Ep. 53 From Magazine Ads to AI, Lessons From a Career in Selling

In this episode: Danan Coleman sits down with Abe Chomali, Founder of XP Strategy and longtime Amazon + DTC veteran. Abe has been selling since before Amazon existed and he joins us to share the real evolution of Commerce: from magazine ads in the 90s… to the chaos of modern marketplaces… to the rise of AI in advertising.Whether you’re a seasoned brand or scaling up, this episode is packed with timeless principles and tactical clarity.🔗 Connect With Abe Chomali Website: https://xpstrategy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abechomali Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xp.strategy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XPStrategy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@xpstrategy👉 Abe’s New Program: RightClick Advisors – Systems training for scaling brands https://rightclickadvisors.com⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Welcome to The eCom Growth Show00:39 – Abe gets personal: the “name mispronunciation bond”01:35 – Abe’s background: Brooklyn roots & early days in eCom02:18 – Why ads are only ONE part of the Amazon ecosystem03:20 – Amazon’s incentives & why listings matter more than sellers think04:44 – The problem with percentage-based ad agencies05:28 – How incentives cause ad accounts to burn money06:05 – Q1: What’s changed and what hasn’t about selling online07:38 – Magazine ads, long lead times & what “real business” meant in the 90s08:38 – Why big retail brands adapt better than small Amazon native sellers10:37 – Amazon changes you should expect and prepare for10:52 – Amazon’s fulfillment costs and why they’re still subsidized11:39 – Danan’s Walmart selling days (wild story)13:28 – Q2: The biggest mistake sellers still make with Amazon ads14:21 – The housekeeping problem: why most ad accounts sit untouched15:55 – Horror stories: lost spend, runaway ACOS & passive ad waste17:29 – Q3: The first thing Abe checks in every struggling ad account18:26 – Understanding wasted spend (and why 0% wasted is BAD)20:03 – Q4: What separates winners from everyone else on Amazon21:22 – The CEO transition: entrepreneur vs leader22:09 – Q5: Abe’s advice heading into 202622:49 – Why every seller needs a real “rainy day fund”23:17 – Danan’s personal discipline framework for finances26:02 – The Land Rover exception 😂26:32 – Closing thoughts & Abe’s final message26:52 – Introducing RightClick Advisors27:37 – Wrap-up#TheeComGrowthShow #AmazonAds #XPStrategyKEEP IN TOUCH:🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danancoleman📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecomgrowthshow👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeComGrowthShow 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/eComGrowthShowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eComGrowthShowDanan Coleman is an expert in the Amazon field. He's been actively selling on Amazon since 2010 and in the SaaS and Service network for Amazon sellers since 2018. After helping companies like ManageByStats and Carbon6 scale and be sold, he started his eCom Triage [https://ecomtriage.com] to help sellers with solutions to complicated and seemingly impossible tasks like removing negative reviews and detecting critical and detrimental changes to your product detail pages. He also consults both brands and agencies in the Amazon space.