts in September and runs right through the holiday season. We’re talking about strategies that will 4x your revenue and help you bank more profit in Q4 than you ever thought possible.

Imagine getting your customers to come back not just once, but multiple times before Christmas—cha-ching!

And here’s the best part: we can teach you exactly how to do this in our Ecommerce Mastery program.

Don’t Be Left Behind:

Receive a free, personalised Results Action Plan (worth $3200)
Plus, for the first 4 clients who join our Mastery program in September, we’re offering a free personalised Results Action Plan worth $3200.

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Content Creation Fails, Customer Trust and Big Tech Data Wars

Have you been noticing a shift this year with how your marketing is working (or not working)?
On the one hand, I see a lot of you (ecom biz`s) using ChatGPT and other AI tools to try and increase your productivity.

The old `give me 30 days of social media post ideas` chat prompt, copy-and-paste into Canva, and tick your content creation off your list.

Is that what you`re doing? Let me know in the comments.

But at the same time, I see a lot of people commenting in groups and all over the place that they can pick an AI-generated piece of content a mile away.
There are certain words and phrases that appear to be commonly used by AI tools. Images appear far too perfect for reality.

And then what happens?

As consumers of content - we just don`t trust what we`re seeing or reading.

Somewhat ironically, apparently TikTok has the highest trust rating amongst platform users.

Why?

Apparently because you can see that the person is real - because they`re on video.
Now, I`m not suggesting we should all give up on email or FB or IG and jump ship to TT. That would be silly.

However, we do all need to be more mindful of how AI-generated content impacts your reputation.

If your audience trusts you, they will buy from you.
If they don`t, they won`t.

You need to learn how to create content your customers will love - on tap.
A bit like editing a magazine in many respects.

We`ve developed a systemised way of doing this that makes it really quite simple.
And we teach it to our clients in our Mastery program.

This is one of the many reasons why our clients are growing - many quite rapidly - right now in 2024, when so many eCom businesses are going backwards!
If you want to succeed in business this year and beyond, you literally have no choice: you MUST master this!

If you don`t, you will definitely be left behind...

Hit me up if you`d like to learn more about how we help ambitious brands grow rapidly and profitably 🙂

PS - pics from my content creation this week!
And Lenny "helping" me write this post 🤣🐩

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Content Creation Fails, Customer Trust and Big Tech Data Wars

Have you been noticing a shift this year with how your marketing is working (or not working)?
On the one hand, I see a lot of you (ecom biz's) using ChatGPT and other AI tools to try and increase your productivity.

The old 'give me 30 days of social media post ideas' chat prompt, copy-and-paste into Canva, and tick your content creation off your list.

Is that what you're doing? Let me know in the comments.

But at the same time, I see a lot of people commenting in groups and all over the place that they can pick an AI-generated piece of content a mile away.
There are certain words and phrases that appear to be commonly used by AI tools. Images appear far too perfect for reality.

And then what happens?

As consumers of content - we just don't trust what we're seeing or reading.

Somewhat ironically, apparently TikTok has the highest trust rating amongst platform users.

Why?

Apparently because you can see that the person is real - because they're on video.
Now, I'm not suggesting we should all give up on email or FB or IG and jump ship to TT. That would be silly.

However, we do all need to be more mindful of how AI-generated content impacts your reputation.

If your audience trusts you, they will buy from you.
If they don't, they won't.

You need to learn how to create content your customers will love - on tap.
A bit like editing a magazine in many respects.

We've developed a systemised way of doing this that makes it really quite simple.
And we teach it to our clients in our Mastery program.

This is one of the many reasons why our clients are growing - many quite rapidly - right now in 2024, when so many eCom businesses are going backwards!
If you want to succeed in business this year and beyond, you literally have no choice: you MUST master this!

If you don't, you will definitely be left behind...

Hit me up if you'd like to learn more about how we help ambitious brands grow rapidly and profitably 🙂

PS - pics from my content creation this week!
And Lenny "helping" me write this post 🤣🐩

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There’s an old saying that necessity is the mother of all invention, and in my experience, some of the coolest, most innovative products have been invented to solve specific problems and needs.

I love the process of innovation, where you try and create a new solution that doesn’t exist yet. The creative thinking, problem solving, and brainstorming different solutions is super fun.

But it’s a whole next level when it comes to making that thing a commercially viable product that you can profitably launch to market.

Being able to manufacture something at a price point that customers will pay. The logistics of being able to ship your products and fulfil orders. What standards, if any, do you need to test for and comply with.

My guest today is Regan Merka, inventor and founder of Burleigh Wagon, which is honestly one of the coolest products ever. The Burleigh Wagon is a wagon, it`s a stroller, it`s an esky cooler and it’s making family outings better than ever!

Regan joins me on the show to share her journey of innovation and growth, from the seed of an idea to a brand that won a deal on Shark Tank and is now available both here in Australia and in the US! It’s a wild ride – you’re gonna love it.

🎙️ Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-239/

Burleigh Wagon
@burleighwagon

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How To Navigate The Complex World of Product Importing With Carolina Montanez

Listen as Carolina shares her expert knowledge to understand the complex world of product importing – from overseas warehouse to your front door.

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Links mentioned in this episode:

Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:

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