Secrets Inside Bartering

Have you ever thought to ask your plumber if you could trade something for services. Or asked your mechanic if there was something he was looking for that you both could trade to get your car fixed. In today's economy the most beneficial action to save money and build relationships is the age old art of bartering. It is called an art because it takes a bit of skill to trade effectively and you also need to have a strong enough network of people you can trade with. In this blog you will go over some useful tips that will help you develop the skills of bartering.

Barter is defined by dictionary.com as; to trade by exchange of commodities rather than by the use of money. During times of struggle, like most are experiencing today, this is the most effective way to save money and not sacrifice a lot in the process. But, did you also know it is a highly effective promotions and advertising tool. Not to mention the perfect way to build strong relationships in your community. Let me give you an example. 

Susie is a massage therapist who needs to get her floors redone and she has decided on wood but does not have the skills to lay the floor herself nor does she have enough money to cover the cost of installation. 

Carl is a carpenter who works long hours and has been developing a bad back. He has been to see a chiropractor and was told he should get a regular massage treatment and the cost of a weekly massage is not in his budget at the moment.

As you can see these two people should meet and discuss how they can help each other. Once Susie starts working on Carl's back, he will tell everyone how good he feels. Susie will have her floor done and tell everyone who comes to her home how it was installed. The two of them will start a buzz about bartering and not even realize it. The biggest question people ask is how can Susie and Carl find each other in the first place to make this wonderful transaction occur. The easiest way to make a match up like this is to advertise on Craig's list or Facebook that you have a service for trade. Other ways to find people to barter with are at business socials or the old fashion way... the classified section. Of course when you barter you need to match the value of the services with what you are trading. Be sure to not under sell yourself and get what you really need out of the deal.

Now that the concept of bartering is understood, here are a few hints as to how you can find enough people to trade with where you can really see a difference in the money you are saving and the promotion you are getting:

1. Become and member of a barter brokering group. These groups have brokers not unlike on Wall Street that help you connect with whoever you need to trade with. You simply tell the Barter Broker what you need and what you have to trade and they locate the person right for you to trade with. It's that simple. The service usually costs under $5 a month and you pay a very small fee per trade.
2. List 5 things you are really good at and rate them from best to least favorite to do. Then start with the top skill and market it as a service to your family and friends in trade. This also ties into creating your own position.
3. Offer trade for services with landscapers, accountants, plumbers, mechanics and ask them to spread the word. Even if they don't accept the deal, the fact that you asked will create a buzz that you have a service to offer and these professionals see a lot of people who they can tell.

Finally, a lot of people that are not fans of trade have not really looked at the things they need done other than paying bills. So, you really need to be sure you create a good network of people you can negotiate your skills with rather than wasting your time calling random businesses. This is why the barter service is important, just in case you cannot make time to meet people. The more businesses that trade with each other the better chance of helping to keep more businesses open during hard economic times. Your business's cash flow will open up and you will be able to budget much more effectively by bartering just a few services and getting your name out in the public in a new light. For more tips on bartering and how barter brokers work, visit Insidebarter.com. 

7 Skills Needed to Create Your Own Position

Over the years I have noted the necessary skills needed to create your own position in business. Some can even be considered skills for life as well. I will let you decide which ones work for you in life but all seven are needed in business.

No. 1: Accounting and Bookkeeping

For most people this is a boring subject to learn and others eat it up like candy. Wherever you stand on the issue, accounting and bookkeeping are the two top skills you must have in order to create your own position. Don't fret if you are not a whiz with numbers because there are programs you can get that will help you kepp track of all the numbers step by step as you keep track of your finances and growth. You can also hire an accountant and/or bookkeeper to handle it all for you but I am more partial to knowing how to handle it yourself. How else are you going to control you destiny?

No. 2: Written and Verbal Communication

Superior communication skills are essential in business, specially in today's instant information driven society. The person who can clearly get their information through will win every time. Writing can take time to develop and even professional writers take time to learn better ways to spell out their information. If you are having a tough time with writing do your self a favor and take a course either at a college or online. A well developed writer is a value to any business. The next equally important form of communication is verbal. Being able to present your idea's verbally has sometimes been lost in business today with the advances in social media which means it will take that much more effort to get your point across in a timely and professional manner. Public speaking can be intimidating for most and in my experience even the most seasoned public speakers still get butterflies before a presentation. It's only natural. What you need to do is practice and even join a public speaking club.

No. 3: Marketing and Promotion Techniques

This is not only for you to use as a service to provide but also as a tool to promote yourself. In order to create your own position you have to promote yourself effectively. Attend mixers and business social functions as often as your schedule will permit. This is one thing I am still struggling with to develop in my own business because I am excellent at marketing others but have had a hard time over the years marketing myself. What I have found is that the use of some specific marketing techniques in social media as well as within the organic community can be very simple and effective. General marketing 101 material is the starting point and creativity takes over from there so develop the right side of your brain a bit and be creative with your self promotion as well as with what you offer to the public. In todays information driven world the more creative the better.  

No. 4: Social Media Management/SEO

You will be missing out on more than you can possibly imagine if you discount the power of social media. It may not be necessary to sign up for every social site on the web but the ability to promote you and your abilities at the least cost possible is the best bet in ant book. My top choices are LinkedIn and Facebook to mingle with people and introduce yourself without ever leaving your home. Saves a ton on gas. This is not to say you should not mingle in public. As I said before, you should always attend functions in the organic community in order to work on your self promotion. It also helps with your public speaking.

No. 5: Goal Setting and Time Management

Zig Ziglar has one of the best takes on goals. I recommend his teachings on witting your objectives down, setting a deadline, identify the obstacles, identify the people and organizations you need to work with,  make a plan of action, spell out what you need to know, and write down what is in it for yourself. It is a proven method to success. Of course your attitude must match your intention to accomplish the goal or there is no reason to even set the goal in the first place. So, always have a positive attitude about the outcome throughout the whole process. Some goals are harder to attain than others and you must realize that ahead of time. There are courses and seminars on this topic as well.

No. 6: Leadership and Customer Service

In order to be an effective leader you must be an effective listener. The same is true in customer service and I don't mean as in a waiter at a restaurant, although that is a noble profession I was never good at. Customer service is in every job and in every company. A customer is anyone you engage with that you do something for. Most of the time money is exchanged but other customers can be your office manager, or the payroll clerk that needs you to fill out your time card correctly. The way in which you communicate with all of your daily customers will help develop how well you are as a leader. There is a great seminar called "The Internal Customer" that covers customer service in great detail.

No. 7: Experience and Sound Judgement

This is the hardest skill to measure and teach because it is a scale only you can control. What you learn from your decisions will dictate both the value of your experience as well as how good your judgement is. Be sure to always remain a student in life and do not be afraid to not know the answer. Part of learning sound judgement is the ability to know when you need to learn something in order to succeed. Experience is taking all that you have learned and putting into action.

I will go over all of these seven skills in more detail, as well as share my stories of success and failure with creating my own position, in my book "KungFu Marketing". Continue to check back daily for more information about creating your own position and I will share more details that will help you as we dive into 2011.

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