Employing the best staff and rewarding them without the cash costs

Wages are often one of the largest bills a business has and with recent increases in costs of living, you may have staff looking for a pay rise. Lets look at an example - Most Bartercard staff are paid 10% of their wages and 20% of their bonus in Trade pounds.  It is setup when people are first employed.

Could you use Trade pounds to reward key staff in your business to keep them motivated? Bartercard has two tools to help you achieve this:

Staff Accounts are a totally separate account in their own right, the difference is that only the parent account can put funds into them.

Gift certificates – are a way of giving your staff a one off Trade pounds payment or bonus – e.g. at Christmas time you might give each of your staff a T£500 bonus.

If you did this with your staff, how much cash could it save your business?

Bartercard is a multi functional tool for your business and can be applied in many different ways. The key is to work with your Account manger and to give them as much notice as possible about your requirements.

Bartercard - Spending Trade Pounds and not cash

Spending Trade Dollars
The key thing here is balancing the demand for your product or service, with your businesses ability to use Trade Pounds. Your ability to spend Trade Pounds is directly related to your willingness to change suppliers in order to save cash. Another key is to work with your account manager, their job is to make Bartercard an effective tool for your business.

'On Bartercard we purchase Lanson Champagne, Brands Hatch motor racing, tickets to Africa Africa at the O2, laptops, cameras, Ascot days out. I call my trade coordinator for unique purchases!'
Margaret, Blue River Cafe, Essex
www.blue-river.co.uk

‘I really got stuck into Bartercard, especially during the recession. I make sure I always know what products are available.’
Paul Daly, Roadtrip Bar, restaurant and jukejoint
www.roadtripbar.com

Using Bartercard to recover cash debts

Do you have any regular cash clients who have fallen on hard times and are struggling to pay you?

Rather than pursuing the debt and having the relationship turn sour, you may be able to use this trading tip, for a win/win result.  The idea is to offer them an incentive to pay you now.

Here's an example of how it could work:

Lets say a printer is owed £10,000 cash from a jeweller and the invoice has been outstanding for 12 months. The printer could offer the jeweller an incentive, by saying they will accept half of the debt in cash and the other half in product or gift vouchers.

This incentive could have a limited timeframe in order to motivate the jeweller to resolve the debt. The product or gift vouchers would then be sold through Bartercard for Trade pounds and the printer would use the Trade pounds in their business.

If there is hardly any hope of them paying some cash, then the printer might accept the whole debt in product or gift vouchers or, even ask the jeweller to join Bartercard in order to pay the debt directly in Trade Pounds.

Use Bartercard to Improve your lifestyle

Why are you in business? Hopefully it is with the view to ultimately improve your lifestyle!

If Bartercard can help you to earn extra income which you can use partly for lifestyle purchases, then Bartercard is effectively helping you achieve the primary goal of improving your way of life.

Bartercard members are able to spend some of the Bartercard Trade pounds they receive from gaining extra business on either themselves or their family. Some business owners choose to use their Trade pounds, 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 your business is supposed to be providing you with – a better lifestyle.

Strategies

1. Ascertain, with the assistance of your Accountant, a budget to spend on lifestyle expenses.
2. Peruse the Bartercard Auction site, eMarketplace and International Online Directory for lifestyle products or services.
3. Ask your Trade Co-ordinator (Account Manager), or the Tourism and Hospitality Support personnel at Bartercard’s Head Office to advise you of any travel specials.

MARKETING THROUGH BARTERCARD

Businesses often struggle with finding cashflow to reinvest in the growth of their business.  As a result, marketing efforts often fall to the bottom of the priorities list.  Bartercard members can resolve this situation by using Bartercard within the Exchange network on expenses relating to marketing activities.

Trade opportunities relating to marketing available through Bartercard members include:

•    Advertising in magazines, newspapers, radio
•    Website design and management
•    Signage: billboard, taxi, truck and mobile billboards, to mention a few of many
•    Creative services, including design and placement
•    Merchandising, including branded uniforms


As the economy tightens up, one of the first areas many busineses look to save money on is their advertising spend. However this is a double edged sword as it can also reduce the number of customers coming through the door. One of the best places you can spend trade is on attracting new cash paying customers to your business.

There are a couple of different ways you can increase your advertising spend while competitors are reducing theirs:
 
The first is to spend Trade pounds directly on advertising, in the Bartercard directory, the advertising section has pages of different options for your business.

Why not spend some Trade pounds on an incentive or prize to attract cash paying customers. You could offer customers a prize draw for a mystery weekend away that you pay for with Trade pounds . 

This trading tip is about spending Trade to make your business more attractive to cash paying customers. By doing so you can increase your market share without spending cash.

Use Bartercard to: Build business networks

As Bartercard is a membership based network, all Members have an obligation to encourage other businesses to participate.  A large network with a variety of businesses selling products and services is beneficial to all Members.  To grow the Bartercard network, Bartercard organize a variety of monthly networking functions.  These functions provide a forum where Bartercard Members are able to network with each other and build invaluable business relationships. A large amount of cash referral business may be generated through having good Bartercard business contacts.

Necessary tools

•    Business cards/promotional flyers to hand out at functions
•    Social skills

Strategies

Ascertain from your Bartercard Trade Co-ordinator (Account Manager) the dates of all possible networking functions and diaries
 

Ask a business associate to attend a function with you
 

Attend the monthly functions; while there, collect business cards and build business relationships
 

Offer to co-ordinate a business function at your premises or sponsor an event to deliver your brand’s message
 

Maintain a proactive deal-making mindset by focusing on what can be done, not what can’t be done!

Win cash contracts

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.

1 . Treat every Bartercard customer the same as you would a cash customer. Understand that every Bartercard customer is a business owner, staff member, family member or friend of a business owner. Therefore, every Bartercard customer has an extensive network of suppliers, customers, family and friends who, if you simply supply great customer service to, may refer your business to everyone they deal with!

2. Ask Bartercard members to refer your business.

Example pitches

 “I’m not looking for any type of customer; I’m looking for customers like you? Would you be able to introduce me to any of your contacts?”

“I make no apology for the fact that referrals are an important part of my business and I was curious whether you knew of anyone that it would be good for me to get in touch with?” 

“Here’s a list of businesses that we’d like to work with. Do you have any contacts at these Companies?” You’re one of the strongest advocates we have, are you able to recommend us to anyone?”