01/15/2013
Time For Your Company�s
Annual Barter Check-Up!
Just as an annual physical check-up is a good idea for optimal
health, so is the idea for an annual look at your company�s barter
efforts. For a few minutes of your time, the following tips will
give you valuable ways your trade exchange can help you make 2013 a
more profitable year. Test yourself by looking at how the last few
months have gone.
o
Yes
o
No Have you aggressively used your exchange this year to build
new contacts and enlarge your customer base?
o Yes
o No
Are you staying in touch with your trade exchange broker on a
regular basis to find out what�s new and available, as well as to
communicate your particular desires?
o Yes
o No
Have you analyzed your company�s marginal cost of doing business?
(Day-to-day overhead is already covered by your regular cash
business. It is fixed, regardless of whether or not you barter.
Therefore, it shouldn�t be used to figure the cost of your extra
barter business.)
o Yes
o No Do
you treat your barter customers as �A-list� clients because they
make a significant, very profitable contribution to your bottom
line?
o Yes
o No Do
you spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day (90 minutes a week) thinking
of ways to incorporate barter?
o Yes
o No Do
you have a file or folder for planning your barter sales and
purchases?
o Yes
o No
Have you filled out your business work sheet? One column for
expenditures paid with cash, the second column for those acquired on
trade.
o Yes
o No
Are you employing your exchange�s advertising and promotional help
whenever possible? (Remember, it�s not what is advertised, but how
often it is advertised.)
o Yes
o No
Are you using your trade dollars for perks, incentives, bonuses, and
special occasions when showing your appreciation and recognition?
o Yes
o No
Are you using a trade purchase request form? It provides your
exchange with an authorized purchase order, so a salesman from the
exchange can confidently call on a new company (non-member) and sell
them on joining the exchange with your business in hand.
o Yes
o No Do
you suggest to your present vendors that additional business be paid
with trade dollars?
o Yes
o No
When trying to crack a tough new account do you use the greatest
close there is? Tell them they don�t have to pay you in cash.
Rather, show them how to save cash when buying your product or
service by joining your trade exchange.
o Yes
o No
Have you reviewed your long standing accounts receivables? If
payments aren�t forthcoming, make arrangements to take products or
services as payment.
o Yes
o No
Have you approached a long-overdue creditor with a creative solution
to your company�s debt problem? Offer to pay your debt with trade
dollars.
o Yes
o No
Finally, are you realistic in your barter expectations? Since your
barter business is usually from 3% to 10% of your total gross sales,
are you objectively looking at the valuable service your exchange is
providing your company?
Using your trade exchange efficiently and regularly can make this
year your most profitable ever!
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