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1) GETTING STARTED
2) EXCLUSIVES
3) ONLINE TOOLS AND SERVICES

Now that you understand how bartering can jumpstart your business, I bet you’re wondering what tools you can use to get started. Although there are many tools in your tool belt, the most important one is your broker. In order to successfully barter, you’ll need to treat your broker like your sidekick; they’ll be the Samwise to your Frodo, the Donkey to your Shrek, or the R2-D2 to your Han Solo… Or is that Chewbacca? I’ll let you decide. Regardless of who you think Han Solo’s sidekick is, your broker is the most important and powerful tool you have in your barter exchange. 

GETTING STARTED

As you get started, you’ll receive a welcome email that will specify which broker you’ve been paired with. Once you connect, you’ll need to set some time aside to go through your orientation, which will cover everything from accounting and taxes to setting up your BarterPay POS App. Not only is your broker essentially a matchmaker (I’ll explain more about this shortly), but they’re an educator as well. They'll be able to explain the ins and outs of the barter world and guide you through all of your experiences, teaching you how to take advantage of amazing offers.

After you’ve gone through your orientation process, you’ll need to determine what it is that you’re going to offer to the system (either hardgoods or services). Soon after, our graphics department will collaborate with your broker to create some marketing material for our weekly BarterBlast newsletter. As we generate your BarterPay leads and ultimately BarterPay Credits, you’ll want to prepare a wishlist of different products or services you’ll be interested in purchasing from the system. As time passes and you build your relationship with your broker, they’ll be able to get a feel for what types of products or services you’d be interested in hearing about. Remember when I called your broker a matchmaker? Well, I wasn’t wrong. When you begin brainstorming spending ideas, your broker will be able to recall the members currently offering what you’re seeking, and then connect you with that business owner to discuss further details. 

EXCLUSIVES

Your broker is also able to give you the 411 on exciting and limited time offers. These one time deals are a great reason as to why you’d want to effectively communicate with your broker. Oftentimes, there are one time deals that are typically hard to come by on Barter. For instance, let’s say we get 300 cases of wine from your favourite local winery but you missed out on purchasing a case or two on barter. Would this have been because another business owner purchased all 300 cases in one go? Not likely… But it’s possible your broker wasn’t aware that this was your favourite winery and therefore, unaware that they should call you right away with this offering. The moral of the example is that you’ll want to be able to express your interests and passions to your broker in order for them to know when they should reach out to you about popular offerings. 

ONLINE TOOLS AND SERVICES

If you find you get a little phone shy or would rather do some research on your own, we also have other resources available at your fingertips. BarterPay Niagara has an online Shopify store  available for you to browse through. Here, you’ll be able to find some hard goods and certificates available in the Niagara region. However, if you’re hoping to do some browsing outside the region, BarterPay Canada also has additional websites for you to utilize. This website can be a very useful tool for you to become well-acquainted with the system; you’ll be able to get a feel for other members in the exchange that you might want to work with in the future. If you find you’re having trouble accessing a particular website or navigating it, your broker is only one phone call away!

Overall, let’s keep it nice and simple; communicate with and get to know your broker because they’re the best tool you have for becoming a truly successful barter member. 

Stay tuned for our next blog post where we’ll chat about getting the most value out of your idle inventory.
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