Meredith Baker
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Big RiverFor the last few years, publishers have been coming to me either because their Amazon sales seemed way off, or they made changes in distribution or sales representation that sent sales into a tailspin.
Sales velocity in the wrong direction on Amazon is never good and the urgency to create a process to reverse momentum was both critical and intriguing. Most excitingly, it worked! I was able to turn the publishers around and get them on a growth path. As you can imagine, helping these publishers was incredibly rewarding and I wondered-if I went through these processes with other publishers, could I get them to new levels with Amazon. This was the inspiration for launching Big River Consulting July 1, 2015. As for the name, I’m sure you know who the Big River is… |
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My journey
My first job in publishing was back in 1988, working in the marketing department of Crown Publishers. The best part of the day was 4:45pm when I delivered the day’s orders to the founder of Crown, Nat Wartels.
He would tell stories of publishing back in the 1940s and give opinions on books, which were always spirited. He imparted his beliefs that books are a cultural imperative and publishing a noble and fun profession. His thoughts on book publishing still influence me today. After a stint in NYC, I headed west and obtained an International MBA from Thunderbird. Then crossed back to Nashville, where luck would have it, Ingram was hiring a Marketing Manager for Ingram Library Services and Ingram International. From there I joined the Ingram Internet start up as Director of Market Development. Then in 1998 came a fateful call from Macmillan Technical & Reference looking for an Amazon sales rep that didn’t have a sales background. They were convinced a business development/marketing person was a better match for Amazon. Which was good news for me because I had zero sales experience! Post Macmillan, I joined a digital music startup, MusicMatch, as their Senior Alliance Manager to Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Nike. And then a move to Portland, Oregon, lead me to a job at Faherty & Associates as their Amazon rep for four book distributors and seventeen publishers. All combined, I have over nineteen years working with Amazon. Between the number of years and variety of clients, it’s rare to have a “never seen that before” experience. That said, I love it when something unknown does occur because it inevitably leads to new understanding and opportunity. Fun! |
