Welcome to the Insider Q&A series, where we shine a spotlight on the individuals who make our organization thrive and pick their brains to learn about how businesses can flourish on Alibaba.com.
In this series, we delve into the perspectives our staff members have gathered from years of personal experience and observation to find the various threads that connect successful USA-based sellers on Alibaba.com. Through the Insider Q&A, we invite you to meet the people working behind the scene, discover the wealth of knowledge they possess, and gain a deeper understanding of how wholesalers, small-business owners, and manufacturers continue to prosper on Alibaba.com.
In today’s Insider Q&A, we interview Matt Talmage, Senior Account Executive. In his year and a half at Alibaba.com, he has recruited small and medium-sized businesses as well as new enterprise clients to the platform. His goals are to add new USA-based suppliers and make the current suppliers as successful as possible.
Question #1
Alibaba.com: What elevates sellers to become more successful on Alibaba.com?
Matt: Sellers should understand that having a long-term approach to the platform is an ingredient in the recipe for success. It may take 6 months before everything is fully set up with the account and the connections you build mature into business. Duly, the partnerships formed through Alibaba.com have great potential to be long lasting. It’s important to understand that B2B can take time, and one should not get discouraged by bad inquiries on a blank or incomplete storefront.
Question #2
Alibaba.com: What makes Alibaba.com unique?
Matt: Alibaba.com allows businesses to connect with other businesses all over the world. There are gaps in each business’ sales channel and those buyers that sellers miss out on offline are going to be searching on Alibaba.com.
Question #3
Alibaba.com: What role does customer service play in the success of sellers?
Matt: The quicker and more in-depth a supplier responds to a potential buyer, the better chance that they have to land them as a client.
Question #4
Alibaba.com: What strategies can sellers use to maximize their visibility and exposure?
Matt: Sellers should make sure they get all their products posted, their storefront designed, and then advertise — in that order. I’ve seen sellers advertise before their page is fully set up or be concerned about advertising after the page is set up and it minimizes the amount of success the supplier can have on the platform. We want to get as many people as possible to see the best version of their brand.
