Barter, The Electronic Handshake

Business owners are always looking for ways to lower expenses. Bartering allows you to build your profit into your expense and conserve your cash flow. It’s just one more tool to use to increase the chances of your company’s success. You gain more customers in the process because these are not people that you would have normally done business with.

You have more to gain than just new customers, once you've bartered successfully with another business owner, you open yourself up to a new business relationship that can help your company grow for years to come.

Bartering online makes it easy to approach companies that you may never have thought of doing business with. Joining an online barter club is a smart and simple way to find business owners in your area willing to barter for goods or services you require.

Some companies deal with barter currency, others charge membership or transaction fees and some provide their service at no cost. The best suggestion I can offer is to shop around and decide what is right for your company.

Whatever barter site you decide to deal with should provide you with ample information on how their barter system works and informative pages for people who may be new to the barter world. If you are unsure of anything, it doesn't hurt to ask questions before making the decision to join. How quickly and accurately they respond is a good indication of how your concerns would be addressed as a member in the future.

Many business owners who enjoy bartering are not just members of one organization; you can join a few and start weeding out the ones that don't seem to be working for you.

Be leery of hidden fees. Although a company may state that there is only a one-time membership fee, as a member you may still have to pay an annual fee or a percentage per transaction.

Good communication is the key to bartering successfully and a declined trade shouldn’t discourage you from contacting other business owners. Be realistic in the value of services you are offering and what you are seeking in return.

Remember that your success does not solely depend on the company that you decide to join. You need to remain active in pursuing trades because if little or no effort is put forth, then your results will be of no accomplishment. If you pursue all possible leads, you will gain all the benefits and rewards that bartering brings.