How to use Bartercard for better business results
How to use Bartercard
Gain more customers
For you to gain more customers, you would typically hire additional sales people, advertise, reduce prices or offer incentives. By accepting an alternative method of payment i.e. Bartercard trade poundss, you open up your business to a whole new market of customers and in turn gain a competitive advantage. The new customers you’ll receive from Bartercard will be motivated to buy from you. This directly results in increasing your sales opportunities.
Reduce your cash expenses
Bartercard enables you to increase your sales, and in turn, you are able to spend the trade poundss you earn, as well as your interest-free line of credit, to purchase products and services for your business and lifestyle. Effectively, you are offsetting some of your cash expenses by using your trade pounds instead, therefore saving your cash.
Build new business networks
Since Bartercard is a membership-based community there are many local and national networking events that are designed to provide introductions. Through new contacts, business is constantly being conducted through the trade exchange, and additional new cash referral business is reciprocated as a result of new relationships.
Sell excess stock
In the cash economy, in order to sell excess stock, a business will typically apply a discount, run dealer promotions or write off excess stock. Through Bartercard, business owners are able to sell excess inventory at the normal selling price negating the need to reduce precious profit margins.
Improve your lifestyle
Generally, we’re in business to make money to improve our lifestyle. If Bartercard can help you earn extra income which you can use partly for lifestyle purchases, then its effectively helping you to achieve this primary goal.
Many Bartercard members are spending their trade pounds they receive from gaining extra business on either themselves or their family. Some business owners choose to use them, along with their interest-free line of credit, to pay for a much needed holiday or weekend away. They may pay for other lifestyle expenses, such as dining out, clothing, entertainment, hobby equipment, gym memberships, massages, soft furnishings for their homes etc. All of which adds up to a better lifestyle.
Fund capital growth
When you become a Bartercard member you can apply for an interest-free line of credit, subject to trading amounts, equity, and security. Bartercard members are able to fund the capital growth necessary to grow their business. Some business owners have applied for substantial lines of credit which they’ve used to purchase property, office premises, complete renovations or develop extensive marketing campaigns to grow their business.
Collect outstanding debts
When a Bartercard business owner is having trouble collecting cash from one of their customers (debtors), they may offer to accept part or the entire amount outstanding from the debtor in products or services. Providing the debtor agrees, a Bartercard member is able to collect their outstanding debt by taking physical possession of the debtors’ products or by accepting a credit note which they, in turn, are able to on-sell through the Bartercard community. As the Bartercard member sells their debtors’ products or services through the community, the debtor reduces the balance of their outstanding debt.
Incorporate Bartercard into your payroll
Bartercard can help you attract the right people for the job and keep them happy with rewards paid for with Bartercard rather than cash. Choose from incentives such as holidays, gift certificates or restaurant vouchers to make your team feel rewarded and appreciated.
Expand your product line
Bartercard members have the option to purchase stock from other Bartercard suppliers at wholesale or retail rates, thus in turn, adding a new product to their product line which they can on-sell in the cash and/or trade economy. This option opens a realm of possibilities for Bartercard members as they are no longer restricted to selling just their product but are able to sell other unrelated products.
Take control of your marketing strategy
By being a Bartercard member, you’ll gain free local, national and international exposure through Bartercard’s online directory, eCommerce platform, e-newsletters, Trade Shows and networking functions.
In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to use your trade pounds to promote your business to the cash economy by spending on advertising and promotional items, sponsorship and public relations.
Win cash contracts
Trying to win a business contract these days can be difficult with competitors undercutting prices to win deals.
With Bartercard, members can offer their potential cash customers (non-Bartercard members) the option to pay for part of the total contract amount with their product or service. In turn, the Bartercard member can then on-sell this product or service through the network, realising the full contract amount.
For example, when a cleaner quote on a hotel cleaning contract, the cleaner may choose to accept some hotel rooms as part payment for their service. The cleaner is then able to trade (sell) these hotel rooms through the Bartercard network.
Leaseback equipment
As a business owner, you may need to lease or buy an asset such as a forklift, kitchen equipment, factory equipment, photocopier, computer, or phone system but you may not have the working capital to afford the large cash outlay.
If you were able to purchase all or part of these goods with trade pounds from another member, they could arrange cash finance (through a finance lender) for part or maybe all of the asset, then hold those funds to use as a valuable cash injection back into the business.
Gain cash referrals
We find that every time a Bartercard member provides a service or product of great quality to another member, the satisfied customer is likely to recommend the business to other people they know in the cash economy.
Therefore, by simply providing great service and products to Bartercard members, you’ll be in a position to gain referrals to new cash customers.
Using trade pounds gives you a purchasing discount
The true essence and power of Bartercard is the �?purchasing power’ of your product or service.
When you purchase in Bartercard, you are effectively spending with your excess product or service. Therefore, your purchasing discount is inbuilt into your margin.
Therefore, if it costs you 35p in the pound to provide your product or service, then for every £100 trade you spend, it only costs you £35. So, you are buying at a 65% discount! This is the power of Bartercard.